Page 58 of Double or Nothing

While it’s not something I want to admit, that slight connection Sutton and I shared last night makes me wonder just how much I actually want that. Walking away from him today, after what he said to the world, was hard. I wanted to press, to ask questions, but my desire not to forgive him trumped all else.

There’s a thin line between love and hate. When it comes to Sutton and me, that line just keeps getting thinner.

“Oh, please, Kat.” Callum cocks his head to the side. “We both know you still have—”

I throw the stress ball on my desk at him.

“Don’t say it. In fact, don’t even think it.”

He catches the ball. “All I was thinking was I could take care of Anthony for you. Make things easier.”

Callum phrases the sentence as though he’s trying to do me a favor when in actuality, he’s doing the complete opposite. He’s trying to poach my client. He can try all he wants, but Anthony will never go for it. The man is very particular about who he keeps company with, the woman at the restaurant last night notwithstanding. There is no way he’d put up with Callum. Nor will he be impressed by all the attention Callum would throw his way.

Don’t get me wrong, Callum is a great host, very involved, very on top of things. Sometimes, he just doesn’t know when to quit, which wouldn’t fly with Anthony.

“You can try,” I tell him, knowing full well Anthony won’t want any part of it. In fact, it might be amusing to watch Callum get rejected. “But Anthony won’t want you.”

“I certainly don’t look as good in a skirt as you do, but I’m sure we could make do.”

Leaning forward, resting my elbows on my desk, Callum’s eyes drop to my chest, then fly back up to my eyes. I shake my head.

“Anthony doesn’t require the attention you give. In fact, he doesn’t really require any. We’re more like friends. It’s the only reason he even agreed to have a host.”

“Are you special friends?” He winks at me. While normally, it would be an attractive move even from him, it makes me roll my eyes.

“I already told you, I don’t have sex with my clients.”

“You’ve had sex with at least one of them.”

“I didn’t ask for him to be my client, and he wasn’t my client when we did. To answer your next question… no, nothing has happened between us. I. Am. Winning.”

“You’re just fooling yourself. I can see it in your eyes. You’re already cracking. Just make sure you have that money on hand because the minute he slides inside you, I’m going to be looking for it.”

“This is one bet you won’t win.”

“We’ll see about that.” He laughs as he steps into the hallway. “See ya… Kitty Kat.”

I groan at the sound of the nickname.

Reaching for my cell, I dial Liz’s number. Feeling mentally and emotionally drained, she’s the only one who can give me some clarity.

“Uh-oh, What happened?” She opts for the question rather than a nice greeting.

“Honestly, I have no fucking idea.” I plop into my office chair and face the window that overlooks the Vegas strip. Focusing on the hustle and bustle settles me a little. It always has. I love it here. For all the things that Vegas is and all it has to offer, it’s my home, my safe place. “For starters, Sutton almost punched one of my clients.”

“Anthony?”

“Yeah,” I say softly.

Anthony is rich, powerful, and drop-dead gorgeous. Even though there isn’t anything going on between us, I can see why Sutton would have thought otherwise. Anthony had his hands on me but not inappropriately. He would never do that. He is the king of gentle touches and hugs. So, when Sutton saw us standing there, with Anthony’s hand on the small of my back, I can see how it looked.

None of that matters, though—not what he saw, what he thinks, or even how it made him feel. He lost that right the moment he gave me an ultimatum. The minute he did that, he gave up any say in what I do.

“He had no right to do that or to act that way.”

“Except he’s Sutton, and that’s how he reacts. Remember that time he surprised you, and we hit that club on the strip. That one guy walked near you, and he lost it,” she relates as if I need the reminder. As if every memory with Sutton isn’t permanently ingrained in my mind.

Sutton may have always been a sweetheart, but he has a jealous streak in him the size of Texas and a temper to match it.

---