“Oh, I see. Don’t want to make a dent in your enormous wallet? Just can’t spare the change today? I see how it is.”
“That’s not it. If you had a legitimate need for the money, I’d give it to you, no questions. But I’m not going to fund your habit.” Alex pulled out a brochure and handed it to him. “There’s a local organization called New Horizons. A friend of mine has recommended them. They can help you with your addiction.”
He tossed the brochure into the trash basket at the side of Alex’s desk. “Yeah, right.”
“Pierre, please. I can’t make you go to counseling, but would it hurt to check them out, maybe attend a meeting or two? Be sensible.”
He turned his head.
Even though he wanted to shake the man, Alex remained calm. His Human Resources manager had warned him Pierre might fight back. It wasn’t unusual to find gambling addicts working in casinos and one of the first things Alex had insisted on learning when he took over from Liam was how to address the issue with empathy. “How about I get you a coffee and we talk about next steps?”
“Next steps?” Pierre stood and backed away from the desk. “You want to know what my next step is? My next step is paying off my creditors. Care to help me with that?”
“I’ve made it clear I won’t throw money at your problems. It won’t help anything.”
“Well, then, Alex. It seems I have no fuckingnext stepswith you. I can’t believe you’d treat me like this.” Pierre headed to the office elevator and pounded the button.
Alex followed him. “Like I said, I just want to help you.”
“And how long will it be before the rumor mill starts turning? Give it a couple of days and everyone in this joint will avoid me like the plague. No, thanks,boss. I’ll take care of myself. I don’t need your help.” The elevator arrived and Pierre got in. “I’m done here.”
As the door closed, Alex considered racing down the emergency stairs after him, but decided not to. Pierre was pissed. He was in no position to accept help, not yet anyway.
It was a good thing Wade had come to Alex with his concerns after spotting Pierre at the Golden Nugget. HR had already reached out, and Wade’s observations had allowed Alex to connect the dots.
He would call Pierre tomorrow. Maybe then he’d see sense.
He’d done a good thing here today, probably the hardest thing he’d ever had to do on the job. The outcome had been disappointing, but hopefully Pierre understood someone was on his side.
Alex sighed. If it was such a good thing, why did he feel so rotten?
***
When the familiar three knocks sounded on her unit door, Dana looked up from her work. She smiled as Alex walked in. “Alex, I gave you a key. You don’t need to knock.”
“Just trying to respect your space.” His half grin didn’t reach his eyes. No sign of Zeus anywhere.
She pushed away from the table and went to him, running her fingers through the hair near his ear. “Hey. Are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Rough day at work?”
“You could say that. I had to deal with an employee who’s addicted to gambling. I just feel bad for him.”
“That is rough. Come on in.”
He removed his tie and took off his suit jacket, hanging them both on a chair in her living room. After undoing his top two shirt buttons, he wrapped her in his embrace and kissed her. “Mmm. Something smells good, something other than you.”
Dana led him to the kitchen, where a couple of pots sat on the stove. “I was inspired between meetings. Do you want to talk about the situation at your work?”
“I probably shouldn’t. Confidentiality and all.”
“I understand. Well, let’s see if I can distract you with food, then.” She lifted one of the pot lids. “Vegan curry. It’s got cauliflower, cilantro and quinoa. And we’ve got steamed asparagus on the side.”
“You made all of this?”
“Yeah. I’m not a great cook, and I’ve never cooked vegan food before, but I’ve been doing some quiet research since you’ve been here. I know we normally order in, but I had some time and I wanted to make you something nice.”
