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Everything I had in my life, I'd fought for, but I'd never fought for something I wanted. Something for me. For more than six years, it'd been about doing everything in my power to make a life for my daughter. And now, for the first time, I had to decide if I was willing to fight just as hard for myself as I had for her.
* * *
It was latein the afternoon, and I was conducting the first of my rounds of the casino floor. I checked in with a few of the guests that I was familiar with, making sure they were all having a good time. Of course they were, because our customer service was nothing but top notch, but keeping it that way was my job. Despite my maudlin mood a few hours prior, I was in a good mood when my phone rang, and I saw it was Earl.
“Hey, boss, what's up?”
“Hey, Briana, sweetheart. You're out on the floor, aren't you?”
“I am.” I took a step sideways to move behind a wall that blocked some of the noise surrounding me.
“I've just had a request come in from one of the high roller guests. He asked for you specifically to come up to his suite, says he needs some special attention.”
I rolled my eyes, glad that Earl couldn't see me. I very much doubted that whoever this guy was had asked specifically for “special attention,” but Earl seemed determined to make it clear at every opportune moment that he was on board with me sleeping with the guests. Not a requirement, of course, because that wouldn't fly with HR, but if I was amenable to it, he wouldn't be opposed.
He gave me the man's suite number and the name K. Myers. As I rode the elevator, I wondered if Dorian had gotten another room and used a pseudonym to request my company, so it didn't look like what was happening between us was because of my job.
But it wasn't Dorian who answered the door.
Shit.
“Oh,” I said quietly. “Um, hi.”
“It's funny when you get all flustered like that.” The words came out in a lazy drawl, the familiar eyes raking down my body and then back up again.
K. Myers. I hadn't heard his last name when I saw him in Hawaii, and I doubted I'd ever known it when he'd been a customer all those years ago. Now I knew that Earl hadn't been making up the special attention part of things. I had no doubt Kendall had said exactly that.
“What are you doing at the Rock Bay, Mr. Myers?” I asked, trying to keep my tone as professional as possible. “And what can I do to help accommodate you during your stay?”
He swept his arm toward the suites' grand interior. “Why don't you come in, doll?”
I wrinkled my nose behind his back but followed him into the room. I couldn't make a pre-emptive assumption that his intentions were as bad as I thought they were. There was always a chance that he was here to apologize for our confrontation.
“I don’t want to waste either of our time,” Kendall said, turning on his heel. “So I’ll get to the point.” He smirked. “I want you to give me the same quality service you give my cousin.”
A wave of emotions buffeted me from all sides. Shock. Anger. Hurt.
Fear.
“I think there’s been a misunderstanding…” I murmured. I could barely hear my own words over the pounding of my heart.
He chuckled. “I don’t think there has. I know it’ll cost more now than it did with that loser boyfriend of yours in charge, but as you can see, I’m not short on funds.” He spread his arms wide, displaying his expensive suit and watch.
I pushed back everything I was feeling. I needed to get out of there.
“And I’m not for sale,” I said stiffly. “Goodbye, Mr. Myers.”
I didn’t slam the door behind me because I was still technically working, but I stomped all the way to the elevator. Then I turned sharply to the right and took the stairs instead. I needed some time alone, and nobody ever took the stairs from these floors. My anger was fizzling out, and the emotions riding in to replace it were going to be harder to control.
By the time I had my back against the cement wall of the stairway, the tears were coming hard and fast. I was powerless to stop them, my whole body shaking with sobs. I couldn’t tell whether I was more upset with Dorian or myself. How could he have told his cousin about what happened between us? I knew we hadn’t made any promises to each other about exclusivity or anything like that, but I didn’t think he’d just hand me off to other men like I was...property.
But, then again, it was my own stupid fault. I never should have fooled myself into thinking there was more going on between the two of us than sex. How could I have been so blind? So reckless? I'd imagined feelings from him that clearly weren’t there. I hadn't been stupid enough to think he loved me, but I'd thought there was a kind of fondness between us. Something special.
I was wrong. One day I would have to get used to the fact that my instincts were completely off when it came to men, and that chasing happiness would always lead to inevitable ruin.
Tiffany was wrong. There was nothing here to pursue. The only real question was whether or not I could continue seeing Dorian knowing that he didn't see me the way I thought he did.
