The Risk: A Billionaire Romance (Wagered Hearts Series, Book 2) (10 page)

She looked so polished and professional, even in her weekend attire. She wore a knee length black DVF wrap dress and black Louboutin pumps. Her hair was pulled back into a high pony tail and her makeup was impeccable. I felt like a complete bum standing in front of her. Before I could say anything, she somehow made her way into my apartment and had taken a seat on the couch. By the time my shock had worn off, she had already set up her laptop and had note pads laid out for us.

“What’s going on?” I asked as I took a seat opposite her.

“We’ve got to go over the itinerary for Lily’s bachelorette party. It’s next weekend and you’re really cutting it down to the wire,” she said briskly. “Travel and accommodations have already been taken care of. Mr. Marsden’s private jet will be leaving from Teterboro on Saturday morning. I’ve already taken the liberty of booking a suite at the Wynn.”

“Oh my God! I can’t believe it’s already here?” I said covering my mouth with my hands. “I’ve been so busy with work, it just totally slipped my mind. I feel like the worst maid of honor on the planet right now.”

“That’s why I’m here today. You need to let me know what you want to do so I can get it all set up for you,” she said.

“I’m not sure. I was thinking something simple, maybe a club crawl, or karaoke, or even one of those shows like Chippendales or that other one with the Australians. You’d think I’d be more prepared for this seeing as how I’ve been doing nothing but party planning lately.”

Natasha stared at me nonplused while I continued to babble on. I suddenly became a little self-conscious and snapped my mouth shut.

“What do you recommend?” I asked. “I’ve never been to Vegas before.”

“You know your friend best,” she said. “But just to be safe, I’ll reserve VIP tables at Scratch and Lux. I’ll also take care of the—er—shows you mentioned. How many guests do expect to attend?”

“Well, let’s see. There’s me, Candace, Lily of course,” I said counting the names off on my fingers. “Oh, and I think Lily mentioned something about Roman’s cousin possibly coming.”

“So four,” she said, jotting it down on her note pad.

“The question is, how am I going to convince Lily to get on the plane?” I mused out loud. “She’s not really what you’d call a party animal. I mean she’s definitely gotten better over the past year, but still not enough to drop everything and jet off to Vegas. Now, if we were to blindfold her and not tell her until the plane took off…”

“Work it out,” she said bluntly, snapping her laptop closed. “I think that just about covers everything. Remember the plane leaves Saturday morning at 10 am. Don’t be late.”

“Are you always like this?” I covered my mouth as soon as the words came out. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I said that.”

Natasha smiled at me but it looked more like a grimace. “Listen honey, I’m here as a favor to Ryan. Party planning was not in my job description,” she answered dryly.

“You’re right. I’m sorry I said that. I don’t know what came over me,” I said.

Natasha unbent a little and gave me a half smile. “You’ll figure something out,” she said, before picking up her purse and shoulder bag and walking towards my front door. “Oh, and here’s my card in case you think of anything else or have any questions.” She handed me a glossy black business card with gilt gold lettering.

“Thanks.”

***

I called the girls for an emergency meeting a few days later. Our flight to Vegas was scheduled to take off in two days and I still hadn’t been able to broach the subject of the party with Lily. It was silly, but each time I brought up her bachelorette party, Lily would always brush it aside. It was almost as if she wasn’t looking forward to it. When I had casually mentioned going out of town for it, she had looked at me in alarm.

“I just got back from visiting my mother and now Roman wants me to go to England with him to meet his mother’s side of the family before the wedding. I’m already sick of travelling, and behind on work,” she said, brushing off my suggestion.

“But it’s your bachelorette party. Don’t you want to just do something crazy and have fun? I’m sure you’re stressed out over the wedding and this would just be a great way to let loose,” I said.

“When have you known me to let loose?” she laughed. “Besides, like I said, I’ve already got a lot of catching up to do with work here.”

“Oh please, Miguel and Doris are more than capable of handling the bookstore,” I said.

“But I’ve been leaving them in charge too much. What kind of boss am I?”

“One that’s getting married soon and has other things on her mind,” I shot back.

Lily bit her lip and shook her head, “I don’t think Roman would be too happy with you for taking me away for a weekend,” she said.

“I’m sure Roman can put on his big boy pants and live without you for a day. He wouldn’t deny you your right to have a fun bachelorette party,” I said. I didn’t mention the fact that Roman was going to Vegas as well. I had wanted that to be a surprise.

“I’ll think about it,” Lily said. That was on Monday and she still hadn’t gotten back to me about her decision even though I had tried to bring it up to her again. It was almost like she was avoiding the situation. With the flight being scheduled for Saturday morning, I knew we had to resort to desperate measures.

Roman’s cousin, Stella, had arrived from England two days ago and she was currently sitting in my living room with Candace and me going over ways to kidnap Lily.

“What if we drug her?” Candace suggested. Stella and I both stared at her in alarm. “What? It doesn’t sound that crazy,” she said a little defensively.

“Ok, next suggestion,” I said.

“Are you sure she won’t just change her mind? I mean it sounds silly that she’s so adamant against going.” Stella said in her crisp posh accent.

When I’d first met her, I thought she seemed impossibly chic and just a touch standoffish. She looked like a proper British lady with her Burberry jacket, kitten heels and pearl earrings. I almost wondered if Lily hadn’t wanted to go to Vegas because she thought Stella would be offended, as if she would find it boorish and tacky. That was quickly dispelled once I actually met her. Stella had a wicked sense of humor and seemed wholeheartedly in favor of heading to Vegas. In fact, she almost seemed eager for it.

“No, she can be pretty stubborn when she makes up her mind. Plus we’re running short on time. I think the only way we’ll get her on that plane tomorrow is to somehow trick her,” I said. “And no drugging,” I added looking at Candace pointedly. “We’re not that desperate.”

“Why don’t we storm into her shop, tie her up, blindfold her and then pack her on the plane. She won’t know what hit her,” Candace offered.

I mulled over the suggestion. It wasn’t perfect, but at this point, I was getting a little desperate. Natasha had called me and told me everything was set with the plane and the hotel as well as the shows if we decided to attend. I would have felt bad backing out at the last minute after all she had done to make Lily’s party happen.

Besides, Ryan and the boys would be in Vegas a day ahead of us. A small part of me was looking forward to seeing him again. The last time I saw him was on the night of the magazine’s anniversary party after he dropped me off at my apartment. He’d been so sweet that night and so understanding.

Despite my better judgment, I found myself thinking about him from time to time, wondering what he was doing and where he was. It scared me at first, it still did actually, but I was growing more open to the idea of having Ryan in my life. At least as a friend.

“Well?” Candace said, staring at me impatiently. I looked up to see both Candace and Stella looking at me curiously and felt a blush stain my cheeks at being caught daydreaming, about Ryan no less. I hid my guilty expression and stood up pacing my tiny living room.

“I guess we have no other choice,” I finally said. “We’ll have to coordinate with Doris and Miguel so they don’t freak out.”

***

It turns out kidnapping someone in broad daylight is actually a lot easier than it seems. When Ryan had first suggested the idea, I hadn’t seriously considered it a real possibility, but yet here were were. After confirming with Doris that Lily was at the shop on Saturday morning, we set our plan in motion.

Candace knew a few of the guys from the mail room at work and hired them to be the ‘muscle.’ They’d be the ones doing the actual grunt work of kidnapping while I was in charge of packing a suitcase for Lily. Once that was done, I waited at the airport with Stella. Candace would stay behind to make sure everything went according to plan and that they didn’t accidentally nab the wrong person.

My stomach turned just thinking of Lily’s reaction when we revealed the truth to her. She’d be madder than a wet hen and I knew she wouldn’t hold back her anger. If she’d only just agreed to go or was willing to discuss it we wouldn’t have had to resort to these measures. I tried to convince myself that it was for the best and Lily would have a good time despite her objections.

I glanced at my watch and taped my foot impatiently. Candace had already called me and told me they had her tied up in the back seat of the rented van and were heading to the airport right now. Finally, I saw their dark blue van approaching from the distance.

“They’re here,” I said pointing it out to Stella.

Once Lily was on the plane and we had taken off, I finally removed her blindfold. She had been thrashing about the whole time and finally stilled as her eyes adjusted to the light. Once she caught sight of Candace and me, her face went livid.

“Motherfuckers!” she swore. “You did this? I was scared out of my mind thinking I was going to be held for ransom or worse, and it was you all along?!!”

“Now Lily, don’t get upset,” I said calmly as if trying to sooth a wild animal.

“Don’t get upset! You did not just say that to me right now. You scare me half out of my mind and bring me…where are we?” She asked, looking around her. When she realized she was on a plane her face got even redder. “Where are we going?” she asked, forcing her voice to remain calm.

“Vegas,” I answered. “There’s no going back now, so you might as well enjoy it.”

She remained silent for the next hour or so, shooting daggers at the three of us. We all knew better than to try to talk to her in her state, and gave her a wide berth. In the end, her natural curiosity finally won over and she couldn’t help but ask about our plans.

The flight was thankfully not as tense or awkward as I had imagined. Lily let go of most of her anger and by the time we started our descent, she seemed to be looking forward to the night. A black limo was waiting for us after the plane landed and was ready to take us to our hotel.

Our villa at the Wynn was exquisite, with its own private garden, pool, and spa. I’d never stayed at a nicer hotel, which was saying a lot because I’d been to some pretty nice hotels. Even Lily was impressed.

“I think I might enjoy this weekend after all,” she said, cracking a smile.

“I’m glad you came to your senses,” I teased.

She stuck her tongue out at me before her face turned serious. “I’ve got to call Roman. He’s probably wondering where I’m at,” she said. “He’ll be upset.”

“Nah, he’s probably in one of the other apartment villas,” I said offhandedly.

Lily snapped her head back to look at me. “What did you just say?”

“Roman and the boys are in Vegas too. Ryan and I have been planning this for weeks,” I said. I didn’t mention the fact that it was actually Ryan and Natasha that had really taken the lead and planned it all. Even though I hadn’t been holding up my end at being maid of honor, Lily didn’t need to know that. I felt rotten enough as it was.

“Oh, that’s wonderful. I should head on over to see him. Which room is he in?” she asked.

“Oh hell no. You’re not going anywhere,” I said. “Just because Roman is here, doesn’t mean you two can just go ditching the rest of us. You’re coming with us tonight and Roman is going out with the boys.”

She looked like she was about to argue but I stuck out my chin and pinned her with my most stubborn and piercing glare and she backed down. “All right,” she said holding up her hands in defeat. “You don’t have to get so pushy about it.”

“Good. Now we’ve got a few hours to rest or get ready before dinner. You can see Roman then since we’ll be meeting them at the restaurant.”

We arrived at the restaurant a little after the boys for a late dinner. Along with Roman, Ryan and Rob, there were a few other men I didn’t recognize.

“I’m glad to see you finally convinced her to come,” Ryan smiled at me as I came in. He was sitting at one end of the table while Roman sat at the other. I took the empty seat to Ryan’s left and next to one of the new guys I didn’t know.

Lily rolled her eyes at me. “Oh, is that what they call it these days? Convincing? Where I come from it’s called kidnapping,” she said.

“Well, let’s just move past that, shall we? We’re all here now and tonight will be fun!” I said, brushing her comment aside.

“Yes, I agree,” Ryan added. “Let’s have a toast! To an unforgettable night,” he said raising up his glass.

I took a sip of my champagne and looked around the table. Lily had taken the seat next to Roman, of course, and Rob sat to her other side. Next to him was Candace. Sitting on my side of the table was Stella, who was sandwiched between the two new guys.

“I hope you found everything to your liking,” Ryan said turning towards me.

“Yes, the room is amazing. We’ve even got our own on-call butler!” I gushed.

“I’m glad you like it.”

“You guys look nice. It’s almost like looking at a modern day version of the rat pack,” I said, looking him over.

Ryan flashed me a brilliant smile and chuckled. “Let’s hope we don’t get into as much trouble,” he said.

“Now, where’s the fun in that?” I teased. “You know what they say about Vegas.”

His expression suddenly changed and I noticed a gleam of something in his eyes. It made me catch my breath, but the moment was short lived. He smiled at me blandly before taking a sip of his drink. I wondered what that was all about. It was so fleeting, I almost thought I had imagined it, but my racing heart told me otherwise.