Page 10 of Jackpot Joker

After hanging up, I make my way to the bathroom and go through my nightly routine before crawling into bed on the hard-as-concrete mattress. I toss and turn for an hour before deciding I might need some sweet vibrations to help lull me to dreamland. I pull my trusty toy out of the drawer, and I only slightly hate myself for imagining a gorgeous Italian man as it does its job.

Chapter 6

Dario

“How did things go with the new attorney?” Gio asks as I enter his office.

The fuck? “You knew about the new attorney?”

Gio looks up from his computer, where I’m sure he’s watching security footage. His eyes draw in, and he looks so much like our father. All of us have olive complexions and dark features thanks to our Italian heritage, but Luca and Gio took after my dad, while my sister and I were granted the more delicate features of our mom. My heart pangs a bit at her memory and the fact she’d hate that my sister isn’t in Vegas with the family, but I shake it off and stare at my sibling.

“Of course I did. Jim Jorgensen called me directly to make me aware of the situation with Megan. I had to do a thorough background check and make sure she could be trusted, but he insisted she would be a good one. He also assured me this new hire was probably one I wouldn’t have to worry about you trying to sleep with.”

My jaw drops at that comment. Fat fucking chance. Did old Jim not sit in on the interviews and see the drop-dead gorgeous specimen he hired to represent his firm? Jasmine Baker may be a force to be reckoned with, but that fierce attitude only adds to her natural beauty.

“I haven’t slept with anyone in that office,” I remind him.

Gio raises his eyebrows at me. “Not for lack of trying.”

Luca snorts but remains his ever-silent self. Seriously, if the man wasn’t a behemoth who stood out like a sore thumb, you wouldn’t even know he was in the room.

“That was one time,” I say with a roll of my eyes. “And she didn’t wear a ring. How was I supposed to know she was married?”

Gio rolls his eyes. “So, tell me. How did it go?”

I tell my brother about the appointment I have set up with her tomorrow to go over things. Gio reminds me for the millionth time that this needs to move fast, and that we mean business when it comes to, well, business.

With Gio satisfied that I’ll handle things in real estate, he turns to Luca for darker matters. Our middle brother is what we consider the enforcer in the business. He’s the king of torture, and while I love him and know he loves me, I can’t help but be slightly terrified of the giant man.

“The two men who were here last night? You took care of them?”

Luca nods, and I’m slightly miffed that Gio doesn’t ask him for any further clarification. I swear there’s no respect for the baby of the family.

“Any affiliations?”

I may complain about not being taken seriously, but as I listen to Gio, I’m reminded why I don’t envy his position. While my father may be the don, Gio serves as his second-in-command and is next in line. They’re the ultimate target, the ones in charge of an entire network of enterprises, and also the caretakers of an intricate family makeup. I may enjoy giving him grief, but I admire Gio.

“They ran with the Matarazzo crew.” I notice the past tense he uses and shake my head—they chose the wrong Italians to turn to.

“Spies?”

Luca shrugs. “Cugines. Wanting to make a name for themselves.”

“Put a few more guys on the floor. I want them to watch for anyone suspicious.”

I scoff, “You worried about the Mattress Mafia, big bro?”

Gio releases a long, low sigh and shakes his head at the nickname I use for the Matarazzo family. They’ve been in the drug business for decades, running them in and out of their multiple mattress stores throughout the city. Hundreds of mattresses come in, but they sell like one a month. How the feds haven’t figured out their operation makes me question everything I know about the justice system.

“I know their hands aren’t in weapons, but they’ve been making more of a presence around here lately. I just want to make sure everyone stays on their own turf.”

I roll my eyes at his tough-guy vernacular. “Okay, Arthur Fonzarelli, you do that, and I’ll go visit our hot, new attorney.”

“Don’t sleep with her!” Gio shouts at me as I exit his office, and my middle finger waves goodbye.

With minimal flirting, Lindsay-not-Lauren grants me access to Jasmine’s floor, but my curvy bombshell isn’t tucked away in her office. I meander the hallways of Jorgensen & Munson on a mission to find her, winking at the ladies who shyly glance my way, and fist-bumping the bros who greet me in the hallway. The atmosphere of this place is rather charming. I like a friendly work environment and try to emulate that in the casino, but everyone is so busy, there’s not much time to be chummy.

As I walk past a room mimicking a small kitchen, I see a very familiar ass up in the air. I walk in and clear my throat. A small yelp lets me know Miss Baker is aware of my presence.