Read Online Taming Vegas by Nadene Seiters - Free Book Online Page B

have to wing it.
Keeping one leg out of the shower and trying to wash my hair without getting
water or soap in the wounds on my face is difficult, and impossible.
    Even though every inch of my husk aches from the abuse it
took yesterday, I survive my shower. With a towel wrapped around my waist after
I dry my hair, I go about the daily business of grooming myself. I don’t give a
second thought to walking out of the bathroom with just the towel around my
torso, and let it drop when I get to the bureau with a few changes of clothes
inside.
    “Your coffee’s in the office.” Melanie keeps her gaze
averted from me when she peeks her head through the door, and I remember the
last time we saw each other naked. Before I can stop myself, it’s out of my
mouth.
    “Would you like to go to breakfast with me?” I look at her
with as serious as an expression as I can muster, and her lips twitch up at the
corners.
    “Wow, those pills must be really great.”
    “No, I’m serious; would you like to go to breakfast with me?
I’ve been meaning to ask you that for a long time.” There’s a moment where I
see the indecision on her face, and then I see the split second where she makes
her decision. “Never mind, it was a foolish question. Let me get dressed, and
I’ll have my lawyer come over to check out that paperwork.” At the mention of
business, her face turns back to its normal semi-stressed expression, and she’s
gone from the doorway.
    I grab my cellphone off the nightstand and scroll through my
contacts to find the lawyer’s number. He’s an old friend of mine who worked
with me when we were both bouncers at a club. I found it amusing that a bouncer
would be going to school to be a lawyer, but this guy is like a machine when it
comes to reading through the paperwork and understanding the legal mumbo jumbo.
    “Brent Hickory speaking.” He picks up on the second ring
with a professional tone.
    “Hey Brent, it’s Alex. Listen, do you have a minute to look
over some paperwork I received?” He knows I’ll pay him for it even though he tries
to do things for me pro-bono occasionally. I think he just wants to get into my
business, and he’s curious about what I do up here in my office.
    “I can be over this afternoon around four. I’ve got a client
this morning, and some research to do.” He sounds a little tired, and I feel
poorly for asking him to look at some minor paperwork when he must be working
hard on a case.
    “It’s not that big of a deal. Just take your time.” I hear
him yawn on the other line and wonder how much sleep he’s been getting lately.
Part of me wants to tell him about the visit from Yatzi, but I know I’m going
to need to come up with an excuse as to why I’m banged up. Anyone I tell about Yatzi
is in danger from the man, and some of them I don’t even need to tell them.
    “I’ll be over at four, Alex.” I glance down at wristwatch
and grimace when I see that four o’clock is still seven hours away, which means
I’ll need to provide breakfast and lunch for my unwelcome guest.
    “I really appreciate this, Brent. Do you want sushi or pizza?”
Business can never be conducted without food, at least, not civilized business.
    “Sushi, I’ll bring the wine.” With our plans settled, we
don’t bother saying goodbye and hang up on either end. I pull on my dress
pants, the button up white shirt and grab a blazer from my closet. With my
ensemble complete, I pocket my phone and glance at myself in the mirror over
the bureau one last time. The swelling is starting to go down, and I don’t look
nearly as awful as I did when I woke up this morning. After today, I’ll just be
bruised and have a few stitches.
    I’ll still need to keep my face hidden for a while.
Realizing that my phone calls are not finished, I start swiping through the
phone and call each employee to let them know that I want them opening up at
noon today with their normal schedules. Once every single phone call