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Sasha watched the production crew test the lighting and do a sound check in the lobby of Fortune’s Gold as they prepared to film the last segment of the commercials for Blake’s casinos. She’d finally managed to talk him into being his own spokesman for the ad campaign, but it certainly hadn’t been easy. He’d come up with every excuse imaginable, from claiming that he would feel like he was on display to wanting to maintain his anonymity. But in the end, she’d convinced him by showing him the marketing statistics. It had been proven time and again that when the public felt a personal rapport with the owner of an establishment, the amount of traffic increased and ultimately so did profits.
“We’re ready for Mr. Fortune as soon as Sally Ann finishes his makeup,” the director said, walking over to stand beside Sasha.
She’d worked with Michael Atkinson on several campaigns for Dakota Fortune and knew his production company was the best in Sioux Falls. By the time the commercials aired in all of the major cities across the Midwest, he would have them edited and tweaked to show Blake and the Fortune Casino Corporation in the best possible light.
“I want to thank you for working this into your busy schedule, Michael.” With a little less than two weeks left before the opening of Fortune’s Gold, she’d had to scramble to get Michael’s company to shoot the commercials, as well as arrange scheduling with all of the television stations to run them on such short notice.
“It’s been well worth it, Ms. Kilgore.” Michael grinned. “It’s not every day that my crew and I get to fly to a shoot on a private jet or have our lunches catered by a master chef.”
“Mr. Fortune appreciates your willingness to put your other clients on hold in order to shoot his commercial,” she said, diplomatically ignoring the fact that Blake was paying the man double his normal rate to expedite the job.
“Let’s get this spectacle over with,” Blake groused as he removed the tissues the makeup artist had tucked into his collar to keep from discoloring his shirt.
Once Michael moved away to have a final word with the cameraman, Blake leaned close to whisper in Sasha’s ear. “I’m going to get even with you for this.”
As he described exactly how he intended to make her pay up, a tingling sensation coursed through her. She started to tell him that she was looking forward to her night of reckoning, but Michael chose that moment to motion for Blake to step in front of the camera, and for the next hour she watched him deliver the ad copy she’d helped him put together.
At first, Blake appeared stiff and extremely uncomfortable. He glanced her way several times and she could tell he was adding to the sensual retribution he had planned for her. But by the last few takes, he appeared confident and completely at ease in front of the camera.
When Michael announced the job was a wrap and he and his crew began tearing down their equipment, Sasha smiled as she walked over to Blake. “That wasn’t all that unpleasant, was it?”
Placing his hand to the small of her back, he guided her toward the casino exit. “No, it wasn’t as bad as I figured it would be. But I sure as hell don’t plan on repeating the experience.”
Sasha stopped when she saw Blake’s limo waiting outside and realized that he meant for them to leave. “I should probably stay until Michael—”
“I have people to see that Atkinson and his crew get packed up and on their way.” He waited for her to get into the limousine, then slid in beside her. With a look that sent her blood pressure soaring, he pushed the button to raise the privacy screen between them and the driver.
“You owe me big time,” he said, dragging her onto his lap. “And guess what?”
She laughed when his fingers danced over her ticklish ribs. “What?”
“It’s payday, sweetheart.”
“Plan on spending the entire week of the grand opening here in Deadwood with me.”
Wrapped in plush hotel robes, Sasha and Blake snuggled on his couch as they stared at the flames from the gas log in the fireplace. “I would love to, but unfortunately, I can’t take that much time off.”
“Why not?”
A wave of goose bumps covered her arms when he kissed the side of her neck and she had to concentrate hard in order to give him a coherent answer. “I have to pay rent, utilities and eat. I can’t do either if I don’t work.”
“Don’t worry about it, sweetheart. I’ll see to it that—”
“Don’t you dare say you’ll pay my bills for me.” She pulled back to let him see that she meant what she said. “I have never taken money from anyone that I didn’t earn and I’m not about to start now.”
He shook his head. “Calm down, Sasha. I was going to tell you that I would arrange for you to have the time away from Dakota Fortune with pay.”
It was her turn to shake her head. “I can’t let you do that.”
“Why not?”
From his baffled expression, she could tell he didn’t have an inkling as to why she felt the need to refuse. “For one thing, it wouldn’t be fair to my coworkers. They work just as hard as I do and they won’t be offered time off with pay.”
A deep scowl creased his forehead. “Why are you being so stubborn about this?”
“Because it doesn’t sit well with me.” Trying a different tack, she asked, “Would you pay one of your employees for work they didn’t do?”
“No.” There wasn’t a bit of hesitation in his answer.
“Then why would you think it was all right to do it for me?”
He surprised her when he smiled and shook his head. “You’re wrong, sweetheart. I wouldn’t be paying you for nothing.”
It was her turn to feel confused. “Would you care to explain?”
“How many hours would you say you’ve put in on my ad campaign and how many strings did you have to pull to make it all happen?” he asked, catching her hand in his to tug her back down beside him.
She shrugged as she settled back against him. “I don’t know. I haven’t kept track.”
“You worked last weekend to come up with a plan and every night I’ve called this past week, you’ve been ironing out the details.” He kissed the top of her head. “And correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t remember giving you a single dime for any of it.”
She was beginning to understand his reasoning, but that hadn’t been part of their agreement. “I don’t expect you to pay me. You asked me to do a favor for you as a friend. Which I did.”
His frustrated breath stirred the curls at her temple. “All right. I appreciate your efforts and accept that you won’t let me compensate you for your time.” He wrapped his arms around her and held her close as he pushed her robe aside to trail kisses down the column of her neck and over her shoulder. “But I’m not asking you to be with me for opening week as a favor. As your boss, I’m telling you to be here.”
“You can’t do that.” Desire began to stir within her as his lips continued to move over her skin. But she refused to give in to it. They were having a difference of opinion and she wasn’t going to let him distract her until they got it settled once and for all.
“Sure I can.” He laid her down on the couch cushions, parted her robe and leaned to kiss his way down the slope of her breast. “I’m the boss. Remember?”
“But—”
“I’ll arrange for you to work here opening week, instead of at the Dakota Fortune offices.” He took her puckered nipple into his mouth and drew on it deeply, causing ribbons of warmth to swirl to the very core of her. When he raised his head, he asked, “Now, do you have anymore questions, sweetheart?”
“None,” she answered, shaking her head. “None at all.”
Seven
As Blake and his managers stood in front of Fortune’s Gold for the ribbon-cutting ceremony officially opening his newest casino, he scanned the crowd waiting to enter Deadwood’s most elaborate hotel. Asking for Sasha’s help had certainly paid off. There were twice as many people gathered to try out the gaming tables and slot machines than there had been at either of the openings for his other casinos.
Searching to find her in the sea of people, when he spotted her standing over to the side with a distinguished-looking gentlemen, Blake barely managed to contain his shock. She was exchanging polite conversation with his father, the all powerful Nash Fortune.
Why was he here? He’d hadn’t bothered to attend the openings for Belle of Fortune or Lucky Fortune. In fact, his father hadn’t visited Deadwood in the six years that Blake had lived here.
But more surprising than having his father in attendance was the fact that Nash was alone. Where was Patricia? His father and stepmother had been inseparable since Nash’s retirement and the fact that she wasn’t at his side was quite significant.
But Blake didn’t have time to speculate about the absence of his stepmother. He had to deliver a short speech, then participate in the cutting of the wide red ribbon officially opening the doors to Fortune’s Gold for business.
As happened with the grand openings for his other two hotel casinos, Blake’s position as the owner of Fortune Casino Corporation required that he not only preside over the ceremony, but that he be available to greet guests and endure being interviewed by several newspaper and television reporters. Fortunately, it only took a couple of hours for the patrons to settle into their games of choice and the media to move on to whatever else they deemed newsworthy for the day.
Finally free to go in search of Sasha, he found her in the coffee shop seated at a table with his father. Blake’s heart lurched when their eyes met. She was, without a doubt, the most beautiful, alluring woman he’d ever met.
“Everything seemed to go quite well,” she said when he walked over to join them.
“I’m fairly pleased with the way things went.” Unconcerned that his father was watching, Blake kissed her sweet lips, then lowered himself into the chair beside her. “But I’m glad it’s over.”
“I always hated having to preside over things like this,” Nash said, nodding.
A waitress appeared, seemingly out of nowhere to place a cup of coffee in front of Blake. When she moved away, he turned his attention to his father and stuck out his hand in a more formal greeting. “I didn’t expect to see you here, Dad.”
His father cleared his throat as they shook hands and if he didn’t know better, Blake would have sworn that Nash looked a little chagrined. “I thought it was time to see what’s claimed my youngest son’s attention for the past several years.”
An uncomfortable silence followed his father’s telling statement. They both knew that Nash had never paid much attention to Blake, nor had he lifted a finger to stop his two oldest sons from pushing Blake out of Dakota Fortune after he’d retired. Then, when Blake had announced he was going to try his hand at the gaming industry, Nash had dismissed it as a waste of time and hadn’t seemed to care one way or the other how his youngest son fared with the venture.
“If you two gentlemen will excuse me, I think I’d like to try my luck at the slot machines,” Sasha said, picking up her purse.
Blake knew she was leaving in order to give them the privacy to work through their differences. But he didn’t hold out much hope of that ever happening. His entire life, he’d tried to measure up to his father’s expectations and all he’d received for his efforts was to be compared with his older brothers, Case and Creed. In his father’s eyes, Blake always came up lacking.
When Sasha rose to her feet to make her exit, both he and his father stood up. “It was nice seeing you again, Mr. Fortune,” she said as she politely shook Nash’s hand.
“It was my pleasure, Sasha.”
“I’ll see you a bit later, Blake.” She placed her hand on his arm and gave him an understanding smile. “After you and your father catch up.”
“I’ll find you,” he promised.
As she walked away, he and his father both watched her leave.
“She’s a very lovely girl and a delight to be around,” Nash said, sitting back down. “She’s highly intelligent, too.”
“Yes, she is,” Blake agreed as he settled into his chair. “She’s directly responsible for the day being a complete success.”
“Creed speaks very highly of her,” his father added. “He says she’s done an excellent job in the PR department at Dakota Fortune.”
“I’m sure he does think she’s quite good at her job,” Blake said tightly. He and his father had never had a conversation in which one of his older brothers wasn’t mentioned. The sad thing was he doubted his father even realized how it made Blake feel.
They both fell silent for several moments before Blake finally let go of his irritation and thought to ask “Where’s Patricia?”
Nash sighed heavily and Blake could tell he was deeply troubled. “She planned on coming with me, but backed out at the last minute.”
“That doesn’t sound like her. Wasn’t she feeling well?” Patricia Blackstone Fortune had been more of a mother to Blake than his own mother ever had and he was genuinely concerned for her well-being.
“I’m not sure.” A worried expression marred his father’s distinguished features. “Something’s been upsetting her lately and I can’t think of what it could be.”
“Have you talked to her about what’s wrong?” Blake asked as he motioned for the waitress to refill their coffee cups.
Nash waited for the woman to walk away before he nodded. “I’ve asked her several times, but she won’t tell me.”
Blake frowned. “That doesn’t sound like Patricia.”
“No, it doesn’t.” His father hesitated a moment before giving Blake a meaningful look. “I do have a theory though.”
“What is it?”
Nash met his questioning gaze head-on. “I think it might have something to do with Trina.”
At the mention of his mother’s name, a tight knot formed in the pit of Blake’s stomach. “What makes you think Trina has anything to do with Patricia being upset?”
“You know how she is,” Nash said, shaking his head. “She thrives on upsetting others and if she’s not stirring up some kind of trouble or meddling in someone’s life, she’s not happy.”
“But that doesn’t mean she’s involved in what’s bothering Patricia,” Blake said evenly.
Trina Watters Fortune was difficult at the best of times and at her worst, a vindictive, unreasonable shrew. But she was still his mother and Blake felt a certain obligation to defend her.
“It didn’t even occur to me to suspect that she was until I saw Patricia’s reaction when Ivy mentioned Trina’s name in passing.” Nash lifted his cup and, staring at Blake over the rim, added, “Patricia turned white as a sheet and had to leave the room.”
Ivy Woodhouse had been the family’s chef as long as Blake could remember, but for reasons he couldn’t explain, there was something about the woman that he’d never liked. “What did Ivy say about Trina?”
“It wasn’t what she said—it was Trina’s name that sent Patricia into a tailspin.” Nash set his cup back down on the table and shook his head. “You still have contact with Trina, don’t you?”
“Some,” Blake admitted slowly.
“Do you think she’s behind whatever is wrong with Patricia?” Nash asked point-blank.
Blake started to tell his father that Trina couldn’t possibly be responsible for everything that had gone wrong in Nash’s life, but stopping himself, he gave his father a meaningful look. “Ever since you threw Trina out for cheating on you and divorced her, I’ve been listening to you blame her for everything that’s gone wrong in our family.”
“She’s a—”
Blake held up his hand to stop his father. “And on the other hand, whenever I’m around Trina, I have to listen to her tirade about how you ruined her life and how unfair you were to her. And I’m sick and tired of it.”
Nash looked taken aback. “I didn’t realize—”
“That’s because from the time you and Trina split, you’ve both been too busy using me as a pawn in your little game of revenge and one-upmanship,” Blake interrupted. “When I was younger, each time it was Trina’s weekend for visitation, I got the third degree about what was going on at home—what you were doing and who you were seeing. Then when I returned to the estate, when you weren’t telling me I should be more like Case and Creed, I had to listen to you complain about what a gold digger Trina is and how she tricked you into marrying her after the death of your father.”
They were silent for some time before Nash finally spoke. “I understand the position we’ve put you in. It couldn’t have been easy for you or Skylar.” Nash wasn’t offering an apology, but then Blake hadn’t expected him to.
“I survived,” Blake said, finally shedding the feeling of being torn between his parents.
His father nodded. “I’d say you not only survived, but you’ve done quite well for yourself, son. You’ve accomplished quite a bit since leaving Dakota Fortune, and you’ve made quite a name for yourself without my backing.” Nash’s voice turned gruff. “I’m proud of you, son.”
In that moment, Blake felt closer to his father than he ever had. “Thanks, Dad. That means a lot coming from you.”
Nash drew a deep breath, scooted his chair back and stood up. “Well, I think I’d better get back to Sioux Falls to see about Patricia.”
Blake rose to his feet to walk out of the coffee shop with his father. “Now that you’ve checked out my operation, you and Patricia will have to come back and spend a little time here in Deadwood.”
“We’ll do that,” his father said, shaking Blake’s hand.
“Give Patricia my best.”
Nodding, Nash walked out of the hotel and climbed into the back of a waiting limousine.
Stuffing his hands in the front pockets of his suit pants, emotion filled Blake’s chest as he watched the long black car pull from beneath the covered entryway and disappear down the circular drive. For the first time in his life, Nash had acknowledged Blake’s accomplishments without comparing him to his older brothers … and it felt good. Perhaps this was the first step in forging a new relationship between father and son.
“Blake, have you seen today’s newspaper from Sioux Falls?”
Propped up against the pillows on his bed, Sasha had chosen to read while he watched a baseball game on television. But in retrospect, she wished she’d opted for a nap. Dreaming, even if it had been a nightmare, would have been a lot less disturbing than what she’d just read.
He shook his head without looking up from the game. “No, why? Did they mention something about the opening of Fortune’s Gold?”
“You might say that.”
Something in her tone must have tipped him off that she was far from pleased with what she’d read because he turned his head to give her a questioning look. “What did they say?”
She pointed to the society column as she handed him the newspaper. “See for yourself.”
His graphic curse reverberated around the room the moment he saw the pictures and read the caption. “Where the hell did this gossip monger come up with her information? And who took these pictures?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.” Too upset to sit still, she got out of bed and began to pace the length of his bedroom. “I know we haven’t been trying to hide the fact that we’re seeing each other. But I certainly didn’t expect to see not one, but two pictures of me in the newspaper with a headline that reads Social Climber Sasha Kilgore Ditches One Fortune Brother in Favor of Another.”
“The picture of me kissing you was taken in the coffee shop the day of the grand opening,” he said, studying the image.
“And the one of Creed dancing with me was taken at Case and Gina’s wedding reception in February.” She shook her head. “But I don’t find the pictures as upsetting as what the columnist wrote about me. She portrays me as a social mercenary trying to play one brother against the other.” Thoroughly miserable, tears filled her eyes as she turned to look at him. “That’s not me. That’s not who I am.”
“I know, sweetheart.” Blake tossed the newspaper aside, got out of bed and walked over to pull her into his arms. “Anyone who knows you won’t believe a word of it.”
“But there are thousands of readers who don’t know me and they—”
“Aren’t important,” he said, sliding his hands up and down her back in a soothing manner. “We know the truth and that’s all that matters.”
As his tender touch chased away some of her tension, she wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned against his solid support. “I suppose you’re right. But I can’t understand why the columnist had to be so vindictive in the way she reported the story. It’s almost like she’s trying to use me to widen the rift between you and Creed.”
“Scandals sell newspapers, Sasha.” His chest rose and fell against her as he took a deep breath. “I was too young to pay much attention at the time, but I’ve been told that when my parents divorced, newspaper circulation went way up in Sioux Falls.”
“Having the details of their breakup being made the talk of the town must have been extremely painful for your family,” she said, wondering why the media couldn’t respect the privacy of others.
“I’m sure it was for my father, but Trina probably enjoyed the hell out of it. She thrives on things like that.”
Sasha leaned back to look up at him. “Why would your mother want to have information like that reported for all to see?”
He rested his forehead against hers. “If you knew her, you wouldn’t be asking that question. She’s one of a kind. And believe me, sweetheart, that’s a real blessing.”
Sasha didn’t know what to say. She remembered Creed telling her that Blake’s mother was bad news, but she’d thought he’d been exaggerating because of the hard feelings he had for Blake. Apparently, she’d thought wrong.
“But I don’t want talk about her, slanderous newspaper columnists or those clueless people with nothing better to do than believe a pack of lies.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “I have other, more enjoyable ways to spend our time.”
“What did you have in mind?” she asked as he hooked his finger in the spaghetti strap of her satin nightgown.
“Come back to bed and it’ll be my pleasure to show you, sweetheart.”
Blake held Sasha close as he watched the shadows of night gradually be chased away by the first light of dawn. After they’d made love, she’d drifted off, but sleep had escaped him.
He’d been more bothered by the newspaper article that he’d let on to Sasha. But not for himself. She was the one whose reputation was being called into question. And that’s what caused the anger burning deep in his belly.
Blake had long ago gotten used to being fodder for the gossip columnists. Whether any of the Fortunes liked it or not, it went hand in hand with being a member of the wealthiest family in South Dakota. But Sasha wasn’t used to having her private life chronicled for the masses to read about over their morning coffee.
Her name had appeared in the newspaper a few times because of the social functions and charity events she and Creed had attended together, but those stories hadn’t been based on speculation or been malicious in tone. The article in yesterday’s paper had been both and read more like something Trina would write than a reputable columnist.
He closed his eyes in an effort to block out the truth. His half siblings, Case and Eliza, and even his Australian cousin, Max, had had information about them leaked to the press and they’d all accused Trina of being behind it. But surely she wouldn’t do the same thing to her own son. Would she?
Blake wasn’t so sure. But the next time he stopped by her place for a visit, he had every intention of finding out.
Eight
“Do you have a minute?”
Sasha was surprised, not only by Creed’s question, but the fact that he’d even asked it. He never cared how busy she was or what she was doing. If he wanted to drop by her office to chat, he walked right on in. Of course, as co-president of Dakota Fortune, he was her boss and entitled to do that.
“Sure, what do you need?”
An ominous feeling filled her when he held up a news clipping as he reached to close her office door. “We need to talk.”