“You, too.” She glances around the grandiose bedroom. “And well connected, it would seem. How did you manage to talk your way into the upgrade?”
“I’ll tell you later.”
“No. Tell me now. I want to know my man’s secrets, how he moves about the world with such an air of confidence.” Her eyes smolder. “It’s hot.”
I chuckle. “It’s not actually that impressive. I ran into the man who owns the hotel downstairs, and he recognized me.”
“A patient of yours from St. Charles?” she asks.
I shake my head. “He didn’t recognize me from the hospital. He recognized me from Aces.”
Her eyebrows shoot up. “What?”
“It’s okay, babe. He recognized me as the Ace of Clubs from Tuesday evening.”
“But—”
I press a finger against her pretty lips. “I took care of it. He was… He was trying to take me behind the curtains at Aces. But obviously I refused his advances.”
She strokes her chin. “Really?”
I shrug. “I guess both sexes find me attractive.”
“I certainly do.” She tousles my hair.
“But anyway, turns out he has a wife and family. So when I figured that out, I told him if he didn’t want them finding out about his little extramarital exploration, he’d keep silent about seeing me at the hotel.”
“Good thinking.”
“I thought so. It led me to you nearly naked in this magnificent suite.”
She giggles. “Who was it? I always enjoy hearing the tea about the Aces patrons. So many of them act so high and mighty. I love hearing about the sticky situations they land themselves in.”
“Of course you do.” I brush a lock of hair off her forehead. “It was Mr. Rose.”
She sits up with a start, knocking me to the side of the bed. “Mr. Rose? As in Florian Rose?”
I frown. “I don’t know his first name.”
She looks around the room uneasily. “And he owns this hotel?”
“Yeah, he does. But babe, it’s okay. I fixed it?—”
She raises a finger, the color completely drained from her face. “Harrison. We have to get out of here right now.”
19
BIANCA
“She offered you a shroom?” I ask.
Jack cocks his head. “Shroom?”
“It’s slang. For magic mushrooms. Psychedelics.”
“Oh, yes.” Jack scratches the side of his head. “She said that if I were going to be brought on as a King, I had to—how did she put it?—go on a trip with her. Take the mushroom and continue discussing the position.”
I narrow my eyes. “How exactly would taking a mind-altering substance help her determine whether you were the right fit for the position?”
