AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It’s okay. I told them we had a long night, and you would call them when you woke.”
“They’re going to be so mad at me.”
“I don't think they're mad at you, I’m sure they were worried. No fear, though Zoe's anger is firmly pointed at me. She accused me of kidnapping you.”
Alyssa groaned. “Zoe is the mother hen of the LJGs. You wouldn't think a Little could be so bossy, but she excels at it.”
“Oh, I don't know. I seem to remember one Little girl getting very bossy last night about all the rides she wanted to go on.”
“I was not bossy. I was…uhm…” Alyssa looked around as if searching for inspiration. “Enthusiastically vocal about my preferences.”
I laughed and gave her a light smack on the butt. “Okay, my little wordsmith. We’ll pretend those are different things. Your phone is plugged in next to the bed. Daddy will clean up while you talk to your friends.”
“Okay, Daddy.” Alyssa kissed me on the cheek before scrambling off my lap.
I gathered up the dishes from our breakfast and rolled the tray out into the hall. While it was nice not to have to clean up, the lack of a kitchen was inconvenient. Would Alyssa balk if I decided to rent something more homelike for us for the rest of the month? I wasn’t a gourmet chef by any stretch of the imagination but there was something satisfying in the thought that I would be providing for her instead of ordering room service or making do with what could be kept in a refrigerator. She seemed like the type of person who preferred the personal touch over luxury.
I could hear her talking in the bedroom but before I could give into the urge to listen, my phone rang. A glance at the display let me know Rocco was checking in, hopefully with good news.
I quickly answered. “Hey, man.”
“You know you’re a pain in the ass, right?” The frustration in his voice was unmistakable.
“What’s going on?”
“The shit I put up with for you should earn me a bonus.”
“Considering we are partners in a business that set us both up for a very cushy retirement and this next fight of mine is going to make you almost a million dollars, I'd say you get paid pretty well. What part of what I asked you to do is causing you a headache?”
He sighed. “There is no amount of money that would make dealing with your girl’s asshole boss worth it. I need to know if you are sure about her.”
“Why?”
“Some of the things the guy said made it seem like the girl might have a less legal side hustle, if you know what I mean.”
Anger raced through my veins. “You had better speak a hundred percent clearly because I’m pretty sure you are trying to say Alyssa’s a prostitute.”
“No, I'm telling you what her boss said. He knew not only that you two went out last night, but that she had spent the night in your room. If she didn’t tell him, then we have a bigger problem. Oatmeal for brains said he expected compensation for the personal services she’d already provided and quoted a ridiculous number as her usual rate to work exclusively for you.”
Anger had my muscles clenched so hard they were practically vibrating. “He’s full of shit. She practically ripped my head off when she thought I was suggesting anything transactional, apart from my paying for the massage. How the hell does he know she stayed in my room last night?”
“I didn’t like what he was saying. I definitely didn’t like the implications that he would let the press know about you two if I didn’t pay him.”
I wanted to lose my mind, but it wouldn’t help the situation. Tempting as it might have been to go down and knock the asshole unconscious, it wouldn’t fix the issue. It came as no surprise that Alyssa had undersold the ‘my boss is a jerk’ information last night. Question was, had she kept information from me because we were new or because she was afraid of the consequences of sharing that information?
“I hope you didn’t give that asshole a single cent.”
“I don’t know what he was thinking. While you wouldn’t want your girl being embarrassed by her name in the gossip rags, it wouldn’t hurt your reputation. He’d be lucky to get fifty bucks for the story.”
My cellphone bit into my hand so hard I realized I needed to relax my grip or risk having to get a new one. “You’re damn right I don’t want her to have to deal with that bullshit. Tell me you took care of this.”
Rocco’s dark chuckle made me smile. “As soon as the asshole started getting slimy, I started recording the conversation. After he dug himself a huge hole, I called the casino’s manager, Michael, and let him know what one of his staff was doing. I reminded him what it would do to his business if it got out that his employees were into blackmail. I also told him that we would sue not only him, but the casino, for breaking the NDA. I told him we’d also hit them with libel, and anything else our very expensive lawyers could come up with.”
“Good.” I wasn’t the type of man to throw money or my fame around but sometimes the fact that I could do so if I wanted to came in handy.
“Needless to say, he promised me Alyssa would be reassigned to be on call for you for the remainder of your stay and that Seth, her boss, would be fired. Thing is,” Rocco sighed loudly, “that guy didn’t seem like the type to take the smart route and go quietly.”
Worry swirled through my chest. I knew very little about Alyssa’s boss Seth, other than what I’d picked up in our brief interaction when we’d met. He was a weasel of a human who sucked up and had a very short temper when rebuffed. I could only imagine how much worse it would be to have to deal with him on a daily basis. Men like him were often cowards when confronted but lashed out when cornered. I hoped he wasn’t dumb enough to still go to the press but with the loss of his job he might try thinking he could get revenge and a paycheck at the same time.
