Page 26 of Jackpot Joker

“Mr. Caruso, how are you today?”

Jasmine stands up from her desk to greet the owner of the practice, but I track the way her eyes frantically search through the glass as though she’s afraid someone’s watching.

I sigh dramatically. “Oh, I’ve been better. You see, I came all this way to ask Miss Baker to accompany me to another one of my properties, but it appears her calendar is full and she won’t be able to after all.”

Jasmine glares in my direction, then quickly recovers, softening her face for her boss. “It’s not that I wouldn’t love to join Mr. Caruso, but I have other caseloads to work on today.”

Jim waves his hand in the air. “We’ll let someone else take care of those. Your responsibility for now is to be wherever Mr. Caruso needs you. I’ll talk to Todd and arrange it.”

“Todd?” Jasmine asks. “As in Mr. Delaney?” She gulps, and I wonder what has her on edge.

Her boss nods. “I’ll have a word with him and tell him Dario here has specifically asked for you. Consider your schedule cleared whenever you see this handsome face.”

I beam at the older man. Call me shallow all you want—it feels good to be pretty.

“My family appreciates that, Mr. Jorgensen. We’ll be certain to remember your loyalty.”

The man smiles with a nod, then extends it in Jasmine’s direction. When he steps out of her office, her glare returns.

I glance down at my outfit today, thankful for the absence of red. My little bull is all fired up, and I have no doubt she’s ready to charge.

Chapter 13

Jasmine

Nervously, I walk alongside Dario as we head to the elevators. I can feel the stares of my colleagues as they circle like vultures, waiting for the doors to close on us so they can run and tell Todd they’ve seen me leave the building with the man I was accused of being in a relationship with. I hold my head high regardless because, first, I have nothing to hide and am doing nothing wrong. Second, I’ll be damned if I let a single one of them believe I care what they think of me.

As we approach the polished, gold doors, my feet halt instantly at the sound of my name. I turn to find Todd Delaney wearing a smug smile on his face as though it’s a piece of his everyday attire—a black suit with a white shirt, paired with a simple, solid-colored tie. Today’s is a hideous shade of green.

“Care to tell me where you and Mr. Caruso are headed?”

I stiffen when Dario brings his hand to the small of my back, silently cursing him for making physical contact. There’s no missing the way Todd’s eyes track the movement. I swallow down my nerves before stepping away from his touch and speaking. “Mr. Caruso has asked me to accompany him today to one of his properties.”

“I see.” Todd glances in Dario’s direction, then cuts his eyes to me. There’s a heat in them—not of passion, but of repugnance. “I take it that the conversation we had the other day has long been forgotten.”

I begin to disagree, but Dario cuts in. “Is there a problem here…?” His voice trails off, and he laughs before pouring on the charm. “I’m sorry, I don’t know your name.”

Todd grits his teeth before he forces a smile. “Delaney. Todd Delaney. I’m a junior partner here at Jorgensen and Munson, and Miss Baker here is on the team I manage. I’m afraid any leave requested will need to be cleared with me, and unfortunately, she is unavailable today.”

I stare up at Dario’s now-tightened jaw. He still wears a smile as though he and Todd are old golfing buddies, and I have a feeling he has to play the role of charmer a lot. “Junior partner? Impressive.”

I should get a gold star for not rolling my eyes when Todd stands straighter, obviously pleased. Dario continues.

“As a junior partner, I assume you answer to senior partners, correct?”

“That’s right,” Todd answers smugly.

“So, hypothetically, if Jim Jorgensen were to give his permission to Miss Baker, that would supersede any directive you give her. Am I correct again?”

If Todd’s eyes were laser beams, I would be a pile of ashes. Gruffly, he replies. “Yes, if that hypothetically happened.”

“Well,” Dario says jovially, “since that is exactly what went down, and it’s not a hypothetical situation, it looks like things are settled. Miss Baker and I are headed to one of my properties and will likely be gone for the remainder of the day.”

“The rest of the… ” I chime in, but Dario moves his hand from the small of my back to my hip, where he grips it hard, silencing me.

“Have a great day, Todd Delaney, junior partner,” Dario says with a wink and a finger gun. If Todd were a Rottweiler, I have no doubt Dario would have lost that digit.

Dario and I stand still, his grip remaining on my hip, as we watch my fuming superior storm off. We don’t speak as he guides me back to the elevator bank and jabs at the button to call for one. His hold on me fuels the fire I’ve already had building inside, and I plan to let this man know that he may be my client, and he may have the senior partner of the firm eating out of his hand, but I will not be his puppet. Only when the doors open, and the two of us step in, Dario pushes me up against the wall and manages to make me forget everything I planned to say.