Seduce Me - J. Kenner Page 0,4
head of programming for the network affiliate in Dallas that offered me a job. You guys were on your honeymoon.”
“Right,” I say. “I remember.” Jamie and I are both from Dallas. I came to LA to reinvent myself. She came to take the acting world by storm. It hadn’t worked out quite the way she planned, however, and at one point Jamie had seriously considered returning to Texas to work as an on-air reporter while she got her shit together. She’d ended up staying, though, not in small part because her new boyfriend, Ryan Hunter, is doing a damn fine job of keeping her grounded.
“What about her?” Damien prompts.
“Gloria wants me to cover a tech convention in Vegas.” Jamie bounces a little. “Just a couple of interviews, really. But it’s a good break and a foot in the door. I told them months ago I wanted to be their West Coast correspondent, and I guess now they’re taking me seriously.”
“That’s fabulous.” I hurry over and give her a hug. “I’m so proud of you.”
“It rocks, yeah. But the best part is that it’s only a few hours of work tomorrow morning. If we go soon, we’ll have two nights and almost two full days.”
“We?” I repeat.
Damien is much quicker on the uptake. “So you came to whisk my wife away to Vegas? I don’t know, Jamie. Sounds like a bad precedent to me.” He is speaking in his corporate boardroom voice, but I can hear the tease underneath.
“On the contrary,” I say, “I think it’s an excellent plan.” I smile sweetly. “We can consider it your punishment.”
“Oh, please,” Jamie says. “Punishment? What? You two haven’t heard of sexting?” She bats her eyes innocently. “That’s what I intend to do with Ryan. It’ll make the return home all the more delicious.”
Damien puts on a mock scowl. “Is that why our corporate text rates are so high lately?” Not only is Ryan Jamie’s boyfriend, he’s also the chief of security for Stark International.
Jamie waves his words away. “Well?” she demands of me. “Are we on? If we leave now we’ll hit Vegas early afternoon and have plenty of time to play. You should check out the convention, Nik. Mostly gamer related, but still right up your alley. And it’s at the Starfire Resort and Casino,” she adds with a meaningful look at Damien. The Starfire is a Stark International hotel. “Which means I figure you and I can snag one hell of a nice upgrade. So what do you say?” she asks me. “You can clear your schedule, right?”
I glance at Damien with a very smug grin. “Yeah,” I tell Jamie. “As it turns out, I absolutely can.”
Chapter 2
Despite Jamie’s desire to hit the road immediately, it took us a few hours to actually get under way. For one thing, I had to shower and get dressed, which I did once I’d thoroughly kissed my husband goodbye and watched the helicopter whisk him off toward San Diego.
After that, I had to pack, which didn’t take too much time since we’re staying only two nights. But the calls I had to make to reschedule an entire Friday’s worth of appointments were another matter altogether. And while I sat at a shaded table by the pool with my phone and my laptop, trying to juggle my schedule with the schedule of everyone else involved, Jamie stripped down to bra and panties, then splayed out on a chaise lounge to work on her tan.
Honestly, it just didn’t seem fair.
It was lunchtime when I finally got everything squared away, and we were able to pile into the limo. Damien had insisted that Edward drive us, and since the ride from Los Angeles to Vegas is infinitely more interesting in the back of a limo with alcohol, we hadn’t been hard to convince.
Right as we got under way, we had Edward pull into Upper Crust, a charming local bakery and sandwich shop, where Jamie and I bought paninis for ourselves and Edward, then she and I settled in the back with our sandwiches, chips, and the well-stocked Stark International limo bar.
All of which goes a long way to explaining why, when we roll into Las Vegas at just shy of six in the evening, Jamie and I are just a teensy bit drunk. Not to mention very easily amused.
Which is why I burst into giggles when Jamie pulls out her phone, stares at the screen, and very plaintively asks me why there isn’t even a smidgeon of