“It will be up to the Guild,” I explain again. “I’ll do my best to back you. Your father will too, but I doubt it will do much to sway the others.”
Mia runs her hands through her hair. “What if I just ran away?”
“The only thing worse than a liability is a liability on the loose. This isn’t a bad deal, Mia. I’ll keep you out of it all as much as I can. Need to know only.”
She stares down at the contract before us. I’ve already signed my half. All that’s left is for Mia to add her signature to the bottom.
I can practically see the gears turning in her head, so I give her a moment. I look toward the window that overlooks the main floor of the Candelabra.
It’s a busy evening, as it usually is when Danny is singing. The blonde bombshell dazzles her audience with a sparkling bodysuit, much to the delight of the party of men sitting at the VIP table below the stage.
How many nights had I sat in that same spot with Rocco, watching him fall in love with a different singer? It’s almost funny to think back now that Cassandra is his wife.
“How much time do I have?” Mia calls me away from my reminiscing.
I look back at her. “A week, maybe.”
She nods. “Then I’ll think about it.”
“I don’t know how long I can delay it,” I warn her.
“I’ll get back to you in a week. You have my word.”
For a moment, we simply stare at each other.Look at us now. We’re not kids anymore, are we?
But then she stands up and brushes herself down, and that cocky smile is back on her face. “Well, I better get back to work. This place doesn’t run itself.”
She picks up the contract and folds it into her jacket before taking off toward the door.
“You have a week.”
She brushes me off with a vague gesture before leaving.
Not wanting to stay alone with my thoughts for too long, I gather my things and head down after her.
The wave of noise hits me the second I’m out the door. It’s the sound of the happy chattering of our patrons clinking glasses as they’re lulled in by Danny’s impressive soprano and the live band behind her—a new addition that Cassandra herself had suggested.
It’s a carefully curated ambience and one that I know the Guild is especially proud of. It’s the perfect cover for under-the-table deals or discrete meetings in back rooms. The exclusivity gives us the excuse to vet all of our patrons upon entry.
Which is why I stop short when I see her sitting at the bar.
Her long, tan legs are crossed over the barstool, preserving her modesty despite her sinfully small black dress. Gold jewelry adds sophisticated accents, but it’s the gold chains around her neck that catch my eye, plummeting below her already scandalous neckline.
She notices me then, dropping her martini to offer me a little wave with her perfectly manicured fingers.
It’s been over two weeks. Enough time for me to convince myself that her beauty was some kind of delusion I concocted to explain my ill-advised actions.
You fool.
I’m not the only one that’s staring at her. Plenty of the other men and a fair few women keep throwing her meaningful glances.
It comes with no small amount of satisfaction that she ignores them in favor of watching my approach.
“And here I was thinking you might have forgotten me.” She smiles brilliantly as I stand over her.
“How did you get in here?”
Isabella takes a sip of her drink. “How did you bypass security at the casino?”
