CHAPTER 5
“DID YOU HEARa word I said?”
Kyle forced his thoughts away from Grace and looked up at Brent Connors. His chief technician and right-hand man, Brent, was pacing in front of Kyle’s desk. “What did you say?”
“I said money’s tight enough as it is. We don’t need a new assistant.”
“It’s not a point of discussion, Brent. If we want to keep this business growing, we need help.”
Brent collapsed into the chair opposite Kyle’s desk, then leaned back and put up his feet.
Kyle waved an irritated hand at the soles of Brent’s loafers. “Do you mind?”
“Help? What are you talking about?”
“Running a business, Brent.” His partner might own thirty percent of the business, but Kyle did one hundred percent of the day-to-day crap that kept the operation running. On top of that, he was the face man—the ex-cop who could get the clients, liaison with the community, and generally do the whole PR schtick while Brent designed and installedthe systems. Having grown up at the edge of Emily’s spotlight, Kyle was used to being on display. Brent, however, was a science nerd and was happy to be ensconced behind the scenes.
So far, the system had worked out great. And Kyle could see hefty profits in their future. But those profits hinged on getting out from under the Driskell mess.
Three days had passed since he’d dropped Grace off at the Laguna Beach bus stop, and, except for the occasional foray into fantasy, he’d spent the past thirty-six hours focusing on his business. But even that wasn’t enough. Bills had been left by the wayside and calls gone unreturned. If he didn’t want the business to go under even while he was trying to save it, he was simply going to have to buckle down and hire someone to help around the office. Because right then Kyle’s priority was not only finding the flaw in Driskell’s system but fixing it, as well. And for that he needed all of his resources—time, money and Brent.
“We’ll figure it out,” Brent said. His partner had a way of reading his mind that was both disconcerting and comforting. Brent had designed Driskell’s system and done the installation personally. He was a total geek who took his job seriously, and he’d sworn to Kyle that the system was impenetrable. Afterthe robbery, Brent had had to admit something had gone wrong.
“How?” Kyle asked. “How are we supposed to figure it out if we don’t have any time to devote to the problem?” He picked up a pile of résumés the placement agency had sent over that morning. “No, I made up my mind last night. I’m hiring an office assistant. That’s it. End of story.”
Brent didn’t respond. Instead he took a silver dollar out of his shirt pocket and started twirling it between his fingers.
Kyle shook his head, exasperated. Brent didn’t want to deal with the situation, didn’t want to admit his system was buggy, didn’t want to admit that anything needed fixing. But it did, and Kyle needed his partner to focus. But focusing wasn’t Brent’s strong suit.
Brent tossed the coin into the air, and Kyle gave up and took the not-so-subtle hint. “Okay, okay. So tell me how you did at the tables.”
“Up three grand. Not bad, eh?”
“Not bad,” Kyle agreed. Too bad the money was in Brent’s pocket and not the company’s bank account. “So you’re staying put for a while?”
Brent pocketed the coin and sat up straight. “Actually, I’m going back tomorrow.”
Kyle closed his eyes and sighed. “Shit, Brent.What have I just been saying? You know I need you here.”
“You just need me to figure out the problem. And I think better in Vegas.” He shrugged, and although it might have been a trick of the light, Kyle thought Brent actually blushed. “And, uh, well, I met a girl.”
“The girl can wait, man. This is our livelihood I’m talking about.”
“Come on, Kyle. You know I do my best work in the casinos. The noise inspires me.”
“Forget it, Brent.”
Brent scowled. “Can I at least work at home, or are you going to chain me to the office?”
Kyle held up his hands. “I gave up handcuffs when I quit the force. Home is fine. Just come in once or twice a day so we can touch base. See what kind of progress we’re making.”
“Fine. Whatever.”
Kyle ran his fingers through his hair once again, thinking about his to-do list that just kept growing and growing. “And just so you know, this is exactly why I’m hiring an assistant. If I’m going to run this place solo, I need someone who can do the grunt work. So if you so much as hint that you’re against hiring someone, I swear your slot machine arm will be in traction for months.”
“Big talk,” Brent said, his grin wide.
“Maybe,” Kyle conceded. “But the sentiment’s real.”
