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On the other hand, her feelings about Wyatt selling The Benson were not. As the CEO of The Benson, she wanted Beau to lose. As the woman who felt strangely attracted to him, she wanted him to be happy. She couldn’t have both, and that was just another problem that made any type of relationship with him so impossible. She was also still struggling with how she felt about him. Was it just sexual chemistry? Wanting to relive the past? Or something else entirely?
He had won last night. She needed him to lose tonight to have any hope of hitting her profit target to keep The Benson from being sold. At the same time, she thought about their moments of simple affection at the concert and criticized herself again for being overly mercenary about her profits. Could there ever be a connection more than sexual between them?
He was a professional gambler, but he did seem much more in control than her dad ever was. Even if he was different, however, her job would—as it always had—prevent her from any serious relationship. She hadn’t yet found a man who understood her need to be at work eighty-plus hours per week.
Some of the work was as normal as any other job—profit-and-loss statements, marketing, events, employee issues—but the other part was what really got her energized—meeting with customers, eating at her own restaurants, taking a personal interest in The Benson’s employees, who had become much like family to her. Beau only understood it from a gambler’s point of view.
Only CEOs at other casino resorts could truly understand her commitment. There were a few she’d considered dating in the past—both the Chadwick brothers were single and were among the most eligible bachelors in Las Vegas. However, there wasn’t room in any relationship for two people holding such high-level positions. And the difficulty of running different resorts was worsened by perceived conflicts of interest. Every resort had its own proprietary gaming and customer information.
Some might say it was only a job, but it was more to Alessandra. It was her pride, about proving her worth beyond the mistakes her mother and father had made—especially her father, whose arrest had been widely reported in the news. And it was her competitive spirit, doing more than, and better than, her male counterparts.
Alessandra figured she might as well enjoy her time with Beau, fitting him into her schedule over the next few days. Why not? The sex was great. He was fun to talk to—when he wasn’t jealous. And when he left, hopefully Alessandra will have kept her job. Then she could push all other thoughts of Beauden Brooks away once he went home, just like she’d been forced to do before. But this time, she’d be the one in charge.
Now at the table standing next to him, she felt her heartbeat quicken when he turned toward her and smiled broadly.
“Winning again, I see.” Alessandra smiled back. She vowed to try being just Alessandra tonight, not Alessandra the CEO who needed Beau to lose.
Her reciprocal smile was rewarded by Beau lightly putting his arms around her shoulders. “And I expect to win even more with you next to me.” He then placed a kiss on her cheek. It was a completely innocent move. It did not call for the immediate flutter as she thought about where he had kissed her last night.
She sensed the lead craps dealer, Sam, look at her with curiosity. All the dealers knew her well, and they’d never seen her so close to one of The Benson’s high-rollers.
She’d known Sam Sheldrick for several years and had recruited him from her previous job. His position was known as the ‘box.’ He was in charge of the other craps dealers at the table. He knew her better than most, and she didn’t want him to think there was anything more between her and Beau than just friendship. But she didn’t want to dampen Beau’s mood either, so she pretended this was just some affection between friends.
She laughed and said, “Beau Brooks, stop flirting with me. You’re a playboy, and you’ll break my heart.Again,I might add.” Then she pushed her hands off his chest, backing away from him in a joking gesture.
Beau played along, enjoying the banter. “I seriously doubt your cold heart could be broken… but give me a chance, and I’ll certainly try.” Then he looked at the dealers. “What do you think, boys? Do I have a chance with this gorgeous woman?”
Alessandra looked at the dealers and shook her head, giving them a mock directive to say, “No.”
The more junior dealers stayed silent, their eyes showing they didn’t know how to respond. Sam, however, immediately responded, “Not a chance, Mr. Brooks. She’s already taken.”
This made Beau stop and look at Alessandra, his expression blank. She put an innocent smile on her face, enjoying his questioning look. She didn’t know where Sam was headed with his comment, but she knew him well enough to know a joke was coming.
“Taken?” Beau asked.
Sam responded, “Can’t you tell? She’s in love with The Benson. Her one true partner. With it all the time. She’d get married to this damn resort if the Elvis Wedding Chapel would let her.”
Alessandra and Beau both laughed. “I do believe that,” Beau said while Alessandra mockingly said to Sam, “True, but you’re fired anyway, Sam.”
The chatter between them all continued for an hour while Beau played, the cheeriness of the dealers enhanced by Beau’s generous tips each time he won. Alessandra tried to put aside her professional need for Beau to lose as he continued to make more money.When would the odds turn back into the casino’s favor?So much for the “house always wins” saying… or apparently, not with Beau Brooks.
Finally, Beau’s luck started to turn. Alessandra almost felt bad for him, although she knew this change of luck would help her end goal. For long stretches of time, he had thousands of dollars in chips on the table, only to roll a seven and lose it all. The limit for any one bet was $5,000, but the losses added up quickly when he bet the max for multiple bets. The large chip stack he had built up earlier disappeared.
“Time to change the game,” he said. “I’m going to switch to blackjack.”
“I thought you weren’t a big fan of blackjack?” Alessandra asked. She was partially curious, but she also knew he’d likely lose more at craps. Again, she felt culpable and insincere. Her focus on profits was top-of-mind, but her attraction to Beau was as well.
Beau laughed. “I’m a fan of anything I can win at. And since I’m losing at craps, I’ll become a fan of blackjack if it helps me win back what I lost.” The fact he was still jovial after losing a half-million dollars was surprising, and sexy. His confidence was alluring, and he looked at her with the same desire as he had when he was winning. How different he was from other high-rollers she had met. Even the richest ones became despondent at any loss, their competitive nature overpowering any logic.
Alessandra went with Beau to the blackjack table, with betting limits also at $5,000. In blackjack, however, there were fewer bets to make, even when, as Beau did, the gambler chose to play several hands at once. With a new buy-in of $500,000, Beau began. He had some wins at first. Then again, he went on an extended losing streak.
Down to the last $100,000 of his chip stack, he turned to Alessandra. “Would you be willing to raise the limits to $10,000? I want to buy in for another $250,000, and I want to have a better chance of winning it back.” He grinned at her now. She couldn’t tell if he expected her to say yes or no.
She grinned back. “You want to win it back? What if you lose it all, instead?”
“Oh, I’m sure you’d like that. Would it increase your end-of-year bonus?” he joked.
“Something like that,” she admitted, smiling to hide the truth in her words.
