Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 46695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 233(@200wpm)___ 187(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 233(@200wpm)___ 187(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
My back to the table as I hear the little white ball rattle to a stop.
Whatever it is, wherever it’s landed.
I know either way that I’m not gonna rest until I find Krissy.
Won’t rest until she’s back in my arms.
“Well?” Chad asks, swallowing as I loom over him and his security detail. My whole body blocks everybody’s view.
Levinson is shouting in his earpiece the same question.
“What number, damn it?! I can’t see!”
Pushing my way past them all, I don’t look back.
I know where it’s landed.
And I also know the only thing worth winning needs me, and I need her.
Lucky charm. I’m coming to find you. And I don’t ever wanna see you walking away from me.
Not ever again.
CHAPTER FIVE
Krissy
If it were anyone else, if it was one of those other cashed-up businessmen from the Pearl Room?
I wouldn’t mind. I doubt I’d even care, let alone feel half as dumb as I do right now.
But because it’s Ethan. Because of him putting that stupid bet on the number he asked me to pick.
And the fact I nearly fainted from the sight of his not so little and definitely not stupid arousal….
I feel like the biggest loser in the whole building. My big break working a shift in the high rollers room was ruined.
My chances of seeing Ethan ever again?
Double ruined.
But I’m surprised more than anything when I’m not fired.
The silent but imposing security team has me in the elevator back down to where I belong, and I am sure I will never see the Pearl Room again.
But once I’m gone, it’s like I was never there in the first place.
Nobody’s waiting to chew me out or fire me.
They’ll just send someone else like they always do.
Keeping the gamblers gambling and the staff making sure they keep gambling.
Still sniffing back some tears as I change into my street clothes back down on the slots floor, my supervisor Denise pokes her head around the locker room door.
“Heard you cut yourself. Nearly fainted, you okay?” she asks.
The tone of concern that only someone who writes up work rosters can give. And not a single word about Ethan.
“I’m alright,” I murmur. Turning my face away from her so she couldn’t see the tears I was holding back.
“Good,” she sighs. “Because I need you back here at seven, bright and early. Get some rest, and we’ll see you in a few, yeah?” she asks, only holding the door open long enough to make sure I heard her before she’s gone again.
Powering up my phone that’s been in my locker for almost twelve hours, I’m unsure if I should keep crying or just die on the spot.
A half dozen or more texts from my landlord, wondering where I was tonight when he came around to collect the monthly rent.
The rest are the usual messages from my bank, reminding me that my account is overdrawn again.
Even if I was paid tonight, which I won’t be until Monday. There’s still not enough.
There’s never enough, and I’m working seven days a week, twelve hours a day.
Setting my phone down, I hug my elbows. I’m suddenly freezing cold and hoping I’m not coming down with anything on top of all my other problems.
But I can still smell Ethan’s cologne when I move a certain way. When I hug myself like this, even though it’s only for a few seconds, it feels like he’s right here again.
Like those huge arms of his have wrapped around me.
Feeling like he’s gonna save me somehow.
Protect me.
Claim me for his own.
Someone else entering the locker room breaks the spell, and I feel cold all over again as they jerk their head in recognition.
I recognize her but can’t remember her name.
Like the casino guests, most staff are just passing faces that all look the same after a while.
I sigh bitterly as reality kicks in harder and faster than my efforts to keep my Ethan fantasy playing in my mind.
“Rough night?” she asks. “You look like hell,” she says with a grimace.
As if I need reminding.
“Back again to do it all tomorrow,” I pipe up with forced cheerfulness. Rallying myself for the long walk home.
If I still even have one.
The landlord’s okay, I mean, he’s as lenient as he can be. But I’m weeks behind, and every payment for the past few months has been short.
I just can’t seem to catch a break, and meeting someone like Ethan only makes it all feel worse somehow.
Like I’ve been shown a different world, but I know it’s not one I could ever live in, let alone belong to.
I doubt a guy like Ethan has any money worries, and although I don’t hold it against people who do have money, working at the casino has always been a constant reminder for me that there are two worlds.
One world for the rich and beautiful people, and another for people like me.