Sweet Sinful Nights(46)
Maybe it was wishful thinking. Maybe it was just some mad hope. Or perhaps he simply wanted to be prepared for any and all possible outcomes tonight. Hit, stand, or double down.
Nate laughed loudly. “You hoping to get lucky at my property this evening?”
“I’m always hoping to get lucky,” he said.
“I’ll take care of you. Stop by ops on the way out. Alfonso will get you a key,” he said, referring to the property manager on site. Brent knew the guy well.
“I owe you,” he said.
“I owe you. Your club is driving business like crazy. It’s like a goddamn slot machine that pays off every time,” Nate said, and Brent grinned. That was what he liked hearing. Edge was indeed the golden goose. He zeroed in on that for another hour, then checked the time. He needed to head home and get ready to pick up his date. No motorcycle tonight. He’d reserved a town car.
On the way out through the casino, Tanner’s name flashed across his phone screen. He nearly crossed his fingers, praying the man wouldn’t say something to ruin his Saturday.
“Hey Tanner. What’s up?”
“Meeting was moved up. Gotta do lunch instead of dinner,” Tanner barked.
Brent’s shoulders tensed. “Tomorrow? What’s the deal?”
“The neighborhood association president, Alan Hughes, has to drive his daughter to summer camp on Sunday night, so dinner won’t work tomorrow. Only lunch. But listen, I think I’ve got him fluffed nicely for you.”
Fluffed. The man actually used a porn term. “So he’s leaning our way?”
“It’s looking like that. See? I told you I’d be good for you. I bet you want to pay me extra each month on the lease, don’t you?” Tanner said with a raspy laugh.
Brent shook his head in exasperation. Tanner was a piece of work. “Glad to hear that about Alan,” he said, avoiding the other comment. He flashed briefly to his conversation with Bob from the comedy club, who’d been getting fleeced by his landlord, too. Fingers crossed that this meeting tomorrow would send them all down the right path. Brent could continue the expansion of Edge, and Bob would have the new job he needed to pay the bills.
“So be here by noon, got it? Same location. McCoy’s.”
“See you tomorrow.”
Brent sighed heavily in frustration as he hung up. Win some, lose some. He called his assistant and asked her to change his flight from the morning to the midnight red-eye to New York. That gave him two hours with Shannon after the show ended. Crap. Make that one hour, since he’d need that hour to get to the airport and through security. Even so, he picked up a key from Alfonso.
Wishful thinking for sure at this point. But sometimes you had to roll the dice.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“Not too long now,” Michael said. “A few more edits.”
Shannon drummed her fingernails against her kitchen table as she peered at the computer screen with Michael. “Colin’s such a loud mouth,” she said with a laugh.
“I know,” he said, taking a break from tapping away on her keyboard to pat her on the back. Michael had stopped by to help her finish editing a video she’d shot of rehearsals for the Edge show at her studio. The dance was almost perfect, but there was a section she wanted to review with her assistant choreographer. The problem was that Colin had stopped by during the rehearsal and had started talking her ear off about a new investment his firm was making.
“Ding dong,” she’d told him. “Now I’m going to have to edit out the audio.”
“Oh shit,” he’d said, covering his mouth.
“I’m assuming you don’t want to take a chance on anyone but me hearing about the new data storage company that has a ten times valuation of blah blah blah,” she’d said quietly, parroting him back as she held her phone to record the dancers.
“That’d be a no,” Colin had whispered, then mouthed a thank you as he zipped his lips shut and let Shannon finish shooting the video.
Michael was a whiz at editing video, so he’d stopped by to help her remove Colin’s audio. Which also meant now was as good a time as any to tell him what she was up to tonight. She hadn’t said a word to him last weekend at her grandmother’s house, but she didn’t know then that she’d actually be dating—seriously dating—her ex-fiancé. Now she was, and she didn’t like cloaking her life in lies around her brothers, especially Michael. They were as tight-knit as a clan could be, and that was because they’d protected each other and trusted each other through thick and thin.
She steeled herself for his reaction. Of all her brothers, Michael had been the biggest fan of Brent, and then turned the other way when Brent left her.
Best to rip off the Band-Aid.
Michael zoomed in on the software, pushing a flop of dark hair off his forehead as he worked. She cleared her throat. “I’m going out with Brent tonight,” she said before she could back out of her confession.
His fingers stopped moving. She didn’t see his eyes, just his forehead as he furrowed his brow. He raised his face, and rubbed his knuckle against his ear. “Pretty sure I just heard you wrong,” he said slowly. “Say that again.”
“I’m seeing Brent,” she said, straightening her spine, keeping her chin up.