I needed to talk to someone outside this Vegas bubble. Someone who’d tell me if I was losing my mind.
I called Marta.
She answered on the second ring. “Please tell me you’re calling because you need bail money. I’ve always wanted to bail someone out of Vegas jail.”
“Not yet,” I said, collapsing onto my bed. “But the day’s not over.”
“That’s the spirit. What’s happening?”
Where did I even start? “Remember Daniel?”
“Your cheating ex-fiancé who I always said had weak-chin energy? That Daniel?”
“His father just showed up at my hotel. He’s on the Nevada Gaming Control Board. And he’s threatening to destroy my career because Daniel told him I’m unstable and vindictive.”
Silence. Then: “I’m sorry, what?”
I filled her in on Kurt Wilder’s visit, the accusations, and Orion’s protective fury. Marta listened without interrupting, which was how I knew she took my complaints seriously.
“Okay,” she said when I finished. “First, Daniel can choke. Second, his father can also choke. Third, this Orion guy sounds like he handled it perfectly.”
“He did.”
“So, what’s the problem?”
“The problem is I’m in over my head, Marta. I, um, had a make-out session with his brother Leo.”
“Make-out session?”
“I may be understating the encounter. And the other brother, Ares, is intense in ways that terrify and attract me simultaneously. Orion just held me in his arms in the security center and I wanted to climb him like a tree. My ex’s father is actively trying to ruin my career. And I nearly died in a fire three days ago.”
“Okay, let’s unpack that. You slept with Leo?”
“No, not exactly slept. More like, oh God, very heavy petting.”
“Was it good?”
“Marta—”
“I’m just saying, if you’re going to complicate your life with workplace romance, it should at least be worth it.”
Despite everything, I laughed. “It was worth it.”
“Good. And these other two? Ares and Orion?”
“Complicated.”
“Babe, you’ve got three billionaire triplets on the hook, and you’re worried about your loser ex? Let them handle Kurt. You focus on not catching anything else on fire.”
“That’s your advice?”
“My advice is you’re overthinking this. Yeah, it’s complicated. Yeah, Daniel’s being an ass. But you’re in Vegas, you’ve got a job you’re apparently amazing at based on what you just described, and you’ve got three hot guys who want to protect you. That’s not a crisis. That’s winning.”
“I don’t feel like I’m winning.”
“Because you’re still letting Daniel live rent-free in your head. Stop it. He put you off, then sent you a cruel photo. He set his daddy on you. He’s garbage. You’re better off without him, and you know it.”
She was right. I did know it.
