Page 52 of Royal Shark
The guys set their cards down and stand in a chorus of enthusiastic agreement.
Emma takes them all in. “I’ll have him step in for a moment. Please continue your game. It may be a little while.”
A short time later, Jackson swaggers in. He can’t help it. He’s a rock star.
The guys lose their shit, jumping up from the table and surrounding him. Two guards close in and gesture for some space.
“I’m a big fan!” Sergei exclaims.
“You’re fantastic!”
“Your latest music is even better than the old stuff!”
“Do you still play with your band?”
Jackson is gracious, politely answering, or maybe it’s just his British accent that makes him sound polite. His dirty blond hair is trimmed short, as is his beard. I introduce him to Sara, and he smiles warmly. “Nice to meet you, Sara.”
She blushes pink. “If it’s not too geeky, can I get your autograph?”
The guys chime in for their own autographs. A bunch of napkins are shoved in Jackson’s face. He takes a seat at the poker table and asks for a pen. Emma produces one from her purse. He dutifully signs his name a bunch of times.
Finally he stands and stretches. “Right. Nice to meet you all. Emma and I need to go. Enjoy yourselves, eh?”
They head out the door, and all the guys stare after him in awe. Starstruck. I hope that was worth the trip for them. Jackson is an internationally famous rock star. Obviously they’ve heard of him.
I take Sara aside. “Meet me in my office when you get a chance. I want to give you the behind-the-scenes tour and show you how I’m doing the work of two people.” I grin. “That’s what Emma says anyway. She was so relieved to have me back.”
“I’m sure,” she murmurs. “Okay. I’ll text you when I can get away.”
I head back to the office and dig into some paperwork. Emma left the invoices to me, not wanting to muck around with money matters. That’s my first step in a long list.
An hour later, my phone chimes with a text. It’s Sara. She says the guys are going to the restaurant for a snack. I give her directions to find me.
When she steps inside my office a few minutes later, she looks around. “So this is where the magic happens.”
“Not so much magic as a ton of work. I’m the brains, the money, and customer relations. You know what part I’m not good at?”
“Brains.”
“Ha-ha. Customer relations. Staff relations too. You know me, I’d rather deal with numbers.”
“You’ve got a real nice place here. You should be proud.”
“I am, but you’ve hardly seen any of it.”
She gestures toward the door. “I saw the lobby, the main playing area, your office, the restaurant, and the private room we have the game going in.”
I stand and walk out from behind my desk. “Okay, let me introduce you to the staff, and there’s still more to see. A few more rooms, the money-changing room, and a surprise upstairs.”
“A sexy surprise?”
I chuckle and take her hand, entwining our fingers together. “That’s for later.” I guide her out of the office.
“Chloe says I kept you a secret from her.”
“How’s that? We all knew each other as kids.”
“She says you’re my boyfriend, and I never shared. She’s just trying to get me to see we don’t tell each other every private thing.”
