He’d have to forget about what happened last night. Of course, that wouldn’t be difficult seeing as he couldn’t remember anything anyway.
Chapter Two
Sarah Mendez hung up her apron inside her locker and sat back on the bench behind her, easing her foot out of her shoe. “Ahh,” she sighed with relief, propping her heel on her knees and massaging it with her fingers. Working twelve hours overnight on her feet was a killer, but the tips she got working as a waitress at The Griffin Resort and Casino in Las Vegas more than made up for the pain, especially when she got a chance to work the private rooms where the whales played. Once, when a particular frequent guest won big at a hand of Pai Gao, the tip she got paid for nearly a month’s rent.
However, she knew that working twelve-hour days and nights wasn’t a longtime career move. No, she was going to get out of this particular game, while she could still walk on heels. And today was the day she would make that happen.
Grabbing her towel, she went to the showers and scrubbed off all her makeup and hair products under the hot spray, then toweled off. After changing into a prim, long-sleeved blouse, skirt, and suit jacket, she blow-dried her thick locks and put it up in a sleek bun, then applied the bare minimum of makeup.
When she looked up at the mirror, she startled even herself. Gone was the sexy, scantily-clad, tattooed, fully made-up cocktail waitress who hustled day and night. In her place was a responsible, straight-laced businesswoman.
Well, not yet. But you will be, after today, she told the reflection confidently. Yes, she had a date with destiny.
Okay, so actually, it was a date with her business loan officer down at the National Bank branch on Peach Street, but it was the same thing. After two years of working her ass off on her online business, she was ready to take the plunge and open her own boutique. She already had the perfect location in the affluent downtown Summerlin area, and the leasing company was just waiting for her signature and down payment. The contractor she’d hired was the boyfriend of a regular client and would give her a deal on the renovations. Now, the only thing she needed was the capital.
“Today’s the big day, huh?” Cathy, one of her good friends at work, said as she stopped by on her way to the shower room.
“Yup,” she said.
“Oh, honey, I’m so happy for you.” Cathy embraced her. “You deserve this. You’re so talented and smart. I knew you’d be able to get out of here.”
“Yeah,” Thea, another of the girls, piped in, giving her a playful pinch on the butt. “And you’re going to do it all by yourself, without having to rely on a man marrying you.”
“Hey now,” Cathy warned. “Keep talking like that, and people will think you’re all bitter over Stephanie getting married to her rancher from Wyoming.”
Thea rolled her eyes. “The only thing I’m bitter about is that since the wedding, he and his big wallet haven’t been back.”
“Now, ladies,” Sarah began, stepping between the two. “Green isn’t a good look for any of us.”
All three women looked at each other and burst out laughing. Oh God, I’m going to miss these girls. They all liked to joke around and pretend to be catty, but they’d saved her sanity during the last five years working here. Truly, they were all happy that Stephanie—the sweetest and kindest person Sarah knew besides her own sister Darcey—had bagged a rich, older man who worshipped the ground she walked on and put a ring on her finger. They had gotten married a few weeks back, and Stephanie quit her job and moved to Wyoming to be with him.
“Our foursome was down to three and now it’s going to be just us,” Cathy said. “Are you and me gonna grow old together here, Thea?”
The other woman snorted. “Speak for yourself, I’m going to bag myself a whale too. And when we do my bachelorette party, we’re gonna do it at a male strip club.”
Cathy chortled. “That was sneaky of you, Sarah,” she said. “Promising the bride you weren’t going to take her to a male strip club, but taking her to a female one.”
“To be honest, I never had such a good time,” Thea added with a chuckle. “Who knew watching men salivating over women and showering them with money could feel so empowering?”
Sarah pasted a smile on her face at the mention of the strip club and ignored the ice forming in her stomach. “The girls of the Pink Palace were more than happy to oblige.” They were, after all, some of her best clients. “Anyway, I should get going or I’ll be late.”
“Good luck, hon,” Thea said, squeezing her on the shoulder.
“You’ll knock this one out of the park,” Cathy said, pulling her into a hug.
“Thanks, ladies,” she said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She strode out of the locker room, flexing her fingers and rolling her shoulders, trying to get rid of the strange feeling in her gut. It wasn’t anything connected to her loan meeting—no, she was fully confident that she would get the money she asked for—but rather, it always came on when she thought about that night.
All four of them—her, Stephanie, Thea, and Cathy—were at the strip club to celebrate Stephanie’s last few days of freedom. The girls at the club and the manager had been sending their table free drinks, and so maybe she’d indulged herself a little bit. Okay, so maybe it was a lot. But she’d always been the responsible one, the mother hen who took care of everyone, so why
