he had that urge to smile, and Wyatt had never been a man given to smiles. Without missing a beat, he stepped over to a cabinet, opened a drawer, pulled out a handful of brochures and held them out to Alex.
“What’s this?”
“Homework. If you’re going to play hooky, I’ll at least expect you to start educating yourself about the local attractions and the hotel.”
The woman’s smile could have lit the ballroom at McKendrick’s. The impact of it nearly sent Wyatt reeling. “I’ll do that. Is there anything else?”
Yes. Stop smiling, he wanted to say. Stop making me think of you as a woman I want to touch, and just be what you have to be, a very temporary employee. “Yes, there is one thing.”
She waited.
“Enjoy your day off.”
“I will. And…thank you.”
“For what?”
Her lips curved up more. “You’re making it possible for me to fulfill my dreams.”
Wyatt wanted to groan. He wished she hadn’t said that. Dreamers were delicate creatures who could be easily hurt by men like him. He’d been a dreamer once, a long time ago. These days he gave the naive and the innocently optimistic a wide berth.
“Meet me here first thing tomorrow. I’ll get you started.”
Because the sooner he got her established, the sooner he could start thinking of her as just another employee.
He hoped.
ALEX watched her friends pack their bags. Despite their plans to party up until the last minute, the day had been oddly subdued. The night before they’d each gone their separate ways, and this morning Serena had been distracted and flushed at breakfast.
“Yes, I had an…interesting evening,” she’d said, but neglected to give any details.
“Very nice,” was all Molly had said about her time the night before, but Alex had noticed that she’d glanced away.
And now that the time had come for them to part company, no one looked very cheerful. Jayne was even more beautiful with her new hairstyle, but the pain in her eyes was more intense than before the weekend had started. Still, she gave her friends a determined smile.
“This vacation was just what I needed,” she said. “I’m glad you suggested it, Serena.”
“It was an impulse,” Serena said. “Maybe not my best.” They all looked at Alex.
“I’m fine,” she said. “When will I ever get an opportunity like this again? Besides, I’ll be back in San Diego soon, living my dream, and we’ll have a party to celebrate.”
“A huge party,” Molly agreed.
“The biggest and best,” Serena added.
Then there was nothing left to say. The three of them had to leave or they’d miss their plane.
“Promise you’ll stay in touch?” Molly gave Alex a hug.
“By phone, e-mail, text and every way possible,” Alex agreed.
“And don’t let that gorgeous hunk of a boss of yours work you too hard,” Serena added.
All of them laughed at that. Alex thrived on hard work.
“I’ll get plenty of downtime.”
“And above all, don’t…” Jayne hesitated. “He’s too attractive to be safe, Alex.”
“I won’t fall in love with him, Jayne,” Alex said solemnly. “Today several of the other employees have sidled up to me to tell me that every woman falls in love with him, but there’s something mysterious about his past and he never gets involved with employees or falls in love, so I’ve been warned. Not that I needed to be. I’ve been burned too many times to ever fall for a man who comes with a ‘guaranteed to break a girl’s heart’ tag sewn into his shirts.” Love had only ever brought her pain, and now she was allergic. She was through with it.
Jayne managed a smile. She hugged Alex. “I would hate him so much if he hurt you.”
“That won’t happen. I’m not interested, and he’s definitely not interested.” Alex’s words were as much a warning for herself as reassurance for her friends.
“Okay, but if you need us…for anything…” Serena began.
“We’re only a few hours away,” Molly added.
Then they all piled into a cab and were gone.
Alex was on her own. But tomorrow, and for a lot of tomorrows, she would be working for Wyatt McKendrick.
At last she let the full reality of that thought sink in, and admitted that she wasn’t nearly as unaffected as she had told her friends. A sleepless night followed, only emphasizing the pitfalls of this situation. But when morning came there was no putting off the moment…or the man.
She had just signed on to work with the man dubbed the most elusive bachelor in Las Vegas. And unfortunately she did find him attractive, and she was nervous.
But she had never been one to stand meekly by awaiting her fate. She tended to plow forcefully ahead…just the way her unlucky-in-love mother had done.
And that, of course, was the problem. But it was one she intended to rectify.
“So, let’s get this thing done, Wyatt McKendrick,” she muttered. Because the sooner he gave her some direction, the sooner she could go about her business, away from any danger of getting too close to the man.
“I’m ready,” Alex said, as she met Wyatt coming out of his office. “Where do I begin?”
He raised a brow. “I’m glad you’re so enthusiastic. You argued vociferously against taking this job.”
“But now I have, and I intend to jump in with both feet.”
Which brought his gaze to her feet and her open-toed low-heeled sandals…which made Alex aware of her feet in a way she never had been before. She felt a bit exposed. But she couldn’t let him see that, so she thrust her chin up and waited.
“Okay,” he agreed. “But technically you’re not due at your desk for another hour, so I’ve made arrangements to introduce you to some of the people I prefer to refer customers to.”
“Such as…”
“Travel agents, tour guides, other business contacts.”
She pulled a small blue notepad out of her purse. “All right, I’m ready.”
A trace of a smile lifted his lips. He reached out and plucked the notepad from her grasp. “There’s a fact sheet with everyone’s contact information on it at your desk. The purpose of this outing is for me to introduce you and for you to inhale the details of the businesses you’ll be referring customers to. I want you to note what makes these businesses the best that can be had even if the customer never enters their premises. I’ve worked with some of them for the entire time I’ve been here.”
“You’re not native to Las Vegas?”
“No. A transplant from a small town in Illinois. I came here five years ago, not knowing a soul, but Las Vegas fits me.”
She tilted her head and studied him. “Wow, you stayed even though you had no friends or family here? That’s intriguing. So many people fly into Las Vegas for a weekend or a week.”
“And most of them leave,” he said, finishing her thoughts. “But they come to have fun. I came because a person can start from square one here and make