Let it Ride (Casino Nights #1) (2 page)

“Thanks, but I think my collection
would disappoint you.” She gave the self-professed man-whore a teasing wink.

“I doubt that Frankie, I doubt that
very much.” He gave her a brief hug then dropped his arm and strode ahead of
her.

“Jesus, he can’t keep his hands off
a woman for even an hour.” Hadley sounded angry and her gaze followed Rico out
the door.

“Rico is what he is. I don’t mind.
Hell, sometimes his flirting is all that I get.” Francesca stepped into her
office and started checking the contents of her briefcase. “Besides, I know
that he doesn’t touch other employees. And he flirts with me because he’s
worried that nobody else does. We’ve talked about it and we have an
understanding.” She glanced at her friend, giving her all of her attention. “If
it makes you uncomfortable,
Hads
, I’ll ask him to
stop.”

Francesca watched the redhead chew
on her lip. “No,” Hadley said. “Don’t do that. I don’t know why he makes me so
mad, but Christ, he pushes all my buttons.”

Francesca kept her mouth shut. There
was a fine line between chemistry and frustration and there were definite signs
of chemistry between Hadley and Rico.

“Grab your briefcase and let’s go to
your place to figure out what you’re going to wear,” Hadley ordered.

“Now who’s getting bossy?”

“Me, otherwise you’d probably go to
meet that hunky guy in your white blouse and black skirt.” Hadley pulled on
Francesca’s arm to get her moving out of her office. “I don’t understand why
you always dress so boring. Plain doesn’t begin to describe your clothes.”

“I like to think of it as
understated.” Francesca defended her fashion choice.

“It makes you fade into the crowd.
You should put in a little special effort to look good on this trip. How about
going for sexy so he’ll really notice you?”
 
Hadley wiggled her eyebrows
suggestively.

“I think you’re making too much out
of this. Remy just wants this panel to go well.”

“God Francesca, sometimes I wonder
how you can be so brilliant at business but clueless about other things. The
man is into you. He has made up a million reasons to talk to you. Plus you seem
to enjoy talking to him. This is a good thing. You haven’t been into a guy
since your divorce,
how
many years
ago? If the opportunity comes along, I say ‘ride that bull’.” Hadley laughed.

She could feel Remy’s strong
shoulders and chest under her hands as he used his big hands to power her hips
as she straddled his thick cock. She shook her head back and forth a few times
to clear it. “Hadley, I’m never going to get that picture out of my head. I
won’t be able to look Remy in the eye. God, why did you say that?”
Although she was intrigued.

“Because you’re hot, and if memory
serves from our grad school days, a sexual woman. I don’t want you to continue
on this
work is my life
path. I want
more for you.”

“I’m trying. Didn’t I just tell you
all to try to not call me?” Dear God, she was whining. “We are some pair of
hot, single women. You won’t even give a nice guy the time of day, and I don’t
have the time to.”

She gave a mental sigh, wishing that
they could be honest with one another; that she could tell Hadley how she
feared she was a terrible wife. That she’d caused her divorce and that she
hadn’t changed, and that she worried it would all happen again. Then maybe
Hadley would open up about why she discouraged male interest.

“I’m proud of you for making that
declaration.” Hadley shook her head. “You don’t give yourself the time. You
need some separation from this job. I know that having no life except for work,
and is tied up with your love and gratitude to Jimmy and Rose. I admit that I’m
no shrink, I just know that you’re killing yourself living only for this
casino.”

They rode the elevator in silence to
the twentieth floor and walked down the hallway to Francesca’s apartment. She
entered her security code and threw the door open.

“
Hads
, I’m
trying. Jimmy’s trying to cut back on his reliance on me, but I’m the one he
trusts the most. That’s important to me. I owe him and Rose so much. They could
have turned me over to the system instead of adopting me. I’ll always be
grateful to them. They gave me a wonderful life.”

“I get that you love them and would
do anything for them, but I know that they want you to have your own life. Rose
wants you to find a man, maybe pop out a baby or two. Jimmy can’t expect you to
be at his beck and call every single day. He has amazing people working for
him. They need to step up and he needs to let them. So do you.”

The best thing about having an
apartment in the casino’s hotel was that she could be to her rooms in a matter
of minutes. As soon as they entered her bedroom Francesca pulled out her
suitcase from her walk-in closet. She dropped the purple wheeled case on the
bed. “I’m going to Indiana on Saturday.” She said the words softly and avoided
her friend’s eyes.

Hadley made a surprised sound and
then recovered. “To see your mother’s family?”

“Yeah. I called and we’re supposed
to meet for dinner at some restaurant that one of them owns. I thought since I
was just four hours away, I should make the effort.” She could talk to
Hads
about this since she had been with her when she
received the call telling her that her biological mother had died.
CeCe
had never made an attempt to keep contact with her and
she was only a short distance away.

“Honey, that’s great. I always
thought that getting to know her people was very brave of you.”

“I still feel like an outsider.” She
unzipped her bag slowly. Her mother’s choices had never made sense.
CeCe
had abandoned her baby and husband, and when Frankie’s
dad had been killed, she hadn’t come back for her child. “She lived for twenty
years after I was born and never gave me another thought”.

Hadley lightly rested her hand on
Francesca’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “I hate her for that and for what
her non-actions have done to you.” Hadley walked into the closet and started
going through the hanging clothes. “Finding out about your mom so that you
could attend her funeral. That sucked.”

Yes it did
. “One of my cousins e-mails me
pretty steadily. She seems nice. But it’s weird. I mean, they didn’t know me
and I only met them at the funeral.” Francesca gave a shrug. “I thought since I
was going to be in the area that I’d visit.” She frowned. “It’s not that big of
a deal.” She started to edit the clothes that Hadley was tossing onto the bed,
picking and choosing what she might realistically wear, not Hadley’s wishful
choices.

“Frankie, I think it’s good that you
are reaching out to your, um,
CeCe’s
family.” Hadley
glanced at the rejection pile on the bed.

“Let’s hope.” Francesca told herself
that it would be fine. She met and chatted with strangers every day at work;
how hard could it be to talk to her cousins?

“Now, I think this will really catch
that
hottie’s
eye.” Hadley waved a Roberto
Cavalli
maxi-dress in front of Francesca.

“Too sexy, that’s way too much.”
Francesca wrestled the hanger from her friend. “This is a work event,
Hads
.”

“I say all work and no play will not
get Francesca laid,” Hadley sing-
songed
as she
continued going through Francesca’s closet.

Finally Francesca opened the door to
her hotel room. It had been a hike from the front desk to the elevator. She’d
been upgraded to the Concierge Floor; she made a mental note to find out who
was responsible and to thank them. When she traveled for business, she didn’t
typically book a suite or an upper-tier room. She liked to see how the average
guest was treated, but for this trip, she would allow herself a little
pampering.

She immediately opened the drapes to
check the view. The concrete parking structure and lobby roof did not make her
feel like she was in the second city.
So much for ambiance or a lovely view of the Chicago skyline
.
Next she inspected the mini-fridge and took out
a water
.
After a few sips, she opened her suitcase and started to unpack.

Once that was finished, she checked
her phone to verify that the early registration booth would open in two hours.
That would give her plenty of time for room service and a shower. She had dozed
on the flight, but she needed to keep moving so that she would be able to sleep
tonight. Playing with her internal clock was always hell, but she could manage
a few more hours. Besides tonight should be an early night; maybe a drink in
the bar after getting her registration packet, but she wanted to be ready for
tomorrow’s events.

During her snack and shower, she’d
made the decision to enjoy this conference. She was here solo so she only had
to answer to herself. In social settings, she usually would hang back until she
felt comfortable before joining in. This time she was going to move faster, not
be so reticent, especially when it came to a certain man, but only if he
continued showing signs of interest.

Francesca followed the signage in
the lower lobby to the area where the registration packets were being handed
out. She nodded to a few people that she recognized, but kept moving. At the
counter she gave a harried looking man her name and registration number.

He turned to rifle through the boxes
set up alphabetically behind him. He had to search twice, but he finally pulled
out her packet. “Here we go, Ms.
Luchetti
.” The man
handed her a sheet of paper to sign signifying that she’d received her packet.

“Have a good time,” he said automatically,
dismissing her so he could service the next in line.

“Francesca. Francesca,” a female
voice called.

She scanned the line and saw Marie
Footman waving. She smiled and started to walk in her direction.

“Hello, sweetie. I thought that was
you.” Marie pulled Francesca in for a hug.

“When did you get in?” Francesca
smiled at the blonde.

“Our group flew private and got in
last night.” Marie shrugged her shoulders. Her family owned a casino in
Mississippi, and had holdings in other states.

“I got in a few hours ago.”
Francesca moved with the line.

“Did you work last night?” Marie
looked Francesca up and down.

Francesca nodded the affirmative.

“Jimmy’s
gonna
work you into an early grave.” Marie pursed her lips.

“No, it was all my doing. I had to
finish up some paperwork.”

“Francesca, I swear we had a talk
about you working so many hours just a few months ago. Girl, you didn’t listen
to a thing I said and now I feel like I wasted that fine, quality liquor on
you.” Marie continued to make a sad face. Although Marie was only ten years
older, she treated Francesca like she could be her daughter.

“It meant a lot to me that you took
the time to notice and to care.” Francesca moved a little closer and spoke
softly. “I’m cutting back my hours. It’s happening slowly, but I’m really
trying. I promise.”

Marie threw her arm around
Francesca’s waist to hug her again. “Good. You are too beautiful to be locked
away from life.”

Her heart warmed. “Do you have plans
later? I want to drop off my packet in my room and then I was going to check
out the bar. Maybe I can buy you a drink or two?”

“That sounds nice. However, I’m not
sure I can lose this group.” She tilted her head back in the direction of the
people behind them. “They act like they don’t speak Midwestern. I swear, some
of them think I’m here to be their tour guide.”

Francesca giggled. “Come by yourself
or bring a group, the first round is on me.”

“
Shh
, not
so loud. If you keep that up, I’ll never get rid of them.” Marie’s musical
laugh carried and more people turned in their direction.

“I’ll see you in what, a half-hour?”
Francesca glanced at her watch.

“Sounds fine. Whoever gets there
first should try to grab a table.”

“Will do.” Francesca turned and
started the hike to the elevators in her wing.

****

The air left Remington Cooper’s
lungs when Francesca walked into the bar. It had been two years since he had
seen her in person. He’d forgotten that she was so petite. Perhaps being short
made her generous curves stand out. His eyes followed the outline of her body,
yeah,
she wasn’t small in all of the good places. His cock
stirred at his continued study of her body.

He watched Francesca scan the
crowded bar. She started to walk around the outer pathway. He collected his
beer and began to make his way through the crowd to cut her off.

He pretended not to see her as she
moved behind him. He stepped backward into her. “Oh, excuse me.”

“It was my
fau
—
Remy.” A smile lit up her face as she looked up at him.

“Francesca, when did you get in?” He
pretended to be surprised to see her.

“A little while ago. Um, how are
you?” Her brown eyes darted away and then returned to his.

“I’m fine. Hey, let me get you a
drink.” He put his hand on her arm. He wasn’t going to let her get away from
him. He had worked too long to get her attention.

“I’m supposed to meet Marie Footman
and maybe some of her group.” She stood on her toes to try to look over his
wide shoulders. “Do you know her? They own a Casino in Biloxi.”

“I’ve met several
Footmans
at different conferences over the years.” Remy shifted
to the right so that she could see around him.

“Why don’t you join us? The first
round is on me.” Francesca continued walking, looking for her friends.

Remy fell into line, following her
closely.

She slowed and turned her head to
look back at him and said, “Found them.” She raised her hand and waved.

A group of five, one attractive
older woman and four
men,
were seated around a long,
rectangular table. The woman stood and started waving her arms.

Francesca took his arm and towed him
toward the blonde. “This is Remington Cooper. I just ran into him and invited
him to join us.”

The blonde looked him up and down.
“Hello, Mr. Cooper. I’m Marie Footman.” She held out her hand.

Remy took it. “Hello, Ms. Footman. I
believe I know your father, Richard.”

“Oh,
darlin
’,
that’s my brother, but thank you. He
is
my older brother.” She continued hold his hand.

Remy smoothly disentangled his palm
from the southern lady’s grip. He placed his other hand on the small of
Francesca’s back and guided her to the empty chairs. He pulled out the chair
facing the wall for her and then took the seat at the end of the table. He was
never comfortable without a clear view of the room.

Marie continued standing and clapped
her hands. The table quieted. “Let’s get through the introductions quickly,
then I’m going to flag down our server and get us some drinks.”

He felt Francesca glance his way.
She leaned closer to him. “Marie’s a very nice lady. She plays the part of a
vapid, rich girl but she is damn smart, so don’t let her fool you.”

Marie introduced the men sitting at
the table.

The server arrived and their orders
were placed.

He saw Francesca discretely pass the
server two bills.

Remy rested his palm lightly on
Francesca’s elbow to get her attention. “That was a very smooth handoff. Should
I gather that you’ve done this many times?”

She laughed. “Caught that, did you?
I worked in one of our bars when I was old enough over college breaks. I know
how difficult it can be keeping track of what goes on which tab. I just made
her night a little easier.”

“Plus, this table will get good
service as long as you stay nearby.” He took a deep breath. She smelled really
good—spicy and warm.

“I always try to help the server.
They have a difficult job and no matter what, they’re always wrong.”

“Did you have to work in other areas
of your casinos?” He wanted to hear about her life. He’d read about her
childhood and the car bomb that killed her father and injured both her and
Jimmy
O’Haire
.
It was part of his job to review the background research
on anyone applying to own a casino in Indiana. He knew that Francesca was
adopted by the
O’Haires
and did very well in school.
She’d graduated early from high school and had gone to straight to college and
then graduate school. She’d been married briefly to an investment banker.
Beyond that, there was very little gossip about Jimmy’s heir apparent.

“Jimmy had all of his kids start
working as soon as they were old enough to get badged. Because of the family’s
security concerns, I couldn’t do the typical teenager work like babysitting,
but I did wash the cars of the managers at The Red Rose. Later I waitressed,
worked on the floor as an attendant, manned the front desk at the hotel, and I
spent a year with the security department and another in surveillance. Jimmy
wanted me to understand the business from the employee’s point of view.”

He liked that she sounded proud of
her work, and not resentful that she’d been forced to do it. “So I can expect
that if our server gets behind, you can take care of me?”

He saw the heat in her eyes before
she tossed her brown hair over her shoulder. “I’m sure I can give
satisfaction.” She flashed a sexy grin.

He needed to adjust his suddenly
rock hard cock. Francesca was clearly not afraid of a little flirtation. Could
she be as interested in him as he was in her?

The server returned with the drinks
and the others thanked Francesca.

The guy seated to his right, Scott,
recognized Remy’s name and asked about his panel. Marie moved to the space
beside Francesca.

He enjoyed talking to the men, but
it was far more interesting to watch Francesca. She was relaxed and obviously
considered Marie a friend.

As he finished his beer, a woman
approached the table. He saw Francesca look up and her body tense. His
protective instinct flared.

He moved his chair a little closer
to Francesca’s.

“I just knew that I would find you
in the bar,” the model-like interloper announced. “Just like your daddy, you
know all the real deals happen over a table, or in his world, under the table.”
She moved closer to Francesca and flashed a superior grin.

Francesca’s body went rigid. Her
voice carried an icy tone. “Hello, Carmen. I didn’t realize that you’d be
here.”
 

Marie turned to the woman and stared
at her for a few beats. “Carmen, I read somewhere that Benjamin got the
business in the divorce settlement.” She turned her back on the woman,
dismissing her.

The blonde didn’t bat an eyelash at
the snub. “You’re mistaken. The judge gave Ben seventy per cent of the
business. That still leaves me as an owner, so I thought I should come to
Chi-town to catch up with everybody.”

“Well, um…good. I think there are
some really interesting panels this time and I’m sure you can learn a lot.”
Francesca turned her body to face Remy. She rolled her eyes.

“Gold digging ex-wife,” she mouthed.

He nodded, trying to place the woman
who was now talking way too loudly to Marie.

Carmen put her hand on Francesca’s
shoulder. “I’m so glad that I found you. I just heard that Steven Blake is
going to be here.”
 

Francesca didn’t show any emotion.
She did stare at the long red nails on her arm for a moment,
then
turned her head to face Carmen.

Carmen dropped her hands to her
non-existent hips. “Well, I thought you would like to know. I mean, he’s said
some pretty ugly things about you and Jimmy.”

Everyone in the casino world had
heard the ravings of Steven Blake. He had filed numerous complaints and
lawsuits claiming collusion and tampering with officials, each implicating
Jimmy
O’Haire
. Remy had read the findings of several
investigations and there was no merit to the claims. In Indiana, nothing had
been found to point the finger at Jimmy or his company. If Jimmy
O’Haire
and Rose Holdings had ties to organized crime, it
was buried so deeply that nobody could find the thread. Many different agencies
had tried over the years.