shoulders up and walk away from her, my stride firm and steady. I catch a glimpse of her looking after me in the reflection of one of the shiny slot machines. Her expression is one of pure shock.
For a moment, I feel guilty. Maybe I shouldn’t have been so abrupt with our goodbye. I turn to look back at her, thinking I’ll give her one last wave, one last encouraging smile. But by the time I do, she and Deanna already have their backs to me and are heading for the exit. She doesn’t see me.
Deanna has her arm encircled firmly around Lilly’s waist and the twins are walking in step, in perfect sync. I see Lilly rest her head for just a moment on Deanna’s shoulder, and then I turn away again. She’s got her sister. She’s got her family back in Parkville. And she’s got her own life and dreams to pursue.
***
The rest of my day is spent on business. I push thoughts of Lilly out of my mind and catch up on what I’ve missed since I left—at both Fortuna and Destino. Making the rounds of both casinos packs my schedule and it’s not until almost 9:00 p.m. that I pause, taking a table at La Petite Coquette for a late dinner and a drink.
“And where is the pretty young chef tonight, Mr. Miln-air?” Jacques asks, sauntering over to re-pour my wine.
“She won’t be joining us again,” I answer.
“What a shame.” He shakes his head as he fills my glass. “A wonderful girl! And an excellent chef, too.”
“Yes, she liked to cook.” I respond hollowly to his pleasantries. “She studied it.”
“She is not just a cook!” Jacques protests. “She is a creative talent. A visionary. A true chef. I looked through her little notebook, all these recipes. Some magnificent ideas.”
“She did study cooking.”
Jacques finally seems to notice my lack of enthusiasm. “Well, this Bordeaux is a balm for any heartache,” he adds with a wink before leaving again. I stare after him in surprise. But before I can dwell on his comment, my phone rings. It’s Terry.
“Yes?”
“I just went by your office but you weren’t in.”
“Shit. Sorry, Terry. I’m at Jacques, grabbing a bite. I’ll be right over.” I’d told Terry earlier to meet me in my private office at 09:00 p.m. to go over the offer for the Monte Carlo purchase. In all the chaos today, it had completely slipped my mind.
“It’s nothing that can’t wait. Want to look at it tomorrow?”
I pause. Ordinarily, I’d never put off this kind of business. But it’s not like there’s a line of people around the block trying to spend billions on a casino. The Monte Carlo deal is as good as done. It can wait one night.
“Yeah, Terry. Please just leave it on my desk. Apologies for skipping out on our meeting like that. Won’t happen again.”
“I guess one missed meeting in over a decade is pretty good stats.” I can hear the smile in Terry’s voice.
“True. Still.” My voice is firm. I need to get my head back in the game…clearly. This is exactly the kind of sloppy behavior I can’t stand. “In any case, I owe you a drink. Want to stop by La Petite Coquette?”
There’s a pause on the other end of the line. Terry and I occasionally have a drink together in the privacy of my office, after talking shop. Beyond that, our social contact is limited. We spend so much time doing business together, there’s little space for much else.
But he surprises me when he says, “Yeah. I’ll be right over.” The line goes dead.
I lean back in my seat and take a sip of wine. The restaurant is dying down, with most of the patrons already gone. There’s one guy sitting at the bar, finishing off a drink, but beyond that, it’s basically dead. All the casino guests have moved on to other entertainment for the night—gambling.
It doesn’t take long until Terry is standing in front of me. Even after a full day of undoubtedly hectic work, he looks put-together and professional.
“Take a load off,” I gesture to the seat across from me. He slips off his tan suit jacket and lays it carefully over the back of the chair, pushing up the sleeves of his white button-down as he sits.
“What’s on the menu?”
“I’m having a glass of red myself. But I’m sure Jacques can arrange whatever you like.”
As if on cue, Jacques emerges from the kitchen. He pauses briefly in surprise