“I didn’t say I was going to axe him.”
“You look like you wanna axe somebody.”
Liam’s lips pressed together “When did you turn into such a big softie?”
“It’s part of my natural charm.” He offered his boss a sly smile. “So, Kate, huh? She makes good cookies, you know.”
Liam let out a grunt and proceeded to John’s office. “Not now, Wade.” Now he was in the mood to axe someone. A big, nosy, security guard someone.
Inside the security office, John already had Patrick Lester sitting uncomfortably at his desk. The kid stiffened as soon as he entered.
Like Wade said, Patrick was no more than a kid, maybe nineteen. But this kid had quietly pilfered funds from one of the casino counters. He worked as a ticket agent, selling tickets to some of their musical shows. He’d been caught pocketing some of the cash that crossed his desk, to the tune of a couple of thousand dollars.
He glanced at Liam and whispered, “Oh, shit. Oh, shit.”
Liam shook John’s hand and congratulated him on catching their thief. Not exactly Ocean’s Eleven caliber, but frustrating all the same. He sat next to John while Wade leaned against the closed office door, watching.
Liam didn’t know Patrick personally but something in his frightened demeanor was awfully familiar. This wasn’t a hardened criminal of the Hugo Vaughan variety. He got a sense Patrick regretted his bad judgment. Sure, he was shaking like a leaf at being caught but there was a measure of bravery in the thrust of his shoulders, as if he’d accepted he’d have to face the music. This boy reminded him of himself as a younger man, one who made a hell of a lot of mistakes. He rested his elbows on the desk and contemplated a plan of action.
The old Liam wouldn’t have even been here. He would have told his team to call the police and end the matter. But since he’d met Kate, he’d started to read between the lines. Yes, there were people in his life who’d surprised him with their callousness, but others continued to shock him with their hidden depths. Things weren’t always as simple as they appeared.
He looked Patrick in the eye. “Why did you steal from me?”
“Am I going to jail?”
“That depends.”
The boy took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Mr. Doyle. My dad just lost his job and money’s tight. My parents can’t pay the bills. I try to help but it’s never enough and so much passes through this place. I didn’t think it would be missed. I did the wrong thing. I know I screwed up. I know you’re going to fire me but please don’t send me to jail. My parents need me.”
A kid trying to hold his family together, trying to make decisions in a grown-up world. Liam sympathized in more ways than one. “What did your dad do for a living?”
“He was a janitor at one of the other casinos but he got downsized. He was with them for years. Supervised his own crew.”
He turned to Wade. “Don’t we have an opening at Vice in Facilities?”
“Yep.”
Liam stared at Patrick for a moment then bridged his finger over his lip. “Tell your dad to come to the HR office at Vice tomorrow. I’ll tell the HR manager to expect him.”
The boy stared, then blinked. “What?”
“You can stay, Patrick, but I’m transferring you to a back-office job, one where you won’t have to worry about temptation. We’ll be keeping our eye on you, but it’s still a second chance. Most people wouldn’t get one. What do you say?”
“Hell, yes, sir!”
They shook hands. Or, more accurately, Patrick rang his hand like a dinner bell on the ranch. “Then keep your nose clean. John here will report back to tell me how you’re doing.”
John, who matched Wade in bulk and height, merely nodded at Patrick, which said more than words could.
“Thank you, Mr. Doyle. I promise not to let you down.” He jumped out of his chair and out of the room.
Once the kid was gone, Wade turned to Liam and grinned. “Who’s the softie now? More of your new girlfriend’s influence?” He and John traded laughs at the boss’s expense.
Damn Neanderthals. Liam stood, letting them have their little moment. Maybe he’d screw around with their vacation time to get them back. He stifled his own chuckle at the thought.
As they left the casino, he did wonder about Kate’s influence on him. Jesus, it seemed all he did was wonder about her these days. He checked his watch. It was still early. Maybe he could head back to his condo and sleep for a few hours and then hit the gym. He needed an outlet, needed to get physical with something.
Since tasting Kate yesterday, feeling the rush of her wet pussy, he’d been out of his mind—especially after seeing the look of disappointment in her eyes. Clear as day, her face had fallen because she’d realized she’d liked how he touched her. Him, the big, bad casino owner. On some level, she still saw him as the enemy and she hated herself for being tempted.
Hell, he was tempted too, and with a force that verged on the frightening. Her body had felt right under his fingertips. Her scent was burned into his brain, making him want to keep her naked and fuck her senseless. And her taste. He was still reeling from her particular sweetness. For someone who claimed not to eat sugar, she’d tasted like sugar pie, hot from the oven.
Sugar. She probably thought he used the pet name out of habit with any woman, but he’d only ever used it with her.
He shook his head and banished those images of Kate that would only come back and haunt him later.
Hating that the bothersome redhead had once again drifted into his consciousness, Liam grunted and returned to his waiting car, slamming the door behind him. Damn. Forget sleep. Maybe he’d go straight to the gym after all.
As his driver maneuvered the Escalade through Vegas traffic, Liam stared at the passing sights without really seeing them. Why was he so obsessed with this woman? So she was afraid to submit to him. There were worse things in life, like having Michelle ripped from his arms and out of his existence. Like watching his mother die when he was five years old. Like watching a heart attack kill his father nine years later, then having his stepmom turn on him when he was just a kid, like out of some fucking fairy tale. He’d wallowed in misery for a good part of his life, and was determined no one would ever do it to him again.
And yet the way Kate had looked at him after being so intimate made him feel defeated, as though she thought him no better than a wad of gum under her shoe.
Ah, hell. He needed some perspective. It just hurt because he was hard up. In his quest to get Michelle back, he’d avoided the dating scene, not that he’d felt like it anyway. Now his body was paying him back, making him lust over a woman who equated him with Satan. What was he bloody well thinking?
He was thinking, despite her bruised face and frightened demeanor, that she looked beautiful. Now that he’d had the opportunity to examine her many times, he wasn’t sure how he’d ever thought her anything but beautiful. He could admit that much. With her cheeks flushed in anticipation, she’d been the most ravishing woman he’d ever seen. And she’d wanted him as much as he wanted her.
Yet her face had changed so quickly. She hated herself for staying in a casino hotel, felt she’d betrayed her morals, and she blamed him for all but forcing her into it. Well, she’d have to get over that. If the loan shark had found her home, he’d be able to find her regular haunts. At least under his roof he could have a security detail for her.
He stared out the window as his driver headed back to Vice. A drunk, young woman carrying a pitcher of beer wobbled on the sidewalk nearby. She toppled, spilling the brew all over in front of a frowning, elderly tourist. Sin City at its finest.
Sometimes he was so tired of this place.
Was Kate? Surely a non-gambler couldn’t enjoy living so close to the Strip. As he once again wondered about her opinions, he fought the urge to pound her out of his brain.
Shit, why am I doing this?