The Billionaire's Gamble (2 page)

He nodded, tapping his pen against his chin as he considered her across the room. “I’ll be there,” he said.

Sabrina released the breath she hadn’t known she’d been holding. “Wonderful,” she said, excited but terribly nervous at the same time. She pulled the door open quickly, deciding a fast exit was better than falling on the floor in excitement over the prospect of spending time with this dynamic man. “I’ll give directions to Liz,” Sabrina said and smiled brightly again.

Sabrina let herself out and gave directions Sid’s secretary, hoping the older woman didn’t detect the butterflies whirling around inside her stomach. She left the executive area and walked slowly down the hallway towards the casino area, careful to hide her excitement. “Cool it, Sabrina,” she warned herself as she walked sedately to her office. “He didn’t have any other plans. It means nothing except that he’s probably bored and wanted some company on Christmas.”

Regardless, Sabrina left work early that day and rushed to the store to buy several bottles of wine. She had no idea what he might like and knew that he probably was used to wine that cost more than her weekly salary, but she got the best she could afford as well as some gourmet cheese and a few other items that were nicer than what she’d originally planned to serve.

She and her neighbors had agreed on a pot luck dinner and Sabrina had volunteered to make a salad and dessert as well as act as hostess for the event. She’s said it would be simple, but there wasn’t anything wrong with spicing things up a bit, was there?
Chapter 2

“Good morning, sunshine,” Nina Matthews called out loudly, opening the door to Sabrina’s small cottage home with her own key. The sisters had exchanged keys the moment they’d both settled into Las Vegas, far away from parents who lived on the East Coast. “Aren’t you awake yet?” Sabrina’s younger sister called up the stair case.

Sabrina groaned with the fatigue that kept her magnetized to the soft mattress. Opening one blurry eye wearily, she rolled over to look out her window. When she saw the glorious, bright sunshine, she grimaced. “No,” she called back down and pulled the rose and chintz patterned comforter over her head. Sabrina had been up until two in the morning making a special dessert she’d remembered from her mother’s Christmas dinners. She’d had to try it twice before it looked right. The first one she dumped into the trash since it looked, and tasted, awful. There was no way she’d bring out something like that when Sid Matthews arrived.

Nina laughed at the grumpy sounding voice but was unrelenting. “Wake up, sleepy head,” she called back and walked farther into the foyer. “If you don’t get down here, I’ll come up and you know you won’t like that,” her younger sister called up over the banister.

Sabrina rolled over and peered out the window just to be sure her sleepy eyes hadn’t deceived her. It was no use. Sunny again. She sighed and pushed the covers back. She knew she’d have to get out of bed. Staying under the covers while her sister was around was always a bad idea. Nina would be merciless, pulling off sheets and blankets, pillows and generally just being a nuisance until Sabrina got out of bed. Better to do it on her own, she knew from past experience.

Frowning at the window, she hurried as fast as her muddled mind would allow. “Doesn’t it ever get cloudy here? I want snow, woman!” she said and padded down the stairs in her red Christmas socks and red sleep shirt with a reindeer on the front.

Sabrina enfolded her sister in her arms. “Merry Christmas,” she said grumpily, still not recovered from her sleep, or more specifically, her lack of it.

Eyeing her sister’s rumpled mass of bright red curls, she chuckled under her breath. “Uh oh. Did you miss your run this morning?” Nina said cheerfully and dropped her presents under Sabrina’s tree then headed for the kitchen to start coffee.

Sabrina followed and sat down on one of the stools pulled up to the counter. She pushed her fiery red hair out of her face and propped her head onto her hands. “Yes,” she sighed, grateful to her sister for initiating the caffeine jump start since she’d slept through her physical one.

Nina stopped dumping coffee grounds into the coffee maker, her face showing her astonishment over Sabrina’s announcement. “Wow! This is a first. You never miss your morning run. What’s your jogging group going to say?” she joked and dumped an extra scoop of coffee into the machine for good measure.

Sabrina’s eyes were already closing and she ignored her sister’s cheerfulness. “Who cares, just speed up the process,” Sabrina yawned. “And could you shave some ice and sprinkle it around outside please? I don’t understand why you like this area so much. There’s no snow. There’s no change in the weather. It is sunny every day!” she said, her tone expressing her frustration.

Nina laughed and poured the water into the coffee machine. “Sabrina, it’s the desert. You’re not living on the east coast anymore. You’re living in the world’s largest adult playground. The weather is beautiful. Get used to it.”

“Hmmph,” was Sabrina’s only muffled response as she laid her head in her arms on top of the kitchen counter.

Nina drove home her point with more statistics, not giving Sabrina a chance to fall back to sleep while the coffee brewed. “The average monthly rainfall here is less than a quarter of an inch. You’re not going to get a whole lot of snow,” Nina went on. She laughed at her sister’s shudder at that tid bit of information. “Sorry, most people learn to like it. Eventually.”

Her sister didn’t sound very sorry, Sabrina thought as her eyes faded a little more. “Why are you so cheerful?” she groused.

Nina smiled as she leaned against the sink, watching her older sister fall back to sleep on the counter. “Perhaps because it’s a wonderful day and I get to spend some time with you?” she suggested.

That opened Sabrina’s eyes wide. “Oh,” she started to say, instantly feeling guilty for being so grumpy when her sister had only sweet things to say about their planned day together. “I’m sor…” she began, but then stopped when she saw her sister’s teasing look. “You’re evil, Nina,” she grumped, her chin falling back onto her palm, not having the energy to hold it up on her own. “What’s going on?” she demanded.

Nina laughed delightedly. “I just got a good grade on an exam. Sorry for being in such a good mood, but you’re the perfect target right now. Defenseless.”

Sabrina ignored that and changed the subject, lifting her head up to look across the tiny kitchen at her sister. She suddenly remembered why she was so tired and her nervousness instantly reappeared. “Are you sure you can’t come to dinner tonight?” Sabrina asked, the butterflies immediately starting up in her stomach again in anticipation of seeing Sid later in the day.

Nina shook her head and took the stool next to her sister. “Sorry. I have to study this afternoon and I have a show tonight.”

Sabrina sighed and propped her head onto her hands, elbows resting on the counter as she pushed her disappointment aside. “I know. How’s that going?” Sabrina asked.

Nina grimaced, imitating her sister’s propped up chin. “Rough. But that’s okay. I’ll get through it.”

Nina had moved to Las Vegas three years ago, right after graduating from Georgetown University with an undergraduate degree in history. Nina had gone off to Las Vegas, determined to be a glamorous show girl. After only a few months, she’d known that it wasn’t her dream job. The hours were long and hard and the pay was only decent at best. She liked dancing and loved the people she worked with, but was now determined to get a degree in law and was pursuing that with hard driving determination through the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in every spare minute. Her hard work was paying off as she was about to graduate with honors this coming summer.

Sabrina nodded, accepting her sister’s schedule. “That’s too bad,” she said. Sabrina looked down at her hands, becoming overly concerned with her perfectly manicured nails.

Nina looked at her older sister and knew that something had happened. “Okay, spill it,” she said, leaning over the counter to look into her sister’s eyes. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” Sabrina replied quickly, avoiding her sister’s too-knowing eyes. “How’s that coffee coming?” she asked and jumped from her stool to pull down the coffee cups.

Nina wasn’t fooled. “Sabrina, I know that look and it’s telling me that you’re trying to hide something from me. You might as well tell me before I have to drag it out of you. What is it?” she demanded, hands on her hips as she looked intently at her sister.

Sabrina grimaced but her back was to her sister so it went unnoticed. “You’re imagining things. Don’t worry, everything is just hunky dorey,” she countered. She pretended to search for cream while she prayed the blush in her cheeks would fade before she had to turn around and face her sister.

Nina’s silence made Sabrina turn around more quickly than she’d wanted. Her younger sister was having none of it and her disbelieving expression showed that. “The last time you used the term ‘hunky dorey’ Lucy Munroe had just glued the ends of your braids together and you were pretending that nothing was wrong as you battled tears of anger, humiliation and frustration. I remember having to go to Lucy’s house and beat her up for being so mean. So something is definitely wrong and you’re not going to get out of telling me. I’ll just find out later and who knows what I’ll run into. Lucy was easy to defeat. I’m guessing by the look on your face that this enemy isn’t as short.”

Sabrina hesitated for only a moment. She knew her sister wouldn’t be happy about her announcement but she also knew that Nina wouldn’t give up her nagging until she had the full reason for Sabrina’s nervousness. “I invited Sid Matthews to dinner tonight,” saying the words quickly, both to get the telling over with and in the vain hope that her sister might misunderstand her announcement and move on to another subject.

Nina stared at Sabrina for a full minute while her words sunk in. The speed of delivery didn’t obfuscate the message. Her sister understood every word. Immediately, Sabrina could tell that her sister wasn’t happy about the idea by the gathering storm in the younger woman’s expression. “He said, no, right?” she said, and it was more of a statement than a question.

Sabrina shook her head, her eyes lighting up with her excitement. “Actually, he’s coming.” Sabrina was so excited, she was almost dancing in reaction. It was too good to be true and despite her fear that she was making a fool of herself, there was also the amazing anticipation that was chasing away all her drowsiness and bad mood over the weather.

Nina’s palm struck her forehead with a resounding slap. She then stood up and paced around the room, shaking her head as she considered her sister’s words. “Sabrina, what were you thinking?” she demanded. “Haven’t you heard the rumors about him? And they are all true,” she said. “I know some of the women he’s dated in the past and they all say the same thing! He is the ultimate womanizer, bar none.” Her hands sliced through the air and her eyes bored into Sabrina’s in an attempt to convey the seriousness of the issue. “Inviting Sid Matthews into your home is like inviting a hungry lion to sleep in the pasture of lambs. Its just plain dangerous!”

Sabrina’s shoulders sagged since she’d heard the rumors as well. Sid was never without a beautiful woman on his arm although it was never with any of his employees within the resort or casino. She pushed that painful reality aside, wishing it wasn’t true but also knowing that she could never compare to the other women. Sid Matthews would never be interested in her as a woman, merely as an employee who had invited him to a casual dinner. “That’s just rumors and probably jealousy or something,” Sabrina said, taking down the coffee cups from the upper shelf. “I thought you said he never dated any of the women in the show.” She couldn’t look her younger sister in the eye.

Nina knew about Sabrina’s fascination with their handsome employer and didn’t like it one little bit. She could understand it a little. The man was absolutely gorgeous and tall and sinfully wealthy. But he was also completely out of her league and Sabrina was going to get hurt if she allowed Sid to see her interest in him.

Nina shook her head, admitting her sister’s point. “He doesn’t. But he dates the show girls from the other hotels. And just last week, he escorted Belinda Michaels through the hotel,” Nina said, referring to the Hollywood actress who flew out to Las Vegas on a regular basis to gamble. “And if you think they disappeared to a private casino, think again, Sabrina.”

Sabrina turned her back and tried to hide her fascination with the man from Nina. “I know. I didn’t invite him to my bed. Just to dinner,” she said defensively.

Nina just snorted her disbelief. “I don’t think the man differentiates,” she said. “You’re incredibly beautiful. Don’t fall for him,” Nina replied earnestly. “And don’t let him hurt you.”

Sabrina laughed nervously and pulled out the egg casserole from the refrigerator she’d made the previous night for breakfast. “Oh, Nina, you’re just being silly. He’s not interested in me in any way. If he won’t date any of his show girls, why would he date someone like me?”

Nina looked at her older sister for a long moment. Sabrina was shorter than Nina by a couple of inches, but Sabrina was stunningly gorgeous. The two were exact opposites and Sabrina took after their mother’s looks with her fiery red hair, sparkling green eyes and voluptuous figure in a petite frame. Nina was taller, almost five feet, eight inches tall, a requirement for dancing in one of the Las Vegas shows. But Nina had jet black hair and crystal blue eyes that were staring at her sister with concern. How could Sabrina not know how beautiful she was? Her sister was ripe for someone like Sid Matthews to hurt her. Sabrina was too beautiful and definitely too sweet and gullible.

Seeing the excitement in her sister’s eyes, Nina knew there wasn’t anything she could say to talk her sister out of the dinner tonight. “He doesn’t play by the same rules we do, Sabrina,” she said softly. “Watch yourself.”

“I know,” and Sabrina took a long sip of the coffee. She turned pleading eyes towards Nina as she explained, “He didn’t have anything to do today and its Christmas. No one should be alone on Christmas, Nina.”