Romance in Vegas - Showgirl! (6 page)

"What time is it?" she said sleepily.

"It's only ten," he replied, as she heard
Charlene pack up her lotions and leave. "I'll let you rest for a
while. Then we can go to the show. Deal?"

"Deal." And, her voice faded out.

She woke to the sound of his voice on the
house phone. However, when she sat up and swung her legs over the
side of the bed, she realized he was still sitting on the chaise
lounge in her bedroom. He stopped speaking for a minute as his eyes
roved up and down her semi-nude body. She held an arm across her
breasts as she stood.

She pulled on her dress quickly, but because
of the lotion on her back, she realized she would need his help
with the zipper. She struggled with it for a minute, before he
gestured for her to come to him.

As she turned, she felt his warm hands roll
slowly down her bare back to the zipper. She gasped at the
sensation, and she realized he had stopped speaking into the phone
again. They stayed for seconds with his hand on the small of her
back, before he pulled the zipper half way up.

"I'll have to call you back," he said into
the phone.

She felt him stand behind her, as he pulled
the thing all the way up. Then he unfastened her hair, and ran his
hands gently through the length of it. "Do you realize how very
lovely you are?" he asked softly.

She shook her head. His hands roving through
her hair made her feel soft, pliable, open. He took a brush from
the bureau and lightly brushed her hair until she could barely feel
it.

He touched her upper arms gently, his hands
running from top to bottom then said, "We'd better go, Dani."

They sat in the second row, where she'd seen
him sit earlier. A guard had been saving their places in the packed
theater, and he moved off to one side as they took their seats.

Soon, Dani heard some familiar music start
and she sat forward tapping her feet. She gasped along with the
rest of the audience as the curtain revealed the dancers. "They
look beautiful," she said softly. All were wearing two foot
headdresses and their make-up and bodies looked spectacular. She
longed to be up there with them, as they moved and shook and
twirled, with the strands on their costumes following.

Lorali did a misstep mid way through, but
Dani thought she covered herself well.

When the dancers quit, and posed for the
audience Dani clapped and whistled with them.

Turning back to Al, she said excitedly,
"Weren't they wonderful?"

He smiled and brought a wayward strand of her
hair in back of her shoulder. "Yes, they are quite wonderful. But
let me ask you whether you saw the mistake."

After a few seconds debating it, she said,
"Yes. I noticed Lorali took a little extra step towards the middle.
She handled it well, though."

He nodded. "Shall we go back and see them? I
usually do after performances."

They rose and made their way backstage. As
they approached the women, his hand touched the small of her back
possessively then strayed to her hip.

The motion was not lost on Kim, or anyone
else for that matter. She came up and said, "So what did you
think?"

"It was wonderful," Dani said, "I can't wait
to join you all."

Marie walked up to them, and Al told her,
"You're slipping, Marie."

"What?" But her look was playful, and Dani
sensed he was joking with her.

"Water."

"Oh," she said, looking at him guiltily.
"Dang, I always forget that don't I?"

"Well, it made for some pretty harsh leg
cramps tonight, as Charlene will undoubtedly tell you
tomorrow."

"Hmmm, maybe I should hide out in the
morning..."

"That, or take your punishment right away.
Get it over with."

She looked at Dani and said, "I am so sorry.
You really worked out today too."

Dani felt his hand smooth her dress slightly,
where it still rested on her hip, and she felt warmth spreading
through her. She thought back to the sizzling look he'd given her
when he saw her almost fully naked in her bedroom, with his eyes
roving, catching on her breasts then moving downward.

Kim looked at her strangely, then smiled
widely, as she said, "Breakfast, Dani?" Then looking at Al, she
said, "A glass of water at least, right Al?"

He smiled. "Right. You know I'll be watching
from now on. The eye in the sky."

Lorali watched them together, and grew
furious. Walking into the costume room, she threw her headdress on
the mound of clothes at her space.

Adriene saw her and said sweetly, "Troubles,
troubles and more troubles?"

"Oh, shut up."

"Smooth move in the show, Lorali. How many
times have you done that routine?"

Lorali thought of the gaff she'd made, which
was exactly when she spotted both of them in the audience. Al and
Dani.

"So," she said to Adriene, her face a mask of
innocence now, "are they dating? He seems to be quite smitten."

"Sounds like something out of a bad soap
opera. Smitten. I like that. Plus I really don't know what they're
doing on their own time. It's none of my business." But then her
voice grew hard. "It's none of your business either. I just know
she's a great new dancer and she deserves a solid chance. Don't
screw things up for her."

"Right. Would I do that?"

Chapter 6

The next morning, Dani waited for Kim in the
employee lounge, daydreaming over her steaming coffee.

Al had walked her to her suite door last
night, very courteously, but she missed his hand on her back, that
light barely there touch that laid promises. "Thank you for a
wonderful time," he'd said softly.

"Off in la-la land," Kim kidded, as she
brought her breakfast tray. But, in her usual fashion, she lit up
one of her long cigarettes and grabbed her coffee before she ate.
"Tell me all, and I mean all about last night."

"Well," Dani began, "we went in a limo and
that was a first for me. Very luxurious. Then we had dinner at the
Le Fleur. It's nice there, I liked it a lot."

She raised her eyebrows. "And between Le
Fleur and eleven o'clock?"

Dani laughed. "Well I had this problem. My
legs cramped up at the restaurant. So he had someone named Charlene
rub my legs and back."

"Isn't she a doll? But he's such a coward,"
she said, "he didn't do it himself?"

"That's an interesting thought. No, he was
quite a gentleman. But he did take off my dress."

Kim squealed then held her mouth, as people
began staring.

"So anyway, that was when Charlene was there.
After she left I just couldn't stay awake so I slept for a while, I
think half-hour."

"And?"

Dani grew warm just thinking about it, and
she thought her face must have revealed embarrassment.

Kim waited, and dragged on her cigarette.

"Well, then, I couldn't get my dress zipped,
so he helped me. And, he brushed my hair."

Kim looked off into the distance. "Yeah, I
can see him doing that. He was a perfect gentleman, right?"

"Yes, I guess you could say that. He never
kissed me or anything."

"Damn," she said, "I'm just dying to know how
he kisses. I bet he's dynamite. Be sure to let me know if he ever
does. I'm living vicariously through you here."

Dani found out the day before that Kim broke
up with her boyfriend and could find no prospects anywhere. She
said she was too picky about boyfriends.

Smiling, Dani said, "Tell me about the two
men. Teeny and Lefty."

"Yeah, there's an interesting story. You know
Al's father died in a gangland style shooting about five years ago.
Teeny was consigliore to his father, the right hand man so to
speak. Conferred with him on everything. Lefty is called that
because he was the left hand to the father. When Al tried to take
over the businesses, after the father died, I think he realized he
needed to go legitimate with them. It's the new wave. He couldn't
stand the violence that his family had come to represent. You know,
the killing and such. Mafia style of living."

She continued, "Then all of a sudden out of
nowhere he married Clarice. No one really got to know her though.
She was very sheltered, and stayed in his other property on the
outskirts of Vegas." She peered at Dani. "You resemble her a bit.
Have a look next time you're up in the penthouse. Take my word for
it, he'll ask you up there again eventually."

Jealousy hit Dani then. "Why, has he done
this with other women?"

"No," she grinned, as she ground out the
cigarette and nibbled on her toast. "I just know him. I saw the way
he looked at you last night. Girl, he's in love." She squealed
again and stomped her feet and now people really looked.

Tony Barrelli came into town on Al's private
jet around noon. After the limo ride from the airport, he was glad
to stretch his legs and walk around Winner Takes All Casino for a
while. He watched the dealers, efficiently dealing and breaking
hundred dollar bills, he watched the cage counting out change
carefully, and congratulating patrons on jackpots, and he walked by
the immaculate slot areas.

Riding up to Al's penthouse, a quiet ride
compared to the din of the casino, he was thankful his friend had
given him the responsibility of his Atlantic City casino. Tony
thought casinos were in his blood. He loved every minute being
manager, interfacing with staff, finding problems and solving
them.

"Hey!" he cried, once in Al's living
area.

The man came out in his shirtsleeves and
chino pants, more casual than Tony had ever seen him.

"What's this, I leave for a while and you
look like preppy central?"

Al laughed and they hugged and shook hands.
"Come," he said, "have a drink. What can I get you?"

"Pussy, if you've got it."

Laughing again, he replied, "In plentiful
supply, my friend. Just let me know who and what time."

They strolled into the den area, and sat
facing each other.

"My briefcase is in the room," Tony began, "I
figured you'd want to set aside about an hour to go over the
figures."

Al nodded. "Around ten tomorrow."

Nodding to the pictures of Clarice and Al on
the glass shelves in the stereo component, he said, "Find a
replacement yet?"

In typical fashion, Al just said, "I'm
working on it."

"How's that blonde bombshell in your review?
I can't remember her name, but she's good for what ails me."

"Lorali. I'll see if she can see you tonight.
I'm sure it can be arranged."

"So how is your casino doing?"

Sighing, Al replied, "We're losing cash.
Someone's on the take, or maybe two or three. Surveillance shows
nothing. Audit shows nothing. Yet the cage is consistently off,
more and more every week."

"Wish I could help. It's hard when your own
turn on you."

Al knew what he meant. He gave his employees
the world and in return expected unflagging loyalty.

He sat back in his chair. "You know, Vito is
a weak manager, not good at hiring the best of people. Maybe I'm
expecting too much. After all, this town does attract a certain
amount of lowlifes with no criminal records. But, that doesn't mean
they aren't criminals when all is said and done. How do I catch
them?"

Tony frowned. "I would start by looking for
the most obvious one, maybe with behavior problems."

Immediately, Al thought of Michael throwing
chairs on the pull and Maude coming in late. "We don't see anything
on the tapes."

"You tried going in person?"

"They'd never act up if I was looking over
their shoulders."

"How about a mole?"

"Now I think you've got something my
friend."

Lorali, in her suite relaxing, answered her
cell phone on the second ring when she saw who was calling. "Yes
Al?" she purred.

She heard a game on TV in the background, as
he said casually, "How are you Lorali?"

"If I was any better it would be
illegal."

He laughed. "My friend Tony is here from
Atlantic City. Do you remember him?"

"Mister fix it," she joked, "of course I
remember him." How could she forget? He was a positively horny man,
with insatiable appetites. She could barely walk after that last
time with him. It wasn't really bad, just vigorous.

"He'd like to see you after the last show,"
Al said finally. She heard two voices in the background.

"Where are you?"

"In the penthouse with Vito and Tony."

Vito. Now that was a whole different story.
It was well known that Marie liked him. A lot. Lorali didn't want
to mess with that.

Besides, her tastes ran toward the Tony type,
muscled, thirtyish, wavy brown hair who had a way with women.
"Sure," she said finally, "anything for you."

Plus, she thought, it would satisfy his
appetites for a while and please her boss.

"Okay," Al said, "we'll come backstage after
the performance."

They clicked off and she remembered last
night, and Al having his hand on Dani's back. She sniffed, and
thought she had that one covered.

Marie's cell phone rang as she was out
shopping. "Hi Al," she said breathlessly, as she searched for a
place in the packed mall to sit down.

"Did I catch you at a good time?" he asked
politely.

"Of course, I was just shopping and I think
it uses more energy than dancing ever did."

"I'll bet. Listen, I have a favor to
ask."

Her sensors were immediately on red alert. Al
had never asked her for a favor in five years. "Anything. What can
I do?"

"I need you to change positions in the
casino. I'd like you to be assistant cage manager."

She felt like the wind had been knocked out
of her. "Am I not doing a good job?" She loved working backstage,
and wasn't wild about switching to the cage of all places.