I felt like a twelve-year-old child again, summoned to my fatherâs office for some unknown offense Iâd committed. As I sat across from his desk, I wondered what the hell I did this time.
âAs you know, I had to hire a new event coordinator after your fling with Suzette. Finding someone to replace her on such short notice wasnât an easy task.â
So thatâs what this was about. Again. Suzette with the firm, round ass and voluptuous tits. It wasnât my fault she got attached. She was mediocre at her job, so it wasnât that big of a loss if you asked me.
âSheâs the third employee youâve run off in a year, Trent, and itâs wearing on me. If you sleep with one more woman in this office, you wonât like the consequences.â
I rolled my eyes. Iâd heard that threat before, and thatâs all it was⦠a threat. âPoint made. Iâll assume by your need to throw my indiscretions in my face that our new event coordinator is a woman.â
My father steepled his fingers. âShe is, and Ms. Romano came highly recommended from one of our other hotels.â
âWhere is she from?â
âWaukegan.â
I shook my head. Surely, I couldnât have heard correctly. Las Vegas wasnât for the faint of heart. I expected him to say Miami, LA, or even New York. Certainly not some place I could barely pronounce. âIâm sorry. Where?â
âWaukegan. Itâs north of Chicago. She worked at the Onyx.â
âChicago is great and all. Itâs a cool place to hang out, but itâs not Vegas. What makes you think sheâs qualified? Iâm fairly certain event planning in Waukegan isnât to the same standards.â
I was pushing my fatherâs patience and his lips pressed together in a fine line. âHer job was at one of our hotels. I have faith in my decision. Iâve been running this business since before you were born. Surely, youâre not questioning my judgment.â
I knew when to back off. âOf course not. Youâre the boss.â
âYouâd be best to remember that. I expect you to help Ms. Romano get assimilated. As COO and Head of PR and Marketing, her success ultimately falls on your shoulders. If you want to take over this empire someday, youâll keep your dick in your pants. Itâs always been the plan for you to run this company, but I donât have a problem handing over the reins to Hunter if youâre a liability.â
I cringed. There was no way I was letting my little brother snatch this company from me. He was a wiz with numbers, but it took more than a finance degree to run a prestigious hotel conglomerate. âMessage received.â
He stood and buttoned his suit coat. âI hope so. Iâm serious, Trent. Donât fuck her.â
I stood and faced him, buttoning my coat as well. âI wonât.â There was no way I was screwing up my future and certainly not with some Midwest, corn-fed wannabe.
âGood. Iâll expect you to be on your best behavior.â He walked to the door, and I followed behind. âMeeting in the conference room in five.â
I headed back to my office and barked at my PA. âTom, coffee. Immediately!â
âSure thing, Mr. Dorsey.â He scurried away to the break room.
The conversation with my father pissed me off. He was going to fire me because I loved women? Please! I hired Tom six months ago. I thought that would help, and it did. I had no desire to fuck him every time he walked into my office. He was also surprisingly good at his job. Efficient and discreet.
Suzette⦠not so much. We had a fling. That was true. Nothing more than a down-and-dirty fuck to get her out of my system, but it wasnât enough for her. When she showed up in my office wearing only thigh highs and a pearl necklace, it was time for her to go.
I grabbed my portfolio from my desk as Tom rushed into my office with the coffee. âThank you, Tom.â
âOf course. Anything else, sir?â
I sighed. The only place I enjoyed being called sir was in the bedroom. âWeâve been over this before. Itâs Mr. Dorsey or Trent. Not sir. And yes, thereâs one more thing. Find out everything you can about our new event coordinator, Ms. Romano. I wanna know where she lived, her evaluations at the Onyx in Chicago, and any other little interesting tidbits you can dig up.â The best defense was always a good offense. Information was power.
âIâll get on it.â
âAnd Tomâ¦â
âYes?â
âLetâs keep this between you and me.â
He nodded. âAlways.â
I made my way to the conference room that overlooked the Strip. It was a glorious sight during the day, but at night it was spectacular. Thatâs when the real magic happened. Any filthy fantasy your mind could conjure up was possible.
Like last Friday night.
The memory of the redhead on her knees in front of Brett and me flashed through my mind. And when we were both deep inside her⦠pure perfection.
My lips curled into a smile, and I quickly straightened my face. It wasnât the time or place to be reminiscing, especially when my father was up my ass and obviously annoyed.
Business.
I had to prove to him my head was in the game.
Ignoring the rest of the room, I took my seat at the end of the table across from my brother, Hunter. He smirked at me like the cat that ate the canary. âBetter pull it together.â
âIâve got my shit pulled together. Worry about yourself.â The last thing I needed was two people up my ass.
He lifted one eyebrow. âWeâll see.â
My father walked in, commanding everyoneâs attention, and walked to the head of the table. He threw the pile of papers in his hand onto the polished surface. âI just got the latest numbers. Theyâre good, but they could be better. Weâre still getting killed by Bellagio, Caesars Palace, and MGM. When people think of Las Vegas, I want Mystique at the top of their list. We need to up our game. We donât need good, we need great.â
That was the thing about the hotel industry, especially in Vegas. There was no such thing as status quo. Everyone wanted a bigger piece of the pie. You either kept upping the ante or dropped out of the game. The latter wasnât an option for us.
âI need each department to brainstorm,â my father continued his rant. âEverything is on the table from housekeeping to the shopping to the casino to dining and entertainment. Find out what our competition is doing and come up with something better. No idea is off-limits.â
I let out a measured breath. Nothing like starting a Monday in a pressure cooker.
My father gathered his papers from the table. âWeâll meet back on Friday, but before we goâ¦â He motioned to the other end of the table. âPlease welcome our new event coordinator, Ms. Gianna Romano.â
My head swiveled that way and her stunning blue eyes locked with mine. The redhead lifted her hand in a dainty wave. âItâs Gia. And thank you for having me. Iâm excited to be part of this team.â
Everyone around the table said their hellos and welcomed her.
My jaw turned to stone. There was no fucking way. God must have really hated me.
Hunter gave me a swift kick under the table as everyone got up to leave. âGood luck.â
I scowled at him and pulled out my phone to text Brett.
We have a fucking problem.