Against the Odds (Fighting to Survive #2)(46)

“Ace, earth to Ace,” she giggles.

“Ace is on earth,” I ask adjusting my pants.

“This one or this one?” she asks holding up two black suits.

“Neither. Pack me jeans, some tee-shirts, and some gym shorts,” I say seriously.

“Ace? This one?” she shakes the one on the right, “Or this one?” she shakes the one on the left.

I look at them both and they look identical. “The one on the right,” I say.

“Good choice. You’ll wear this to the press conference,” she states. “And if I see you wearing anything else, you’ll be sleeping on the couch when you return.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I look at Gracie and not at Leah. I wasn’t going to wear a suit at all, but since she put it that way.

I look at Gracie while Leah packs my clothes and I’m amazed at how much Gracie looks like Leah. I have to wonder why I didn’t think it was strange that Jamie didn’t look like either of us. I loved Jamie so much it wouldn’t have mattered if I even suspected she was switched at birth. I also wonder what Madison looked like as an infant and as a toddler.

Leah sleeps intertwined with me and it’s a sure giveaway that she’s worried. I hold her close and kiss her often. When I hear movement in the bassinet, I get up with Leah for Gracie’s feeding. I can’t feed her, but I sit nearby and admire my spiky-haired baby. “I thought babies lost their hair when they were born?”

“Most of them do. Jamie was bald for the first year of her life,” Leah says as she softly touches Gracie’s black hair. “It doesn’t appear that Grace will lose hers. It’s pretty thick and long.”


“She’s beautiful,” I say, not taking my eyes off of my hungry baby.

“She is.”

The next morning Leah and I eat breakfast before I leave for Vegas. I shower and put on a pair of holey jeans, my signature gray tee-shirt, and boots. Gus pulls up with Tim and Dad already in the truck.

“Here, Ace,” Leah says as I load up my luggage. I turn around and she is holding up a sports jacket for me. It’s late summer and hot in Florida and even warmer in Vegas and she wants me to wear a sports coat. She shakes it at me like I can’t see it. “Appearances mean everything. Remember?” I smile and walk over to her. I was going to take it from her, and toss it in the back of the truck, but she holds it out for me to put on. “Sorry, but I don’t trust that you’ll wear it. If you put it on you’ll keep it on.”

I laugh and say, “You know me so well.”

“Yes, I do.”

We land in Vegas and the Bellagio has a limo waiting on us. The driver holds up a sign that reads Bobby Grether. When we walk over to where the driver is standing, I hear squealing. I turn to look and there are four very attractive women waving and smiling. I smile and wave and they take a few pictures. Some days I feel like a rock star being Bobby Grether, and then Leah knocks me off my platform where I should be anyway.

“I’m going to miss this lifestyle when you retire,” Gus says as he pours himself a drink.

“It’s a little too soon for a drink, isn’t it?”

“It’s a mimosa. You should try it,” he says, taking a drink.

“I don’t drink anything I can’t say.”

On the drive there, we go over the itinerary that the hotel sent over. They want Kennedy and me at breakfast together before the conference. I read over the sponsors list and see several big names. In the evening they want us to make an appearance at a Blackjack tournament. The dividing privacy window rolls down and the driver hands me an envelope and says, “The hotel wanted you to have this.”

I take the envelope from him. “Thank you,” I say and the window rolls back up. I open it up and see four stacks of one hundred dollar bills. I take them out and fan the money with my fingers. I toss Dad, Gus, and Tim a stack and keep one for myself. There is also a note enclosed. I read it out loud so they can hear.

Bobby Grether,

Here is a little something to show you our appreciation for you and your team in taking the time to come out here on such short notice. We know about the new addition to your family and we understand it must be difficult for you to leave them.

We are hoping to drum up some buzz this weekend to get the fight off to a running start. Please, look at the itinerary and if there is a problem, let us know.

Enjoy yourselves and if you need to go anywhere, we have a car ready to take you anywhere you need to go. I’ll see you in the morning.

Regards, Mr. Pelayo, C.E.O.

The Bellagio Hotel and Casino.

“Nice,” Dad says and everyone agrees. Tim fans the money and lets it blow across his face. I hit my stack against my knees and think that this stack alone would send my daughter to college for a year or two. I guess they believe that we'll lose it in the casino and if that’s true, they get their money back anyway. It pisses me off they have so much money to bribe people with. People are starving here in the United States for God’s sake.

When we get to the hotel and are greeted immediately at the door. We’re escorted upstairs to the penthouse not needing to stop by and check-in first. The room looks like a large apartment. White carpeting and white furniture fills the living room area with white walls and dark crown molding. The dining room has a large oval table with six chairs. The refrigerator is stocked with my favorite foods and an open bar is adequately supplied. “Mr. Grether,” the concierge says. “Mr. Pelayo wants to make sure your stay here is comfortable. If there’s anything you want that isn’t here, please let us know.”