She shook her head, sized me up, and fussed with the back of her hair.
“What happened between you two?” The friend asked.
So she hadn’t immediately told her friend about me. Interesting.
“Doctor Phoebe Reynolds,” the friend said, sticking out a hand.
“Dustin LeBlanc,” I said as I shook it.
She giggled. “Um, I know who you are. I saw your fight on TV the other day.”
I waved a hand in the air. “It’s all computerized graphic images at this point. CGI is amazing, though.”
“Really?” she asked.
“No, sorry. Bad sci-fi joke. And I didn’t catch your name, Red.”
The girl in the red dress hesitated before she finally spoke. “Doctor Vidal.”
The way she said ‘Vidal’ chilled me to the core. Some ineffable vibration in the air told me this wasn’t an ordinary second encounter. I was overcome with this strong sense of déjà vu, but I shook it off.
“Like I said, we got off on the wrong foot.”
“Thanks for the additional introduction,” Doctor Vidal said bluntly. “You seem nice and all, but I’m intending on enjoying the night with my friend. Have a good one.”
I clenched my jaw and glanced at the other one, who had a blue dress on. She offered me a shrug but licked her lips.
“You do seem like you’re right about enjoying the night, but you’re wrong about the other thing.”
“What thing?”
“Me being nice. I’m not.” Spinning around, I headed off.
I couldn’t shake Red’s scent. Where did I know her from?
The night pressed on. Shane and Natalie headed up to their room—I’m assuming they made it past the elevator this time. Jake, Chandler, Carter and I headed to the poker tables. Carter won—that poker shark seemed to know what was in everyone’s hands—and I folded around three A.M.
I parted ways with the guys and was about to head back to my room when my phone lit up. It was a call with my agent’s number on it.
My stomach flipped. He never called this late unless it was big news.
I picked up quickly. “Talk to me, Harrison,” I said.
He didn’t even make small talk. “Glad you picked up. I’ve got something big. You sitting down?”
I looked around. “No, but I’m pretty sure they pump pure oxygen into this casino so I’ll be fine.”
“That’s right, you’re in Vegas for the fundraiser. Well, I’ve got news for you.”
“Spit it out, brother.”
“This is totally between you and me. I have a connection deep inside the Los Angeles organization who owes me a favor. That’s where you’re about to be traded.”
In spite of the night’s drinks, I suddenly felt incredibly sober.
“Harrison, I gotta ask. Are. You. Sure?”
“I can’t get into the details of how I know. But yes. Unless you pull a rabbit out of your you-know-what.”
