Chapter 1 #2
Rehearsals for The Nutcracker have been underway for weeks now, and as I rush out of the dance studio on my way to my part-time job, my muscles ache.
Tonight, I need a hot bath and a good massage.
I’ll stay at the casino instead of driving out to my mom’s house in Summerlin.
I can use the facilities to get a massage, and the owners’ suites have those deep soaker tubs that would feel fantastic.
My black four-inch heels click along the sidewalk as I head to the parking lot where my new car waits.
My brother usually insists I have a driver, but I put my foot down and bought my own car.
I didn’t let him help me at all. I work hard for my money, and between two jobs and the tips I get from whales, I paid in cash and negotiated a better price.
I hit the button to retract the convertible roof on my BMW Z4 roadster, and “Dangerous Woman” by Ariana blasts through the speakers as I pull out of the lot.
Several dancers have made their jealousy obvious, but I don’t care.
I’m not into drama or petty bullshit. Besides, it helps that my brother is protected by the Bratva, and thus me too.
No one would dream of starting shit with me.
I weave through traffic to get to the Lucky Dice before my whale arrives. A whale—one of the casino’s high rollers, usually a millionaire or more—expects to be treated well, which explains the generous tips. I make sure mine get everything they want. Well…everything except me.
I’ve been propositioned more than once, always on the sly. If Alek knew, he’d kill them. But he’s so focused on his new wife that it’s easy to get things past him. He has no clue how tired and frustrated I am.
Maybe I just need to give my pesky virginity to someone and get it over with. Or maybe it’s time for me to get out of this desert and run away from the Bratva and this life.
Before my mother and I moved to Vegas, we were hiding out in Laughlin.
And before this year, I didn’t even know my brother.
I knew of him, but we’d never met. His wife found my mother and me.
We kept our distance from Alek because my father was killed over our parents’ relationship.
My mother is an Italian mob princess, and my father was a Brigadier for the Bratva.
Moving here gave me a whole lot of family I never expected. First the Bratva, and now the Italians too. And even though I belong to both sides by blood, I definitely take after my father and brother more than my mother. My hair is almost white-blond, and my eyes are a pale, electric blue.
I giggle as I pull into the parking lot, tires squealing. What can I say? I’m twenty-two and full of life, for the most part.
When I first auditioned for the Las Vegas Ballet Association, they made me a soloist. But a couple months ago, I was promoted to principal dancer and given the coveted Sugar Plum Fairy role. I’ve worked hard for that position.
I only work three days a week at the Lucky Dice as an executive host. Sure, I got the job because of my brother, but I proved I deserved it. I’m good at what I do. And the whales all love working with me.
When I step out of the car, the roof finishes closing, and I hit the fob to lock it before heading toward the employee elevator. It’s a private, back-of-the-house elevator that takes me straight up to the top executive and security floor.
“Are you fucking serious, Dar?” my brother bellows from his office.
I walk toward him and lean up to kiss his cheek when he steps out.
“Always.” I giggle as I slip past him to my office at the end of the hallway.
I glance around the space as I go, taking in the security teams and all the monitors tracking every angle of the casino.
“March will be here shortly. Have a personal concierge ready at the pull-up for him,” I tell one of my assistants.
“I will.”
I have three assistants to make sure every high roller is taken care of, either by me or by one of them.
I arrange their stay and all the major details, and my staff handles the smaller ones.
My job is to make sure the whales feel special and get access to the exclusive spots and hard-to-get tickets the general public can only dream about.
I drop my designer bag on my desk. That’s another thing that has changed in my life now that I can afford nicer things.
Mother and I never struggled financially because my uncle made sure we had enough, but we were still careful.
I studied business management at a local community college while I danced.
Most of the dancers in the company have second jobs to supplement their income.
The association can’t pay us enough to survive on dance alone.
Only one or two dancers in our troupe don’t work.
They come from rich families who take care of their every need.
When I auditioned, people assumed I would be one of the rich girls because of my brother’s reputation, but I work just as hard as the rest of them.
My mother ingrained in me since I was little that hard work is what pays off in the long run.
As I sit down, I stare at the pictures of my family and me on stage. I lean back and think about all the hard work I’ve poured into my career. My personal life is lacking, though. I want something more. I don’t know what, but I’m trying to figure it out.
My phone rings with “Rewrite the Stars” from The Greatest Showman, and I pull it up to my ear.
“Hello, Mamma.”
“Hello, baby. I was wondering if you were going to be home for dinner tonight. How was rehearsal?”
“No, I’m going to stay in our suite here tonight. I have an early rehearsal tomorrow. It was good. My pas de deux was on point. They only suggested a few tweaks I need to make.”
“I can’t wait to see you. My baby is the Sugar Plum Fairy. It’s a dream come true for you. I’m going to my Bunko club tonight, so I’ll see you when you come home.”
“It is a dream, Mamma. Well, I have to go. Work calls.”
We hang up, and I rise from my seat. I slide my phone into my pocket, grab my tablet, and head to the elevator.
Sometimes it hurts my heart that Mamma is fitting into our new life better than I am.
I don’t know what I’m missing. I know I want a family of my own someday.
I want to be like the wives in the neighborhood.
My sister-in-law, Lyric, and her sisters are all married.
They have men to take care of them, someone to come home to every day. I have my mom, but it’s not the same.
When I reach the lobby, Mr. March is walking in.
His eyes drag up and down my body as I step forward to greet him.
It’s so hard not to cringe. Something about him gives me the creeps, but I hide it behind a smile as I walk alongside him to the guest elevators.
His dark brown hair is streaked with gray, but it’s his personality and eyes that give me pause.
His eyes always have this wild kind of look to them.
“I sent your room key to your phone. You have a reservation at the Strat restaurant this evening at eight, and your game starts tomorrow promptly at five. I’ve also arranged a massage and booked the spa for your wife, who will be arriving before dinner tonight.”
“What would I do without you, Daria? Have you decided to leave this place and become my mistress?” He’s not joking, but I laugh it off. He propositions me every time he’s here.
“You’re very sweet, but I don’t mix business with pleasure. Besides, your wife is a sweetheart. I wouldn’t do that to her.”
It grates on my nerves that he flirts so openly around her. I can’t understand how such a sweet woman ended up with him.
He reaches out to put an arm around me, but I expertly sidestep, keeping space between us. I glance up at the camera with a knowing look and lift my brow. I know my brother is watching and that he will get upset.
“No touching.” I repeat the rule for Mr. March.
I have to set strict boundaries, just like Alek does. The word on the floor is that every whale who works with me knows they will get the best service, but anyone who oversteps will be banned from the Lucky Dice for life. My brother takes his duties as the big brother very seriously.
Mr. March grits his teeth and mumbles something under his breath I can’t make out.
“Did you say something?” I ask.
He turns to look at me. His cold, crazy eyes lock onto mine.
He’s at least thirty years older than me, and I’m not into him at all.
Maybe it’s because he isn’t handsome, but mostly it’s the way he treats people.
Two of my three assistants refuse to work with him because he was rude to them.
He can be cruel when someone makes a mistake, except with me.
“I said let’s run away together.” He tries to joke, but I can see the seriousness in his eyes.
“No.” I try to make light of it, but it’s so hard.
The doors open, and he signals for me to step out first. We stop at the suite I arranged for him.
“What? Don’t I get the same suite as last time?”
“I set up this one because your wife is joining you this time.” His last reservation was just below the executive owner’s floor. This time, he’s a floor below that in one of our largest suites. He’ll have a private butler again.
“My wife is nothing but trouble sometimes.”
I ignore the comment as I show him around the suite. “Your wife will have more accommodations here. The private kitchen and staff are here to serve you both. With your wife’s special diet, this is the best option for you.”
“I want you to serve me.” He tries to make a grab for me again, but I dance away, my hip clipping the counter. I cringe to hold in a groan of pain, but he sees it.
“If you would just stay still, that wouldn’t have happened. Now I’ll just kiss it better.”
This time he gets a hold of me, and I push him away with my tablet. My phone rings, and he drops his arms. I answer, already knowing from the ringtone exactly who it is.
“I’ll be right there shortly,” I say, then hang up.
“How does he always know when to interrupt? There isn’t a camera in my suite, is there?”
“No. There isn’t a camera here. It was the front desk calling. I have a meeting I must attend,” I lie, not wanting him to know it was Alek. I have two ringtones for when my brother calls me. “Purple Lamborghini” is his work phone, while “If We Have Each Other” is his personal phone.
As I make my escape, I let Mr. March know I’ll be just a phone call away if he needs anything else. I walk down the hall to the employee elevator and return to the security floor. Again, my brother is waiting for me.
“What took you so long?” he demands, and I can’t help the bite in my voice.
“I was doing my job. Want me to drop them at the door and say ‘see yeah’?”
“Well, no, but you don’t need to spend over ten minutes in their suites.”
“I was showing him around and explaining why I chose that suite for him this time,” I tell him the truth.
“I don’t trust him. It’s not you, Dar. It’s him. The way he looks at you. He also works with the Triad and some of the other families but chooses to stay here instead of with them.”
I shake my head in exasperation. “Alek, we are the best hotel on the Strip for whales, and he knows that. His money spends just like all the others. Stop being so overly protective. I’m not Lyric.” I pat his cheek as I walk past him.
“I know you’re not. I’d spank her for doing that.” He overshares.
Holding my tablet to one side of my head and my phone to the other, I groan. “Yuck. I don’t need details, big bro.”
I step into my office and settle into the chair behind my desk. I finalize plans for another whale arriving tomorrow. Then I check to make sure Mr. March’s schedule for the week hasn’t changed.
By the time I’m done, it’s been an hour since Alek left for home. I call room service to place a food order for our suite, then head to the elevator to call it a night.