Page 40 of Cocky Prince
He drops his hand, his expression weary. “Already done. ‘No harm, no foul,’ were his words.”
“How could he not… Oh, forget it,” I say irritably, and turn to leave.
“I know what you’re thinking,” he says from behind.
I look over my shoulder.
“It’s not true. Blackwell may not care about what happened today, because it didn’t harm the casino, but I do.” He glances out the window. “I take full responsibility for having to fire Bridget, no matter how wrong she was.”
That’s more than I expected from Adam. I thought he’d brush this off the way he does everything involving Blackwell.
His gaze falls on me, dark and fixed. “I’ll be at your house Saturday to fulfill that bet I owe you. Be ready.”
Chapter Seventeen
Adam
“You look like crap,” Jaeger says.
I loosen my tie and walk across the pavers, meeting him at the door to his woodshop. If it weren’t for his knee injury years ago, Jaeg would be a professional athlete right now. Instead, he makes dainty wood art. I give him a hard time for his choice of profession, but I gotta admit, he’s a talented son of a bitch. When I feel like doing something with my hands, I head over to Jaeg’s to saw shit up. It takes the edge off. But tonight I just need his tools. “Not possible. I always look good.”
Jaeg snorts and moves to the saw table. He’s wearing work gloves and there’s sawdust in his short brown hair. I obviously caught him in the middle of a project. “What brings you here?” He blows wood dust off the table. “You need a board and saw to vent your frustrations?”
“Can’t. Don’t have time. I’ve got to go back to work.” I glance around. “I came by to borrow a few things.”
I have no idea what Hayden wants me to build this weekend, but I figure I should grab tools while I can spare a minute. I’ve got the basics at home, but Jaeg invests in the good stuff. I play with his gear whenever I get the chance.
Working with power tools takes me out of my head and relaxes me. Which is why, despite the load of work I have at Blue, I don’t mind paying off my bet to Hayden this weekend. Matter of fact, in some twisted way, I’m looking forward to it.
“I’m beginning to wonder if I should have taken the job at Blue,” I say. “Maybe I should quit and cut my losses.”
The pressure at work continues to build. I knew Bridget’s background. I could have laid down better guidelines when I hired her, like Hayden said. But I didn’t. I assumed Bridget understood that a side business selling images of herself in compromising positions to lonely coworkers was not acceptable. Ingenious, because she obviously established a nice little following, but not appropriate.
Obviously that sort of thing needs to be spelled out to some people.
I asked around. Paul confessed to knowing what Bridget was up to. He figured it wasn’t hurting anyone, so he didn’t say anything. I suspect he was receiving the images as well, considering I found him in her office handing over his business card along with the rest of the douchebags we work with. I wouldn’t be surprised if Paul had received some sort of kickback for keeping quiet, dirty bastard that he is.
According to Paul, the guys at work were thrilled to shell out money for Bridget’s naked photos, when they could have easily viewed that sort of thing for free online. Bridget in her prim and proper secretary attire by day sending them updates of her after-hours activities was too tempting to pass up.
Jaeg sets down a measuring tape, his brow furrowed. “Cut your losses? What are you talking about? You never quit. Unless it comes to women—then all bets are off.”
I drop onto the leather couch in his workshop and rest my elbows on my knees, my head in my hands. “I might need to change that philosophy. There are people at Blue who make the depraved billionaires at Club Tahoe look like upstanding citizens.”
“It’s casino life, what did you expect?”
“I get that, and I’m no saint.” Jaeg makes a sound in the back of his throat and I shoot him a halfhearted glare. “It’s more than that. I don’t trust these guys, which is tough, because I want my job. My father pressured me to take it, like he normally does, but it’s worked out, you know? There could actually be a future there. Especially now that there’s no conflict with Club Tahoe. The old man has done a one-eighty on me. He’s been calling, and has even expressed remorse for holding the trust fund over my head all these years.”
“Seriously?” Jaeg turns around and stares. He’s spent time with my dad. He knows what the man is like.
“Not in so many words, but he admitted to holding me back.” I chuckle. “Supposedly, he’s been calling my brothers too. I’d love to be a fly on the wall during those conversations. The old man must be going through some sort of midlife crisis. Admitting he was wrong to me is one thing, butstraineddoesn’t begin to describe the history he has with my brothers.”
Jaeg leans against the table, his head tilted down. “I remember.”
My friends witnessed plenty of shouting matches between my brothers and my father when we were growing up. The fights usually led to Hunt, Bran, Wes, Levi, or some combination of the four storming out of the house and not returning for several days.
“Levi said the calls have been so awkward he actually felt sorry for the old man.” I shake my head. “But all of this is beside the point. I’ll figure out what to do about Blue. In the meantime, I lost a bet. I need to build something for Hayden this weekend.” I glance at the wall of tools. “You mind if I grab a few things?”
Jaeg scratches his jaw, his gaze zeroing in on my face. “Why are you making bets with Hayden?”
