Page 34 of The Cowboy and the Bombshell
“Stone,” she started cautiously, moving down the stairs toward me. “I think we should talk about what just- Oh!” Stopping short, Penelope froze on the bottom step, her eyes darting to the two new comers in the foyer. “M-Mr. Pennington. I’m so sorry, sir. I didn’t realize you…”
“No,” Constance drawled, an evil smile on her face as she took in Penelope’s state of undress. “I bet you didn’t.”
“Mrs. Pennington-Grover,” Penelope said flatly, her face shuttering at the sight of my half-sister’s calculating look. “What a pleasant surprise.”
Constance snorted, indicating exactly what she thought of Penelope’s false words of greeting.
“Miss Lund,” Harold chimed in. “So lovely to see you. The work you’ve been doing out here is very impressive. I’ve been watching those online numbers closely. The board and I are very impressed, indeed.”
Penelope blushed hotly, pulling her hair around and draping it over her shoulder. The damp strands caused a droplet of water to run down her neck and over her collar bone. I couldn’t take my eyes off of it as it trailed across the curve of her breast and disappeared into her cleavage. That was not helping the situation in my pants one bit. Snapping my eyes back to Harold, I attempted to think of anything but Penelope and her sexy attire.
“Thank you, Mr. Pennington,” she said graciously. “We have a wonderful team here in Las Vegas. They have all contributed to any success the board has seen.”
Something in my chest tightened at her words. She was so selfless. Anyone other person in her position would have jumped at the opportunity to make themselves look better in front of the company CEO. But not Penelope. She was modest in her thanks and gave credit to those who helped achieve the success.
I couldn’t wait to talk to her. We needed to clear this up between us, because I had so much to learn about her. I wanted to know everything. I wanted to climb into her head and scour every nook and cranny and find out what made her tick. How someone who had experienced the things she had could possibly still see the world as bright and shiny.
And how I could maybe start to see it the same way.
As Harold continued to wax poetic about Penelope’s great work, I watched Constance. The way she narrowed her eyes at Penelope told me everything I needed to know about Constance’s presence here in Las Vegas.
She was working reconnaissance. I bet Toddrick was up to his neck in a disastrous marketing plan. His hotel theme was different, a 1920s gangster themed place. If I had to guess, I’d say he had already blown his entire budget on what would be the opening night party. The expensive champagne, the music, the girls; a real Prohibition style blow out. He’d plan it like he was planning the bachelor party of the century. It wouldn’t surprise me if he even had strippers.
But it would be flash in the pan. There was no long-term success with a focus like that.
That was where Penelope was ahead of the game. She was slowly drawing interest. Making it a tantalizing mystery that people couldn’t wait to solve. Little hints and teasers to keep them on the hook.
It was genius.
And Constance hated her for it.
By the time we all headed to bed, I could practically see the smoke coming out of my half-sister’s ears.
It was going to be a hell of a weekend.
* * * *
Saturday found me walking around the property with Harold, showing him the progress on the exterior, the rooms we had completed, the restaurants and bars, as well as the theater areas. Wandering around the site, he stopped and shook hands with everyone, from construction workers to kitchen attendants, the landscape crew and the ladies working on the cleaning staff. He treated every one of them like they were important, and I had to admit my respect for him jumped another notch.
He also adored Penelope’sQueens of The Alamoidea and couldn’t wait to meet Dolly and her girls. Harold held a meeting with the executive staff, who were less than happy about being called in on a Saturday, but they all showed up on time and presented their status reports. Harold was more than satisfied with all the progress being made, and his praise brought morale up around the entire hotel, just as he knew it would.
When the meeting ended, Harold announced that he wanted to take the entire executive staff for lunch at one of the restaurants run by a celebrity chef he was friends with. We would meet down stairs where he had arranged cars to take us all down the Strip. I was the first one out of the board room, heading to my office to respond to an email from Ava Carlisle before I headed out. Her whale hunt was progressing nicely, and she had secured some serious high rollers for our Soft Launch event as well as the Grand Opening that would follow a month later.
I was stomping my way toward my office when I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye. Turning my head, I saw that the door to Penelope’s office was cracked open and there was a shadow moving on the wall. Knowing that she was still in the board room, likely getting hit on by Toby again (that guy couldn’t take a hint, but so far hadn’t crossed any lines), I stepped toward the door to see who was in there. It could have been Moira, but my gut told me it wasn’t.
Moving slowly, I approached the open door, pressing close to the jam and trying to stay hidden. Just as I moved to push the door open, it swung back, revealing a startled Constance, staring at me open mouthed.
“Oh, Stone,” her face paled for a moment before she regained her cold composure. “Why are you sneaking around?”
“I could ask you the same question, Constance.” I said, narrowing my eyes at her. “What are you doing in Penelope’s office?”
“Is this her office?” she replied, feigning innocence. “I suppose I should have recognized the smell of discount store clothing when I stepped inside.” My scowl increased. Constance had no idea what Penelope had been through; I wouldn’t let her talk shit about my woman.
Whoa.Where the hell had that come from?
My woman?
There was a lot to unpack there, but now wasn’t the time. I had to figure out what Constance was doing.
