FOURTEEN - JAMESON #2
Shit! This day just kept getting better and better. I reluctantly left Josephine’s kitchen with a very strong buzz. She never did tell me what was in the bottle, and I’d probably never know. All I knew was that it wasn’t syrup, and it was probably as old as me, if not older.
With hazy vision, I tapped out a text to Kelly.
Me: Got a minute?
I’d already started making my way toward her office before waiting for her to reply.
Her office was located between the main casino and event center on the ground floor of the hotel tower and clear on the other side of the building from where I was.
It was already a hell of a walk as it was.
Doing it with a buzz would be a whole different story.
My phone dinged.
Kelly: Always. I’ll be in my office. My happy place. My zen. Ohhhm.
Me: Nerd. OMW.
A few minutes later, I stumbled into Kelly’s office and plopped down on her sofa. She was sitting behind her desk, typing away.
“Is it hot in here to you, or is it just me?” I fanned my shirt out, trying to create a breeze. “Can you open a window or something?”
She glanced at me over the top of her computer screen with a confused look on her face. “There is no window…and from the looks of it, it’s just you. You good? ’Cause you look like shit. Your face is all red.”
“Josephine. She gave me some—”
“Shit. Did you sip her syrup?”
“Sip? More like chugged a few shots. You know about it?”
“Yeah, most of us do. I took that shit one time. Never again. I felt sick for two days.”
“Christ. I think she tried to kill me. How come I didn’t know about it?”
“I think that’s obvious. She didn’t warn you first? Jesus. One of her family members down the river makes it. That bottle is probably older than both of us combined.”
“Tastes like it.”
“You shoulda known better than to drink some unknown brown liquid out of a syrup bottle.”
“I’ve made worse decisions.”
“Hmm. You might not feel that way in the morning. Why’re you drinking this early? It’s barely noon.”
“You’d drink, too, if you watched what I just witnessed.”
“What’s going on?” she asked, closing her laptop.
I let out a heavy sigh, followed by a hiccup. “Let’s see, where should I start? Oh, I know. How about Roman whooped Chris’s ass out on the gaming floor just a little while ago.”
Her eyes widened. “Get the fuck out. No he did not!”
I lay back, practically melting into her overstuffed couch. “I wish I were lying. Chris copped a feel of my ass. Roman saw it and lost his shit. Right there in front of everyone.”
Kelly practically busted out laughing. “Does Chris not know who he’s fucking with here? Goddamned idiot. He must have a death wish.”
“It’s not funny! You should have seen Chris!”
“I’m sure Roman rocked his fuckin’ world. How is he? Is he still alive?”
I just shook my head in disbelief. “Yeah, for now. I have no idea how he is at the moment. Ivan’s supposed to keep me updated. Jordan dragged him off the floor, I think to the clinic.”
“He’ll learn real quick Roman is a fuck around and find out kinda guy. Or maybe he won’t, and you’ll be less one team member. Where is Roman, anyway?”
“I know, I know. He’s waiting for my signal. I sent him to his suite until I figured out what I wanted to do for the rest of the day.”
“That’s probably for the best. Let him cool off.”
“Anyway, moving on. How’s things going with our event this weekend?”
“So far, so good. Things are falling into place. I got the food and beverage menus delivered this morning.”
“Ooh. How they look?”
She held one up for me to see. “Amazing.”
Even from across the room, I could tell they were just as immaculate as I had envisioned. Everything from the black velvet paper down to the shimmery silver and gold foil writing. Even the back had been embossed with our logo.
“What did we end up going with for food?”
We had a limited menu because, one, the less people had to worry about food, the more attention they could focus on writing checks, and two, Josephine was up my ass about what she was and wasn’t willing to do.
“Let’s see…crab cake aioli, pulled pork barbeque sliders with smoked bourbon sauce, prosciutto-wrapped melon, and beef Wellington bites with creamy Dijon mustard dipping sauce. Those are just the main course apps.”
“Shit, that sounds so good right now. What about dessert?”
“I was getting there.” She cleared her throat. “Then for dessert, we have peach cobbler with French vanilla ice cream, pecan pie balls with caramel dipping sauce, and banana pudding cheesecake.”
“You’re killing me. That literally sounds the best.”
“Oh, it will be. So don’t even think about counting your calories. Best just plan on eating your weight in finger-food.”
“Deal. Did you decide on a signature drink? All of the ones you’d sent me sounded amazing, too.”
“Yup. Me, Haley, and a few others sat here one night at the bar and had Pablo make us all of them.”
“And?” I asked anxiously.
She smirked. “Black widow martini.”
“Love it.”
“We’ll still have local craft beer, a flaming cocktail, a smoking cocktail, and a few classics.”
“What about the live band?”
“All lined up. Flowers and lighting have both been confirmed. We’re rocking right along.”
“You’re amazing.”
“I know. What else you need from me?”
“Everything. That’s what else.”
She swiveled her chair back and forth. “You’re gonna have to elaborate.”
I let out a whiny moan. My alcohol brain fog had me feeling some kind of way…that’s if that were even considered alcohol that Josephine had given me.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course. Isn’t that your job?”
“Well, yeah, I guess. But this isn’t about work.”
“Oh! Even better. Fire away, then.”
My stomach knotted in anticipation, but I knew I had to ask her about Roman. So many other people seemed to know an entirely different side to him than me. I wanted to know him the way everyone else did. “What’s he like? When I’m not around?”
“What’s who like? What do you mean?”
“Roman. It’s just—I don’t know. Everyone seems to know a different version of him than me.”
She shrugged. “He seems the same as he’s always been to me.”
“I guess.”
“Look, don’t take this the wrong way, but the Roman you got and the Roman the rest of us know are two totally different people. He didn’t want to be the guy everyone expected him to be when he was with you. He could let his guard down with you, right? Isn’t that all any of us ever want?”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” The problem was almost no one knew about us. They didn’t know we’d ever been together or that we were even friends. He’d always just been part of a business transaction to my dad. I was never allowed to interact with him for anything more than that.
“He’s grown up a lot since the last time he was here. He’s always been a looker, but holy shit. Have you seen him?”
I sighed. “Yeah, I see him.” And I’d felt the front of his body pressed against mine, savored the sweet taste of his tongue as it invaded my mouth.
The thought of our superhot and unfortunately super-short make-out session sent a sensation through my entire body straight between my legs. Damned alcohol.
She propped her elbows on her desk and rested her chin in her hands.
“Y’all have lived two completely different lives since day one.
You were always the untouchable princess; he was the village villain.
You gotta consider what he’s been through.
Who knows where he’s been or what they’ve had him doing.
You know how this line of work can be—how it is.
But you’ve only ever seen it from the outside looking in, you know, ’cause Elliott shielded you from a lot. ”
“I guess you’re right.” Just in the last day or so, I’d actually considered pursuing Roman again, testing the waters to see where he stood.
I didn’t know if that was a good idea or quite possibly the dumbest thing I’d ever considered.
We had a history…operative word had. I needed to remind myself that just because he looked at me like a dessert waiting to be devoured didn’t mean he wanted me again.
He’d only be here for a few more days, and then he’d be gone just as fast as he’d shown up.
“And given my track record with men, it’s probably best I just sit this one out. ”