Tempt Me In Vegas

“Okay...” That meant exactly nothing to her.

He sighed. “The Hayes Corporation owns more than two thousand hotels, all over the world.”

“Two thousand?” She heard her own voice squeak and winced at the sound. But seriously? Two thousand hotels? That couldn’t be right, could it? Her stomach did a quick pitch and roll and Terri took a deep breath trying to calm it.

The smell of burning coffee from the pot on the counter flavored the air, and the bank’s furnace made a soft hum of background noise. Downstairs people were working, talking, laughing, living normal lives, and up here? Terri was trying to think. Tried to remember who she was, where she was. But her brain had apparently decided it had accepted enough information for one day and shut down.

Resting one hand on a sheaf of papers he had stacked on the table, Mr. Seaton looked at her steadily. At least the gleam of impatience was gone from his eyes. Maybe he was finally understanding what a shock all of this was to her.

“Once you sign these papers, it’s official,” he told her. “You’ll have your father’s share in a very successful company.”

She tipped her head to one side and quietly asked, “How successful?”

One corner of his mouth twitched slightly. “Very. You, Ms. Ferguson, are now an extremely wealthy woman.”

Wealthy. Rich. Also weird. But good. Because her cable bill had just gone up and she had just been forced to put new brakes on her car and with winter coming, she really wanted to get new insulation on her windows and—

She reached for the papers instinctively, then pulled her hand back. “I’d like my own lawyer to look these over before I sign.” Well, her late father’s lawyer, but that didn’t really matter, did it?

“Commendable,” he said with a brief nod. Standing, he closed his black leather briefcase with a snap. Looking down at her, he said, “Your new partner, Mr. Cooper Hayes, is at the company headquarters in Las Vegas. He’d like to see you there as soon as possible.”

“Cooper Hayes.” She should probably write that down.

“Yes. His contact information is included in the packet of papers.” He gave her a small smile. “Hayes Corporation is headquartered at the StarFire Hotel and Casino.”

StarFire. She’d heard of it, of course. Seen pictures in magazines and now that she thought of it, Terri had seen pictures of Cooper Hayes, too. Her mind drew up one of the images of him posing with some celebrity or other—naturally, he was tall and gorgeous with eyes so blue he had to be wearing colored contacts.

And now he was her partner. The idea of going to the StarFire, meeting Cooper Hayes on his home turf, was a little intimidating, but she didn’t see a way around it. After all, she was now half owner of the place. A shocked burst of laughter bubbled up in her chest, but she squashed it. Yesterday she wouldn’t have been able to afford to stay at the StarFire. Now she owned half of it.

Weird just kept getting weirder.

“Okay, thank you.” She glanced at the papers, but didn’t touch them.

“Ms. Ferguson,” the man said quietly, and waited until her gaze met his to continue. “I know this is all new and somewhat overwhelming—”

“Somewhat?” she laughed but the sound she made sounded a little hysterical so she stopped. Fast.

“But,” he continued calmly, “I believe once the surprise of the situation eases, you’ll do very well in your new life.”

“You think so?”

“I do.” He grabbed the doorknob and said, “I’ve left my card with the papers, as well. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call me.”

“Thank you.”

He opened the door and Jan Belling almost fell into the room. She recovered quickly, stumbling to catch her balance, then flashing the lawyer a brilliant smile. “Hi, sorry.”

“No need,” he said, lips twitching. Giving Terri one last nod, he left.

Jan slipped into the room, closed the door and hurried over to take a seat opposite Terri. Her short, spiky black hair complemented bottle-green eyes, making her look like a pixie. “Well,” she said, “that was embarrassing.”

“I can’t believe you were listening at the door.”

“I can’t believe you’re surprised. Besides, I didn’t hear much. The door’s too thick. Stupid historical buildings with real wood doors.” Jan took a breath. “So what happened? Who was he and why did he want you?”

Terri laughed as the tension she’d been feeling for the past fifteen minutes dissipated. Jan was her best friend, and the one person who could help her make sense of all of this. “Speaking of a ‘can’t believe’ situation...”

“Try me.”

Terri shook her head at the strangeness of it all. “I want to tell you all of it, but I should get back to work.”

Jan shook her head. “No worries. The boss says you can take as long as you like. We’re not busy, anyway, so start talking.”

Turning her bottle of water back and forth between her hands, Terri did. As she told her friend everything, it all began to settle in her own mind. It was beyond strange. Crazy. Impossible, even. Okay, maybe her mind wasn’t as settled as she’d thought.

“This is like a fairy tale or something,” Jan finally said once Terri had wound down.

“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Terri admitted wryly. “So when the clock strikes midnight do I turn back into a pumpkin?”

“Cinderella wasn’t a pumpkin. Her carriage was.” Jan laughed a little. “And this is reality no matter how strange it all seems. This is amazing, Terri. You’re rich. I mean wildly rich.”

“Oh, God.” Terri dropped one hand to her stomach in a futile attempt to calm it. She’d never had a lot of money. Growing up, her adoptive parents had been schoolteachers, so though they’d had a nice life, they’d also driven ten-year-old cars and saved up to take vacations.

Of course, she drove to Idaho occasionally to buy lottery tickets, because who didn’t dream of suddenly becoming a gazillionaire? But to have it actually happen was almost terrifying.

Jan reached across the table to take her hand. “Why aren’t you celebrating? Oh. Wait. Sorry. God, I’m an idiot sometimes. You’re reacting to hearing that your biological father died, aren’t you?”

“Seems ridiculous to be sad about someone you’ve never met, but yeah, I guess I am.” In the midst of the windfall, there was that sad fact. Terri silently wondered what her father had been like. If he had known who and where she was, why had he never contacted her before? Why had he left her everything? She’d probably always wonder.

Jan took Terri’s water, had a sip, then handed it back. “You really had no idea at all about who your biological father was?”

“Not a clue,” she said softly. “And now I’ve got all these questions and no way to get answers and... I don’t know. It’s all so far out there, it’s hard to believe it’s really happening.”

“Yeah, I get that. But,” Jan said, “at least you know he thought about you. Remembered you. And in the end, wanted to give you everything he had.”

A smile tugged at the corner of Terri’s mouth. “Good point. Okay, then. No feeling sorry for myself. But I can be a little panicked, right?”

“Absolutely. The StarFire?” Jan grinned. “That’s supposed to be an amazing hotel.”

“I know.” Terri took a deep breath, but she had a feeling the wild tremors inside weren’t going to be soothed away. Her entire world had just been rocked.

Terri’s mind raced with possibilities. She had a good job, if not an exciting one, but now she had been given the chance for more. Sure, she’d have a lot to learn, but stepping into this new life could be amazing.

“And you own it!”

“Well I own half of it, apparently.” Abruptly, Terri stood up and said, “How do I go from being a bank teller to being a hotel executive?”

“Seriously?” Jan looked at her. “You’re going to make me mad if you start doubting yourself. Okay, fine, there’s the whole surprise factor to take into account,” Jan said. “But you’re smart and you’re good with people and you can do any damn thing you want to.”