The elevator opens on a short walkway leading toward a large, locked door.

I step off with Penelope’s hand still nestled in mine. I can’t remember the last time I held a woman’s hand for this long but, strangely, it doesn’t feel that strange… It’s almost natural.

We stop in front of the door and I knock twice. The sound echoes throughout the little room and I take the moment to look at Penelope again as she scans the barren space. Her eyes are wide and apprehensive but I feel her fingers twitch in what I hope is excitement.

When no one answers, I pound on the door again a little harder. “Hey, Doc!” I shout. “Open up!”

I keep knocking and Penelope’s hesitant smile grows.

“Dooooc—!”

Finally, the lock gives and the door pops ajar. Light music streams from inside but no face emerges through the doorway.

“What’s the password?”

I sigh at the feminine voice. “Let us in, Carly.”

Her face pokes around and she squints, her beady eyes bouncing between me and Penelope. “Who’s us?” she asks.

“Penelope,” I say, “this is Carly from housekeeping. Carly from housekeeping, this is my lady friend, Penelope. Doc invited us.”

Penelope nods with a smile. “Hello,” she greets.

Carly doesn’t move. “Your lady what?” she asks me in disbelief.

“My lady friend,” I repeat.

“Is she like… an escort or something?”

I cringe but thankfully Penelope’s smile doesn’t fade. “No!” I say. “She’s my date.”

“And you brought her here?” Carly chuckles.

“She’s my good luck charm.”

She shrugs and peeks down at my hands. “You bring your buy-in?”

I release Penelope’s hand and fish my wallet out of my jacket pocket. Carly snatches it from my hand before I can open it and does it herself, quickly counting out ten one-hundred-dollar bills from the stack inside.

Penelope scoffs.

I look at her. “What?”

“Oh, but you are that kind of billionaire,” she quips.

“What kind?”

“The kind that just happens to have a couple thousand dollars in cash on them at all times.”

I smile. “It’s my lunch money.”

Carly plops my now empty wallet back into my palm.

“Okay,” she says as she yanks the door open wide. “Come on in.”

I open my palm for Penelope and she instantly takes hold of it again, willing to go wherever I’m about to take her. My heart pounds in my ears as I step through the doorway, pausing to hold it open for her.

It’s been a long time since I’ve wandered through the staff-only levels. It’s nothing too fancy like the tunnels beneath Disneyland or anything, but it’s where every employee at Botsford Corp. learns their trade. My brothers and I spent almost the entirety of our teen years on these levels, bouncing from maintenance workers to valet drivers to housekeeping and learning pretty much everything we needed to know for when we all inevitably ran our own branches of Botsford Plaza Hotels. Didn’t quite work out that way, much to our father’s disappointment, but two out of four ain’t bad if you ask me.

Penelope and I follow Carly through the shadowed hall and the music gets louder and louder. I sneak another peek at Penelope, her wide eyes jumping from door-to-door as we pass; showers, locker rooms, restrooms, the laundry room, storage shelves, and linen closets. All the way down to the freight elevators. This must be what it’s like to see the backstage of a play. So much calculated perfection on the outside. Pull back the curtains and you see how it’s all done.

We reach the storage room at the far end and the poker table comes into view. The staff poker game has been a tradition since before my father took hold of the Botsford reins. Not everyone participates, nor are they required to, but those who do are usually the most fun people on staff — in my opinion, anyway.

Doc throws up his hands from his spot at the hexagonal table in the corner. “Hayden!” He balances a lit cigar between his lips. “You made it.”

“I did,” I say as I scan the familiar faces around the table.

Rian sits on the left side, his black tie loosened and draped along his thick shoulders. Across from him is Fred, a doorman that I don’t really know that well but always seemed like the quiet-but-wild type. Guess I was right.

On his left sits Faye, the head of housekeeping and... not my biggest fan. She leans back in her chair and regards me with one squinting eye through shards of bright red hair.

“You all still have room for one more?” I ask.

Doc gestures to the empty chair across from him. “It’s all yours and...” He pauses on Penelope, though he was close enough this morning to know exactly who she is.

“Penelope,” I say, giving her hand a squeeze. “You remember Doc from the bar?” I ask her.

She steps forward, her eyes timidly shifting from face-to-face around the table. “Hi,” she says.

I point at each face. “Rian, Fred, Faye, and Carly. This is Penelope, she’s a guest through the weekend.”

The rest of them give her a wave as Carly plops into the empty chair on Doc’s right side.

“She’s Hayden’s lady friend,” she says as she flips open a lock-box full of cash and begins counting out a few chips for me.

Doc nods with respect. “Well, that was quick. I thought you just met this morning.”

“We did,” I confirm as I walk toward the pile of stools by the far wall. “But if anyone asks, it’s been like three months. Long story.”

“Eh,” Faye titters as she fiddles with the tall stack of poker chips in front of her. “I’ve seen him plow through my girls much faster than that.”

“Now, now...” I grab a stool and bring it back with me, setting it down behind my chair for Penelope. “Don’t start.”

“Run,” Carly whispers at Penelope. “While you still can.”

Penelope sits down. “I see a reputation proceeds him.”

“What?” Faye quips. “You couldn’t smell it within twenty feet?”

The guys laugh.

I take my seat as Carly slides my chips over. “Pay them no mind, Penny. They know not what they say.”

“He’s right,” Carly says as she flashes Penelope a wink. “We’re just kidding. He’s a saint.”

Faye snorts.

Doc snatches a deck of cards off the table. “While the sordid adventures of Hayden’s love life are quite fascinating, let’s get back to it, shall we? Some of us have dates later tonight.”

Faye snorts louder and Doc glares at her as he deals a hand while the rest of us ante up.

“I don’t know what you’re so smug about, Faye,” he says. “You’re next.”

“Yeah, I’ll pencil you in for next weekend.” Her voice drips with contempt. “Just gotta squeeze in that lobotomy first.”

Doc doesn’t respond but his playful eyes sure do.

“Five card stud?” I ask.

He nods. “Yes, sir.”

I tilt my head back at Penelope. “Stop me from doing anything stupid, all right?”

“Is that physically possible?” she asks.

“In theory.”

She smiles and I scoop up my cards. As I fan them out, she leans forward to peek over my shoulder and the hairs stick up on the back of my neck. A brief sensation from her body heat warms my spine, triggering my blood to flow... very much away from the direction of my brain.

Down, boy.

I focus on the cards. Jack and four of diamonds, five of spades, queen and two of hearts...

Carly tosses two cards from her hand onto the table. “Two, please,” she asks.

Doc deals her two more while Rian asks for the same. I prepare to trade out three of mine (the cards without faces on them, naturally) but Penelope stops me with a hand on my shoulder. She taps the jack and queen instead and I frown, giving her a doubtful gaze but she just nods. Okay, then.

“Two for us, too,” I say, tossing away those precious, pretty faces.

Doc flicks two cards in our direction. I pick them up, turning them ever so slowly to heighten the suspense before adding them to our hand.

Three of spades. Six of diam—

Holy shit. We have a straight.

I gawk at Penelope and she flashes a smug smile.

“How’d you do that?” I whisper.

“I dunno.” She shrugs. “That’s why it’s called gambling,” she says as she sits back.

My heart pounds.

Best good luck charm ever.

Doc slides three cards in our direction. I pick them up, nearly dropping them thanks to the thick layer of sweat that’s gathered on my palms over the course of the evening but it’s not the tense game that’s got my nerves all riled-up.

At the moment, I’d say that honor goes toward Penelope’s hand softly lingering on my shoulder. When I touched her like this earlier, it was to try and sell our relationship to her family members. A little bit of public affection goes a long way but we’ve got nothing to prove all the way down here on sub-level 2. Did she forget that? Or is she touching me like this because she wants to?

Because she likes it?

Because she wants me to like it, too?

I said down, boy.

“I’m all-in.”

I glance up into Faye’s stone-cold expression across from me. She nudges her stacks of chips forward into the center of the table without even blinking.

Doc whistles loudly while the others gasp.

I sit still, holding my breath. I’ve only got two pair; threes and sevens. Not a bad hand. But not great enough to make me want to risk the giant pile of winnings sitting in front of me.

“She’s bluffing.”

My ears twitch, seduced completely by Penelope’s faint whisper.

I silently tilt back to look at her. I want to ask if she’s sure. I want to ask if she’s really, really sure but one look into that perfect face and those confident eyes tell me everything I need to know.

I pause, taken back by the powerful feeling in my gut. I can’t possibly be really, really sure I know what she’s thinking and yet...

“All-in,” I say, matching Faye’s bet.

The others ease forward, ready for what looks to be the final showdown of the night.

Faye smiles and I feel a little less confident in my choice but... that damn hand on my shoulder pulses twice. Not quite sure if that’s supposed to mean something good or bad. Either way, my blood pounds a little louder in my ears.

Pe-nny. Pe-nny. Pe-nny.

Doc leans back and exhales. “All right, Faye. Let’s see your pair.”

Her face turns cold again and she glares at him as the rest of us chuckle.

“I mean...” Doc clears his throat. “Show us your hands. Please.”

Faye flicks her sharp eyes back over to me. We both thumb our cards in hesitation. There’s a lot of money on the table between us. Personally, that doesn’t matter to me.

I’m taking the girl home with me either way.

I turn up my hand and set it on the table. “Two pair,” I say.

The table trembles in a round of soft oohs as all eyes focus on Faye.

Her smile twitches up again as she turns up her cards. I lean forward an inch to read them. An eight, a nine, and... three aces.

Penelope’s hand falls from my shoulder.

“Three of a kind,” she says. “Better luck next time, Botsford.”

I deflate, but quickly shake it off with a laugh. “Well done, Faye,” I say. “That was good.”

She claims her winnings while the rest of us stand up to stretch our legs. Carly offers her a high five in a show of girlish solidarity and the men show that solemn, respectful nod.

I look at Penelope, her face practically grief-stricken.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispers. “I really thought she was bluffing.”

I chuckle and reach out to nudge her heavy chin. “Don’t worry about it,” I say. “Faye’s a master.”

“Yeah, but that was a lot of money.”

“Money, I don’t need. Faye, on the other hand; she works harder than anyone else here. She deserves it.”

Penelope pauses, taking a moment to let the words sink in. Then, she brightens up, her smile striking fire from my head to my toes.

“You’re just a big sweetheart, aren’t you?” she asks.

“Tell no one,” I say, bringing a finger to my lips. “You’ll ruin my reputation.”