Page 23 of 3 Times the Heat

“Goodness, this is a nice surprise!” she coos, her brown eyes lighting up. “You know how much I’ve been craving chocolate lately.”

“We do know,” Jamison intones as he too strides into the room. “That’s why I got you some chocolate as well. These are the special chile-flavored bon-bons that I know you like.”

“Hey, stop trying to outdo me!” Chris protests.

The four of us merely laugh.

“More chocolate is always a good thing,” I growl, pressing a kiss to our girlfriend’s slender throat. “Especially because you’re eating for two, sweetheart. Should we add avocado to those scrambled eggs?”

“No, but you could add some peanut butter,” Tamara says in a sly tone. “You know how weird my cravings get sometimes.” But then her eyes go wide. “Oh my god, speaking of peanut butter, did I tell you about my friend Stasia?”

“Yeah, you’ve mentioned her a few times before,” I nod. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes, she’s fine. It’s just that she’s having a tough time right now because she’s still at the Corinthian. She says she misses me.”

I nod.

“That’s to be expected. But you’ve moved onto bigger and better things, sweetheart. Like having our baby.”

Tamara nods, her look thoughtful.

“Yeah, but Stasia’s in a weird place because she never gets promoted. After I quit, they were looking for someone new to work the high rollers room, but she got passed over for this bitch Elaine instead.”

I nod.

“Well, what’s the problem? Is Stasia not cute? They would never put an ugly girl in the high rollers room.”

Tamara shakes her head.

“No, my friend isreallycute,” she laughs. “But when she asked why she was passed over, her boss told her that it’s because her behavior’s been inappropriate as of late.”

I wrinkle my brow.

“Inappropriate? How so?”

Tamara bites her lips, her eyes slanting to the side.

“Well, I don’t know if I should tell you…”

Jamison and Chris snort.

“Sweetheart, you can’t start a story without finishing it. It’s just not right.”

“Come on,” Jamison adds in a persuasive tone. “Besides, what could be so inappropriate?”

Tamara gets a secretive look and leans forward, lowering her voice although there’s no one else to hear.

“Well, I think Stasia’s been having sexy times with her stepdad. You know,thatkind of sexy time,” she adds quickly.

I whistle.

“Holy cow, that’s pretty depraved.”

Jamison nods, his eyes thoughtful.

“Yes, but how did the Corinthian Hotel find out? Are they spying on their employees somehow? If anything, this would be a personal issue. It shouldn’t impact their business.”

Tamara nods.

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