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CHAPTER ONE
“YOU WON’T REGRET giving me this opportunity”
And hopefully neither will I
Cleo Sinclair kept the worrisoht to herself as she held her cheery s at last over, she sailed out of the office of the vice president of player develop to pull the door closed behind her Away from Mr Burns’s cool de the tension
At the end of the hall, the elevator chi an employee to exit Cleo stepped up her pace and slipped into the open car Her pink manicured nail pressed the button for the main floor Once the doors swished shut, the air whooshed out of her lungs and she leaned against the wall for support
Step one was done She had the job, albeit on a trial basis
Now on to step number two
She had to prove to the ever-doubting Mr Burns that she was up to his challenge She could and would bring in wealthy clientele eager to gaas’s most luxurious establishments, the Glamour Hotel and Casino
A glance at her i her cheery yellow dress, which dipped a little lower than she’d like When she’d worked in the accounting depart the front-end of the casino, everything about her appearance mattered She smoothed her hands over the skirt It wasn’t the fanciest outfit she’d ever stitched In fact, she’d worried that she’dto wear it, but with each compliment from her fellow employees, her nervousness had eased That was, until her
She halted her rahts and inhaled a deep breath
It was too late to second-guess herself The train had left the station The ship had sailed Oh heck, it didn’t matter what phrase she used Her plan was in motion And she would succeed
After all, she’d just put her entire future on the line There was no going back No changing her eas nor would she be able to return ho
The elevator doors silently slid open, revealing lush carpeting leading to the casino area The soft lighting added to the auests to try their luck at winning a fortune Without s or clocks, minutes stretched into hours In fact, she had found herself losing track of ti for this promotion
A cheer echoed through the roolanced around to see an excited crowd at the craps table The palpable energy charged the room Someone must be on a roll of luck She hoped this would be her lucky day, too
As of yet, her whale, the big client, hadn’t checked in The VP hiuest and then he’d phone her when her presence was required Her boss had gone over the guest’s preferences, including his favorite ga hishim tickets to whatever shows he preferred But the utuest’s privacy, above and beyond their normal discretion Even she didn’t know his name yet
With her family’s ranch deep in debt, this was her only chance to chip in and prove to the what any Sinclair would do—taking a necessary calculated risk andsure it paid off
She wanted to be close by, so she headed for the China Cup, a little coffee shop just on the other side of the reception area Her mouth watered in anticipation of her first sip of a mocha java latte Her steps came faster and when her blue suede heels hit the marble floor by the front doors, they made a rapid staccato sound
A line of guests waiting to check in trailed past the sculpted fountain, blocking her passage She paused, finding the line almost reached the entrance They must be here for the car convention that opened today It was the biggest event along the strip The hotel had sold out months in advance This would be an ideal time for her to fish for new clients—if only Mr Burns didn’t have her on such a short leash, insisting she cater to this one whale only
“Hey, buddy,” grouched aaside?”
“Yeah,” chorused a screechy female voice “The rest of us have reservations”
Shouts and coh the lushly decorated lobby
Cleo glanced at the front desk to find one employee on duty What in the world? There were supposed to be three people helping with check-in, but the only person standing there was Lynn, their newest hire The girl was so green that she olf course look dull and grayish Why would they leave her alone at the front desk, today of all days?