“What do you mean?” I ask.
“I mean…you’ve been out, right?” she asks.
“Out?”
“The Opal Room.” She mouths the words, and my cheeks flush to a warm pink that I can feel, answering the question for me. “You have. I’m sure you know what he expects from you.”
“We have an understanding,” I say carefully. “It’s all in my contract.”
“I’m sure it is,” she says. “So you know never to expect intimacy, right?”
“Intimacy as in…” I trail off.
Jocelyn stops walking and smiles at me. “Never develop feelings for Damien because he won’t have feelings for you,” she says flatly and honestly. Jocelyn keeps going. “I’m not trying to sound like a bitch. It’s not just you. Damien does not fall in love with anyone. Ever. So whatever is going on at the Opal Room, or even the Velvet Lounge, take it at face value.”
I smile tightly and look away for a moment.
“Did I offend you?” she asks. “I mean, surely you already knew all this. Damien is clear about his expectations.”
“I just don’t understand how sex can happen without intimacy,” I say.
Jocelyn lets out an unexpected high-pitched laugh. “Oh honey. Aren’t you precious? It can, and with Damien, it must. Nothing will end your contract faster than trying to force Damien to be intimate with you.”
I study her for a moment. Somehow, I believe she knows what she’s talking about, and it does seem to make sense, given his nature. If I’m being perfectly honest, I’m not sure how I feel about it. Which only leads me to question what I was feeling in that pink-lit room that night. Or even in the dressing room when I thought for sure that Damien was going to kiss me.
I shake my head of the thoughts and come back to the room, smiling at Jocelyn. At any rate, it’s nice to have made a friend in this big building.
“I really should be getting back,” I tell her. “Just in case he needs to make any schedule changes. It was good meeting you. We should keep in touch.”
“Yes!” she says with a smile. “I hope we didn’t get off on the wrong foot up there. Most girls in your position are very stuck up, but you seem sweet,” she says.
As I make my way to the elevator, my mind swirls in circles. On the one hand, it really is nice to meet someone new. On the other hand, I haven’t decided who I can and can’t trust here. Either way, I’m keeping my cards close to my chest. Like any other game in Las Vegas, the stakes are high, and most of the tables are rigged.
Chapter 16
Damien
Nothing could put me in a worse mood than knowing someone is fucking with me.
I know Decker is at the root of it, but it’s not like he is actually waltzing into my hotel himself. He definitely wouldn’t set foot in the Opal Room, so he couldn’t have swindled any of my workers out of there with his own slimy hand and cheap smiles. Which means he has insiders, and that makes me even angrier.
“You look lost in deep thought,” Diego comes into my office, and I realize I have been zoning out. “A penny for your thoughts?”
“I’m not that cheap,” I say. I’m early today and haven’t even had my coffee yet, so I’m not sure why I am trying to figure this out right now. It’s consumed my thoughts for hours now. I’m so bent out of shape about it, I’ve hardly slept.
“Nah, but I am your best friend. Which means I also know you. You’re trying to figure out who the sellout is.”
“I have a theory,” I say, shoving up from my seat to pace the room because sitting still is driving me nuts when my mind is running this wild.
“I do too, but you go first,” Diego says.
“Someone in the building is talking to customers and convincing them to go elsewhere. Which is wild considering most of our loyal patrons would be appalled at the idea of being solicited during their stay. Unless Decker has more than one person working for him, it has to be someone who also has access to the Opal Room,” I say. I am just brainstorming out loud. It’s not like he hasn’t thought of this already.
“So you don’t think it’s some rando then?” He asks, and I rub my chin and shake my head.
“No. Because whoever it is would need to blend in, but also be appealing to people. Someone they trust,” I say, and then he finishes my sentence.
“Someone they know,” he says, and I point at him.
