Love's Wager

He opened the door that led from his office to the control room. The room was large to accommodate rows of monitors with men sitting in front of them keeping an eye on the activity in the casino, the bars and the restaurants.

“Anything going on that I should know about?” Scott asked Gary White who oversaw the control room.

“The usual,” Gary White said. “Everything’s good.” He was average height with pale skin and reddish-brown hair. He never looked directly at Scott. His gaze continually slipped to the left or the right, making Scott wonder what he was hiding.

Scott knew nothing was good. Gary White was on his list of dysfunctional security people who had to go. He was sloppy and lazy. Security guards needed to be licensed. From what Scott had been able to deduce, his license had expired. Scott needed to be careful on how he got rid of people. The unions were powerful and he didn’t want them as an enemy. Right now, he’d be gathering evidence and documenting Gary’s offenses. He had to walk a tightrope and unlike Hurricane Nina, who wanted things done yesterday, he had to record everything to show cause.

“Will you take a look at that?” Gary pointed at one of his monitors.

Scott leaned over and felt his stomach turn into knots. “What the hell is she doing here?”

“You know her, boss?”

“My worst nightmare.” Scott volunteered no more information. His headache went from mild to threat-level red.

Anastasia Parrish stood in the lobby surrounded by a half dozen Louis Vuitton suitcases. She held her Chihuahua in her arms as she stood at the desk with an imperious look on her petulant face, waiting for the reception clerk to check her into her room. She wore a white pantsuit that looked as though it had just come off the Paris runway, with oversize sunglasses.

She took the glasses off and fluffed her dark brown hair with one hand.

His first thought was to run down to the lobby and confront her, nipping this crap in the bud. But after a moment’s thought, he decided ignoring her was better. If anything, Anastasia hated being ignored. Daddy’s little girl thought the world turned on her nickel and was happy enough to tell anyone who would listen.

“Nice friend, boss,” Gary White said with a knowing chuckle.

Scott glared at the man and didn’t answer.

The door opened and his brother, Hunter, poked his head in. “Got a second, bro?”

Scott nodded and stepped out of the control room. Before his brother could say something, Scott’s cell phone rang. The front desk was calling him.

“Scott Russell here,” he said knowing what the receptionist’s next comment would be.

“Mr. Russell, a Miss Anastasia Parrish is asking for you,” came a chirpy voice.

“I’m a little bit busy right now.” Scott pinched the bridge of his nose. “Tell Miss Parrish I will have to speak with her later.”

“Very well, sir.” The woman disconnected.

Scott shoved his phone back in his pocket. His brother watched him curiously.

“Miss Parrish. Anastasia Parrish, spoiled rotten daughter of Senator Parrish?”

“Yeah,” Scott replied. “The bane of my existence.”

“She’s very beautiful.”

“She’s spoiled, petty and mean.” Scott leaned against the wall. How the hell was he going to get rid of her? “She’s twenty-five but acts like she’s thirteen, which is ridiculous. She thinks she’s in love with me.”

“She’s pretty enough,” Hunter said. “Though compared to Lydia, she’s kind of colorless.”

“Any woman you look at is colorless compared to Lydia.” Scott’s brother had finally found the love of his life in Lydia Montgomery. They were engaged to be married.

“What are you going to do?” Hunter asked.

“I don’t have many options. This is my home and she’s invaded it. I need to convince her to head back to Washington, DC, and just leave me alone.” Scott felt annoyed and beyond irritated. As though he didn’t have enough headaches, now he had to deal with Anastasia. She was poison.

“Before you hide in your office—” Hunter held up an envelope “—I’m going to need your security plans for the spa. The electricians are coming on Monday and I want to make sure we have enough security cameras in all the right places.”

“Okay,” Scott said, relieved to put Anastasia on the back burner for the moment. “Let’s check out the blueprints again and I’ll go over the areas I’ve already earmarked for security cameras.”

Hunter started walking down the hall. Scott followed. He thought he heard a dog barking, but after a moment decided it was just his imagination.

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