Page 59 of Vegas Duology

ChapterFourteen

Leo

Lexi.

It was her.It had to be her.I hadn't thought of her in years.Oh, who was I kidding?I thought about her every day, every time I turned around and caught a flash of long blond hair or stopped to watch the Bellagio fountain show.

I managed a smile at the pit boss who was looking my way, and ducked around a bank of slot machines, where I caught sight of her again.That thick blond hair—it was shorter.Her legs, though—they were just as long and luscious as I remembered.There was no doubt that it was her.Nothing could or had compared to having those legs wrapped around me.I would never forget that.

What were the odds of having her here again?Would she remember me?Would she talk to me?I watched her disappear into the restaurant with a man.Probably her husband.Maybe the same husband she had separated from.But no, then she wouldn't have children and she wanted that too badly to give it up.I would have, could have given her children.The thought popped in my head so quickly it knocked me back.

No, she never called.She didn't want a future with me.Tamara, who took my phone from her when she handed it in, said Lexi took my note and crumpled it up.No, she chose not to have anything to do with me.

So why was I still so damn hung up on her?I couldn't get her out of my head.

"Leo."

I twisted around and saw my assistant Roberta standing with a clipboard.

"I've been looking for you everywhere.You told me you'd be back in five.I need to talk to you.We have a problem."

"I was just on my way," I said and with one last look, turned away from the restaurant.I tried to push the image of Lexi out of my mind."Come on, let's go back to my office."I led the way through the crowd.

Lexi was here.She probably didn't even remember me.I looked down at the wedding ring on my finger and rubbed it without thinking.

"When are you going to take that ring off?"Roberta asked as we made our way past the craps tables."Hasn't it been two years?"

"Three, actually."

"It's ridiculous," she said and strode past me, heading to a door at the edge of the casino floor.

She was blunt.It was one of the traits I admired about Roberta.It was handy to have an assistant who got to the point.It was also annoying.

As we walked, heads turned in our direction.Roberta's striking looks always garnered attention.Her black hair pulled back in a harsh ponytail contrasted sharply with her pale skin and bright red lipstick.But it was her sharp eye and attention to detail that made her the perfect assistant to the manager of guest relations, although that trademark attention to detail could be another one of those annoying traits.

I rubbed the ring again and said, "I wear it because it's easier than dealing with bored housewives who are looking for a good time."

"Sure," Roberta said.She used her keycard to open a door off the casino floor that led to a web of hidden hallways.After a few minutes of me doing my best to keep up with Roberta's quick pace, we arrived at my office.

"What's going on?What's the crisis?"I said, only half listening for the answer.I sat in my chair and spun around to my computer.With a flick of the mouse, the screen came to life.I clicked open the guest database but stopped myself before typing in her name.It would only take a second to see if she was a registered guest.

"What are you doing?"Roberta said, pointing to my computer.

I pressed a button and the screen went blank."No.I just thought of something, but it can wait.Tell me what's up."

Roberta wasn't stupid; she didn't buy my excuse but she was too smart to press me for details.She flipped open her portfolio and produced a piece of paper.Sliding it across the desk to me, she said, "This is the problem.Do you realize we've lost two staff members in the last week?"

"Two?Daniela moved to California with her boyfriend.Who's the other?Oh wait," I said just as the realization hit me."Please don't tell me..."

"You got it.Andre finally fired Scott.Last night."

My head was starting to pound.Andre had been gunning for my best wedding planner for months.I kept telling him to keep business separate from personal but when Scott started working for me almost a year ago, Andre fell hard for him.They dated for a few months, if you could call it that, but Scott was young and the last thing he wanted was monogamy.Andre had other ideas and the split was messy.Andre may be a general manager, but he had no right to fire my staff.

"Dammit."My fist came down hard on the desk and Roberta jumped.She recovered in a second and tapped the paper in front of me again.

"You can yell at Andre later.But right now, I need help.With Daniela gone, it was going to be tight, but now without Scott...well, simply put, I can't be in two places at once."

I looked closer at the schedule she was pointing at.We were always busy with weddings and I wasn't surprised to see two scheduled for this Saturday.It was pretty normal.What wasn't normal was being so short staffed.