Michelle Douglas - The Rebel Returns

One look at the agitation reflected in her eyes and he knew she’d slap him if he dared kiss her. Definitely not a viable option, even if Cleo wasn’t his best friend’s kid sister. Kurt had been the one guy who’d always accepted him as is—the same guy who’d saved his bacon more than once when he’d acted out after his old man had called him a good-for-nothing mooch. The only thing Kurt had ever asked of him was to keep his hands off his little sis.

Jax smiled as he recalled Cleo with knobby knees, freckles and a long ponytail. Boy had things changed. She was smooth and polished like a piece of fine art.

Cleo’s green eyes narrowed. “Am I amusing you?”

“Um, no.” He struggled to untangle his muddled thoughts. “I take it by your name tag that you work here.”

Lines creased between her fine brows. “What’s the matter with you? Have you been drinking?”

“What? Of course not.” He’d watched his father live his life out of a scotch bottle and the way his mother tried to please him, with no luck. Jax refused to follow in his father’s unhappy footsteps. “I don’t drink.”

“So why are you calling yourself Joe Smith?”

“Let’s talk over there. Out of the way.” He pointed to the edge of the counter, away from the incoming guests.

She turned to observe the long line before following him. “I don’t know what game you’re playing, but I won’t let you cause trouble here.”

“Lower your voice.” Luckily no one appeared to notice them or their conversation. The guests were more interested in the arrival of an additional desk clerk than in what Cleo had to say. “I promise you I’m not here for any nefarious reason.”

“Why should I believe you? I covered for you when you ‘borrowed’ the school mascot and when you pulled those numerous other pranks. I know the trouble you can cause.”

“You’ve got to trust me.”

She arched a disbelieving brow. “Says who?”

Little Cleo had certainly gained some spunk. Well, good for her. It was also a relief to know she wasn’t still carrying that crazy torch for him. The last thing he needed at this critical juncture of his life was more complications.

Her finger poked his chest. “You’re up to something and I want to know what it is.” Her tone brooked no room for debate. He wouldn’t be wiggling out of this confrontation with some flimsy story. “You can start by explaining your need for an alias.”

“Just leave it be.”

She shook her head. “I can’t look the other way. We aren’t kids anymore. This is where I work and I can’t let you jeopardize my job.” Cleo’s voice rose with every word. “But if you turn around and leave now, we can forget we ever saw each other.”

He doubted he’d ever be able to wipe her sexy image from his memory. Her polished persona stole his breath away. She may have been a cute kid, but she’d grown up to be a real knockout. And as for leaving here now, he wasn’t about to do it. He had as much right to be here as anyone else.

Cleo leveled her shoulders and tapped her foot. He hated to tell her but if she was angling for an intimidating pose, she’d missed her mark. She was more alluring than scary.

“Don’t make me call for security.”

Heads were turning in their direction. The very last thing he wanted was to become a spectacle for the masses. “You wouldn’t do that to an old friend, would you?”

“A few minutes ago you didn’t even know me.”

He raked his fingers through his hair. Back in New York when he’d started receiving phone calls where the person at the other end wouldn’t speak, followed by notes warning him not to testify, this vacation had sounded like the perfect plan. What could be better than getting lost in a crowd while testing his luck at the blackjack table?

Ever since the assets of his investment firm had been frozen by the government until the trial was completed, he’d missed the rush of working the stock market—the flood of adrenaline. He’d hoped Vegas would give him a similar high—a chance to feel truly alive again instead of living his life from one medical test to the next.

When his doctor gave him the green light, he’d picked a spot on the map far from New York and booked a plane ticket. He’d requested an alias be used while he was at the Glamour just as a precaution. But he had no idea how much of that he should tell Cleo. If only she would trust him...for old times’ sake.

“What’s going on here?” A short, round man in a business suit approached them. He glanced at Cleo. “Do you intend to interrogate all of the casino’s important guests in the middle of the lobby?”

Her expression morphed from frustration to one of shock. Her gaze moved back and forth between the two men as though waiting for an explanation.

When none came, she said, “But he is—”

“Your client. And you will treat him with respect.” The man turned to Jax and held out his hand. “Hello, Mr. Smith. I’m Mr. Burns. We spoke on the phone. Let’s talk someplace a little more private.” He led them to a hallway just off the casino’s main floor and into an empty office. “I think there must have been some sort of mix-up. I’ll see about getting you a new casino host.”

Jax’s gaze moved to Cleo. Beneath the makeup her face had taken on a sickly pallor. And her eyes held a deer-in-headlights panic. His initial instinct was to ride to her rescue. She’d always been the one to offer him a helping hand all those years ago back in Hope Springs. There was a strange satisfaction in seeing the roles reversed. But that was then, and this was now.

And it only complicated matters that he couldn’t keep his eyes off this grown-up version of her. She was no longer too young for him. In fact, the reasons he had to keep her at arm’s length became more muddled the longer he was around her. It was best to end things right here. After all, it wasn’t as if the man was going to fire her over this.

CHAPTER TWO

THIS COULDN’T BE HAPPENING.

Jax was her whale?

How was she supposed to have anticipated that? The last time she’d seen him, he barely had two coins to rub together. And now he was an important player in Las Vegas. How exactly did that happen?

Cleo’s gaze shifted between the men. Neither of them seemed to notice that she was in the room. Did they think they could decide her future without even so much as consulting her? She wasn’t about to let that happen.

“No other host is needed.” Both men turned. She leveled a determined stare at each man before continuing to make her point. “Mr. Burns, you misunderstood what you overheard. Jax and I are old friends.”

Her boss turned a questioning gaze to Jax. “Is this true?”

Cleo begged Jax with her eyes to back her up. After all, he owed her.

As the quietness stretched on, Cleo shifted her weight from one foot to the other. What was Jax thinking? His silence was even worse than any words he could say. She had to do something, anything, to keep from being canned for arguing with a MVP. Jax? A whale? The world could certainly be a strange place at times.

Cleo turned to face her disapproving boss. “We both come from the same small town in Wyoming.”

Mr. Burns crossed his arms. “And do you always treat people from your hometown with such hostility?”

“I wasn’t—”

Her boss’s bushy brows arched. “I know what I heard.”

“But you misunderstood—”

“Enough.” Mr. Burns’s hand sliced through the air. “I will deal with you later. Go wait for me in my office.”

She hated being dismissed as if she was a child. She hated the thought of walking away with things unresolved, but she didn’t want to make things worse... But then again could they get any worse? It was almost a certainty that when Mr. Burns joined her it would be to dismiss her. Not even a full day in her new position and she was being fired.