Around the World in 80 Men Series: Boxed Set 21-30 (17 page)

“The
red one,” Clay didn't even look up and Morgan didn't ask how he
knew about her red gown. Morgan nodded and sighed quietly, but then,
she smiled. It didn't matter what she was wearing, even it if was the
most
fancy
item in her collection of clothing. She would be
acting
fancy. Her eyes scanned the man who thought it was
funny to have people think they were arrested, the man who hated the
suit he knew he'd have to put on in a few minutes, the man who was
really a class one disguised as a class three. No, she wouldn't be
spending her night sipping champagne and indulging in caviar.
This
should be fun.

Morgan
sat with him at the table while Clay enjoyed his
morning
cup
of coffee. It was really nearly seven in the evening, but after
sleeping all day, it was
his
morning. The two enjoyed small
talk for a while, mainly that of Clay giving her a little run down of
the night, which really didn't offer Morgan much information aside
from the few tasks he had to do, then the two parted their ways to
get ready.

Clay
finished first and was waiting for Morgan at the table when she
finally came down the stairs at a quarter 'til nine. “Good god,
Morgan! I...had...no...idea...” He met her in the middle of the
room and walked around her slowly while she stood still awkwardly,
letting him take in her incredible beauty. “I...I mean, I knew
you were fucking hot, but Jesus Christ! Marry me!” She turned
around quickly and raised a brow, but had to wait for his eyes to
reach her own. He saw her unamused look, then laughed. “Too
soon?” Morgan laughed too and shook her head, then walked
across the room toward her purse.

“Yes,
I don't plan on marrying anyone this week,” she joked back.

“How
about next Tuesday? You still have the ring, right? Let's
just...recycle it...”

“Shut
up!” She huffed again, but was still laughing. His words struck
a reminder though. She
did
still have the ring and Angel would
be calling soon to find out why it wasn't in Brazil yet.
Oh,
Angel, I hope Cedric isn't too upset when he doesn't get his ring
back.. at least.. not right away.

The
whole ring debacle was put to rest quickly as they pulled away from
Clay's home. Morgan watched the casinos come into view. “It's
beautiful!” The lights of the Vegas strip made her heart pound
wildly, it was breathtaking to the girl from Ohio who had only
dreamed of seeing the sight that was right before her. It was also a
little silly, she thought, since she had already been in places of
the world that were far more exciting than Vegas, but she still
couldn't deny how she felt.

“You
look like a kid going to their first carnival.” Morgan looked
back at the man who seemed thrilled to see the city from her eyes.
She nodded, and turned back around to admire the buildings that
appeared to be moving closer to them.

Shaw
Casino was just as perfect as the rest, at least to Morgan, as they
pulled up under the elaborately lit covering. Two young men ran to
their doors, and had them out of the vehicle within seconds, then
they wished them both a nice evening before one of them drove away in
Clay's car. “Well, hotshot, show me your little shop.”
He put his arm around her waist and dug his fingers into her side,
and they laughed until they were standing in the middle of the main
floor. “Wow!” Morgan tried to keep her reaction to
herself, and she managed to refrain from spinning in a complete
circle as she slowly took it all in. The slot machines were loud,
and nearly drew her to them by the sounds of the spinning wheels.
There were blackjack tables, a large betting wheel, progressive
machines that offered new cars, and several bars that she knew would
have her favorite wine. It was almost too much for her to take in at
once, and luckily, Clay took her hand and guided her from the obscene
allure of it all.

“Something
tells me that you'll be back down here within the hour.”
Morgan smiled and laughed, knowing that she was already planning her
return to the slots.

Chapter
Five

Clay's
office, on the second floor, was nothing that she'd expected. Sure,
she thought it would be large and extravagant, but what he had was
far beyond that. “It's almost the entire floor!” She
looked around, not able that time to hide her excitement, and watched
each of the dozens of cameras that displayed every bit of the main
floor. It almost felt wrong, watching the tourists gamble their
money away without knowledge of the eye in the sky, but it was also
entertaining as well. “Oh! He just picked his...”

“Yeah,
you get used to the weird things people do when they think no one is
looking.” He walked away from her to speak to four men that
were manning the equipment, and that's when she noticed that two of
them were her 'arresting officers' from the day before. She
straightened her shoulders, and walked right over to them, standing
beside Clay as he looked over a clipboard of papers.

“Hi
Dick! Hi Jack.. ass!” The men turned around and smiled, then
Clay started to laugh so hard that he nearly dropped his papers.
“Planning your next sting? Let me see..,” she leaned
forward and pretended to study the screen in front of her, “there
must be a poor girl somewhere down there that you could torture.”
Clay took a step to the side and stood behind her, and put his arms
around her small waist.

“Don't
worry, they'll pay for taking it too far... trust me.” The two
men gave their boss a quick look, then turned back around to do their
job. Morgan giggled and put her hands on their shoulders.

“Just
playing. I forgive you. But try it again, and I will tie your dicks
together.” They didn't turn around, but she felt their
shoulders shaking in quiet laughter before letting go. That time,
Clay did drop his papers and they fell like large pieces of confetti
to the ground as he burst out in uncontrollable laughter.

“Did
you seriously just... say.... that?”

“What?”
Morgan popped an eyebrow quickly, then turned and walked to Clayton's
desk and sat down. She was quite the sight with her extra long
evening gown with fuax diamond embellished strappy heels propped up
on his expensive oak desk. Morgan grabbed a piece of candy from a
large bowl on his desk and cocked her head to the side as she waited
for his answer.

“You...you're
crazy. Do you know who those men are? I mean, yeah, they did
something shitty, but those guys, Dick and Jack, as you called
them...”

“I
don't care who they are. They're asshats.” She popped the
little piece of chocolate into her mouth and leaned back in the
chair. Clay only sighed. She was right, it didn't matter to tell her
who they were...but truth be told, they weren't just the top security
of his casino, they were well known throughout the whole community
and highly coveted among the women. Any woman Clay knew would have
jumped at the opportunity to be with him or the two men who's nether
regions had just been threatened, so it came as a shock to all three
studs that she wasn't intimidated by their good looks or status.

“You're
mine anyway,” he told her, but it was more to himself, then
bent down to pick up the mess of papers.

“So,
what do you do, aside from make messes?” Morgan teased and sat
up, then brought her feet back to the ground. She popped another
chocolate into her lips, then walked over to help him, but quickly
realized it probably wasn't a good idea. “I'm not sure I can
bend that low in this dress,” she laughed and stood straight
again, rubbing out invisible wrinkles on her thighs.

“Well,
anything that needs done here, I have people for it. You know, like
in a restaurant, the place
can
operate without the manager or
boss, sometimes it's smooth sailing, but it's
better
when the
owner comes to the table to shoot the shit, ya know?”

“You
just walk around and look pretty, is that what you're saying?”
Morgan was more than amused. She
couldn't
even imagine the hard work and dedication it had taken the man to get
to that point in his life, but if the hardest job of his night was
mingling with guests, then he deserved it. Of course he had meetings
with his employees every so often, but otherwise, the place operated
pretty smoothly. He had his security team, maintenance team,
hospitality team, cleaning team, financial team, plus other
professionals, including all of the other highly trained members of
the game tables. Monthly meetings with his investors also didn't
feel much like work to the man.

“Well,
tonight, that's your job,” Clayton told her after putting the
stack of papers back on his desk. His hand slid around hers and they
walked back toward the elevator that would take them downstairs. The
feel of his strong arm
around
hers made Morgan's heart beat faster, and as they took the large
metal carriage to the first floor, all she could do was resist the
urge to put her lips on the man who had pissed her off so much just
the day before. “So, you've forgiven me, right?”

She'd
forgiven him, yes, but he still had a lot more making up to do and
she wasn't going to let him off the hook so easy. “Yes, but
this isn't over,” Morgan pulled away from her thoughts of
kissing him and pressed her back against the elevator wall.

Clay
took a step forward and pressed his hands against the cool wall at
either side of Morgan's head. “No?” His laugh lines grew
with his smile, and his eyes narrowed on hers. He lowered his
shoulders and his face was inches from hers, she could feel his warm
breath through his lips and
could smell the wonderful scent of his soap that radiated from his
neck. She pursed her lips together and swallowed hard. She tried to
look away, but couldn't. His lips,
god, they look so.....

“Come
on,” Clay laughed loudly at her nervous disposition, then
backed away, but pulled Morgan's hand with him as the elevator door
opened. “Ready for the full tour?” She finally let the
air free from her lungs and nodded slowly.
Why the hell am
I acting like this?

They
walked between two long rows of slot machines, and by the time they
were all the way through the enticing path, Morgan knew that she
wouldn't be able to hold out much longer until she could try her luck
on one of the shiny beauties. She was briefly reminded of the bar
that she and Sean had so much fun in together, and the little
electronic trivia machine that they'd played for well over an hour.
Oh Sean.... you'd love it here!

Morgan
followed behind Clay, still holding his hand, and squeezed her purse
until she found what she was looking for. Her phone was there, and
she smiled in relief for remembering to put in her small bag because
she planned to call her Irish friend to ask if his mom had been
settled back at home, and how they were both doing. She was still
thinking of the sheep hoarding woman when Clay stopped suddenly,
forcing Morgan to run head first into his back. “Shit.”

“Sorry.”
Clay was smiling when he turned around and took her arm, bringing
her to his side. “This is, Oscar Turney.... Oscar, this is
Morgan.” The young girl smiled and took the man's hand,
telling him that it was a pleasure to meet him.

“Damn!
Where have you been hiding?” She offered her hand, and he
raised it quickly to brush his lips slightly against her skin.
“Clay, I was starting to worry about you, my friend! You never
seem to date, and then....,” he raised his hand up, displaying
the beauty of Morgan like a game show host, “this is what I
see!” Morgan and Clay laughed as her client pulled her closer
to his body.

“It's
true, I don't have time to date much, but when I do,” he
looked down to Morgan, “I make it count.” The man
laughed and slapped Clay on his shoulder before telling them both to
have a good evening.

The
two continued walking to the back of the casino, and Clay tried to
keep up with each person that greeted them along the way. Most of
them, like Oscar, were high rollers that would spend most of their
gambling time in Shaw's, and Clay always made it a point to mingle
with as many of them as he could. “So, this is what you do,
huh?” Morgan's voice was far too low to be heard as they had
just walked past a single large slot machine that was loudly
announcing a winner of two hundred dollars. He shook his head, and
laughed, then guided her to the far side of the room, near several
card tables. She laughed as she repeated herself, but didn't get the
answer that she thought she would.