Free Vegas Surrender by Sasha Peterson Page B

I’ve been calling you. You better get going
before you’re late.”
    I’d been in a daze. Lost in the wonderland of
Daniel and I. He’d taken me in ways I’d never experienced, and my
mind couldn’t stop viewing the replay.
    I glanced at the time on my laptop. “Crap! I
need the file.”
    “ I already have everything right
here.” She held up a folder.
    “ Thanks. I owe you one.” I grabbed
it from her.
    “ I’m going to hold you to
it.”
    Her words hit my back as I hurried out the
door. The new era of Affordable Healthcare drummed in a fresh sea
of clients. Small business owners needed guidance to balancing out
their finances with the new policy. I’d stayed on top of the
changes from the beginning. Most business needed to only raise
their products by a few cents, and they’d be okay without having to
reduce the amount of employees.
    The issue I encountered stemmed more from
greed, and this client fared no different. After an hour and a half
of debate and me showing them how they would actually turn a bigger
profit with a slight increase, the owners were still intent on
laying people off. I felt bad but what could I do? My business
still needed to thrive, and I wasn’t the one doing the
firing.
    By the time I stepped out their building, my
body felt run down. All I wanted to do was spend time with my
husband.
    I closed my car door and called his cell phone
before firing up my engine.
    “ You have reached the voicemail box
of Daniel Ross. To leave a message, press one.”
    I pressed one.
    “ I’m sorry. This voice box is
full.”
    Laughing to myself, I entered his code—one,
four, two and nine—to retrieve the messages. Daniel never was good
at listening to his messages or clearing out his voicemail. I’d
always chided him because he’d never know if there were important
messages waiting.
    “ First message,” the automatic
voice continued.
    “ Hey, Daniel, this is Greg. It’s
been awhile, and we need to get together, man.”
    I smiled at hearing his best friend’s deep
voice. He and Daniel did need to get together. That way, I’d get to
spend time with his wife, and we’d make a trip out to
California.
    Pushing seven, I saved the message.
    “ Daniel, this is Nicole. If I’d
have known your wife came to your office unannounced, I would have
asked you to meet me somewhere else. I’m not sure if she saw me or
not, but do you think she suspects?”
    The arms of my hair rose, and I felt sick to my
stomach. So much for my faithful husband. More like the liar. No
wonder he’d fucked me the way he did. That sure as hell didn’t
count as making love. I smacked the steering wheel and fought back
tears.
    I did this. I allowed another woman into our
life under the guise of making my marriage work, and I’d
unwittingly opened up the gates for him to cheat. Why would he feel
guilty? After all, he watched her having her way with me. My head
swam. I needed a drink and fast.
    I started my car and whipped out into the
street. A green sign for Lucky’s Tavern flashed before me. It
didn’t look like a dive so I turned my wheels to the right and
parked.
    I took a seat at the first empty stool in the
bar. A slender girl with black short spiked hair strolled over to
me.
    “ What can I get you?” She rested
her hands on the bar and bobbed her head, awaiting my
response.
    “ A double shot of
tequila.”
    Her eyebrows rose. “You sure?”
    “ Absolutely.”
    “ Coming right up.” She grabbed a
shot glass and the Jose Cuervo. With a flick of the wrist, she
poured my drink and brought it to me. “Here you go. It’ll be twelve
fifty.”
    I slapped my card on the counter and waited for
her to get to the register before downing my poison. The liquid
singed my throat as it went down. I banged the small glass on the
table and looked to her for another.
    She gave me a quizzical look but did my
bidding. “You want to talk about it?” The bartender handed me
another glass.
    “ About my husband fucking a woman