Let it Ride (Casino Nights #1)

This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual
persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely
coincidental. All rights reserved. Except for use in review, the reproduction
or use of this work in any part is forbidden without the express written
permission of the author.

Let It Ride- April 2016 by Melanie Jayne for Big Dog
Publishing

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places
and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used
fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business
establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. Any mistakes are
the author’s own.

For
Francesca
Bensi

You are
as beautiful on the inside as you are on the outside. I treasure our friendship
and your support. I trust your opinions. I love you.

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

The clock on the wall read 0513 in
blaringly bright numbers, The Red Rose Casino ran on military time. Francesca
Luchetti
told herself to stop checking the clock every
three minutes. She straightened her tablet and the yellow legal pad sitting on
the conference table in front of her.

“I thought this meeting was supposed
to start at five?” Hadley leaned back into the black leather chair and let out
a loud sigh. Her out-of-the-box red hair shone brightly against the black
chair’s headrest. She reminded Francesca of a tiger, lithe and graceful, yet
vicious.

“I said five in hopes that we could
start by five–thirty.” Francesca said as she glanced at the clock on the
wall again.

“You know us too well.” Hadley
grinned as she stretched her arms over her head and let out a yawn.

The door opened and a wiry
African-American man entered. “Ladies.”

“Blade, here sit next to me.” Hadley
shoved the chair next to her into his path.

Blade managed not to topple over the
proffered chair. He grinned at the redhead while shaking his head. “Really? You
think this is going to help?”

Francesca rolled her eyes at Hadley.
“You know that Rico is going to sit across from you and I’ll have to deal with
the two of you making faces at one another.”

She her staff.
She had chosen each member of “Team
2” personally. When she’d gathered her courage to suggest to her father that
she create a unit of experts to handle special situations within his casino, he
had been skeptical. The team handled everything from security issues to dealing
with a high-dollar player’s requests. She’d done it—her team could break
up a fistfight and find a wolf to pet at three in the morning. Some nights they
had to do both.

“I’m here. I apologize for being
late.” The man entering the conference room was heart stopping gorgeous. Rico
Ochoa wore a dark suit with a grey shirt. His blue-black hair glowed under the
lights. He flashed Francesca a sexy grin as if that would excuse his tardiness.

She returned the smile and then
caught herself responding to his sex appeal. She dropped her eyes to compose
her thoughts. God, it had been too long since she had last gotten laid. Taking
control of the meeting, Francesca tilted her head in the direction of the chair
next to hers. “Grab a chair, Rico, and tell us your tale of woe. I’m sure you
have a valid excuse as to why you’re holding us up.”

His white teeth gleamed as he
flashed a smile. “I couldn’t find the Reservations List and Classifications for
this week. Skylar was supposed to send it to me, but the file she attached was
blank. I heard that the
Goodings
were booked and I
wanted to prepare for another epic blow up. Last time they trashed their suite
and she shattered two bottles in the bar.”

Hadley leaned forward in her chair.
“They’re booked for Friday through Sunday. Arrival at 1420, I made a note to
tell you so that you should call them tonight.”

“Thank you. I’ll remind them that we
expect proper behavior during their stay.” Rico made a note on his tablet.

Francesca added Skylar’s name to the
bottom of her list. “I’ll keep this brief. I want to go over a few things
before I have to I catch my flight.”

“Are you done packing?” Hadley
interrupted.

“Uh, no.” Francesca had factored in
an hour for packing when scheduling her morning.

“Have you even started?” Hadley
spoke again.

“Early June in Chicago is tricky. It
can be cool or scorching hot. I’ve waited to get the most accurate weather
info.” Francesca met Hadley’s stare, a stare that said Hadley wasn’t buying her
excuse.

“So, I’m flying out in a few hours
and will be back next Monday. Guys, please do a good job. Team 2 has exceeded
all of my expectations, but this is the first real test. You all are
exceptional at your jobs so if something comes up, handle it. If it gets out of
control, call Jimmy first. He’s the owner so he needs to know,
then
call me right after you hang up with him. The owner
hates it when he has to play catch-up. He trusts your work but he’ll be looking
for cracks in our system. Don’t give him any ammunition.” She stared at each
person sitting at the table.

“We got this, Frankie. We don’t want
to fuck up this opportunity either,” Rico stated, while the others nodded in
agreement.

“I know.” She tapped her pen twice
on the table and then let out a sigh. “I’m going to be honest with you all.
Working six or seven days a week is getting to me. I want to be able to take a
trip and not worry about the business.”

“Gee, maybe you could even go on a
date,” Hadley added, giving her a small grin.

Francesca smiled. “Well, Missy, the
same could be said for you.” Hadley shook her head. “Our goal is to keep The
Red Rose running smoothly. This happens because of what goes on behind the
scenes. That’s our job. We anticipate and participate.” She tapped her pen
again. “Just do your best guys, OK?” She hoped she didn’t sound like she was
pleading.

“Frankie, we’ll be on our best
behavior and we’ll do fine. Don’t worry. We won’t let you down.” Blade’s soft
voice carried a note of iron will.

“OK, let’s rock through this list so
I can beg Hadley to help me pack.” Francesca lightened the mood.

“I’ll volunteer my services if it
means I can dig through your lingerie drawer.” Rico leered jokingly.

“Knowing you, you probably have,”
Hadley commented dryly.

“Jealous?” Rico mocked.

Francesca watched the byplay between
her Security Expert and Customer Relations Diva, sensing there was something
going on between them, but she was positive Hadley hadn’t dated or slept with a
man since her divorce. Rico, on the other hand, nailed anything in his path. His
taste in partners was fluid.

Her team moved through her list
quickly. She was considering what to do about Skylar when Rico cleared his
throat.

“I’m going to say this again, I
think you should take someone with you in case you run into a problem.” His jaw
muscles flexed as he ground his molars.

Francesca let a purposely audible
sigh escape. “Rico, I’ll be fine. I don’t want someone dogging my steps during
this event. It would bring up too many questions and I hate the attention.”

“Jimmy would agree with me.” Rico
sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his thick chest. “If, I took my
concerns to him.”

“And that is why, my friend, you are
not consulting Jimmy on my decision. Nor are you threatening to go over my head
to my father.” She made sure that her tone was firm.

They stared at each other for a
count of five.

She bit her lip as she considered
his concerns again. She didn’t want to appear to discount his advice, but she
hated having a security detail trail her. “How’s this? I promise that I will
call you to send someone if I get a weird vibe or there is a hint of trouble.”
She gave him her sweetest smile.

“Do you mean that? There are three
witnesses in this room.” One side of Rico’s mouth rose in a smile.

“I promise. I don’t think that
Steven Blake will cause any problems at this convention. Too many of the big
players will be there and any unprofessional behavior would further discredit
him.” Thankfully things had been quiet for several months. She and the
company’s legal team had spent over a year battling a lawsuit and complaints
filed with various agencies, not to mention the gossip. Mr. Blake had added
more work to her already full plate.
 

 
“I don’t like that a self-proclaimed
enemy of Jimmy’s might be attending this event. He’s mentioned you by name in
several of his rants.” Blade’s soft voice radiated concern.

“His career is over. His company has
been through Chapter 11 and now they have nothing. He’s a pariah in this
industry, so what does he have to lose if he harasses you?” Rico rested his
hands on the table in front of him.

“Casino life is hard and the
business is cut-throat. Jimmy ingrained that into me from the day he adopted
me. I’ll be careful. I promise.” She gave Rico a reassuring smile. “I don’t
want anything to happen to me, either if that makes you feel any better.”

“Plus it will be hard to get to know
that Hoosier
Hottie
if you have a detail following
you around.” Hadley added helpfully.

“Hadley!” She felt her cheeks burn.
God she wasn’t a prude, how could she be after living and working in Sin City?
Her body’s response frustrated her.
  

Blade ran his fingers over his
tablet and a photo of Remington Cooper flashed up on the flat screen hanging on
the wall behind her chair. “I’ve done some research. This guy can take care of
Frankie. I’m not worried. If he’s around her, she’ll be fine.” He flashed what
could only be described as a shit-eating grin. “He’s had training, very specialized
training, in the military. Plus he’s not too bad looking is he?”

“I suppose that he could protect
her, but the question is, would he?” Rico looked straight at Frankie.

“Oh, I think he’d like to get next
to Frankie any way he could.” Hadley winked and gave a salacious smile. “The
man has been very busy pursuing our Francesca.”

“Enough.” She gave her friends an
evil look. “I only talk to Remy because he is chairing the panel that I’m a
part of.” She prayed that her hands weren’t shaking. Her attraction to Remy was
becoming a problem. No matter what she told her body, it throbbed whenever she
thought about him. “I think you all are exaggerating this just a little.” She
displayed a half inch of space between her thumb and index finger.

She watched them exchange looks.
This was the problem with spending so much time together. There were no
secrets.

“Moving on to the last item on my
list.” Francesca glanced at the sign on the wall that stated,
‘Bitches Get Shit Done.’
“We need to
discuss Skylar’s work.”

She sensed Hadley wanting to
interrupt. She held up her hand in the universal gesture to stop.

“Look, I feel sorry for the woman.
It isn’t easy to be a recovering addict and a single mother in this town.
However, we need our Administrative Assistant to show up for work. We need her
to come in on time and stay the entire shift. That isn’t happening and I know
that you all have covered for her. It needs to stop.”

“She doesn’t have anyone to watch
her little girl when she gets sick. Her daycare won’t accept a sick kid,”
Hadley defended.

“I know that a sick child is a
problem for working parents, but how many times can her kid get sick in a
month?” Frankie was the
boss,
therefore she had to be
the bad guy. She halted the reflexive action of wiping her sweat-dampened hands
on her thighs. She couldn’t show weakness when laying down the law—the
one part of her job that she didn’t enjoy.

“Kids get sick from daycare,
Frankie. They’re full of germs. One kid gets sick and they all do,” Hadley
assured her.

Great. Now it was time for her to be
the bitch. “I can overlook a few days here and there to take care of her
daughter. But I’m starting to think that if we tested her today, she would come
up dirty. I don’t like it, but I’ve been watching her and I’m seeing some
things that point in that direction.”

“That’s pretty harsh, Boss.” Blade’s
implication cut through the room.

“I know it is. But guys, we can’t
keep excusing her pattern of behavior. We can offer her help, but if she’s
using or simply can’t do the job for this group, then she needs to go. This
team is too important to me and I can’t have a weak link.” She would wear the
“bitch” label if it meant keeping her group’s work at the top level.

“I’ll talk to her. OK? I’ll see
about helping her find some back-up sitters. Just give her a little bit more
time.” Hadley used her “sad eyes” look.

Francesca looked at her list for a
moment. “OK, but this is the bottom line. You help her find alternate
childcare, but no more covering for her absences. I mean it. I will start
watching the tape to see when she comes in and leaves, and I won’t like it if
you are interfering. Either she can cut it or she can’t.”

The room was silent for a few beats.

“We hear you and as much as I hate
it, I agree. Skylar can either handle her responsibilities or we need to move
her to another position and find someone who can do the job.” Rico’s voice
echoed in the room.

Blade and Hadley nodded, either in
understanding or agreement, she wasn’t sure. She was certain that Skylar was
looking at her last chance to prove that she could do her job
or
they would be searching for someone
new to fill her position.

“Well, that’s all I have. Anybody
else?” She made eye contact with each member of her team. “OK, I’m off to pack
and then to Chicago. Behave and I really mean it, I hope I don’t hear from
you.”

They gathered their things and
started to leave the conference room.

Rico draped his arm around her
waist. “I can help you with your lingerie selections.” He was a terrible flirt.