1. It’s Electric
Chapter 1
It’s Electric
CALLIE
“ S mile. This isn’t a walk to the electric chair.”
That was exactly how it felt.
Like everything in my life depended on me getting that specific job, and if it went sideways, it would be over.
I forced myself to breathe as I nodded at Tess.
She didn’t look like the same smiling woman I’d met four years ago. In fact, she rarely smiled. Not unless it was the fake kind she plastered on to try to convince me—and herself—that everything was okay.
“Remember, as far as anyone knows, you’re a friend who moved here from Utah,” she said for the millionth time. “Give enough truth that you can keep track of it, but not too specific. They don’t know about that part of my life, so watch what you say, okay?”
“Got it.”
She reached out to take my hand, quickly squeezing before she released it. “This will work out. I lucked into this job at Parisian Crescent when I needed it most. Now you show up just as I’m leaving? The timing is too perfect. It’s fate.”
Tess hadn’t been a member of Eternal Sun for over two years. I’d woken up one morning to find they’d moved her off the property in the middle of the night. Not because she caused havoc or committed some egregious sin.
It was her husband Dick —a fitting name—who was to blame. The much older man had decided that their open way of marriage was no longer right for him. He wanted to settle down with one woman.
And that woman was not the wife he already had.
The wife who’d sacrificed everything to make him happy.
Since he was the one who funded their progress in ES, Tess was left with nothing.
No husband.
No home.
No belongings.
No community or support.
If my parents’ lifestyle hadn’t already shown that way of living was not for me, her sad tale had certainly confirmed it.
Luckily for her, she had an old friend willing to take her in until she got on her feet. She returned that good karma by doing the same for me when I’d made my hasty escape.
But despite the hippie way she spoke of fate and timing, it wasn’t on my side. Not like it’d been for her. I didn’t have six months to wallow and fight to crawl back to Eternal Sun like she had—not that I would do that last part.
By the time I’d shown up on her doorstep, Tess had already put the wheels in motion to return to Ohio, where her family lived. If I didn’t get the job to replace her as a server, I couldn’t afford to take over her room in the apartment she sublet with two roommates, Jesse and Brie. I would have to return to the overfilled shelter where I’d spent my first night while I’d searched for Tess.
It was better than the alternative.
We continued from the bus stop, passing extravagant buildings and luxury stores interspersed with run-down ones with broken windows. The whole city was like that. Glam mixed with garbage. Expensive shops next to knockoff souvenir ones. Exclusive restaurants with dress codes around the corner from dilapidated ones with health code violations.
Turning, we walked up a path leading to a shimmering building with curves and points that made it look like the moon’s phases.
Although I’d been in Vegas for four years, I’d rarely left Eternal Sun’s grounds. When I had, I’d kept my face pressed to the SUV’s window. I’d never lived near a place that was so lively. So congested. Whatever driver I had would inevitably complain about the traffic, but I’d thought it was wonderful.
So many people. So many sights.
So much life .
It’d been terrifying to navigate on my own when I’d searched for Tess, but it’d still been a thrilling terror. Luckily, it hadn’t taken me long to find her, thanks to the free computers at the library and my new social media accounts.
But the bit I’d seen of the city was nothing compared to the grandeur of that building. As we passed a fountain with a sculpture of a warrior woman, I dug in my pocket for a penny. It was pretty much all I had to my name, but I flicked it into the water for good luck.
I wonder if the owner is a tree-hugging hippie .
The inside was somehow more gorgeous than the outside. The glass atrium reminded me of the solarium at ES, and a trickle of apprehension skimmed down my spine.
I pushed it aside as I rushed to keep up with Tess while taking in the stunning resort. Flickering fairy lights. White flowers everywhere. Little details, right down to the gold crescents on the floor. We walked under a curved metal arch that lit with the moon phase.
Definitely a hippie.
Going past multiple shops, quick service food stands, and a packed gaming floor that nearly lured me in with the siren’s call of shiny metal, flashing lights, and loud sound effects, more doubt kicked in.
I had no serving experience. If I managed to get the job—and that big if was growing by the second—I wasn’t sure I could handle the volume of customers the restaurant likely drew. But working in a slower place even farther off the Strip wouldn’t earn me enough to pay the bills.
I steeled my spine and pushed forward.
All that bravado lasted about two-point-five seconds until Tess opened a door, and we entered the fancy restaurant.
Technically speaking, I’d grown up with parents who had money. Only, instead of spending it on extravagant shopping or overpriced dinners, they spent it on their quests for enlightenment. On their communities. On peace for their souls.
And drugs.
They spent a lot on drugs.
Even when I was still with them, I wouldn’t have belonged in the upscale restaurant, so certainly not right then while I wore someone else’s dress—one that’d likely been a thrift find to begin with.
Tess, on the other hand, looked like a chic movie star in the short black dress that all the female employees wore. She could’ve worn flats like the male servers, but she’d shared that the higher the heel, the larger the tip. And she really went for it in her stilettos, not wobbling a bit when I would’ve already broken both my ankles. Even the chunky heels she’d loaned me pushed my coordination. Her makeup, hair, and even the seam of the tights that ran up the back of her legs were all precisely in place.
I fought the urge to pick at my cuticles until they bled and settled for rolling the end of my belt into a tight coil before letting it unravel so I could repeat the process.
“It’s not the electric chair,” Tess repeated. For a moment, she almost looked like the woman I knew before until I realized her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. It was just for show, a friendly expression in exchange for money.
I swallowed my nerves to follow suit.
“Atta girl. Let’s do this.”
She led me through the dining room and kitchen before softly knocking on an office door.
“Come in,” a deep voice called.
She pushed it open to reveal an older man sitting behind a large desk. Receipts, papers, and who knew what else covered his cluttered space as he typed on a keyboard at a much faster pace than my index-fingers-stabbing style.
He wasn’t what I’d pictured at all. Not when she’d talked about how attractive her boss was, with all his tattoos and cocky attitude.
But Dick had been older, too, so maybe that was her type.
“Hey, Manny,” Tess greeted. “This is my friend that I told you about. Callie, this is my shift manager, Manny Diaz.”
“Mr. Diaz, thank you for meeting me,” I forced out past the nervous lump that sat heavily in my stomach before traveling up to clog my throat.
“Manny is fine.” He gestured to the chair opposite his desk. “Sit.” As I did, he lowered his glasses to skewer Tess with a look. “Usually when people put in their notice, they don’t try to bring in their own replacement.”
“You know me, I go the extra mile.” Tess held out her arms. “Employee of the year over here.”
He hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “We aren’t exactly short on applications.”
Tess had already warned me that Parisian Crescent and most other jobs in the Black Resorts properties didn’t even accept résumés because so many people were desperate to get a job there. My disappointment began to press in, but Tess wasn’t deterred.
“And now you don’t have to sort through that chaos or make phone calls. You’re welcome.”
He stared at her with a blank expression before shaking his head. “Go clock in.”
She flashed me a quick, reassuring smile, then left.
“Do you have any restaurant experience?” Manny asked, launching right in.
“No, but I used to work at a very popular farmstand, so I do have customer service experience,” I said. It wasn’t a lie. Saturday mornings were insane, and the rest of the Family Keepers members were less than reliable.
And usually hungover.
“What would your availability be?” he asked.
“Wide open.”
“Are you punctual?”
“Yes.” That one was a lie. Time management had always been a struggle, but I hadn’t tried to improve since it had also never been that important in my life. I would figure it out, though. I had no other choice.
“Do you have?—”
His question was cut off when someone stormed into the office. A splattered cream-colored apron covered dark slacks and a black tee. The short sleeves exposed tattoos that stretched down his arms to his hands and fingers. His brown hair was messy and sticking up like he’d been frantically running around.
This must be who Tess was actually talking about.
But why is the big boss dressed like a cook?
“Taste this,” he said to Manny, his voice lightly accented. Something was familiar about it, and it poked at my brain.
“I’m in a meeting,” Manny pointed out.
The man froze and glanced over his shoulder. His dark blue eyes scanned me before he turned my way. “Good. You taste this.”
Even though the thought of eating anything made my stomach churn, I tried to take the spoon he offered me, but he kept hold of it as he moved it to my mouth. My fidgeting hands, legs, and even my tongue seemed to nervously tremble as I tasted the creamy sauce. I pulled back and licked my bottom lip to make sure it wasn’t smeared across my face.
“Well, chéri?” he prodded, solving that mystery. When I’d lived in the awful place in New Mexico, there’d been a fellow resident from Louisiana who’d used the same affectionate name. Their accents weren’t exactly the same since the tattooed man’s was richer and seemed mixed with something else, but they were close.
“It’s good,” I tried.
“What else?”
Everything in me said to fib. To say it was perfect. To protect my potential job by kissing all the ass. It wasn’t that it was a stretch. It was good, but… “The licorice flavor is a little heavy,” I impulsively blurted before I could stop myself.
I’d never met an actual chef, but I had known enough cooks when the places we’d lived had communal dining halls. Even the ones who weren’t talented had been sensitive about their food. Someone who was clearly accomplished was likely worse.
Well, there goes that opportunity.
His jaw clenched, and he didn’t look happy at my commentary. But a second later, the tension relaxed, and he grudgingly admitted, “You’re right. It’s the tarragon throwing it off.” He raised a brow. “Unless you have other notes for me?”
I quickly shook my head.
He turned from me to face Manny. “She’s hired. Make sure she leaves with the signing bonus and the stipend and guidelines for the uniform.”
“Maximo won’t—” he started.
“I’ll talk to him.” He glanced down at me. “A new incentive to discourage turnover.”
Manny’s brows lowered, and he opened his mouth before closing it again. Something I didn’t understand went unsaid between them before he shared, “She has no experience.”
“If she doesn’t get through training, we always need hostesses.”
“Right,” Manny drawled as the man stormed from the room with the same urgency as he’d entered. He looked at me and tipped his head. “Looks like you’re hired.”
Thank godde ? —
Tess.
Thank Tess.
The acid that began to form in my stomach didn’t have time to fully take root before I was thrown into a dizzying amount of paperwork and training materials. Once I had everything, I was sent on my way with far too much cash, the location of a dress shop to purchase the uniform, and strict orders that I needed those clothes and to get a cell phone before I started training the next day.
Since the bonus and the stipend would easily cover both, my first month’s rent, and some supplies, I was practically floating on air as I exited the room before anyone could tell me it was a mistake or prank.
“Well?” Tess eagerly asked as I walked out to where she was slowly adding drinks to a tray while also checking for me.
“I’m hired. I have to go get the uniform.”
“I can loan you money,” she selflessly offered, though she likely needed every cent for herself.
“It’s okay. They gave me a stipend.”
“They don’t usually do that.”
“He said it’s something about trying to decrease turnover.”
She nodded. “When I put in notice, they were pretty surprised. I feel bad now. Maybe I shouldn’t leave…”
Depending on the minute, Tess flipped, then immediately flopped again on her plan. I got the feeling that returning to Ohio also meant admitting that her marriage was actually done. It was clear she held out hope that Dick would swoop in to grovel and whisk her away.
It was unlikely. Beyond that, I wasn’t sure why she’d even want it.
“No need to feel bad,” I said, hoping it was reassuring. “You brought me in. When I save up enough, I’ll come visit like we talked about. You can take me to that amusement park.”
“That’ll be fun. And I think my mom would fly here and drag me home if I tried to back out now.” The devastation and lost look she got when she thought no one was paying attention took over her expression for a second before she caught herself and plastered her smile back into place. “I have to get these drinks to my table.”
“Good luck.”
Doing my best to navigate through the sprawling resort on my own, I followed the directions Manny gave toward the shop.
I have a job.
Let’s hope I can keep it.