Chapter Eleven
At 6:20 a.m., Dani rapped on Julia’s hotel room door and then placed Emma in front of the peep. Michael and Jerry stood off to the side, out of sight.
After a few more knocks, the door swung open. Julia’s forehead crumpled in confusion as she reached out and took Emma. “Who the hell are you? And why do you have my daughter?” Julia planted a kiss on Em’s forehead. “Hi, baby.” Then she tucked Em onto her hip. “What’s going on?”
Dani started to answer, but Emma was squealing in delight, making it hard to be heard. Dani had to bite back the acerbic remark that lay on the tip of her tongue regarding abandoning children. “Your mother sent us to help you get the money back.” After Dani made the introductions, Julia reluctantly opened the door wider and let them all in.
Julia was a pretty woman, a grown-up version of Emma with strikingly bright-blue eyes, blonde hair, and full porn-star lips. Her gaping robe had Jerry ogling her nicely formed bust, which, as everyone now knew, was his favorite part of the female form.
She shut the door behind them. Julia adjusted Emma and then, thankfully, her robe. “My mother sent you? That doesn’t make any sense, and why do you have Emma instead of Ron?”
Before Dani could reply, Emma wrapped her body tightly against her mother and proclaimed loudly, “Bad Momma! Emah go, too!”
Way to go kiddo; that’s telling her.
But when Julia’s head bowed and fresh tears sprung from her eyes, Dani softened. Julia appeared to be closing in on desperation when she replied, “I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t have any choice.”
After they cleared up the details on how they came to be in possession of Emma, Julia explained that her partner had stolen the money electronically from some of their bigger clients’ accounts, and most didn’t know until they went to make their payroll tax deposits. She’d confronted her partner, Greg, and he’d told her everything was going to be fine because he’d invested the money in some offshore “sure bets,” and not to worry.
The next thing she knew, their clients were receiving nonpayment notices from the IRS. After she was caught snooping in Greg’s computer files, he went to the police and pointed an accusing finger at Julia to buy himself some more time. Then he disappeared.
Michael asked, “What did you mean when you dropped Emma off with Ron? That it was his fault that you had to hide?”
Julia shook her head and pulled Emma tighter against her chest. “I just said that to scare him into keeping Emma. Ron is her father, but I never told him because I don’t want anything from that heartless jerk. But none of my other relatives are in a position to take her. I didn’t have any other choice but to leave Emma with him on such short notice.”
Julia dropped down on the side of the bed. “He’d asked me to help him take advantage of some questionable loopholes in the tax code while we were seeing each other. I wouldn’t have recommended any clients do what he wanted to do—it definitely falls into the ‘gray area’ of tax accounting—but I was madly and stupidly in love with him, totally believing his song and dance about leaving his wife, so I helped him shelter large amounts of money.”
“Is the IRS after you for Ron’s accounts?” Michael asked.
“No, I don’t think so. As I said, it’s questionable, not illegal, but now with them going through our files, I’m sure I’m going to have to defend that move as well as the truly illegal ones of my business partner. I know gambling what’s left was stupid, but I’m desperate. Greg left a paper trail leading straight to me, and I had nothing to do with any of it. You have to believe me. I can’t go to jail and leave Emma.”
“We’ll work it all out.” Dani laid her hand on Julia’s arm and closed her eyes. A calm blue light filled Dani’s mind. In that instant, she knew Julia was telling the truth. It looked like the worst thing she was guilty of was helping Ron hide the money they could surely retrieve. “I’ll help you win the money back if you’ll help us find Ron’s hidden money. How much of the ten thousand is left?”
Julia’s eyes filled with tears again. “Five hundred dollars.”
That was going to make things a whole lot harder. She’d hoped for at least five thousand, so she could make it up playing poker, but it looked like they were going to have to start off smaller. Slots would probably be the best bet.
Michael asked, “How much do you need to keep the IRS at bay?”
Julia’s brow furrowed. “I need a hundred. It’s impossible. I’m screwed.”
Dani gulped. “A hundred thousand dollars?”
“Yeah, and that’s after taxes, which the casino will automatically withhold, so I’d need closer to a hundred and thirty thousand.”
Michael’s eyes narrowed. “What are you thinking, Dani? No one can win that much money with a lousy five hundred bucks. That’s insane.”
She met Michael’s hard gaze, then glanced back at Julia. “I’m actually a very good gambler. The way I play is sort of like your ‘gray area’ accounting, so if I win this money, you have to promise to find a way to pay the casino back when all of this is settled. If nothing else, you can bring it here and purposely lose it.” Dani held out her hand for a shake. “Deal?”
“Deal.” Julia pumped Dani’s hand.
She checked Julia out, calculating they were similar in size, except Dani’s bust was a little smaller. “So, do you have an outfit I can borrow? One that will make me look like a bimbo with too much money to blow?”
Julia’s face lit with a slow grin. “Oh yeah.” She turned toward her closet and pulled out a skimpy red dress, then leaned down to pick up a pair of matching three-inch stilettos.
Dani trotted into the bathroom, stripped to just her panties, and slipped into the dress and then the shoes. The dress was so tight she had to lose her panties, too. When she opened the door and modeled the dress for everyone, Emma clapped and Julia hummed in appreciation.
With widened eyes, Michael uttered a single word. “No!”
Dani laughed and met Julia’s amused gaze. “Well, now we know it works.” She turned and faced the mirror. How Julia’s larger breasts didn’t spill right out of the skimpy halter top was a mystery. As it was, Dani’s were displayed in a barely legal manner. The hem line was short enough she’d have to be careful not to flash anyone Britney Spears style when she sat down.
It was just the look she wanted. She needed the men at the poker tables to look at her body, not her expressions. She was a terrible liar and didn’t have much of a poker face. Boobs and curves she had in spades, so why not use them?
Michael slid behind her and growled in her ear, “Dani, this is crazy. You’re not leaving the room dressed like that.”
She took his chin and planted a quick kiss on his lips. “Quit acting like my mother and listen for a minute. It’s all part of the distraction plan so I can bluff in poker. You’re welcome to accompany me and defend my honor while I’m out there. In fact, I’d like that very much.”
Before he could respond, Jerry called out, “Hey, Dani?”
When she turned and faced him, he held up his phone and took a picture.
“What are you doing?” She slammed her hands on her hips.
“The next time you refuse to do what I want, I’m gonna send this picture to your mom.” Jerry laughed as he tucked his phone into his pocket.
She sent him the stink eye before she turned to Michael for support. He crossed his arms and shook his head. “Don’t look at me. I wish I’d thought of it first.”
Dani was insane. Michael had half a mind to jump into his car and leave her and Jerry to fend for themselves. How she could parade herself around the casino in that hooker dress was beyond him. And he was pretty sure she was buck naked under there but didn’t really want to know the truth.
Pacing back and forth in their hotel room, he stopped to gaze out at the Las Vegas skyline. In the daylight, the town looked almost as tacky as Dani’s dress.
And her plan was just nuts. No one could turn $500 into $130,000.
He wanted to give Emma back, grab a little of that alone time with Dani, then be sure Julia turned herself in. He’d probably have Julia in and out of custody within a few hours since they didn’t have enough to charge her with anything yet. That is, if she was telling the truth about not being involved with the money scam. How could Dani be so sure Julia was innocent? No one’s gut instincts were that good.
Dani was putting her makeup on in the bathroom, so he crossed the room, intent on talking her out of her latest Lucy Ricardo scheme.
Taking a deep breath for patience, he leaned against the doorjamb and folded his arms, watching as Dani applied thick layers of war paint to cover her bruised face. She was prettier to him without any makeup at all.
She looked up and met his gaze in the mirror’s reflection. “What?”
He ran a hand down his face, still struggling for composure. “Why are you doing this?”
“Because she’s innocent and needs a break.” Dani pumped her mascara wand a few times. “I really am an incredible gambler, Michael. You’ll see.”
“No one is that good. And I don’t want men thinking you’re a hooker. Let’s just talk Julia into going home with us.”
She was about to apply a layer of lipstick, then stopped and laid the tube on the counter. Crossing to him, Dani snuggled against him and whispered in his ear, “It’s sweet of you to care about how other men look at me, but I’m more interested in what goes through your mind when you see me.”
Things he had no business confessing were threatening to escape, so instead of answering, he kissed her. It was either that or tie her up, throw her over his shoulder, and take her home.
When he leaned back, she stared into his eyes and grinned. “Thank you. I’ll get this over as quickly as possible, and then I’ll show you what I think of when I see you.”
He was thinking he should just leave. Nothing good could come of her ridiculous plan, but as he stared into those witchy, beautiful eyes, his resolved weakened.
Damn her.
Their alone time better make her silly scheme worth it.
“All right. You win. Let’s go.”
Dani led Michael by the hand to the slot machines first. They needed enough money so she could bet big at the poker table. The clanging of the coins hitting the metal trays and the flashing lights threatened to give her a migraine. That was the last thing she needed when she was already going to have a raging headache from what she was about to do. Visions didn’t come to her for free. They hurt.
But she was happy to be free of her bodyguard for a few hours. Jerry was with Em and Julia shopping on the strip. He was reluctant to go at first, but after a phone call to the head of the hotel’s security to be sure she’d be watched on camera at all times, Jerry finally agreed to cooperate.
Dani hoped they could win the money fast enough so that she and Michael could find some alone time before everyone got back. The lust in Michael’s eyes as he looked at her made her want to keep Julia’s hooker dress forever.
“Here’s half the money, Michael. Play the max bet each time.” She laid her hand on the machine in front of them, and a vision of a calm lake appeared in her mind.
“That plan should have us broke and done with this in under ten minutes.” He started to sit down, but she grabbed his arm and stopped him.
“Not that one. It’s not ready to pay.”
“And you’d know this how?”
Whoops. She was so busy thinking about that lake, she almost slipped up. “It’s that instinct thing I was talking about, remember?”
He looked at her like she’d lost her last brain cell. “So, are you like those people who place bets on the winner of the Super Bowl based on the color of the uniforms?” He leaned against the stool with the money in his fist, as she continued down the row, touching machines.
She shrugged. “You could put it that way.” She laid her hand on a machine a few feet away from Michael, and a clown appeared in her mind. Clowns were just creepy, so she moved on. The next machine created a vision of a parade with confetti falling. “This one’s it. Play the maximum bet.”
Michael sat down and slipped a twenty in the slot. “So I’m playing this one because it’s girly and pink?”
If he only knew how much she’d come to loathe the color pink. “Let’s just see if it pays.”
After a few more tries and some really weird visions, she found a machine opposite Michael that gave off fireworks, so she sat down and started feeding all her bills into it. Before she could press the button to place her first bet, Michael’s machine came to life, the red light flashing and alarm blaring for the attendant because it was such a big payout.
“I won twenty-five hundred dollars.” Michael whipped his head toward her. “Has to be a coincidence.”
“Probably.” She withheld her smug grin and hit her button while they waited for an attendant to pay off his jackpot.
On her fifth try, her machine made all kinds of noise, and she won $1,000. The tired-looking attendant in her pinstriped skirt shook her head as she crossed to Dani and read the screen. “This must be your lucky day. For you both to win that big is rare.” She counted out the bills into Dani’s outstretched hand.
“Thanks.” Dani handed the attendant a hundred-dollar bill as a tip. “Have a great day.”
“You too. Good luck.” She tucked the bill into her top and walked away.
Because it might raise suspicions if they won another jackpot so soon, it was probably time to take their winnings and go. “Let’s find the poker tables.”
Michael slung his arm around her shoulder as they headed across the busy, loud casino, weaving in and out of people. “Maybe we should quit while we’re ahead?”
“Nope.” Dani shook her head. “I’m on a roll. It’d be a crime to shut down a hot streak like the one I’m on.”
“Right.” Michael handed her his share of the winnings. “But you’d have better odds playing craps rather than poker.”
“Craps? Really?” She’d never played before, but how hard could it be?
“Yeah. But stay away from the sucker bets in the middle of the table. Your best odds are the pass or come lines. I looked it up while you were in the shower.” Michael dug out his phone and pulled up the rules.
Leave it to practical Michael to do his research.
After she’d read the quick guide to winning, she changed her mind about poker. Craps could be a whole lot faster. And she wouldn’t have to worry about her poker face. “Let’s do it!”
“I’ll wait for you right there.” He pointed to a nearby row of poker machines. “I can’t stand to watch money be thrown away.”
“Such a cynic.” She stood on her tiptoes, leaned her chest against his, and whispered, “After I win and prove you wrong, I know just what I want as a reward.”
His eyes darkened with desire. “What’s that?”
“You. Naked, in my bed.” She laid her mouth on his and kissed him.
He kissed her back so deeply she was tempted to give up her mission and drag him upstairs right then and there.
He slowly ended their kiss. “I think we should both get naked, win or lose. You’re barely dressed anyway.”
“Very funny. Be back in a few.” Dani drew a deep breath to compose herself, and then got serious about picking a table.
She wished Michael would’ve mentioned craps earlier. Her feet were killing her in Julia’s heels. Not that she’d ever admit it to him, but she’d give anything to be wearing her comfy jeans and sneakers at the moment.
She glanced around the pit area, intent on picking a lucky table. There were only three active, so she headed for the busiest, loudest one.
After finding an open spot, she nodded to the four casino workers who manned the table, and then checked out her gambling mates.
The man to her immediate left, who was dressed in designer wear from head to toe and loaded down with gold jewelry, had his arm around the man next to him. He sent her a friendly smile.
Next to the men was a fiftyish, pleasant-looking blonde woman who stood by a cute but slightly chubby man who was seriously into checking out Dani’s chest.
A younger, well-dressed man and woman stood next to the older couple. They were awfully tan for October. Maybe they’d just returned from a cruise. Or by the way they were making googly eyes at each other, maybe their honeymoon. It was sweet.
Dani laid her cash down and called out, “Change please,” like the guide had said to do, while she waited for her chance to hop in and place a bet. She’d make smaller bets until it was her turn to throw the dice.
After everyone placed their bets, the stickman asked the younger lady to Dani’s right to choose which dice she wanted of the five before her. She shook her head, and the choice went to her husband. The guy picked up two dice, had his wife blow on them for luck—like that was going to help, the amateurs—and then he tossed them across the table. Shouts of “seven” and “eleven” rang out as everyone watched the dice settle in.
He rolled snake eyes and crapped out. Thankfully, she’d only bet twenty bucks. And even better, it was her turn to throw the dice. When the dice appeared before her to choose two from, she laid a finger on the first die and got nothing. The second die was the same. Zilch.
Panic began to set in. She couldn’t make the money she needed on her own, dammit. Beginners luck could only hold out for so long.
When she moved her finger to the third die, the color green filled her mind. Hopefully that meant money. The next die gave off nothing, but luckily the last one gave off a green hue as well. The guide said she should place bets on the pass line, but not being certain the color green in her vision was a good thing, she laid down only two thousand. Then she let the dice fly.
Everyone around the table shouted out numbers, while Dani concentrated as hard as she could on the number seven. When the dice settled, it was a six and a five. Eleven. Still a winner!
She’d just doubled her bet. Cheers went up as the dealers paid off the players who bet with her, and then the same two dice appeared before her again. Thinking back to the instructions she’d just read, she didn’t want to roll a seven going forward or she’d lose, and the dice would pass to the shooter on her left. So she picked up the dice, getting the same green hue in her mind, and tossed them against the side again. They added up to six. The new number to roll before a seven came up, or she’d lose.
The older couple laid some bets in the middle while everyone else pretty much played the safer ones. They all looked at her in gleeful anticipation, calling out the numbers they wanted to see. Dani leaned over the table, careful to keep the girls inside her slutty top, and tossed the dice to the other end. After bouncing off the far wall, the dice added up to six. Another win! She left her winnings on the table and added the fifteen hundred she’d held back the first time.
The cheers became louder, and the betting got hotter for the next round. Dani left the full $9,500 on the table, earning her a raised brow from the boxman, who watched her intently. Then she scooped up the dice.
When a red haze filled her mind, her stomach clenched. She’d just bet all the money on bad dice.
The instructions on Michael’s phone said new dice were handed out only for the first throw. She had no choice but to hope for the best and maybe some of that beginner’s luck.
She leaned forward to throw the dice, and one of her stilettos slipped right out from underneath her. The dice in her hand flew in the air, nearly hitting the stickman in the head. As she caught herself on the table’s edge, he quickly leaned out of the way. The dice landed on the floor behind him.
“Whoops.” She got herself upright again and adjusted her halter top, which threatened to give everyone a peep show. “Sorry. I’ll get them.”
Both of the dealers and the boxman said, “No!” in unison. The stickman leaned down and picked up the dice, tossing them to his boss. After they were inspected, five dice were placed in front of her again.
Maybe Julia’s stilettos were bringing Dani some much-needed luck.
After finding two dice that gave off a green aura, she let them fly. When they landed, they added up to seven, thank goodness. It made her winnings total about nineteen grand. Her table mates cheered her on so loudly that a crowd began to form around them.
Just as Dani was about to toss the dice again, the older lady across from her asked, “You look a little familiar. Have we met?”
Dani’s stomach took a quick dive. She didn’t want to be recognized as Annalisa’s daughter. If the lady posted something online, her mom would know she’d been in Vegas.
Plastering a smile on her face, Dani said, “No, I don’t think so.” Then she let the dice fly and won again, distracting the nosy woman, who quickly doubled up on her bets before Dani’s next throw.
But then the woman frowned and tilted her head. “I never forget a face. It’ll come to me.”
The fancily dressed man next to Dani looked her up and down. “You do look a little familiar.”
That’s because she looked an awful lot like her mother. She hesitated for a moment, considering. Maybe she should move on to another table. But she was on a winning streak she didn’t want to break.
Screw it. She’d have to take the chance while she had it. Her heart pounded with anticipation, and fear.
Please don’t let me roll seven and lose it all now.
She pulled back half of her $38,000 in winnings, just in case. And because it’d make conservative Michael proud of her.
She turned and searched for him. He was pacing back and forth nearby like an expectant father. When their eyes met, he patted his heart and sent her a wide smile.
He wasn’t the only one who nearly had a heart attack on that last throw. Or maybe he was sending her his love? Smiling, she turned her attention back to the game.
A large hand landed on her shoulder, and Mr. Giovanni said, “Ms. Botelli, may I have a word with you, please?”
The blonde woman across from her proclaimed, “I knew it! You’re Annalisa Botelli’s daughter. You were the one kidnapped when you were a kid.”
As Dani glanced around the table, recognition had them all nodding their heads. The man next to her took out his cell phone.
Mr. Giovanni moved between the phone and Dani, saying, “I think it’s time to take a break. Won’t you join me?” His tight grasp on her arm left her no choice but to follow.
She glanced over her shoulder at her chips, and he said, “Don’t worry. They’ll be there when we return.” Mario sent a nod to the boxman, then tugged her away from the table.
Michael stepped in front of them, his brows raised in question. “What’s going on?”
Mr. Giovanni held up a hand to ward Michael off. “We’ll be right back, Michael. I just need a word with Daniella. No more than ten minutes, I promise.”
Michael’s eyes met hers, and she gave a nod, so he stepped out of their way. “I’ll go watch your chips until you get back.”
“Thanks.” Dani struggled to swallow the fear rising in her throat. She was being dragged off by a mob guy. One who probably wasn’t happy about losing $38,000.
Mr. Giovanni took out a key fob from his pocket, and a door slid open as they approached. When it closed behind them, eerie silence washed over them. They entered a long, deserted hallway. No one in the loud casino would hear her if she screamed for help. Terror had her heart pumping triple time.
He released her and crossed his arms. “Your mother wouldn’t appreciate you gambling. Out of my deep loyalties to her, I feel compelled to ask you to contact her right now.”
Crap, crap, crap! She’d rather take her chances with the mob guy standing before her than endure her mother’s Italian temper. But then, his stern expression sent all sorts of images from every gangster movie she’d ever seen into her head. She didn’t want to die swimming with the fishes.
Her mother’s wrath it had to be.
“Sure. No problem.” With shaking hands, she dug her phone from her little purse that was strapped across her body and slowly dialed her mom’s number. She dreaded the conversation they were about to have. Turning her back to Mario, she took a few steps away for some privacy.
Her mother answered, “It’s not a good time, honey.”
She whisper-screamed, “Mario Giovanni asked me to call you.” She glanced over her shoulder and sent a fake smile his way. “Or rather, he made me call you.”
“You’re in Vegas?” Her mom was silent for a beat. “What the hell are you—”
Dani quickly summarized the situation. “Is he . . . dangerous? Will he hurt me?”
Her mom moaned. “Mario would never hurt you. But you need to give him back every dime and walk away. I wouldn’t blame him if he threw you out!”
“Do you think he knows I’m cheating . . . sort of?”
“Sort of? Dani, I’m too angry to speak to you right now. Give the money back and go home!” Annalisa cut their connection.
Dani turned around and forced another smile. “So, mom says, hey. And she suggested I return all the chips and tell you I was just having a little fun and wouldn’t dream of keeping my winnings.”
His grim expression gave nothing away. He was probably a killer poker player. He was probably a killer killer, too!
After a long, uncomfortable moment, he said, “Why don’t we make it interesting?”
“What did you have in mind?” She was really afraid of whatever his answer was going to be.
He wrapped his arm around her shoulder as companionably as Zoe would have done and led her back to the sliding door. “How about I let you roll the dice just one more time? Then win or lose, your gambling here will cease immediately.”
Dani’s shoulders slumped in disappointment. She’d come too far to lose everything in one toss of the dice, but what choice did she have? “Okay. But can I pick my dice?”
He laughed as the panel slid open and loud noise blasted them in the face again. “That’d be stacking the odds unfairly in your favor, wouldn’t it, Daniella? We’ll use mine.” His hand dipped into his suit coat pocket and he pulled out two dice.
He couldn’t possibly know about her “hunches.” Could he?
When they got back to the table, a larger crowd had formed. Mr. Giovanni announced Dani’s intention of playing for a single pot worth almost $230,000, and a cheer went up from the excited people surrounding them.
Mr. Giovanni sure knew how to work a room. He was probably doing it for the publicity it’d generate for his new hotel. She hoped her luck held just one last time.
Every other person watching had their cell phones out, snapping pictures or taking video. It made her desperately regret her clothing choice.
Michael leaned close to be heard over the noise. “Are you okay?”
Nodding, and fighting her anxiety, she whispered in his ear, “Cross your fingers for me. I need all the help I can get here.”
When the people watching quieted, Mr. Giovanni laid the dice from his pocket on the table in front of her. Then he instructed one of the dealers to put all her chips on the seven in the middle of the felt top. It paid five-to-one odds. He was making her place a sucker bet, dammit.
Nice trick, Mob Man.
As the crowd yelled encouragement for a seven, Dani picked up the dice. Her hand shook as she waited for an aura. She got black. She had no idea what that meant, but it didn’t bode well.
She glanced at Michael, who held up both hands with crossed fingers.
Dread washed over her. She didn’t want to let Julia and Emma down, but the odds just weren’t in her favor anymore.
“Here goes nothing.” Sucking in a deep breath, she flung the dice across the table. The action seemed to turn into slow motion as everyone’s heads turned and tracked the progress of the dice as they hit the side and bounced to the table. The first die landed with a solid thump on a five. Then the second die landed on its edge, teetering between a one and a two.
Please land on the two.
She couldn’t watch anymore, so she closed her eyes. When excited shouts filled the air, she slowly cracked just one eye open. She’d rolled a seven.
Thank God!
As she let out the breath she’d held, Mario quickly scooped up the dice and returned them to his pocket. A set of arms surrounded her, and then Michael’s mouth landed on hers. After he’d kissed her, he whispered, “I should’ve known if anyone could do this, it’d be you. You’re like a cat with nine lives, Dani.”
Yeah. If only he knew the truth.
She glanced at Mario to gauge just how angry he was about losing that much money and was surprised when he winked and patted his suit coat. Were those dice rigged? And had he let her win?
Mario leaned close and whispered, “Congratulations, Daniella. The next time you come to Vegas, please stay with me . . . but gamble somewhere else.” He grabbed her hand, held it over her head, and shouted to the crowd, “Ms. Botelli wins.”
Mario nodded to the boxman, and with her hand still in his, he led her and Michael to an office suite on the second floor. After Dani explained all about helping Julia, Mario instructed an older woman who looked like Betty White to transfer money to the various accounts that Julia had e-mailed to Michael’s phone. As Dani sat quietly, watching the remaining balance of her winnings grow smaller and smaller, her cell rang. It was her mother, so Dani rose to take the call in the outer office so everyone wouldn’t hear her getting her ass chewed up and spit back out.
When Dani answered, her mom’s angry voice blasted out, “Why are your breasts plastered all over the Internet?”
“Are the ones you’re referring to in a bright-red halter-top dress?”
“Now the whole world has a practically naked picture of you. Didn’t being kidnapped teach you anything about keeping a low profile? And worse, you look like a common streetwalker. If you can’t afford a decent dress, then you’ll need to get a better job or start accepting help from me.”
“Mom, I didn’t mean—”
“You never mean to do dumb things, Dani, but you just can’t seem to help it, can you? Why can’t you be more like your sister? At least when she screws up, she has the sense to call so we can start damage control!”
Ouch.
It wouldn’t do any good to remind her mother that she was thirty years old, not sixteen, and could dress however she liked. Since they were old enough to walk on their own, she and her sister had been lectured on “acceptable public behavior.”
Her mother fiercely protected her public persona, carefully planning her every move, and always dressed as if there were going to be reporters waiting. Appearances meant more to her mother than the Oscars she’d won. All the cell phone cameras at the craps table should have reminded Dani that warning her mom would have been a good idea.
Having a famous mother sucked. Why couldn’t her mom be more like her grandmother, who didn’t give a damn what anyone thought of her?
The stress of the day left her unable to put up any semblance of a decent fight, so she whispered, “I’m sorry, Mom. I’d never embarrass you on purpose.”
The lack of challenge in her words must’ve thrown Annalisa completely off-balance, because her voice softened by ten decibels when she replied, “When are you coming home?”
It was approaching three o’clock on Sunday afternoon, too late for the long drive home. She and Michael had decided to stay the night and leave in the morning. “Tomorrow.”
Dani pondered the question that burned to escape. Why not? Her mother was already pissed off, and all she could do was refuse to answer again. “Is Mr. Giovanni my father?”
“I promised your father I would never reveal his identity . . . to anyone!” Those ten decibels were back and rose by twenty.
Her mother’s curt reply launched a missile that landed directly in the center of Dani’s already bruised heart. Feeling utterly betrayed, she said, “Well, of course. Because he’s much more important than me. It was dumb of me to have asked!” She ended the call and fought her sudden urge to cry.
Drawing a deep breath, she threw her shoulders back and joined the others again.
Mr. Giovanni smiled and said, “All we need now is your account for the rest, Dani.”
“My account? Oh, no thank you. Please keep the money, Mr. Giovanni. I don’t want it.” As badly as she could use the money, there was no way she was taking any for herself. That would feel like cheating.
Her phone dinged with a text from her mom. Dani, I’m sorry. I was upset. I didn’t mean to hurt you.
Whatever. Dani hit “Send,” tucked her phone away, and turned her attention back to Mr. Giovanni.
With a raised brow, he asked, “Are you certain? Your mother mentioned something about your substandard transportation.”
Her mother was quite the Chatty Cathy when it came to Mr. Giovanni, wasn’t she? “Yeah, well, my mother doesn’t know it yet, but that car is down for the count, so I’ll be acquiring a new one with my latest commission check. Maybe the next car won’t be such a great embarrassment to her. Like I am.”
With tears burning her eyes, Dani rose and headed for the door. She’d had about all she could handle for one day. She called out, “Thank you for all your help, Mr. Giovanni, I appreciate it.”
Michael appeared beside her as the office door swung closed behind them.
Mr. Giovanni’s angry voice called to his assistant. “Get Annalisa on the phone. And don’t take no for an answer.”
Great. Now what had she gone and done?