Text Appeal (30 page)

Charlie
smiled,
his heart lightening. “I always was. Now I just have the chance to act like it.”

“What are we going to do about Mom?”

Charlie followed
Tony’s
gaze to the house and saw Angela standing in the window. Worry draped across her features and aged her ten years. “I’m going to make some changes, and I think she’ll approve.” Her gaze locked with his and he nodded in acknowledgement. “She’ll come around.”

Tony nodded. “I think so too. I think she’s just afraid I’m going to drop out of school, but she should know I wouldn’t do anything that stupid.” His eyes darted to Charlie’s. “No offense, man.”

Charlie chuckled.
“None taken.
It was pretty stupid. If I had it to do over again—” He thought about his life, his impulsive youth, his poker career…Riley. She’d torn him apart inside but he couldn’t imagine taking away his memories of her. He wouldn’t give them up. “Well, I took a different path. But I wouldn’t recommend it.”

“Did you end up getting a sponsor for the Grand Escape tournament?”

Charlie sighed. Rick had been right, of course—sponsorship opportunities were flooding his phone since the footage broke. “I’ll figure something out.”

***

The receptionist on the twenty-second floor of the Grand Escape Executive tower gave Charlie a disapproving frown, making him wonder if he’d have the pleasure of seeing a single person today who hadn’t seen his ass on national television. “Ms. Carter isn’t in today,” she informed him.

Charlie dragged a hand through his hair and eyed the door to Quinton Carter’s office.

“Excuse me. You can’t go in there,” the receptionist called as Charlie headed to the doors.

“I want to see him,
Lettie
!” Quinton boomed from his office.

Charlie pulled his shoulders back and prepared himself for battle.

He had met Quinton Carter several times but had never gotten over the impact of the man’s presence in the room. In his stately office, piles of paperwork at either elbow, Quinton oozed importance. This was a man who had created an empire, a man who knew his value because he had manufactured it himself.

Without a doubt, this was a man who wouldn’t want someone with Charlie’s background anywhere near his daughter. But Charlie wasn’t here about Riley.

Charlie entered and extended a hand. Quinton didn’t stand or even offer his hand in return. “Mr. Singleton,” he said by way of greeting.

“I appreciate you seeing me, sir. I only wish these weren’t the circumstances.”

Carter’s only response was a raised brow. He was trying to be intimidating, and it worked.

“May I have a seat?”

Carter leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest. So, this was going to be a one-way conversation. So be it.

Charlie lowered himself into an upholstered chair facing the desk. “First I’d like to apologize for what happened with Riley.” He shook his head. Quinton meant the world to his daughter, and Charlie wouldn’t be the reason their relationship fell apart. “What I did was careless and impulsive, and I never intended for her to be hurt.”

“Perhaps you should have considered that before you got under my daughter’s skirt in a public, highly
surveilled
elevator.”

Charlie swallowed, but his pride was thick and went down rough. “I agree, sir.”

Quinton leaned forward and narrowed his eyes. “To come face to face with a girl’s father after a video like that is released—that takes balls, son.”

“I own up to my responsibilities.”

“What about that child of yours?”

Charlie held Quinton’s gaze. His talk with Tony had given him a strength he’d never felt before. “He’s more than a responsibility. He’s my son.”

Quinton studied Charlie for a long moment. The tension ratcheted more tightly between them. “Why are you here, Singleton?”

“First, I think you should reinstate
Griminski
into his position. He was trying to do something nice for me and it backfired. I hate to see a good man lose his job because of me.”

“
Griminski
failed to follow a direct order. The decision made itself.”

“Please, just…consider. He never would have done it if he’d known what would happen.”

Quinton raised a brow.
“And second?”

Charlie let the silence sit between them and prepared himself. “Second, you might know that I have yet to choose a sponsor for the Grand Escape Poker Tournament.”

“You should have your pick, I’d imagine.”

“With all due respect, sir, I have reservations about working with any company who thinks that video is a solid basis for a business relationship.”

Quinton leaned back in his chair and gave Charlie a long, tedious once-over. “Why don’t you tell me why you’re really here,
son.
”

Charlie nodded. “I have a business proposition for you.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Cameras filled every corner of the room on the last day of the tournament. Charlie sat at the table with two remaining players, his eyes shielded by his customary sunglasses.

“All in,” Charlie said without lifting the cards from where the dealer placed them before him.

Murmurs erupted around him.

Several feet from Riley, a commentator whispered into his microphone. “With what appears to be one reckless move after another, Charlie ‘The Devil’ Singleton has dominated play all week. His play has been too sporadic and unpredictable for us to determine whether he’s truly apathetic or playing mind games.”

Charlie slid his chips to the center of the table, and something deep inside Riley tugged viciously at her heart, trying to rip it away. She loved him. It was knowledge that had taken root and wouldn’t go away.

One of the other two players at the table folded, the other pushed his chips to the center, matching Charlie’s bet. Charlie didn’t look at his cards even as the dealer showed the flop and the turn. Only after the river was laid face-up did he flip his cards for himself and everyone around him to see.

Cheers erupted. “And the Devil wins it all!”

Charlie pushed his chair back and strode away from the table.

Riley slid back into the crowd so she could watch as he passed without him spotting her. She eyed the logo on his shirt:
Devil May Care Poker Clubs
. There was lots of buzz about the yet-to-be-opened Las Vegas poker clubs that had sponsored Charlie ‘the Devil’ Singleton. Riley wondered how much they’d offered him. Not that it mattered.

She’d turned it over in her mind again and again, and Lacey was right. Charlie wouldn’t have released that footage. And she was beyond foolish for believing otherwise.

She slipped from the crowd and made her way to the executive tower. She was on the stairs before she thought twice. Was Charlie right? Did she let her fears rule her life?

She finished the long ascent and went directly to
Chaz’s
office.

Behind the polished mahogany desk,
Chaz
tapped at a keyboard and narrowed his eyes at the screen.

“
Chaz
.”

He tapped a couple more times, leaned back in his chair, and smiled at her. The smile she once found warm and comforting sent a chill through her.
“Hey, Riley.”

Riley adjusted the strap on her shoulder as if her purse were a shield between them. “We need to talk.”

He nodded to the chair facing him. “Have a seat.”

“I’ll stand, thank you.”

“What happened to the sweet woman I used to know?”
Chaz
frowned and his eyes skimmed her, head to toe. “You’ve changed.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

He shook his head. “
He
did that to you—made you feel like you needed to change. I loved you the way you were.”

“You loved the woman you could manipulate.”

“Just because I’m not some freewheeling gambler who’s sweet talking you…” He trailed off and pulled a hand through his dark hair.
“Just because I don’t talk you into doing things in public elevators, and then, what?
Watching the tape of it like some homemade porno? Jesus, Riley, what were you thinking?”

Riley closed her eyes. How had she been so stupid?

He sighed. “Maybe I need to do better. Maybe you’re right, and I don’t know enough about what you like outside this place. But I’m willing to learn. I love you.”

She’d been so determined not to be the naïve little girl everyone assumed her to be that she’d blamed Charlie without consulting her heart. He was right. She was a coward. It had been easier to believe he’d done this than it had been to risk trusting him. “How do you know that Charlie and I watched the footage?”

Guilt passed over
Chaz’s
features, turning them ugly for a moment before he caught himself. “Sweetheart, by now, everyone has watched it.”

She shook her head. “That’s not what you said and not what you meant. How would you know that Charlie and I watched the footage together?”

He stood and came around the desk, taking her hands in his and squeezing her fingers. There was no comfort in the contact. “I’m in love with you, Riley. Please, let’s just start over.”

“If you loved me, you wouldn’t have given that video to the press.”

Chaz
narrowed his eyes and straightened. “So he’s feeding you lies now? Who really stood to profit from that?
Me or the poker player who’s been losing his sponsorships for going soft?”

“I know you did it,
Chaz
, so don’t try to pretend—”

His face grew hard and his hand gripped her wrist tighter. “Why? Why would I do that, Riley?”

“Because you knew I was falling for him. You knew you were going to lose me,” she said. “And you want my father’s company too much to let me go.”

“I
didn’t
want to lose you, and I haven’t given up on you yet. But that’s illogical.” He shook his head. “See what I mean? He plants these ideas in your head. He’s no good for you.”

“He’s the best thing that ever happened to me. He wanted me for
me,
not for my father’s business, not for his money.”
And not for a publicity stunt.
Only her insecurities had made her believe otherwise.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Riley turned as her father entered the office, his broad shoulders and barrel chest filling the doorway. She’d called him on her way here, told him her suspicions and asked him to make a few calls.

“Sir!”
Chaz
snapped to attention, hopping off the desk.

“Pack your things, Spencer. You’re done. You won’t be working for Carter Hotels and Entertainment anymore.”

“That poker player is feeding her lies. Are you really going to let your daughter cavort with a—”

“Stop!”
The word boomed from her father’s mouth and filled the room, ricocheting off the walls. “I’ve spoken with your media connection. I know you were behind the footage. You’re done.”

Her father turned on his heel and left the office. Riley followed. “Thanks, Daddy.”