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  Tida stood in the booth across from him, talking to Harvey Stein. Rob had nothing particular against the guy, except his profession. Casting director. More like pimp. He hoped Tida wasn’t agreeing to anything stupid. He didn’t want to get involved. He hated hiring someone for an ad campaign that would probably never happen, but he was also tired of toeing the line. Maybe he would hire her. Wouldn’t that annoy the old man if he made plans for the company’s future instead of just giving in.

  Rob looked back at his calculator and finished computing Jerry’s wholesale rate. Tearing off the sales slip, Rob placed it in an envelope for Jerry to pick up later, before turning to the next order, forty masks of the black silk design Anita had modeled for them.

  “Black.” He heard someone walking by greet him. He looked up and saw Drew Huntley. His lip curled. The man walked over to Harvey and Tida. They spoke for a moment and then Huntley put his arm around Tida’s tiny waist.

  Rob didn’t think. He yelled to Tim to watch the booth and practically levitated across the corridor. Putting his hand firmly on Tida’s mid-back, he propelled her out of the trade show and into the vast hallway outside the convention rooms. He saw a herd of conservative business suits walk by and wondered where the supremely frustrating Honey Luscious, aka Melanie Vanderpool, was hiding herself this morning. He tried to tell himself he didn’t care. He belonged with those suits, not here amongst the leather and lace, liberally sprinkled with rubber and metal. Frustrated, confused and extremely horny, he pushed his thoughts away and focused on Tida.

  “Are you nuts?” he demanded. “Those are not nice people.”

  “How do you know?” Tida asked defiantly. “You are not involved in porn movie business. You work in Seattle at computer, not Los Angeles.”

  “I watched those two harass a woman just Tuesday night. She got out of the business ten years ago and they’re trying to extort money from her.”

  “They cannot hurt me,” Tida said, pushing her long, lustrous dark hair out of her face.

  “Don’t kid yourself. They are bad men.” He punctuated each word, hoping she would get the message. “Why are you so desperate for this?”

  “My sister needs money for school.”

  “She can get a loan. Why do you have to get involved?”

  “If she has loan now, she cannot afford medical school later. I can help. She would make good doctor.”

  “What about you? Why don’t you become a doctor?” Rob could tell she had the brains for it, despite her broken English.

  Tida laughed. “I not that smart.”

  “Sure you are. I think you are.”

  Tida narrowed her eyes until they resembled a cat’s. “I not work for those men if I have job with you.”

  Rob shook his head. “I don’t feel right hiring you, Tida. I have a great idea for working with you, but my company is being sold and it isn’t fair. The new owners might cancel your contract after the sale goes through.”

  She shrugged. “Then I work with those men.”

  She was extremely frustrating and stubborn, but he needed to save her from herself. Rob paused with a sudden idea. “Can a nursing assistant give shots and sew stitches?”

  “Why?”

  “I need a new nurse. My company nurse just quit. We pay pretty well and we have good benefits. Mostly though, the job is looking after my grandfather.”

  Tida tilted her head up at him. “I can do those things with supervision, but I thought you were going out of business?”

  Rob folded his arms across his chest. “You would be working directly for my family, rather than LeatherWorks.”

  “How much money?” she demanded.

  “How much do you make now?” he countered.

  “Ten dollars an hour.”

  After looking her over, he decided she was probably telling the truth. “I’ll pay you fifteen.” Rob decided she was worth it for peace of mind about his grandfather’s wellbeing. Jack had called that morning to say Brisa had refused the flowers he’d had delivered and hadn’t even opened the attached note, which had promised a raise.

  Tida smiled for the first time. She had a beautiful smile, Rob realized, white pearly teeth and healthy pink gums. He shook himself out of it. He was treating another human being like a horse. Another reason to get out of the business. Maybe Grandfather was right and he was getting jaded.

  Tida stared into his eyes, as if trying to discern the nature of his soul. “I will work hard. I am grateful.”

  “Don’t be. I’m sure you’re worth it.”

  Tida’s smile brightened. Rob gave her Jack’s phone number and told her to make an appointment with his Human Resources manager to do the paperwork. He might actually have made a good decision. The girl had a will of her own, no matter how misguided. She would be the perfect match for his grandfather’s roaming fingers.

  * * * * *

  From behind a large ficus tree across the carpeted room, Melanie watched Rob and the beautiful woman shake hands and laugh together. She had stopped in her tracks when she saw Rob as she left a presentation. If she wasn’t mistaken, he held her hand a bit too long as the woman stared reverently into his gleaming dark eyes.

  I guess I lost my chance, she thought. But after two drinks the night before she had felt too woozy to continue her battle of wits with Rob and his coworkers so had gone to her room. She had returned alone, not sure she could trust herself with him though he had offered to escort her, even if he had elected himself her protector from the demons of porn.

  Why had she wasted her rare chance with a hunk by debating the politics of male-female relations in the workplace? She was tired of feeling old before her time, tired of being married to her job. Where was her Devil-man?

  Melanie grimaced. There was still Tommy Joe.

  She took one last longing glance at Rob, beautiful as always in a burgundy polo and form-fitting black chinos. The woman with him leaned so close her shiny black hair actually touched his chest. I guess he didn’t like me much, to so quickly turn to another woman. But I’ll show him.

  Melanie hated to be so jealous, but she wouldn’t compete with another woman for any man, not after Gerald and all his games. Only one night left to go in Vegas and she would have a good time despite Rob. As soon as she saw Tommy Joe, she would take him up on his offer of dinner. Her new Versace knock-off wasn’t going to go to waste. She hoped Rob would see her having the time of her life.

  Chapter Seven

  Melanie stood at the door of Tommy Joe’s room, taking deep, cleansing breaths. Fun was the name of the game tonight. No sulking over attractive blond men who preferred sexy Asian girls who appeared to be barely out of high school. Especially when they couldn’t possibly be my soul mate. She smiled brightly and raised her hand to knock on his door but noticed it was slightly ajar so pushed it open as she knocked.

  At first she didn’t see anyone in the room, but then she saw someone against his mirrored wall. Upside down.

  “What are you doing?” she squealed.

  Tommy Joe came down on his knees with a thump. For a thin man, he had a nice butt, she noticed. From what she could see from this angle, her potential devil-man was wearing black leather pants and a blue T-shirt with…a black mesh shirt over it. Was he into rock and roll hair bands or what? She hoped that whole mesh shirt thing wasn’t coming back into fashion. Melanie herself was dressed provocatively in a long silky red dress with a heart-shaped neckline and daring leg slits. On her feet she wore the gold sandals that were supposed to have enticed Rob the night before. But now was no time to think about that. She clutched a heart-shaped red silk bag containing her room key, a twenty-dollar bill, one lipstick, one packet of Starbucks breath mints and one condom. Because you never knew, tonight could be her lucky night. The night she finally found out what sex was really supposed to be about, the passionate kind, with sweat and orgasms and no fear of displeasing your partner. The kind that was just for her.

  Tommy Joe stood and grinned, a bit red in the face. Mela
nie realized with a sigh that Tommy Joe was the same height as her, or even an inch shorter. She was glad she had worn one-inch heels. So much for feeling protected and secure.

  “Thanks for leaving the door open,” Melanie said, “since you were busy stretching or whatever.”

  “I’ve been doing yoga since college,” Tommy Joe said, a bit out of breath. “It makes you very strong and flexible.”

  “No kidding,” Melanie murmured, feeling her breath catch. Strong and flexible could be interesting. “Why are you doing it now?”

  “Ummm…” If Tommy Joe hadn’t already been red in the face, she would suspect him of blushing. “I was trying to make the blood flow into my head.”

  “I see.” She was dying to ask. “Have you gotten into Tantric sex at all?”

  Tommy Joe paled with some deep emotion. “Not yet, but I’m a willing disciple.”

  “Disciple?” An odd choice of words. “You make me sound like a dominatrix.”

  “I’m at your service.” He wound his arms tightly around himself. “I’m not kidding about that.”

  His intensity unnerved Melanie a bit. “I guess we can buy a book later,” she said, meaning it to be a throw-away line.

  Tommy Joe’s eyes bulged. “Great!” He released himself and clasped her hand. “I can’t tell you how glad I am that you’re finally interested in me. Do you think the mall by Caesar’s Palace has a bookstore?”

  “I’m sure it doesn’t. Not to mention I think I was kidding about the whole Tantric sex thing, even if Jill did swear by it.”

  “Oh.” He looked disappointed. Perking up, he asked, “What about the adult conference? I bet they’ve got all kinds of, well, ideas up there.”

  Melanie snickered. “Oh they do, all right. But I can’t go there anymore.”

  “Why not?”

  She lost her smile. “I’ve had a little trouble with some people attending that conference.”

  Tommy Joe frowned and dropped her hand in favor of putting his arm around her. “What kind of trouble? Let’s go take care of it.”

  Melanie was beginning to feel safe and secure again. She kissed him on his freshly shaven cheek. “Did you shave for me?” she asked.

  “Of course.”

  She ran both her hands lightly down his cheeks. “It feels good. My ex-husband never shaved for me.” Did she dare? She did and leaned in to kiss his lips, remembering the long-lost joy of kisses with no whisker burn.

  Tommy Joe pushed her hands away. “Don’t talk about him, okay? I don’t want to hear about your ex-husband.”

  “I’m sorry,” said Melanie, startled, broken out of her sensual daze.

  “I just don’t like to think about anyone else owning you.” He swallowed hard, his large Adam’s apple jerking in his throat.

  Melanie took a step back. Owning her? But he was right. Married at eighteen, it had felt a bit like she was being purchased. She had given up diving willingly enough, she supposed, but what had Gerald given up? His housekeeper? He had expected Melanie to keep the house up and she had, in between her college classes. At least he had paid for her education. But as she had gotten older and became more aware of her own possibilities it had seemed little enough in comparison for what he received. The final straw had been him pressuring her to quit her job just when she was in line for a promotion.

  “You’re right. I don’t want to think about him either.”

  Tommy Joe put his arms at her waist and drew her close then kissed her ear and her neck. Melanie relaxed a bit but pushed him away when she felt suction. She clapped her hand against her neck.

  “You’d better not be giving me a hickey!”

  “Don’t you like it?” He ran a finger down her neck.

  Melanie shuddered. “No! For heaven’s sake, Tommy Joe, I can’t go to sessions tomorrow with a hickey on my neck.”

  “A love bite,” he corrected gently.

  Melanie stared at him with dismay. Was this what twenty-four-year-olds were like? Maybe she hadn’t been missing much. “Why don’t we go eat?”

  “Okay,” he said agreeably.

  As they walked out the door, Melanie took a quick glance at herself in the mirrored wall to see if he had left a mark. But like a vampire can’t see himself in a mirror, she could see no sign of Tommy Joe on her neck. She could still feel the suction though. She shuddered. This evening had better improve soon or the condom in her purse was going unused for sure. How could a guy like this possibly be her soul mate? If Tommy Joe was the person the fortuneteller had in mind, then her comment “a bit perverse sexually” was right on the mark in her opinion.

  They went down to the main floor and threaded their way through the noisy casino. Clinks and chings and ringing bells followed them as they traversed the navy blue path woven into the wild geometric carpet around the edges of the gaming area. Tommy Joe kept his arm at her waist until they walked past a dollar slot machine named “Guinevere’s Luck”. There were five columns featuring King Arthur’s face, Sir Lancelot’s face, swords, pentacles and cups. Tommy Joe stopped their progress.

  “Hold on for a second.” Tommy Joe ran a hand down Melanie’s long hair, another proprietary gesture Melanie wasn’t sure she liked. “I’m feeling lucky tonight.”

  He fed a dollar into the slots and pushed the button. To Melanie’s surprise, the machine started dinging as three Arthurs and two Lancelots spun onto the screen. Coins began to pour into the slot and Tommy Joe let out a Texas whoop.

  Melanie grabbed a bucket featuring the casino’s magic show and gave it to Tommy Joe, disbelieving the sight of the coins dropping so freely.

  “You’re my good luck,” he said, taking the bucket.

  No kidding. “What’s the payout?” Melanie asked as the coins stopped clanking.

  Tommy Joe picked up the coins four at a time and dumped them into the bucket. He had counted to one hundred and his hand was black before he was finished. “This is going to be a magic evening,” he whispered in Melanie’s ear. “I can feel it.”

  She knew that if Rob had said something like that to her, her heart would have thumped in her chest. She checked, but her heart rate remained steady. Dull even. Melanie gave Tommy Joe a hug since she felt guilty thinking about Rob on their date and he went to wash his hands and convert the quarters into dollars.

  When he was gone, Melanie took out a dollar of her own and fed it into the machine. To her surprise, the machine dinged again as the columns displayed Arthur, sword, sword, sword, Lancelot. She picked up five dollars worth of quarters. For Vegas, that was pretty lucky too.

  Melanie stared at the columns. As shown, Lancelot had dark hair and Arthur had blond. Who was she kidding? Rob had rejected her, or at least had chosen another woman—she didn’t have a choice. It was Tommy Joe or nothing this last evening in Vegas. Wild living would be out when she returned. Keeping her job would take all her energy.

  Tommy Joe returned and they went to Tacos and Tiaras for dinner, since Melanie hadn’t eaten there yet. They shared a platter of blue corn tortillas with a spicy picadillo filling and each had a salad. The food tasted great and the booth felt comfortable. Melanie relaxed again. When Tommy Joe started playing footsie with her under the table, all the time keeping a solemn expression on his face, Melanie didn’t move her foot away. In fact, the game made her think of massages. Long, sensual, naked massages.

  She sat up suddenly, remembered that slender, yet phallic-shaped bottle of oil at Shari’s booth. “You were right before. We should go the adult trade show.”

  “Are you sure you want to risk it?”

  Where was the “let’s go take care of it now” attitude of earlier, Melanie thought, then impatiently pushed the thought away. “Yes, let’s. This one stall had the best-scented massage oil, lemon and sandalwood. I want to get some.”

  Tommy Joe rang a stocking-clad foot up the inside of her thigh. “I’m game.”

  Melanie wondered why he was wearing socks in Las Vegas in August, but then thought who would wear leather
pants without socks? All things considered, Tommy Joe would fit right in at the trade show. His saturnine face would mix nicely with the feral leather-clothed conference-goers. He, like them, looked a little dangerous.

  Tommy Joe tossed some money on the table and they left the mezzanine level via the escalator for the convention floor. Melanie was beginning to think she’d never see true daylight again. The casino was always brightly lit, but she hadn’t been outside in two and a half days. She made a promise to herself to go to the pool in the morning and do laps, no matter what kind of exercise she got in the meantime.

  The trade show progressed in full force and clamored almost as noisily as the casino floor. From the hallway it sounded like the circus was in town, with all the yells and clapping. As usual, no one blocked the entrance to the convention room and they walked right in. Part of the noise came from a loud rock band in one corner. A troupe of dancers did a bump and grind in rhythm to the music, all recorded by a camera crew. A crowd stood around them and Melanie searched for a flash of blond hair but the only kind she saw flowed long and curly, whether the possessors were men or women. Apparently the romance novel cover heroes came out at night. Tommy Joe watched the dancers circle scarves over their heads and rotate their pelvises. The gold and blue scarves glowed in the spotlight above and the sight mesmerized, but Melanie tugged at Tommy Joe’s arm.

  “Want to dance?” Tommy Joe asked, but Melanie shook her head. She didn’t want to get caught by one of the Huntley crew.

  “Let’s get the oil.” They wandered down the corridors of the trade show. Despite the post-dinner hour, some of the booths were open. They found the booth with the oils, but no one was there.

  “Rats. I can’t believe there isn’t anyone working the booth again,” said Melanie with frustration.

  “Which one did you want?” asked Tommy Joe, fingering a tiny blue glass bottle.

  “That one,” Melanie pointed at the amber bottle containing her favorite scent.

  Tommy Joe opened the tester and sniffed. “Good quality. What’s the name of this company?”