Page 38 of The Girlfriend Card (Vegas Sin #4)

Pawn

Ottavia

A heavy silence hung in the air. I’d felt so much better when Dakota was here to reassure me that everything was fine—but the moment he left, all my doubts quickly bubbled up to the surface. I sat at the center island and stared into the distance, a mix of conflicting emotions swirling inside me.

I couldn’t shake the eerie feeling that pieces were being moved on the chessboard. Besides Dakota, I had one other ally in this situation; someone I needed to coordinate with to figure out our response.

With a deep breath, I reached for my phone and sent a text to Leo.

“Have you seen this??” I asked, linking him to the article.

His response came almost immediately. “Ugh. Yes. Absolutely dreadful article. I’m so sorry, Tavi.”

“We should talk to figure out a game plan, or something,” I wrote back. “Are you busy? Can I come over?”

“Sure, come on over.”

I wasted no time grabbing the keys to Dakota’s Mercedes and heading out to Leo’s place.

As I drove through the city streets, my mind raced with questions and uncertainties.

Something didn’t sit right with me. Leo had already seen the article—that alone was understandable; he’d probably woken up to a dozen texts from friends asking him what was up with it, like I had.

But the question bothering me was, why hadn’t he reached out to me after he’d seen it?

Leo greeted me at his condo with a hug. “I am so sorry,” he said. “That article was such bullshit. You must be devastated.”

“I’m not exactly thrilled,” I said. “You must be pretty upset, too?”

“Oh yeah. It’s a joke,” he murmured.

He seemed uncomfortable, his eyes darting from side to side, which wasn’t unreasonable, considering the circumstances—but still, I had a strange feeling; something I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

“I’m going to make a cup of coffee,” he said, pointing me towards the living room. “Can I get you one?”

“Already had mine, thanks.”

I settled into the living room and waited. A few minutes later, Leo joined me in the living room with a steaming hot cup of coffee in one hand and his phone in the other. He placed both items on the coffee table and sat next to me on the couch.

“So, the article,” he began, “what’d you want to talk about?”

“Well, I wanted to pick your brain about it and see what you thought. Dakota thinks it’s a good thing. I’m not so sure.” I caught Leo’s eye. “Honestly, I think my dad’s behind it.”

“Sal?” He gasped, seemingly shocked. “But why would he do that?”

I told him my theory that Dad was dead-set on trading Dakota, but he needed cover with the fanbase. That’s what the controversy was for—to create favorable conditions for a trade by convincing the fans that Dakota would never change.

“The only thing I don’t understand is why he’d drag our names through the mud, though,” I said, again catching Leo’s eye. “Because he could easily trash Dakota without getting us involved.”

He dodged my gaze and glanced at the floor. “Yeah. Good question. That’d be weird. I really don’t know.”

A lull settled between us, punctuated only by the soft sound of Leo sipping from his mug of coffee. The atmosphere between us felt heavy and I didn’t understand why. I didn’t understand his blasé attitude about it, either. Something was off.

I broke the silence. “Can I ask you something, Leo?”

He ran the palm of his hand against the top of his thigh anxiously. “Ah, yeah, sure.”

“What’s up?”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“Aren’t you upset? That article made you look like a ‘cuck.’ Dakota’s words. Not mine.”

“That’s me. Leopold Lancaster, the biggest cuckold in all of Las Vegas.” He snickered. “Yeah, I mean … I’m upset.”

He didn’t look it, though, nor did he sound like it.

“You’d already seen the article when I texted you. Why didn’t you reach out to me?” I asked.

He scratched at the back of his neck. “I guess I didn’t want to wake you with bad news,” he murmured. “I figured you’d probably see it as soon as you woke up, like I did.”

I could’ve accepted his answer. It seemed possible; likely, even. Hell, I wanted to believe him. But my instincts told me to press harder, that there was more to the story.

“Leo, we promised each other we would tell each other everything, remember?”

I’d expected him to recoil, maybe even get a little angry, and ask me what the hell I meant by that.

But he didn’t react. Staring at the floor, he hesitated, his jaw tightening. I sensed his internal struggle, the burden of truth weighing heavily on his shoulders. Finally, he looked up, meeting my gaze with a mixture of regret and resignation.

“I’m sorry, Tavi,” he confessed, his voice filled with remorse.

Those three words made my heart sink with dread that my childhood friend had betrayed me.

“Sorry for what?” I asked.

“I didn’t want to … I never even meant to …” he said, shaking his head, “but Sal has his ways …”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” I held up my hands. “What did you do?”

“But just so you know, I had nothing to do with that article.”

“What did you do , Leo?”

“I told him, Tavi,” he said plainly. “I told him about you and Dakota.”

My mind reeled, trying to comprehend the extent of this betrayal. “What exactly did you tell him?”

“Well—everything,” he murmured.

“What do you mean, everything?”

“I mean everything , Tavi. Since before you and Dakota were even a thing, the situation was on your dad’s radar.

” My mind raced a million miles a minute, trying to figure out how that was even possible, when Leo added, “You really shouldn’t try to trick your dad, you know.

He’s brilliant. He’s always one step ahead of everybody. And I mean everybody.”

I didn’t understand. It was like he was speaking in riddles or something.

“Leo,” I began, my voice stern but measured. “I need you to explain exactly what and when you told my dad. Start at the very beginning.”

“The beginning it is, then.” He drew a reluctant breath. “Remember that day in the suite, when I was in the shower and you asked me if I’d put an ad on Craigslist?”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“Well, I thought it sounded strange. Now, you had no way of knowing this at the time—but remember, I spent a lot of time with Sal during that fundraiser for my dad at the Grand Royale. Sal took a phone call at one point, and he seemed all pissed afterward. I asked him what was wrong, and he told me all about the situation with Dakota and the video, and how Dakota was playing ‘the girlfriend card’ to get out of trouble. Sal hates being lied to more than anything—so that’s when he hatched his plan to call Dakota’s bluff at a dinner.

Which brings us to the very next day, when you told me about the Craigslist ad.

You can see how that might have sounded to me, right? ”

“Oh my God …” I murmured.

“Alarm bells started going off in my head, because I thought the two might be related. So after I left the hotel that night, I went on Craigslist to see if I could find the ad. I found it, alright, so I sent it Sal, just in case it was his hockey player.” Leo snickered.

“Your dad saw right through Dakota’s plan from the very beginning, Tavi.

He even knew you were coming to the dinner as Dakota’s date. ”

I gasped. “What? How? ”

“C’mon, really? You weren’t exactly stealthy about any of it. First, you met Dakota in public at that cafe. Then you had him pick you up from your dad’s flagship hotel, of all places. It’s basically an open secret that nothing happens at the Grand Royale without Sal knowing about it.”

“Open secret?! That’s the first time I’ve heard it,” I muttered.

“Well, now you know.”

“But how would Dad have known about the meeting at the cafe?”

“Oh, that’s easy. Your driver.”

“Florin,” I grumbled. To think my driver, who served as my literal escape from home for years and years, was actually keeping tabs on me? I felt violated.

“Yep. Good ol’ Flo. Always nearby, and always keeping an eye on you. He’s your dad’s favorite driver, which is why he was assigned to Princess.” Leo chuckled and said, “Boy, was Sal ever furious when Dakota taught you how to drive.”

“So you and Florin were both spying on me,” I said. “What else did you tell him? I suppose you immediately reported back to him when you walked in on us at the hotel?”

Leo nodded guiltily.

I gasped with revelation. “And that’s what you were doing when you went out ‘for a smoke’ on the balcony afterward, wasn’t it? You were talking to my dad, weren’t you?”

Leo’s shameful frown was all the confirmation I needed.

“You’re unbelievable,” I said. “And to think, that night, I told you the whole story about me and Dakota. Yet you had the gall to sit there, as my friend, and act like it was all news to you?”

He hung his head. “For what it’s worth, I’m really sorry.”

“Bullshit. No you’re not,” I hissed. “Does Dad know I’ve been staying with Dakota for the past few months? That we’re serious about each other? That I lost my virginity to him?”

“Like I told you, Sal knows everything ,” Leo muttered.

Outraged, I asked, “Is there anything he doesn’t know?”

“It’s not like I wanted to tell him everything, Tavi.”

“Yet you did.”

“Yes, I did, but you don’t understand why. ”

“What could you possibly tell me that would make me understand why you’d run around behind my back, reporting back to my father every little thing about me?”

“Because,” he said, drawing a deep breath, “Sal knows I’m gay.”

My jaw fell open, unable to form a coherent response.

“Since when ?” I finally managed to utter.

Leo sighed, his gaze distant as he recounted the memory. “Since the time he caught me with another boy.”

My heart skipped a beat as I tried to process the implications of his words. “And when was that?”

“Oh, gosh, years ago. Back when you and I were still dating.”

The revelation hit me like a tidal wave, crashing over my understanding of our past.

“W-who did he catch you with?” I stammered, my voice trembling.

“Remember Victor?”