to have a drink and sit down.” Zoe pointed to her high-heels. “I walked all the way from the arena. My feet are killing me.”
“May I please see your ID?”
She pulled her driver’s license from her purse. “I haven’t even gotten into the bar and you need my identification?”
“Sorry, love. Someday, you will see that as a compliment.” He studied the license, then glanced back up at her. “Today is your birthday?”
“Unfortunately.”
“I’m going to do you one better than our regular bar tonight, Ms. Miller. Follow me, please.”
He led her down a long hallway and into a door marked “Callahan’s VIP Lounge.”
“VIP?” she asked, surprised. “Why?”
He slid a card key into a slot on the door and held it open for her. “Let’s just say it’s a birthday gift from the Palisades Hotel and Casino.” He winked. “Enjoy your night, Ms. Miller.”
“Wow, thanks.”
Zoe stepped inside and scanned the room. Gray marble tables lined the left side of the huge space, and the longest bar she’d ever seen stood to the right. A gaming area near the front of the bar boasted darts, a pool table and a bubble top hockey game.
Ten big screen televisions were mounted in various areas around the lounge; all of them tuned into sports channels.
A man with gray, thinning hair stood behind the bar, drying a glass. Aside from a few patrons sitting on plush, high-backed stools, the place was empty. The laid-back vibe of the room was exactly what she’d been seeking.
Throwing her ice pack in a trashcan, she made a beeline toward the bartender.
After ordering a pint, Zoe took a seat at one of the marble tables. Sighing, she sank back in a well-padded chair.
She glanced up at one of the televisions where they were playing Kingsnakes game highlights, and watched herself crash into the glass again behind the two brawling hockey players.
Damn.
The bartender turned toward her with a surprised expression on his face. “Sweetheart, are you alright after that oaf landed on you? Your shoulder looks pretty bad.”
She’d give anything for a hat to cover up her hair right about now. As long as the highlights kept playing, odds are people would continue to recognize her. He was sweet to ask, but she just wanted some peace and quiet. “I’m fine, really. Thanks for asking.”
She turned back to her beer. Other than getting into this bar, her birthday had turned into a clusterfuck of epic proportions.
People came to Las Vegas for adventure and excitement. They came to get lucky. After three months of living in this city, she’d failed at all three. Her luck sucked.
Although she’d loved her previous job at a Florida women’s shelter, the rest of her life had fallen by the wayside. Her dating life was nonexistent. Coming home to an empty apartment every night began to bother her. It didn’t help that all of her close friends had moved to other states to advance their careers.
Zoe made a promise to herself that if things didn’t improve, she would move and make something happen. After spending months applying for social work jobs all over the country, she’d finally gotten an offer from a Las Vegas women’s shelter.
Desperate for change and craving adventure, she’d packed her stuff and hightailed it out of Florida, racing toward the bright lights of the Vegas Strip.
Her parents said she hadn’t given her hometown a fair chance. She’d stuck around for three years after getting her degree. That was enough of a chance in her book.
But, so far, life in Vegas was more of the same. She wasn’t dating anyone, and her roommate, Leah, was her only friend. Losing her job today had been icing on the entire crappy cake.
She took a long drink of beer.
Tomorrow, she’d buckle down and pour her energy into job hunting. Then again, maybe she should just roll with it and try something completely different. Maybe she could work as a cocktail waitress, or try something totally off the beaten path.
Then why did you work so hard to get your degree? I thought you wanted to dedicate your life to helping others?
The voice in her head sounded suspiciously like her mother, who definitely would not approve of her daughter serving drinks on the Vegas Strip.
Fortunately for her mother, Zoe wasn’t a carefree, laid-back person, so a sudden career change was unlikely. It wasn’t in her nature.
Responsible, hardworking and dependable—that’s exactly how people described her. Hell, her résumé had those words in large capital letters.
It’s who she was at her core, and