Love's Wager

She glared at him, her eyes slits and her mouth tight with anger. “You’re a bully and you’re rude.”

“Ms. Dombrowsky...”

“Mrs. Dombrowsky,” she snapped angrily.

“I don’t want to find you in this casino ever again.” He gathered up the wallets and turned to Turner as he left the room. “Take her home.”

In his office he sat at his desk and called the reception desk asking them to page the names in the wallets. He’d take them down in a moment, but first he needed to make a note to have a talk with Miles Dombrowsky about his grandmother.

* * *

Nina walked into the restaurant. The room was huge, filled with booths lining the walls that were upholstered in browns and oranges. Large blocky tables with high-backed chairs sat in the center. The restaurant wanted to look Spanish, but didn’t quite have the mood right. She already knew that Lydia Montgomery had some changes in mind to give the restaurant a more sophisticated ambience.

In a corner she saw Scott sitting by himself, his laptop open and a pile of papers surrounding it. She hesitated, wondering if he would be annoyed if she interrupted him, but decided he probably needed a break.

She walked up to him. “Mind if I join you?”

He looked up, his gaze unfocused. Then it sharpened into pleasure. “Sure. Have a seat.”

“Don’t overwhelm me with your enthusiasm.” She slid into the booth across from him. The cushions were comfortable and she bounced a little settling herself in. She smiled at him, pleasure at the sight of him curling inside her. She wanted to smooth the furrow between his brows and say something to make him laugh.

“Then why did you ask?”

“Because this is the best table to people-watch.”

A waitress approached with a menu. She wore a flouncy orange dress.

“That’s why I sat here,” Scott said.

“Who are you watching?” Nina perused the room critically. Most of the customers were older people with a few families interspersed. She glanced through the menu and found it uninspiring—mostly Mexican foods with standard American hamburgers and steaks. The menu needed a rehab.

“I’m watching everybody.” His gaze darted around the room.

“Isn’t that difficult? Don’t you ever relax when you go out?” This man was in serious need of some fun.

“I can relax. There are times when I’m not working. This isn’t one of them.”

“What’s going on in here that I’m not seeing? Is someone stealing the silverware?” She gazed around the room again. A man and woman sat with two children, coaxing them to eat. An elderly man flirted with his waitress while she served him food. A young couple who looked like they were honeymooners gazed into each other’s eyes. In the opposite corner of the room in a shadowed booth, a man spoke on the phone and wrote something down in a notebook spread out on the table. Something about him seemed furtive.

“See that man in the opposite corner. He’s taking bets on who’s going to win the bachelor on Project: Marriage.”

“The TV show!” Nina was a bit confused. “But gambling is legal.”

“Sanctioned gambling, which means bets, need to be placed with licensed bookies in the casino and he’s not licensed. The State of Nevada frowns on that and the casino frowns on it, too, since we’re not making any money.”

“What are you going to do?”

“A lot of people are going to get a free pass the first time.”

“But what if they’re doing something illegal? Shouldn’t you call the police?” Nina frowned.

“You’re the publicity expert. What do you think will happen?”

Nina thought for a moment. She’d had a lot of experience with people’s arrest records and the unpleasant exposure that could bring. “An arrest is public record and can result in bad publicity.”

“Exactly,” Scott replied.

“Do these little problems occur in casinos? This morning you had the pickpocket...”

“You heard about that”

“Miss E. mentioned it.”

“To some extent every casino has little problems, but a lot of what happens, or doesn’t happen depends on the vigilance of the security force.” He frowned.

Nina gazed around curiously. “This place seems to be having an epidemic.”

He nodded, his eyes never leaving the unsanctioned bookie. The bookie shifted uncomfortably as though aware he was being watched.

“So what you’re telling me,” Nina continued, “is that security here is little bit lax.”

“The security force here is a big part of the problem.” He didn’t elaborate.

The waitress returned. Nina ordered cheese-and-onion enchiladas and a glass of iced tea.

She watched the bookie. In between bites of food, he talked on the phone and wrote in his notebook. Nina noticed the waitress who took care of his table kept herself just out of reach when she checked on him. So the guy had wandering fingers, too.

“How are you going to fix things?” Nina asked curiously. She had a lot of events in the planning stages and each one would need to be safe.

“Eventually, I’ll replace most of the security people here with my own choices.”

“That’s going to be tough. I got my talk about the unions earlier this afternoon.”

“I support the unions. Don’t get me wrong. But when a person is hired to do a job, they have to do it.”

“I assume you’re documenting everything.”

“Exactly. Before I decided to check this out, I was in the control room and saw four staff members place their own bets with Barney the bookie over there. Those guys will be easy to get rid of. They were on the clock using company time. And if I make a really big stink about it, it will prevent anyone else from doing it.”

Nina was beginning to understand the Herculean task Scott was faced with. She didn’t envy him. Her publicity ideas were going to make his job that much harder. “I hate to add to your problems...”

“Then don’t.” He grinned at her. “I won’t be upset with you.”

“Unfortunately, I had a brainstorm this afternoon and Miss E. and Lydia really like the idea.”

“Hit me with it with both barrels between the eyes. Did you get a petulant tween pop star to do a concert here?”

“Not exactly.” She found she couldn’t meet his eyes. “I honestly like you way too much to do something like that.”