The Billionaire X-MAS Wonder: A Billionaire Christmal Novel Read online

  Anyways, it was too late. I’d left my house and taken the bus for half an hour and was walking down the street. I was getting closer and closer to the casino where I had the interview. My heart raced as I made my way up the new steps of the brand new casino.

  That’s the thing about Las Vegas. There is always a new casino coming up; most get run into the ground pretty quickly. Most don’t last long, but that didn’t matter because I just needed the job, and this place was hiring.

  I’d heard the rumors about this one. The owner was supposed to be successful, apparently he’d just come to town a while ago, but no one else knew much more than that—like why he’d decided to come here.

  I reached the top of the steps, and my left hand shot out for the door. I pulled it open and stepped inside.

  The front was lavish. Black, white and blue were the colors they’d gone with. It was all modern, with leather stools in front of the slot machines.

  I stepped towards the counter, plastered a smile on my face and toyed with my hair for a split second.

  “Hi.” I sounded chipper. “I have an interview coming up at noon.”

  The girl glanced down at her computer. “Rebecca?” I nodded. “Alright, just head down that hall and to your left.”

  “Thank you!” I smiled wider and headed for the room where my fate would be decided,

  pausing for a fraction of a second as I was just about to reach the door. Positive body language, I reminded myself. I’d spent the week prepping for it. Reading every article online that I could find, trying to increase my chances of getting this job. I knocked once and stepped inside.

  “Hi.” My eyes widened as I stared at the man in front of me. He was not the kind of overly wealthy-wants-to-spend-his-money kinda billionaire.

  First things first; he wasn’t over middle-age, that was for sure. I bit my lip as his eyes ran over my body.

  “Hello, please come on in.” He put a couple papers away and turned his full attention to me.

  Taking a deep breath, I stepped into the office before closing the door behind me. I strutted over to the chain that sat across from his desk, pretending that I was actually somewhat confident I was going to get the job—it wasn’t like I’d just missed out on like half a dozen jobs this week alone.

  The man held his hand out to shake mine. “Dean.”

  “Rebecca.” I shook his hand firmly. His hands were a lot rougher than I would have ever expected. I took a deep breath looking him up and down. He had green eyes and high set cheek bones, and with a square jawline, he almost reminded me of Superman in a cute way. Giving myself a mental roasting, I remonstrated Don’t be a geek.

  I was here to be professional. I was here to create a good example and try to convince him that he should hire me.

  I crossed my legs, sitting straight. His green eyes sparkled as a smile spread across his face, revealing a set of perfect white teeth.

  “So tell me, what makes this job interesting to you? I hope you don’t mind jumping right into it, but frankly, I value both your time and mine.”

  I laughed softly. “I’d rather skip the pleasant talk and jump right into it honestly, much easier to get things cleared up when you don’t beat around the bush.” I could tell he liked that answer and adjusted my back to make sure I was keeping it straight as I cleared my throat and got ready for my lie. “This job appeals to me because I think casinos like this are the backbone of Las Vegas.” Focusing my eyes on his face, I was careful not to stare right into his eyes for fear of appearing too dominant. “Without them, there really is no Vegas as it’s known. I was born and raised here—love Vegas, and I want to see it keep growing like it is. With your new casino here, and your casinos around the country, I think you are going to provide something new to Vegas and, as much as this is just going to sound like flattery, I did a little research about your other casinos, and I think you have what it takes to step up the Vegas casinos. To keep it fresh and bring something new in, which is what we need.” I knew it was a little thick, but it had been the best thing I could come up with, and I wasn’t going to go with the honest answer of just needing the money.

  “So you did your research about the company?” He raised an eyebrow as he leaned towards me, and taking a deep breath, I could smell his cologne.

  “I did a little thinking it would be best to know what kind of company I was applying to work at.”

  A wide smile crossed his face. Clearly he’d liked my answer.

  “Why did you leave your last job?”

  “Honestly?” I bit my lip. As okay as I was with lying, I did want to be as honest as possible, not wanting to get this job just because of knowing all the right words. “I worked there all through high school, and I got to a point where the manager was expecting me to do work that I wasn’t being paid for. While I didn’t mind doing the work, it was hard for me to see people getting paid more who did half the work I did. So I spoke to my manager about my options, and they weren’t willing to help me find middle ground, so I handed in my notice.”

  Dean nodded as he listened carefully though I couldn’t tell if he liked my answer or not. My gut twisted. Crap. I should have just lied. I need this job.

  “And why do you think you would be a good fit for this job and this casino?”

  “I have over ten years of experience in retail. I’ve learnt the best way to work with customers and make them feel important; I know in the retail world the number one thing you can do is make your customers feel like they matter, and although I have to admit I’ve never worked in a casino, I feel that the most important thing you can do in any business is make your customers feel like they are important. I know how to do that, and how to deal with difficult customers; on more than one occasion I’ve stepped up to help co-workers resolve issues with customers.”

  “So you are used to working in groups?”

  I nodded. “Although I have to admit I like working alone better; I am able to work in a group, and I seem to do well with it.”

  I took a deep breath, trying to keep myself calm while waiting for his next question. He stared at me for a few seconds.

  “Tell me, Rebecca, why do you think I should hire you?”

  “Because I will benefit the company.” Taking a deep breath, I continued, “I know that sounds like I’m full of myself, but honestly, I’m a hard worker, and dedicated to doing a good job no matter what job I’m doing. I work well with people, learn quickly, which means I’ll be easy to train and, other than my last job where I stopped overworking myself while being underpaid, I’ve never had complaints from managers or co-workers.” I blew out a deep breath trying to keep myself calm as I smiled waiting for him to say something else. I was trying to figure out if I’d done a good job; if my chances of getting hired were reasonable or if I was never going to get a chance to work here.

  Dean stood. I quickly jumped to my feet.

  “Well, thank you for coming down here.”

  “And thank you for taking the time to interview me,” I said quickly as he held his hand out to shake mine. We shook. “Do you have any questions?”

  “Yes.” I bit my lip waiting for his answer, having prepared myself for most of the questions I could find that interviewers normally asked. My big hope was it would be one of the questions I’d prepared for. “What size are you?”

  My eyes widened.

  “Excuse me?”

  A smile spread over Dean’s face. “We’ll need to know if your size is here or if we need to order your uniform.”

  My heart skipped a beat as my breath caught in my throat.

  “Y-you mean …”

  “You’ll be able to start training tomorrow?”

  “O-of course.”

  “Perfect. Please arrive for noon.”

  I nodded. “Of course. Thank you. Thank you so much.”

  We shook hands again, and I left, my heart racing. Heading out of the building, I didn’t see anyone behind the counter, but I did have a huge smile plastered over m
y face as I stepped outside and made my way towards the bus stop. I can’t believe it. I got the job. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and grinned widely.

  Finally, things were starting to look up. Now I’d just have to work my ass off hard enough until I could pay for college.

  ***

  The next day, I arrived much earlier than anticipated, but that was the joy of bussing. I’d let Katie borrow my car since she had to drive further than than me, and hers was out of commission. At least, she’s going to drop the car off for me when she’s done work. Which meant not having to take the bus home. I would be able to drive.

  The oversized purse held everything necessary during my shift, including makeup, lunch, a change of clothes and my favorite perfume that made me smell like an apple pie.

  I reached for the handle of the door as nervousness pooled in the pit of my stomach. I’d killed time outside so as not to look crazy for arriving way too early, but I was careful to get into the casino a few minutes before my shift started.

  “Rebecca,” Dean smiled as he caught sight of me. He stood at the front desk talking to a girl. “Just give me a few seconds, and then I’ll be yours.”

  “Take your time.” I had to try hard not to take that in a sexual way and swallowed dryly. Why did he have to be so attractive? Why couldn’t he be 70 and old? I waited a few feet away so the girl and he could talk without me overhearing them but couldn’t help glancing over there every now and then. My eyes locked on his behind. Despite the fact he was wearing a suit, it was well fitted, and his ass looked damn fine. I mentally shook myself and forced myself to look down at my feet so I didn’t check my boss out. First day, and I’m already being unprofessional. My brow furrowed. You know better than that.

  Anyways, hitting on the boss was wayyy out of line and not anywhere close to an option for me. I was a professional woman. I wasn’t going to be that girl.

  We’d all heard of the girl who dated her boss to get ahead, Hell, I’d been there once and wasn’t stupid enough to make that mistake again. I’d lost all respect from my co-workers and that hadn’t even been the worst part. That wasn’t an option for me. I had to work here for years and wanted to stay on people’s good side.

  It didn’t take long for Dean to approach me with a welcoming smile. “How are you doing today?”

  “I’m good. Yourself?”

  “I’ve been worse.” But his smile widened. “Come on, I’ve got a couple uniforms for you to pick between; it’s just the shirt, but I know sometimes sizing varies between brands so I wanted to give you options.” He motioned for me to follow him, and I did so. “I’ll show you around and give you the basics, but it’s Melina who will actually be training you.”

  “Alright.” I mostly just wanted him to know that I was listening.

  “She’s one of my bets girls. I brought her over from New York, and she’s been with me for years now; of course, she’s promised me she won’t tell anyone any embarrassing stories.” He laughed softly.

  We came to a stop in front of a change room. “They are in there already; please feel free to take whatever one you feel will be best, and we’ll order you a couple more shirts in that size. As for bottoms, you are welcome to wear whatever you like as long as it is black.”

  I nodded. “Alright.”

  He opened the change room door for me, and I stepped past him into the change room. I looked around; there were four shirts. Reaching for the one with S on the label, I slipped into it. I got lucky; it fit well, and I didn’t need to try any others on. But I didn’t go back out to Dean right away, taking a couple seconds to look myself over.

  The shirt was green and black plaid. It actually looked kinda cute; the casino’s name was scribbled across my chest, and turning to look at the back, I realized there were four aces stitched on the back.

  All in all, considering it was uniform, it was actually really nice. I’d had much worse.

  I tied my black hair into a ponytail and left the change room.

  “It’s a small,” I said, my cheeks flushing. It felt a little odd to be telling him what size I was, but what could I do? He needed to know, and it wasn’t like my outfit yesterday had fooled him, there was no way he was actually thinking I was large anywhere—especially my chest.

  But hey, small boobs got you picked on less going into a job like this from what my friends told me. The smaller the boobs, the less girls thought you would be a threat to their games with clients. And most girls had games they played whether they admitted it or not. Most of them wouldn’t share though so it would be up to me to figure it out on my own.

  “Perfect, I’ll be sure to tell Amanda to order you in a few.” He looked me up and down. “I have to admit, I think the uniform suits you well.” Without another word, he turned on his heel and headed down the hall and into a back room. “This, is the kitchen.”

  Not that he really needed to tell me that. It looked recently upgraded and clean. There were only three people in the kitchen right now; all of them looked up as Dean spoke.

  “How’s it going, John?”

  “It’s fine; we’re just working on a new burger to add to the menu during the winter season.”

  “Wonderful.” Dean nodded and then kept walking. “You’ll start off at the bar, just getting people more drinks, but eventually, you will probably get trained to work with the kitchen staff. It’s important to me that all my staff know how to work with one another in case they ever need to be switched up.” I nodded, listening. “Have you ever worked at a bar?”

  “No, but my mom paid for me to take a bartending course with her when I was younger.” And I was still good at it.

  Dean eyed me. “Interesting.” He motioned to the slots. “This will be where you spend a lot of time.” Then his hand pointed towards another room. “That is the card room.” I could have figured that out, seeing as there was a sign hanging above the door that said Card Room, but I didn’t say as much. “And over there,” again he pointed to another room. “Is where the fights are.”

  There were fights there? Oh, my God that was actually really cool.

  “How often are the fights?”

  “Every two or three weeks normally. Those are busy nights, and you’ll need a special uniform for that; I’ll be sure Amanda orders you one before the next fight night.”

  I nodded.

  “Any questions?”

  “Not that I can think of, no.”

  “Perfect,” he said as he led me towards the bar. “Because this,” he came to a stop in front of a girl with brown hair that fell to her lower back, although halfway down her back, the hair turned blonde. She looked me up and down with her blue eyes. “Is Melina, she’ll be teaching you everything you need to know.”

  “It’s nice to meet you. Dean said I’d be training today.”

  “Nice to meet you too.” We shook hands quickly.

  “If you two have any trouble, just let me know, and I’ll come sort it out.” He looked at Melina as he said it.

  “Sure thing, boss.” She gave him a wicked grin that he returned a little.

  I wonder if they’re together. The thought caught me off guard. He did say that she’d been with him for a long time, but I’d assumed it was just business, maybe I was wrong.

  “You two behave.” Dean turned to me. “If you have any questions, Melina will be happy to answer them.”

  Neither Melina nor I spoke until he was gone, then she turned to me, and a smile spread over her face. My heart skipped a beat for a fraction of a second because I wasn’t sure if she was going to be nice to me or not. Oh, God please say I’m not stuck with a bitch. That would be just my luck.

  “So, I’m guessing you don’t have any experience with any of this, do you?”

  “Nope, sorry. I’ve got experience in retail and the food industry, but I can’t say I’ve ever worked at a casino.”

  “So, a total noob on my hands.” Her smile widened. “That’s alright; I’m sure you’ll learn quick!”

>   A deep breath passed through my lips, looks like she wasn’t going to be a bitch. Thank God. She stepped away from the bar. “Come on, I’ll show you the ropes. Dean will be in to check on us in an hour or so—he always does it.”

  Melina and I spent three hours together, and like she predicted, Dean did show up about an hour into it. I still couldn’t get a read for the kind of relationship they had, as far as I could tell they had some sort of deep connection, be it friends or lovers I wasn’t quite sure, but they had inside jokes, and the way they smiled at each other gave me the idea that there were feelings there. Dean seemed impressed when he came to see how things were going, whether she was lying or not I’m not sure, but Melina said I was better than anyone else she’d trained here since they’d come to town—and I couldn’t help feeling good about that, and with the promise I’d be in the next morning to start my first official shift. Melina would still be keeping an eye on me, but I’d mostly be working by myself unless I needed help.

  With a wide grin, I slipped out of my uniform, tucked it into my oversized purse and made my way out to the parking lot. By now the sun was beginning to set, but it was still a warm day, all in all. The air was dry and humid, but it was better than some past days this week.

  My car was parked at the back of the parking lot just like we’d agreed on, and God it felt good to see that car.

  I tossed my purse into the passenger seat and pressed a button before circling around to the front of the car and lifting the hood.

  My little 1999 Ford Escort was getting old and had a leak I couldn’t afford to fix, so I just had to make sure the oil was topped up.

  “Is everything alright?”

  I spun to face him. Dean stood there watching me carefully.

  “Oh.” I felt a flush rise to my cheeks. “Yes. I just wanted to check my oil before getting on the road.”

  “You really should do that when it’s warm.”

  “I was banking on it still being warm from when my friend drove it here.”