Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 52779 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 264(@200wpm)___ 211(@250wpm)___ 176(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52779 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 264(@200wpm)___ 211(@250wpm)___ 176(@300wpm)
“That’s bad for business. You want your customers to get comfortable, settle in, lose track of time.”
“Makes sense.”
“On the main floor, it’s just a mirror. I had it made when I took over, so I could watch the action without those below knowing they are being observed. When I’m not here there’s a floor manager who oversees the place and this is where he’s stationed during open hours.”
“So we could see them, but they can’t see us,” I say, my voice breathy and embarrassing.
“If there was anyone here, yeah, that’s the idea,” he says. “This is my favorite spot, but there’s more to the tour.”
He crosses the room and opens the door for me. “Make a right,” he instructs. We look in offices and an executive lounge, a big security space with a bay of surveillance monitors showing multiple locations throughout the building. All the exits, the hallways and stairwells, even the elevators. I try not to think about the guy who’s manning the surveillance hub watching the heavy breathing and the part where I gripped Mickey’s wrist in the elevator earlier. I remind myself that all the staff here is employed for discretion as well as skill. That doesn’t do much to calm my nerves though.
A few doors down from there, I meet Brad, the IT guy. He’s introduced to me with a longer title than that, but it’s pretty clear he’s the IT guy. He gets busy scanning my thumbprint and setting me up with a secure laptop. Once I’m equipped with that, we return to the first room. What Mickey calls the crow’s nest.
He takes out a tablet and starts showing me the latest quarterly report to give me an overview of the kind of numbers I’m dealing with and the budget allocation. I look around after a minute.
“Is there paper and a pen anywhere?” I ask.
He cracks a smile. “I should’ve known you would want to do this old school. Do you need a quill pen or is this okay?” he teases, offering me a pen from his inner pocket.
“I like to write things down.”
“You have a state-of-the-art encrypted laptop in front of you,” he points out.
“Sometimes you can’t replace a classic,” I counter.
He produces a notebook from a drawer and I jot down some thoughts on the projected earnings, the rough numbers on overhead and staffing. I fill a couple of pages and then look up at him.
“Okay, I’m ready,” I say.
He taps back to the chart and then loads a spreadsheet. I think my mouth drops open a little as I read it. It’s an intricate breakdown of the assets of the operation and The Pearl itself is worth even more than I anticipate. For something that has zero marketing budget, a casino hidden in plain sight, I expect a number significantly less than what I’m looking at.
“This is crazy,” I say.
“I’m good at what I do,” he remarks with a shrug.
“I’ll say.”
I go back to making notes, trying hard not to think about what other types of things he might be good at.
9
MICKEY
As a rule, I don’t take meetings in the crow’s nest. I’m there most nights, and Ragucci spent a lot of time in there going over things with me. But apart from the head of security, I’m not sure I’ve ever had another person sit at that table with me. Until tonight when Katie leans over her notebook with a serious crinkle between her eyebrows, I find out with breathtaking suddenness that apparently watching her do math turns me on. In all my years running this joint, I definitely never felt that about my old accountant doing the books.
When she traces one pink nail down a column of numbers it might as well have trailed that line down my belly because my abs tighten and I harden so much I’m not sure I’ll be able to stay in these pants. There’s no way to adjust myself even under the table that would give me the slightest relief. I need to calm my body and leave.
She makes me laugh, and she keeps getting more real. I want to stay detached and just let her be another employee. But she’s not. She’s smart and curious, takes a ton of notes. She’d be a terrific employee if I could stop wanting to fuck her senseless on this very table. My body just keeps making decisions before my brain could stop it.
She’s starting to understand the scope of this business, the thousands of people who depend on me for their livelihood. This isn’t just a corporation—it’s a family and the Pearl is the highly profitable and secret beating heart of that family. The revenue this place generates supports not only families but also funds the anonymous nonprofit foundation that administers assets from a huge, interest-bearing principle I started five years ago.