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He held her gaze for a second too long. She felt the heat zipping back and forth, arcing between them. And then he said silkily, “No need for thanks. I’m pleased that we’re going to be working together.”
Cleo saw her lawyer the next morning. The lawyer said everything looked good, so she took the signed papers back to Impresario that day. She made a point of not calling first, which meant she ended up handing the envelope over to Marla, who promised to see that Fletcher got it right away.
That duty discharged, Cleo returned to her office at KinderWay and started making lists, getting her priorities in order for all the work that lay ahead.
Fletcher called at three. “You should have told me you were stopping by.”
“No reason for that.” She spoke much too briskly. “I only dropped off the contract.”
He was silent. But not for long. “You’ll need keys to the facility. Did you want to conduct your interviews there?”
Her face felt hot. She laid her hand against her cheek. Blushing. Definitely. This was so absurd.
“Cleo?”
She realized she hadn’t answered him. What was the question?
Oh, yeah. About the interviews …
“Well, I thought I could hold the interviews here. I’ve got everything set up and operating. And my current staff will be available to help me.”
“Makes sense.”
“I will need those keys, though. I’ve got office equipment to purchase. And supplies. And furniture—tables and chairs, all that. I’ll need to be able to get in and out of the facility.”
He said, “I’ll have the keys waiting for you. Check the concierge desk at the hotel. Just show them ID.”
“Hotel Impresario, you mean?”
“That’s right.”
He’d have them waiting….
He wasn’t offering lunch, wasn’t inventing excuses for them to get together. Apparently he’d gotten her message loud and clear: keep away.
Good. He was the wrong kind of guy for her and she was glad he’d realized the two of them weren’t going anywhere.
He said, his tone all business, “Since you signed the contract without asking for any changes, I’m taking it that you agree to the opening day we proposed. You’ll be ready to open the doors on February fourteenth?”
The fourteenth was two and a half weeks away. It was also Valentine’s Day, as luck would have it. For some reason, that struck Cleo as terribly ironic.
“I’ll do my best,” she told him. “It’s cutting it pretty tight.”
“You signed the contract.” He said it gently.
Annoyance prickled through her. Did he have to rub it in? But then she reminded herself that he was only stating a fact. “I know. I’m a little worried about the background checks, though. I run background checks on everyone I hire, even the ones who are already licensed. But the checks can take time….”
“Are the checks really necessary? If they’re licensed already, I would think that would do it.”
She wasn’t backing down on this one. “There are a lot of reasons KinderWay is the best. We go the extra mile. All of our teachers and care providers are not only highly skilled and well trained, they’ve also been thoroughly vetted. We can say that we’ve done everything humanly possible to be certain no predator or abuser gets near any of the children in our care.”
He must have been convinced; he didn’t argue further. “Let me speed that up for you, then.”
“That would help. How?”
“Call Klimas Investigators. They’re the best. Talk to Brian Klimas himself. Give him the names of all your prospective hires and tell him what kind of check you want done on them. Tell him that you need a rush on it. And tell him to bill the Bravo Group.”
She wondered if he’d hired this Brian person to check her out. But she didn’t ask. “All right. I’ll call him.”
“Anything you need, just let me know.”
“I’ll do that. Thanks.”
“We’ll want a progress report midway—say Friday, the fourth?”
“Certainly.”
“Just to see that we’re on track.”
“Yes. Of course. No problem.”
“You won’t have to report to me. Talk to Darlene Archer in Human Resources. I’ll see she’s up to speed on what we’re doing. She’ll call you at the beginning of next week and set up a time the two of you can meet.”
“That will be fine.”
“Also, I’ll see that Darlene has a check ready for you tomorrow, to cover any early expenses you incur. Set up accounts with any stores or suppliers you’ll be using regularly. They can bill the Bravo Group. Again, talk to Darlene. She’ll tell you what you need to know and answer any questions that come up.”
“I will. Don’t worry….”
He actually laughed then. It was a warm, wry sound and it made her wish she could …
But no. Nothing was going to happen between them. She was happy with Danny, with her life as it was.
He said, “I’m not worried, Cleopatra. Not worried in the least.”
“Well, okay, then. Good.”
“One more thing and I’ll let you go.”
She clutched the phone a little tighter, realized she was doing it and consciously relaxed her grip. “Sure.”
“Ashlyn’s birthday party is on Saturday, the fifth. From noon to five at Circus Circus, the Adventuredome.” He added drily, “No one can ever say I don’t support the competition.”
Ashlyn’s birthday. She’d almost forgotten. Or, to be honest, she’d let herself forget. Because contact with Ashlyn meant contact with Fletcher, and she was seriously conflicted about that.
And yet, she had promised the solemn-eyed little girl….
And come on. Really. She was essentially in business with Fletcher now. She would be running into him now and then. There was no avoiding it.
And even if she never had a reason to talk shop with him again, even if she always went through Darlene in HR from here on out, he’d be showing up at KinderWay every day to drop off his daughter, for crying out loud.
Fletcher said, “I hope we’ll see you there.”
“Of course I’ll be at Ashlyn’s party,” she replied. “Please thank her for inviting me and tell her I’ll see her at the Adventuredome.”
“I’ll do that. Goodbye, then.”
“Goodbye, Fletcher.”
The line went dead. Cleo hung up and told herself she didn’t feel the least bit sad or at all let down.
When Fletcher finished the unsatisfying call to Cleo, he had another call waiting. He took it without checking to see who it was.
“Fletcher? There you are, at last.”
“Andrea.” Andrea Raye was a featured dancer in the erotic revue, Cancan du Bal, which had been playing at Impresario to sell-out audiences for the past six months.
Andrea laughed, a charming sound, one that was only a little bit forced. “Where have you been? I haven’t seen you in weeks.”
He supposed he should have a talk with her. “How about lunch tomorrow?”
“I would love lunch. Or you could just come by after the show tonight.” She pitched her voice lower and suggested seductively, “We’ll have breakfast—eventually.”
He spoke gently. “Thanks, but that’s not going to work.”
“Ah,” she said after a lengthy pause. “I get it.” There was a deep sigh. “So this is it, huh?”
“Andrea …” He never knew what to say at this point.
She laughed again, the sound more brittle than before. “Oh, please. We’re both adults, now aren’t we?”
He knew that whatever he said next was bound to sound lame. And it did. “Yes. We are.”
“I’m thinking that lunch will be a little too … after the fact, if you know what I mean.”
“I understand.”
“Will you send me something pretty, to remember you by?”
“Absolutely.”
“Diamonds. I really like diamonds….”
Andrea’s out-front request didn’t surprise him in the least. When his half brother Aaron had been single, before Celia had turned him into a die-hard family man, there had been a lot of women. The story went that Aaron would always give them diamonds when he said goodbye. Word had probably gotten around. Vegas, in a lot of ways, was a very small town.
Hell. He could almost hear the women whispering, I got diamonds from Aaron. What did Fletcher give you?
“Fletcher? Is … that okay?”
“Diamonds it is.”
“Oh, thank you—and Fletcher?”
“Yeah?”
“I have to tell you. I’m gonna miss you….”
He wished her well and said goodbye.
Then he buzzed Marla and told her to see that Andrea got her diamonds. After that, he called Darlene in HR and briefed her on her new responsibilities with the KinderWay project.
He didn’t like having to do that—didn’t like giving up the various opportunities for contact with Cleo that holding on to the KinderWay connection would provide.
But Fletcher Bravo knew when to fold ‘em. He knew that a better hand would come his way eventually. Cleo had been as much attracted to him as he was to her. There was no denying heat like that.
Not forever.
All he had to do right now was wait. Lady Luck would find him in her own good time.
She always did.
Chapter Five
Danny took Cleo to Black Angus that night. Right after the waitress served their prime rib dinners, he asked if something was wrong.
For a moment she couldn’t quite meet his eyes. She stared down at her huge baked potato and the mound of sour cream exploding from it. “Good thing I’m not dancing anymore. After a dinner like this one, I’d get kicked off the show at the next weigh-in.”
Danny refused to let her change the subject. He asked softly, “You gonna answer my question, Cleo?”
She made herself look at him. “Oh, really. Nothing’s wrong. Nothing at all. Why?”
“You seem … I don’t know. Kind of sad.”
“But I’m not sad. Not in the least.” It came out sounding way too vehement. She smiled to show him it was no big deal.
He shrugged. “Maybe just distracted, then?”
“Well, okay. A little …”
“Over the deal with Impresario, right?”
She answered lamely, “It’s a big step.”
“Cleo?”
“What?”
“Relax. You’re going to do just fine.”
