All In by Nell Stark

Author:Nell Stark [Stark, Nell]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2014-06-14T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

The anger was a hot coal in Vesper’s chest, fanned by every breath. It burned away her gratitude, her sentimentality, her self-consciousness. What the hell was Nova playing at? That…that woman came out of the woodwork and she turned into putty? She hadn’t mentioned a girlfriend, and she certainly hadn’t been acting like she was in a relationship. Had she been lying by omission this entire time, or was Emily an actual roommate with benefits? Either way, Nova was clearly even more of a player than Vesper had originally realized. Shaking her head, she silently congratulated herself on being smart enough to avoid acting on her attraction. She had dodged a bullet, there.

As she waited for an elevator, her indignation picked up steam. Romantic status aside, how dare Nova judge her decisions? Had she passed judgment when Nova confessed to having dropped out of graduate school? No. It was a crazy thing to do, especially when Nova had been so very close to getting her doctorate, but Vesper had schooled her features and listened patiently. Whereas Nova had looked at her like she was an alien as she explained how she had bargained with Steve.

Tit for tat—that was how this system worked. At every level, hosting was all about quid pro quo. Did she want to see Biz again? Of course not. But would it be worthwhile to continue on as his host in exchange for being able to strike a deal with Priscilla Beauregard? That was a no-brainer.

Vesper glanced down at her watch. The Sphinx board meeting had adjourned for lunch half an hour ago. She had booked them a private alcove at Barri in case they wanted to continue discussing business over their meal, and it would be wise to check in with them to ensure everything was satisfactory. The only downside, of course, was Biz. If her presence forced him to apologize in front of the senior board members, would he resent her for it?

As she waited for the elevator, she caught sight of her reflection in the gleaming metal doors. An unexpected wave of guilt washed over her. Why was she worrying about Biz’s mental state? He was the aggressor and she the victim. If anything, he should be the anxious one. Then again, he had the money, and her entire raison d’être was to convince him to spend it at Valhalla—a fact of which he was no doubt aware. Despite the incident last night, the power was still firmly in his hands.

The doors opened and she stepped inside, mentally clinging to the smoldering ashes of her anger. When she walked through the doors of the restaurant, she needed to present a façade as impenetrable as diamond. These were corporate men, trained to sniff out weakness and capitalize on it. There could be no chinks in her armor, or she would lose their respect. And if she lost their respect, eventually, she would lose their patronage. Gamblers would never stop pushing her limits, always seeking out the fanciest suite, the newest show, the priciest meal.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.