“Tashi.” Orion turned me to face him, hands gentle on my shoulders. “Breathe.”
“He called me unstable. Vindictive. He’s going to destroy my reputation because Daniel couldn’t handle being dumped.”
“Daniel is Wilder’s son.”
“Yes,” I huffed.
“And your ex ?”
“Ex-fiancé. He wanted to postpone the wedding—again. So, I took this job. He never imagined I would leave. It put him in a terrible position with his mother.” My voice cracked. “And for revenge, the asshole sent me a photo of him with another woman. Explicit. Like he was proud of it.”
“Show me.”
“What?”
“The photo. Show me.”
With shaking hands, I pulled up my phone and found the message I’d kept as evidence—the photo Daniel had sent to hurt me. I turned the screen toward Orion.
His jaw clenched so hard I heard his teeth grind.
“He sent you this,” Orion said quietly. Dangerously. “Then he told his father you were the unstable one?”
“Apparently.”
“And now Kurt Wilder is using his position to come after you professionally.” Orion’s hands tightened on my shoulders. “That ends now.”
“How? He’s on the Gaming Control Board. He can make our lives hell.”
“Let me worry about that.” Orion pulled me closer, and suddenly I was against his chest, his arms around me, solid and safe. “You focus on being brilliant. I’ll handle Kurt Wilder.”
I shouldn’t have leaned into him. Shouldn’t have let myself feel protected and valued and cared for. But I did anyway, breathing in his cologne and letting his steadiness anchor me.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
“Don’t thank me yet.” He pulled back enough to meet my eyes. “This isn’t over. Wilder will push back. Daniel will escalate. We need to be prepared.”
“I know.”
“But first.” His thumb brushed across my cheekbone, the touch sending electricity down my spine. “I want to show you something. Consider it a distraction.”
“What kind of distraction?”
“The kind that reminds you why you came to Vegas.” His smile was pure temptation. “Get changed into something nice but not formal. Meet me in the lobby in one hour.”
“Orion—”
“Trust me.”
He left before I could argue, and I stood alone in the security center surrounded by monitors showing every angle of the hotel, processing everything that had just happened.
Kurt Wilder knew I was here. Daniel had poisoned his father against me. My professional reputation was under attack from someone with actual power to damage it.
And Orion Kolykos had just wrapped me in his arms and promised to protect me.
I was so screwed.
I returned to my suite on autopilot, my mind racing with thoughts of Kurt Wilder’s threats, Orion’s intensity, and the overall chaos that had engulfed my life.
