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“That’s so fabulous. Like the lobby.” She shook her head. “I love the shooting stars. It looks so real.”
“I wouldn’t know. Living in a city with this much ambient light, you don’t see many stars.”
She leveled her gaze on him. “Now, that’s a shame.”
“I’ve never thought so.”
“Then you don’t know what you’re missing,” she said, looking at him with what could only be sympathy.
Well, Cooper Hayes didn’t need anyone to feel sorry for him. Especially over something as minor as not being a stargazer. Watching her, he figured this was just one example of how the two of them were from different worlds. She looked at the stars in the sky, and the only stars he was interested in were the celebrities who came to his hotels. Yeah, a partnership between them would be doomed. Best to end it as soon as possible.
She turned her gaze back to the ceiling, a soft smile on her face, when falling stars left trails of gold dust across a digital sky. Cooper didn’t bother looking at the illusion. Instead, he watched her pleased smile and wondered why the hell he was enjoying it.
Deliberately, he brushed it off and started talking. “We work with a company who designs and installs illusionist skies in the hallways, casino, the lobby. StarFire can follow you all over the hotel.”
“That’s amazing. I’m a little technologically challenged, so imagining people who can do that? Wow.” She looked at him. “It’s really great. I mean, everything I’ve seen since I walked in the door has been just beautiful.”
Her face was open and easy to read. So he saw her excitement, the touch of nerves in the way her teeth tugged at her bottom lip. The easy curve of that smile did things to him he really didn’t want to think about. Irritated, he snapped, “Glad you approve.”
And just like that, her smile wobbled and her eyes lost that sparkle.
Idiot.
Being charming with a beautiful woman had never been difficult for him. Before Terri Ferguson, apparently.
He spoke up again quickly. “The illusions are relatively new. Installed just a couple years ago, but everyone seems to like them.”
“I can see why.” She relaxed again, but her eyes still looked wary, as if she had walls up because she’d wandered into a hotbed of enemies. Which he really didn’t want her to be thinking. He needed her to see him not as an enemy, but rather as a man who was going to do her the favor of sparing her all the work necessary to keep a company like Hayes Corporation running.
“You said yourself this was a strange situation to be in,” he reminded her with a deliberately casual shrug. “Well, I only found out about you a few days ago, too.”
She blinked at him. “Jacob never said anything about me?”
“No. I didn’t find out the truth until a few hours before you did. So now we’re both surprised.” He tapped one finger on the key card folder she held. “Anyway, your card will take you to any of the top floors. Right now I’m showing you to your owner’s suite.”
She dragged in another breath, tossed her hair back over her shoulder and tightened her grip on the cold, brass rail. “Is that where my father stayed?”
“Only when he was in town. He mainly lived in New York.”
Even to him, his voice sounded cool, disinterested—and that wasn’t good. If Cooper’s plan was to smooth the way for her to become an in-name-only partner, then he needed to be a hell of a lot more amiable than he’d managed to be so far. It shouldn’t have been difficult at all, but his attraction to her was throwing him off balance. Not something Cooper enjoyed. “Jacob wasn’t in Vegas often over the last couple of years, so I didn’t see much of him. And I would have, since I live here in the hotel.”
Her gaze snapped to his. “You do?”
He’d surprised her and he supposed he could understand it. In her world, people probably lived in neat little houses with backyards and dogs and kids. People visited hotels; they didn’t live there.
“I practically grew up here,” he told her. “Always figured to move out eventually. Get a place away from the Strip, but I realized I like the Strip. And living here is easy. My office is right downstairs. Twenty-four-hour room service, and housekeeping.”
“Sure. Of course. Well, housekeeping I really understand. That would be handy.” She laughed a little and he heard the nerves in it. “Sorry.” She held up one hand and shook her head, smiling wryly. “This is hard to take in. Last week I juggled bills so I could pay to have my car fixed and now...”
“Now you can buy any car you want.”
She blew out a breath. “That hasn’t really settled in yet.”
“Get used to it,” Cooper advised quietly.
This was good. He wanted her to realize that the money she’d inherited could change her life. He wanted her to go out and play, explore the world. Hell, do anything but stay in Vegas and try to help him run his company.
“Your old world is over.” When the elevator doors opened with a whoosh, he added, “Welcome to your new one.”
A wide hallway where the sun shone through several skylights plugged into the ceiling stretched out on either side of the elevator. Pale blue carpet covered the floor, and the soft gray walls held framed photos of different hotels in the Hayes chain. Cooper watched her take it all in and felt a flush of pride. He was so used to his surroundings, he rarely noticed any of it. But her reaction to the place made him pause briefly to enjoy what he’d built.
“So many different hotels,” she murmured, walking up to the closest painting. It was the villa in Tuscany that boasted views from every room and a world-class spa.
“We’re in hundreds of countries,” he said, not without a touch of pride.
She turned her head to look up at him. “I hate to keep using the word amazing, but it’s the only one that seems to fit.” Then she looked up and down the sunlit hall. “Well, this is different. I’m used to narrow, dark hotel hallways.”
“None of our hotels have dark hallways,” he said and saw a flash in her eyes at his use of the word our. “Not good for business. Makes guests nervous.”
“But no StarFire skies up here? The illusions, I mean?”
“The illusions are for the tourists. Our guests. I prefer reality.” He glanced at the skylights and the sunlight pouring through. “I wanted real light up here. Feels less closed in this way.”
Pushing her hair back from her face, she asked, “Do you always speak in short sentences?”
“What?”
She smirked and he ground his teeth together. Fine. He did tend to speak with as few words as possible. Saved time. But no one had ever called him on it before. “Are you always so blunt?”
“Usually,” she said, turning to look up and down the hallway. “It’s easier to just be up front and honest. Lies tend to get all tangled and twisted.”
Now it was his turn to smirk. “Honesty may be best in Utah, but it’s not really popular in Vegas. Not exactly the way most business deals are made.”
“That’s too bad,” she said, then tipped her head to one side, her long, blond hair sliding off her shoulders to shine in the sun pouring through the skylight above. “Don’t you think?”
“Never thought about it.”
“Maybe you should.” She squared her shoulders again. She was still preparing for battle. “So, which way?”
He pointed down the hall behind her. “Your suite’s to the left of the elevator.”
She inhaled sharply and he took a moment to enjoy the lift of her breasts. Damn, he really was spending way too much time thinking about her body and wanting to see more of it. Preferably naked, spread across his bed with moonlight streaming through the windows. But he got a grip on the daydreams and deliberately pushed them aside. Yes, she was gorgeous, but he wasn’t going to get involved with the woman he was trying to get rid of. That would only complicate things further.
When Cooper had heard Jacob’s daughter was from Utah, Cooper had made the stupid assumption that she’d be some unsophisticated farm girl or something. And for that, he wanted to kick himself. He should have known better than to make assumptions. Maybe he should get out of Vegas once in a while.
As she walked down the hall in front of him, Cooper enjoyed the view. Her long legs made him wish they were wrapped around his hips, and her butt was a work of art. Her hair swung from side to side with every step she took, and her hips swayed in a silent invitation he was more than ready to accept. She flipped him a look over her shoulder and he saw how the dark blue dress she wore reflected in her eyes, making them a startling, crystal blue. Then she smiled and he felt the jolt of it slam home.
She was fascinating. More so than he’d thought she’d be.
More than he could afford to acknowledge.
Whatever he wanted to do to her, with her, he had to remember, she didn’t belong here and if he had his way, she wouldn’t be staying.
He thought of what little information Dave had found on her—only child, father deceased. Well, they shared that, anyway. She’d graduated from Weber State College with a degree in archaeology—as if that would come in handy in the hotel business. She lived alone in a condo she made regular payments on and worked at a bank as a teller and new accounts executive.
That was it. No dirt. No gossip. No angry ex-lover who made threats. No arrests, not even for jaywalking. She was so good it was almost eerie.
This kind of woman was not made for Vegas.
Which meant she wasn’t for him, either.
At the suite door, she took one of her midnight blue key cards from the folder and pushed it into the slot. Cooper stayed back, wanting to watch her reaction as she stepped into the luxurious owner’s suite.
He wasn’t disappointed.
She gave an audible sigh at her first sight of the place and stopped so suddenly to take it all in that he almost ran into her. “This is...”
“Amazing?”
She turned and gave him a quick grin. “Yes. Absolutely.”
Cooper walked around her and left her pink—of course it was pink—suitcase against the wall. He edged his suit jacket back and tucked both hands into his pockets.
Still watching her expression, he said, “It’s a three-bedroom, three-bath suite. There’s no kitchen, but there is a coffee bar that’s restocked every evening and a bar fridge with soft drinks, water and wine. The wet bar is across the room and if there’s a type of liquor you prefer and can’t find it, call downstairs and they’ll bring it to you.”
“Of course they will.”
He wasn’t sure what she meant by that, but ignored it and moved on. “There are snacks in the fridge, too, but room service will bring you anything you want any time of day.”
“Right.” She nodded, letting her gaze slide around the room.
He did the same. The suites had been updated and redecorated only a year ago. Jacob’s decorator had gone with shades of gray and smoky blue. There was plenty of chrome, lots of glass and wide-planked hardwood floors dotted with plush throw rugs. The balcony outside a pair of French doors ran the width of the building, affording both Terri and Cooper access.
“This is amazing,” she whispered.
“There’s that word again,” he mused with a chuckle. If she was this blown away by her own suite, it shouldn’t take long at all to convince her that she was completely out of her depth as a partner in this business. That was good, wasn’t’ it? Get rid of her quickly—especially because of what she was doing to him. “Follow me. I’ll show you the rest of the place.”
“Oh.” She spun around to look at him and her eyes were wide. “You don’t have to do that. You probably have more important things to do.”
He did. But he wanted to get a better feel for her and what she was thinking, feeling. And, as long as he was being honest with himself, he could silently admit that he liked looking at her. “Not at the moment.”
“Okay, then.”
Cooper closed the roller handle and simply carried her suitcase down a hall to the first of three bedrooms. He opened the door, stepped inside, then moved back to watch her again. Really, he’d never known anyone with such an expressive face. Her delight was clearly stamped on her features, and her eyes were sparkling. Maybe it was growing up in the business world. Or maybe it was Vegas itself, but it seemed that everyone constantly hid what they were thinking or feeling. As if letting anyone in meant giving away their edge.
And truth be told, that was how Cooper operated, as well. He’d spent most of his life building the walls that surrounded him. As a businessman, he kept what he was thinking, what he was after, under lock and key. The only one he truly felt he could be honest with was Dave. Everyone else was kept at a safe distance.
A woman as open and honest as Terri Ferguson was a risk to the walls Cooper had spent a lifetime building.
“This is amazing. Really.” She spun around to face him and pleasure was stamped on her features. “I swear I’m going to find another word to use. Once I get used to—” she waved her arms to encompass the lovely room “—all of this. Shouldn’t take more than a year or two.”
You won’t be here that long.
Yet, even as he thought it, he responded to the shine in her eyes, the wide smile on her face and he thought of things they could do together that would get the same reactions from her. Hell, he could practically taste that mouth of hers. She did a quick spin in place and the hem of her dress lifted higher above her knees, giving him one brief glimpse of smooth, strong thighs.
Instantly, he shut those thoughts down. He didn’t need them. Didn’t want them. And, he half resented that not only had she arrived to stick her nose in his business, but she was, without even trying, turning his dick to stone.
“Settle in. We’ll talk later.” His voice sounded gruff even to him. And a part of his brain quietly whispered, Charming, remember?
But screw that. He’d used up his daily quota of charm. He looked into her eyes and felt his world tip and he didn’t like it. Best to leave now. He wanted to get out of there while he could still walk.
“Okay, then,” she said, already turning away from him to wander into the adjoining bath. “I’ll see you later.”
“Right.” Fine. Hell.
She didn’t even watch him leave.
Three
Terri didn’t stay in the beautiful room for long. Sure, if she’d been on vacation, she would have indulged herself in the luxury of it all for hours. But then again, if she was on vacation, she wouldn’t have a room like this. The place she could afford would be a motel somewhere off the Strip probably sandwiched between a liquor store and a pawn shop.
But today, instead, she was staying at the top of a palace.
Her mother had made her promise to take pictures of the hotel so Terri had already documented most of the suite. Now she took some pictures in the grand bathroom.
“Wow. Just...wow,” she murmured as she moved her phone around to catch the whole thing. From the seafoam-colored tiles to the shower that took up one end of the room with multiple nozzles and a bench—she supposed it was there for when you got exhausted just walking back and forth to the shampoo alcove.
The pale green marble counter was stocked with shampoos and lotions and towels so fluffy and huge they almost qualified as blankets. She still could hardly believe this was happening to her.
“I’ve never even seen a tub that big,” she muttered, taking a picture of the deep soaker tub almost as big as a pool and complete with jets. She couldn’t wait to try it out.
“Later,” she promised herself and gave a quick look at the mirror, checking her reflection.
Her heart was beating a little fast; her eyes looked wider than normal with a sheen of excitement in them she hadn’t seen in a long time. Was it for this place, what was happening in her life?
Or was it, she wondered, because of Cooper Hayes himself?
As if in answer, her heartbeat sped up even faster and her breath caught in her throat.
It was more than just the way he looked, which was off-the-charts gorgeous—but there was an aura of power about him that fascinated her. He was steely and strong and the way he bit words off made her long to hear more of that deep voice. Not to mention the fact that when he touched her, she felt a kind of heat she’d never experienced before.
Not a good thing right now, she reminded herself. She needed to get used to this new world. To see if she could make it her own. Getting involved with her new partner wasn’t a smart plan. Then you were tangling up business and need and something was bound to go wrong.
Wow, this was not something she’d expected. Of course, here she was in a plush suite with a lap-pool bathtub and a view of Las Vegas that usually only birds saw. So what about this was expected? Then she remembered the flash of something dangerous in Cooper’s eyes as he looked at her and told herself that this was a man she had no idea how to handle. But she’d love the chance to try handling him.
“Okay, get a grip,” she told the woman in the mirror. “You’re not here for a romance. You’re here because—” She stopped.
Because her old life wasn’t enough. Yes, she’d been happy, but now there was a chance at adventure. At something bigger than she’d ever dreamed. She wanted to make this work, she realized. And once her mind was made up, as her Dad used to say, there was just no stopping Terri Ferguson.
Grabbing her black leather bag, she slung it over her left shoulder and headed for the door. The elevator ride was fast. She was still wearing the dark blue dress she’d arrived in and thought she looked pretty good for taking her first self-guided tour of the casino. When the doors swished open, a wall of noise erupted that shocked Terri even as it drew her in.
Stepping off the elevator, she was instantly pulled into the humming pulse of the crowd. It wasn’t the first time Terri had been to a casino, of course. Wendover, Nevada, was only a two-hour drive from Ogden so she and Jan often made the drive to see a show or spend the weekend at slot machines, trying to win a fortune that would change their lives.
Well, now her life had been changed and so she was looking at this immense adult playground with new eyes, hoping it would give her some kind of insight into her new partner.
The place was beautiful, of course. Like the rest of the hotel, the StarFire theme wended its way through the casino, as well. There were slot machines with flashing images of stars sailing through a night sky, and the illusion ceiling stretched across the entire room. The carpet was a deep, midnight blue with silver threads peppering it so that it looked like a night sky, as well. Mirrors dotted the walls and row after row of beeping, clanging machines with eager tourists perched in front of them stood on the carpet like soldiers. Table games formed a huge circle in the center of the casino, and overhead there was another illusion sky, this one with planets and shooting stars making a dramatic statement.
Terri wandered, wanting to see it all—not just the hotel and casino itself, but the guests—how they were being treated, if they looked happy. Like at her Dad’s restaurant, the best way to tell if a business was in good shape was to judge it from the customer’s point of view. From what she could see, everyone seemed to be having a great time. It was late afternoon, though there were no clocks in the casino to announce that fact.
Music streamed from a lounge bar where the night theme included black-topped tables and pinpoint lights on the walls. Powerful fans ensured there was only a faint hint of cigarette smoke in the air. Cocktail waitresses in impossibly high heels and body-hugging black and silver costumes hurried through the crowd, balancing trays holding full drinks and empties. Somewhere close by, a woman shrieked in excitement and bells and whistles went off at shrill levels that had Terri quickening her steps. She was still smiling as she walked away from the crowds toward what looked like a circle of peace in the madness.
A glassed-in area held sofas, chairs and pots and pots of flowers, blooms bursting in every color imaginable. There were two women inside, each of them working on their phones. Terri walked past, promising herself she’d check it out personally later. She was a little surprised the enclosed area wasn’t more crowded with people looking to take a break from the noise.
For more than an hour, Terri wandered through the hotel and the surrounding grounds. She watched valets laughing with customers and then racing off to get their cars. She saw the bellmen loading carts with luggage. Hotel guests were a steady stream, coming and going. Just beyond the front of the hotel lay the famous Strip, bustling with thousands of tourists.
Her self-guided tour ended when her black heels finally began to make her feet pay. They were beautiful shoes and she loved them, but they had not been designed for hiking. She took a seat at the bar in the main casino and smiled at the bartender.
Glancing at his name tag, she said, “Brandon, I would love a glass of chardonnay.”
“Right away.” He was gorgeous—just like every other employee she’d noticed—and Terri wondered if good looks were a requirement to work here. He had short blond hair, kind green eyes and wore a midnight-black vest shot through with silver thread over a white button-down shirt and black slacks. As he poured, he gave her a wide smile. “Your first stay at StarFire?”
“How could you tell?” she asked. “Am I that obvious?”
He shrugged, set her glass down on the gleaming black bar top and said, “It’s the way you’re looking around. As if you’re afraid you’re going to miss something.”
“In my defense, there’s a lot to see.” Terri took a sip and set the glass back down with a satisfied sigh. “Oh, that’s good, thanks. And yes, it’s my first time here. It’s a beautiful place. Do you like working here?”
It wasn’t just small talk; she really wanted to know how people felt about their jobs. And if she was now part owner, shouldn’t she?
He shrugged, wiped down a nonexistent spot on the bar top. “No real complaints. Good pay, meet nice people—” He winked.
She smiled and had another sip of the great, icy-cold wine. “Really. I’m curious.”
He planted both hands on the edge of the bar, tipped his head to one side and gave it some thought. “On the whole, sure. It’s a great hotel. Classy guests. Being a bartender, you see some really weird stuff, but not so much here. It’s absolutely the best place I’ve worked.”
She was glad to hear it.
“But,” he added, “it’d be nice if they were more flexible with the shifts.”
“What do you mean?”
He shrugged and gave a quick look around as if to make sure no one could overhear him complaining. “They don’t like us trading shifts if something comes up—like, I had to take my wife to the baby doctor for an ultrasound last week—”
“Congratulations.”
“Thanks!” He gave her a wide grin and a thumbs-up. “It’s our first. A girl. Anyway, I work afternoons, but I needed the late shift that day. Couldn’t switch with the night bartender, so I had to lose a day of pay.” He shrugged. “Things like that. It’s not bad, necessarily, but it’d be good if they were more willing to work with us.”
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