Free Taming Vegas by Nadene Seiters

is
completed, two hours have passed, and I’m sure that my coffee is now ice cold.
    Melanie is sitting at my desk with the laptop open and her
fingers resting over the keys as she sucks in one side of her bottom lip. I
find the action surprisingly endearing and clear my throat to grab her
attention. A shiver takes over her entire body when she glances up and sees me
standing in the doorway, but I’m not sure if it’s from the fact that I startled
her or if it’s something else.
    “You had a guest account, so I just used that. Sorry, I had
some e-mails to check, and I was bored.” I shrug a shoulder as I sit down in
the chairs usually reserved for my employees or guests and steeple my fingers
over a knee.
    “It’s not a big deal. Do you want me to order breakfast? The
vegetable omelets from the hotel here are supreme.” I realize that inviting her
to breakfast was a little forward of me, but maybe she’ll accept breakfast in
my office with me. Sometimes a guy has to settle.
    “Yeah, why not? Although, I’d rather have some pancakes if that’s
alright.” I cross my arms over my chest and shake my head at her gently with a
serious expression, but inside I’m smiling.
    “I can’t believe a girl like you would actually eat carbs !”
I feel some satisfaction that a hint of a smile graces her face before she
reigns in her breakthrough.
    “Just order the breakfast. When is your lawyer getting
here?” She’s staring at the computer screen as she clicks on something and I
watch her nimble fingers race over the keys at a speed that should be inhumanly
possible.
    “Four.” Her fingers stumble, and her eyes widen minutely
while I watch her reaction. Then she regains her composure and begins to type
again.
    “I’ll get a room at the hotel here.” She tells me in a
monotone voice as she gently closes the laptop lid and grabs her purse off the
back of my chair. Strangely, I like the way she looks sitting there, but it’s
short lived.
    “You could stay in the room back there. I’ll return to my
apartment so you can spend the night. When is your flight home?” She’s wearing
the clothes she wore the previous night. I can only assume that her clothes are
in a room either here, or they’re in another hotel room nearby.
    “No. I don’t want to impose.” I know what that actually
means. It means that she doesn’t trust me, or she doesn’t trust herself. I
accept that for the time being and shrug a shoulder. I guess I’ll be staying
here instead of heading home, then. I want to be nearby if she’s in any danger
from Yatzi.
    “Right, then I’ll escort you to the front desk.” The curt
shake of her head has my proverbial hackles rising. “What’s the matter? You don’t
want to be seen with your husband?” Saying the word out loud makes my insides
turn to stone and something strange passes over her face. I’m pretty sure I saw
it before, regret.
    “Not this one.” She spins on her heel, and she’s out of my
sight within a few seconds. I flip open the laptop lid and login to the guest
screen to see what she was looking at. A picture of a reception room with
colorful arrays of tulips meets my gaze. I have to admit, it’s not the
traditional wedding arrangement with roses, but it’s still tasteful.
    I begin to search through her history on the web and
discover that she did a lot of digging about me while I was showering, and she
researched the history of the nightclub I own. Feeling a little smug that she
actually thought me significant enough to look up, I smile to myself as I reach
for my coffee. It’s sitting where it’s usually placed beside my laptop, but it’s
sitting on top of a little warming plate. I try to remember the last time
someone actually brought me coffee that I didn’t pay for, and realize that I
can’t recall a time.
    My cellphone buzzes with a message from Anna and I turn my
attention to it. Smiling is not exactly a painless act at the moment, so I try
to keep it contained when