DOUBLE TROUBLE: TROUBLE IN VEGAS series Read online

  “My thoughts exactly.”

  When the door was opened, Jennifer ran off to the restroom to freshen up. She brushed her teeth, washed her face and sprayed a little perfume behind her ears. She removed her skirt and top and strode into the bedroom wearing only her push up bra and a pair of undies.

  Hunter was lying in bed under the covers, naked and smiling as he twirled a condom around his finger. “Come here, little girl. I have a present for you.”

  She dragged the sheet off him and crawled into bed. “I love presents,” she murmured stroking him with one hand, and grabbing the condom with the other. “Let me help with that.”

  She used her mouth on him first, and when he was good and lubricated she slipped it on. “Okay. You’re ready to go.”

  “Not quite. I have a few things on my list of things I need to do with you. And it isn’t dictation.”

  “Good thing. I don’t do dictation.” She squirmed, and buckled. “Oh, my! What are you up to down there?”

  All she heard was a chuckle, so she laid back down to enjoy the ride.

  Some time later, Hunter sneaked out of Jennifer’s room, and she remained in bed to snooze for an hour. She hadn’t cancelled her flight, but she considered the money well spent. The ticket was about that of a first class massage, which wouldn’t have been half as good as Hunter’s hands on her, and the thrill of making love to him. She wondered if half the thrill was due to the fact that it couldn’t last forever. Each time seemed like the last.

  It very well might be. Tonight would certainly be the end, as they were leaving tomorrow. Once back in their real lives, things had to be different. Still, nothing could wipe the smile off her face, and as she showered and dressed for this evening’s dinner, she was determined to enjoy every darn minute of it, and not bother with regrets.

  Glancing in the mirror, she nodded with approval. She’d chosen a sparkly silver dress for this evening, which clung to her hips and outlined her assets. The neckline was a deep V which showed just enough cleavage to be interesting, but still classy. She had a professional image to portray and although the dress was sexy, it was subtle.

  After all, it was her last night in Sin City and last night with Hunter. Her blood heated with the thought. Come what may, tonight was theirs.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Of course, life didn’t always go as planned. The moment Jennifer walked into the ballroom, Bill pounced. “Where have you been all day?” he asked. “I was hoping to apologize for last night.”

  “No need. It was just awkward all around. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “Are you and Hunter…uh…friends?”

  “Friends and colleagues. He’s my direct boss, and we work together well.” Oh, did they ever! Their bodies were in complete sync. Like acrobats they moved in perfect rhythm. “I don’t know what got into him last night. He seemed very protective of me.”

  “Yeah, well, I hope he doesn’t mind if I dance with you later.”

  She smiled. “I’m sure he won’t.” She glanced around and found her table, and saw Hunter watching them. She gave a little wave of her hand. He didn’t wave back. “What time are you leaving tomorrow?”

  “My flight’s at four.”

  “Well, enjoy your dinner and I’ll look forward to that dance later.”

  “I want to give you my number,” he said as she turned to leave.

  “That’s so sweet of you, but I rarely get to Chicago.”

  He pulled a card out of his pocket and handed it to her. “Just in case. You never know when you might decide to make a career move, or just need a winter break from all that sun.” He gave her a long look. “If things don’t work out, I’d enjoy showing you my city.”

  Her stomach churned, and she felt the prickle of tears. He knew. How many others knew she was sleeping with her boss? She nodded and put his card in her small purse.

  “Thanks, Bill. I’ll keep your card in case I ever make it to Chicago, or need a change of pace.” She glanced back at her table. “At the moment though, I’m very happy where I am.”

  She walked away from him then and made her way to the head table. “Good evening,” she greeted everyone with a confident smile. “Sorry about today, but I might have eaten something off,” she said, making a face.

  The guys offered their sympathies but she saw Barry and Mark exchange a knowing look. It grated on her nerves. She didn’t have to make excuses for her behavior. Neither did Hunter. They were two single adults who not only did their jobs, but were growing the business. Since she’d joined the company, the bottom line had increased by twelve percent—in only six months!

  She turned to Hunter. “So, did I miss anything today that I should know about?”

  He poured her a glass of wine, as they had both red and white on the table. “Nothing important, but you would have been very impressed with Mark. The projector broke down and they didn’t get it fixed until half way through his presentation, but he improvised extremely well.” Hunter nodded at the younger man. “He had the entire room cracking up. Seems like he’s a bit of a comic.”

  Mark preened at the compliment and fiddled with his tie. “Let’s say I got the folks loosened up. Told a few jokes. Broke the ice. Made some good contacts too.”

  “Sorry I missed it,” Jennifer told him, and meant it. She wanted her guys to do well, and expected it too. “What else did I miss?”

  “A great rubber chicken dish at lunch,” Thomas said. He folded his white napkin over his plaid shirt and Grateful Dead tie.

  After that the conversation shifted to more general topics. She sat back, sipped on her wine and enjoyed the feel of Hunter’s leg next to hers.

  While the men were conversing, Hunter casually put an arm around the back of her chair and leaned in to whisper close to her ear. “What did Bill want? I saw he gave you his card.”

  “He wanted me to keep my options open.” Jennifer briefly met his eyes, and her heart speeded up. Damn, she wanted to kiss him right now, and show him he had no need to worry. But what did that mean to her and her heart? They had no future together, at least not unless she quit her job. And even then there was zero guarantee.

  She rubbed the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache coming on. She took in a deep breath and released it slowly. Work was her priority. Not romance. She needed to remember that, and yet she yearned for more. “I promised him a dance later,” she said quickly.

  Hunter removed his arm and shot her a look. She knew he wasn’t happy, but she hoped he wouldn’t do anything foolish again tonight. They hadn’t exactly been discreet the past couple of days, and they didn’t need to add any more fuel to the fire.

  She picked at her dinner, a deliciously prepared filet mignon with a Béarnaise sauce, roast potatoes and asparagus, and tried to stop the flow of feelings that threatened to spoil her mood and their last night together.

  Hunter was speaking with the men, mostly ignoring her, and he had removed his leg as well. Purposely she slid hers over, and he shifted in his seat to be out of reach.

  Well, he might be annoyed with her, but she was getting mighty pissed off too! She pushed her plate away and put her napkin on the table. “That was a very nice dinner, but my stomach is still a little queasy. What time is your farewell speech, Hunter?”

  He glanced at her and answered, “At nine. Half an hour. Then we have dancing, as you know.”

  “Right.” She pushed out of her seat. “I’m going to take a break. I’ll be back before your speech.”

  “You all right?” he asked with concern, his annoyance with her gone.

  “Sure. Nothing to worry about.” She picked up her handbag and strode from the room, heading for the washroom and a place to be alone.

  She didn’t know what was wrong with her, but tears filled her eyes and her gut knotted. She felt so damn needy, and she didn’t like it. Jennifer Martin might be a lot of things, but needy wasn’t one of them. She went after what she wanted and always achieved her goals. Unfortunately for her, this
time she wanted something she couldn’t have and she didn’t know what to do about it.

  In the ladies room, she dabbed at her eyes, and sniffed back tears. If she couldn’t have something, then it made sense not to want it. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror. She had learned that lesson at a very early age. Growing up with a single working mother, she’d learned not to want or to expect very much. She was loved and had a roof over her head and food in her belly, and that was all she needed.

  When it came to Christmas and the season of giving, Jennifer had made her mother gifts with her bare hands. When she was six, she’d dug a hole in their small backyard, filled it with water, and given her a pool. Another year, she’d made a birdcage out of Popsicle sticks and saved her allowance to buy a canary.

  When her mother asked what she’d like year after year, she’d always replied, “I don’t care, Mom. I have enough of everything.” Her mother would then go out and buy her too many toys. The only thing her heart wanted was to see her mom smile more often, and not work so hard.

  Her upbringing had taught her good lessons in life.

  Jennifer mulled them over as she reapplied her lipstick and ran a brush through her shoulder length hair. She smiled brightly at the reflection in the mirror. “Jennifer,” she said to herself, “Don’t go wishing for the impossible. You have what you always had. Everything you need.”

  She knew she should get back to the ballroom and be there for Hunter’s speech. He would expect her to, and she had also promised Bill a dance. She was halfway there when she slowed her pace and came to a sudden stop. She didn’t want to walk into that room and pretend she was something she wasn’t.

  She was so tired of living up to everyone else’s expectations, when she wasn’t allowed any. What about her hopes and dreams? How long did they have to be put on hold? She’d always been a good girl, and had done what was expected of her. I don’t even know what that means anymore.

  Why couldn’t she have it all? Why did she have to choose between personal happiness and her career? For once in her damn life, she wanted more than her given lot. She wanted the whole enchilada. The icing on the cake. To do whatever she liked, and to hell with the consequences.

  She was in Vegas, baby. And she hadn’t spent a dime in the casino. That had to be priority one, and she’d figure out more as the evening wore on.

  It was time she grew up and learned how to ask for things she wanted, not just what she needed.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Hunter searched for Jennifer in the crowd, but couldn’t find her. She still hadn’t returned when it was time for him to take center stage and give his closing speech. The lights were bright on him, but he could see her chair was empty. Had she run out on him again?

  He’d been in a mood ever since seeing her talking to Bill. It was childish and unbelievably stupid to be jealous of someone she barely knew, a business acquaintance that she had polite conversation with. She was a stunningly beautiful woman, smart and accomplished, and she probably had men hitting on her all the time. If he had any hope of keeping her in his life, he’d have to get used to it.

  He couldn’t explain his odd behavior anymore than he could whatever else was happening to him on this trip. She was an employee, they worked together, and that alone should have been enough to keep his hands off her. He had liked her well enough, but back in their office space in Mountain View he hadn’t had the urge to touch her, and taste her, and claim her body the way he did now.

  It was easy to blame it on Vegas, a place known for its decadence and loose ways. That was not the lure. Whatever had awakened between them was not a temporary problem. The minute the wheels of their commercial jet lifted off the ground, his feelings weren’t going anywhere. He knew that now. Seeing her empty seat made it abundantly clear. He would have to fire her to keep her.

  An hour of shaking hands and talking business passed before he was able to make his exit, and when he called her room no one answered. He decided to check out the bars, and not finding her there, he did a thorough tour of the casino. It was near eleven o’clock when he spotted her at a blackjack table, and not surprising she was surrounded by men. Two on either side, a good looking male croupier, and several standing behind watching the action.

  He counted the stack of chips on her left. From where he stood it looked like she had several rows of hundred dollar chips, another of fifties, and more stacks with twenty-five and tens. She had to have thousands sitting in front of her. She was laughing with the men beside her, tossing coins at the croupier, and drinking champagne from a flute. His temper flared. What the hell was going on? Who was this woman? The woman he knew was not a risk taker—she was cautious, calculating and frugal—even to the point of bringing packed lunches to the office place.

  She must have felt his eyes upon her, as she glanced up and their eyes collided. She toasted him with her glass of champagne, and once again the child in him wanted to rage and scream. This woman was driving him batty, and he wanted nothing better than to take her upstairs and do her over and over again.

  He was hard just thinking of it. He ducked through the crowd and managed to squeeze up behind her. “Hate to break up your party, but you might want to collect your chips and call it a night. Breakfast meeting at eight o’clock sharp. I’ll knock on your door to make sure you don’t miss it.”

  She raised her eyes and batted her lashes. “Why, Hunter. Thanks for the reminder, but as you can see I’m a little tied up right now. I’ll leave the table in plenty of time for breakfast, don’t you worry.” She flipped him a coin, which he caught out of reflex. “Here. Try this for luck.”

  He marched away, but heard the soft trill of her laughter mocking him every step of the way. He knew he’d been a bit of a prick tonight and probably deserved her wrath, but that didn’t diminish the hurt or his longing to somehow tell her that everything would be all right. He wanted her in his life, but now he wasn’t sure that she felt the same way.

  * * *

  Jennifer watched him leave, and instead of being happy that she’d sent him packing, her short triumph left her feeling deflated. She finished her champagne, asked the croupier to cash in, and then said goodnight to the others she’d met at the table.

  It had been a highly profitable night, and considering she rarely ever walked into a casino, it must have been beginner’s luck. It was a $25 table, the only one available when she sat down. She’d asked for ten chips, and got lucky early. The luck continued until Hunter turned up, and then she realized her luck had worn out. What was she going to do about him? How could she possibly work for this man when every time she looked at him, she wanted to crawl into his lap? He made her needy. She wasn’t built that way. He made her weak when all she’d ever wanted was to be strong.

  The answer was clear. She would have to leave Sonesta Software and find a new job, someplace where she could commute from her new condo to work. That shouldn’t be a problem since so many high tech companies were located in Mountain View, otherwise known as Silicon Valley.

  She wouldn’t be able to see Hunter everyday, and she might not get a management job. It could be a drastic pay-cut, but what choice did she have? She couldn’t stop craving Hunter’s kisses anymore than she could stop breathing air.

  If he wanted to see her, she would still be in the general neighborhood, and if he didn’t, well, it wouldn’t be awkward having to face him everyday.

  Once she was in her room, she stripped off her clothes and packed the shimmering silver dress away. She had bought it for this occasion at a boutique in San Francisco, a place where a lot of socialites dropped off their barely worn clothing, not wanting to be seen in the same cocktail dress twice. She might be making a good salary, but Jennifer still had a hangover from her childhood, and was frugal with her money. Caring for her mother and home ownership meant more to her than parading around in a costly dress.

  She unhooked her bra, slid out of her undies, and put on a knee-length Pink shirt from Victoria Secret. Then
she slipped under the covers and wondered what the breakfast meeting was all about. It was unscheduled, and she hoped everyone would be included. Or was Hunter going to use this excuse to quietly fire her or give her the option to leave?

  The next morning she didn’t have long to wait to find out. She heard the soft knock on her door at half past seven. She rubbed sleep out of her eyes, and glanced at the clock again. If it was Hunter he was a half hour early, and she wasn’t ready.

  She slid out of bed and went to the door. “Who is it?”

  “It’s me. Open up.”

  “I’m not ready. I’ll meet you downstairs in the lobby. At eight,” she told him pointedly.

  “Open up, and that’s an order.” He softened his voice. “Come on, Jen. Let me in for just one minute.”

  “Why?” she asked suspiciously. “Are you going to fire me?”

  “Do you want me to fire you?” he asked.

  “Of course not! I’m not a complete idiot. I have a good job, at least I did. Not I’m not sure if things will return to norm.”

  “Exactly. Now open this door and we will talk about it.”

  “I’m busy,” she said, her hand on the latch. Should she let him in? And what would happen if she did? Her pulse raced and her knees went weak. She had a pretty darn good idea what might happen.

  “Busy counting your millions?” he asked with a soft laugh.

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

  “You got company?” he asked, the amusement gone from his voice.

  “No! How dare you ask me that?”

  “Just checking, because I wouldn’t like it. Not one bit.”

  “Go away. This is all so terribly confusing.”

  “I know it is.” His knuckles rapped on the door gently. “Please, Jenny.”

  “Nobody calls me Jenny.” She opened the door a crack and peeked out. Hunter had left his jacket in his room, no tie, and the top buttons of his shirt were open. He looked yummy, his hair still damp curling about his ears. “Only my brother called me that.”