“Not my problem.”
Smelling coffee, Wade turned a corner. As he approached a craps table, he ran into a familiar face.
“Hey, Pierre.” What was Alex’s driver doing here? He was wearing his uniform. “Aren’t you on the schedule today?”
Pierre looked up, startled. “Oh. Hi, Wade. Yeah, uh, I drove Alex out to the Summerlin house. He’s with a friend for the day.”
“Really? Which friend?”
“Some lady named Dana.”
“Oh, yeah! Dana. Rico Maximum’s pal.”
“What?”
“Never mind.” At least someone was enjoying his day off.
“Anyway, Alex gave me a few hours off. I’m just killing time.”
“Right.” Wade nodded at the table. “You gamble much?”
“Nah. Just having some fun.” Pierre’s eyes flitted around the table. “What about you?”
“I don’t gamble. Probably a good thing, considering where I work. It’s my day off anyway. My cousin’s visiting. He wanted to come here.”
“Cool. Well, have a good one.”
“Yeah, you too.”
As Wade walked away, he tried to ignore the warning bell sounding in the pit of his gut. If Alex wanted to release his driver from work for the day, who was he to argue?
Some shouts went up at the craps table. He looked back, just in time to see Pierre pound the table in frustration.
Someone just lost big.
Unsettled, Wade went in search of his coffee, with every intention of making it a double espresso. When he walked back the same way, Pierre was still grousing.
Wade took up a spot behind a pillar and watched Pierre for a while. With every loss, the driver grew more agitated.
So much for just having some fun.
Sighing, Wade made a mental note to talk to Pierre the next time they had a quiet moment.
After years of working in casinos, he knew how to spot a compulsive gambler. And he was looking at one right now.
***
“Can I see what you’re working on?” Alex crept up behind Dana.
“Sure. Have a seat.”
He joined her on the kitchen bench. She smelled good, like faded perfume and bedding. There was a faint mark at her temple, from where the pillowcase had bunched up under her head, and he wanted to kiss it. Resisting, he left a bit of space between them.
He was glad she’d fallen asleep. She’d slept for a good couple of hours. He’d used that time to squeeze in a run on the treadmill and had grabbed forty winks on the couch. After she’d vacated his room, he went upstairs to take a shower, only to notice she’d slept in his discarded shirt.
It wasn’t hard to figure out why and it made him happier than he’d been in a long time.
Dana had been hard at work for the past hour and he’d stayed out of her way, but his curiosity was getting the better of him now.
