Page 38 of One Night in Vegas

She gave me a dry look. “Really? That’s what you’re sticking with?”

“If he loved me, like he said, why didn’t he look for me?” I asked. “He has means. He had ways to find me. Then to find out we have been in the same city this whole time? If he wanted me, if he truly loved me, he would have found me.”

“I don’t know,” she said. “You did walk out on him without leaving a note. You probably damaged his ego just a little. You know men, especially powerful men. They aren’t used to begging for anything.”

“True,” I said. “I don’t know why I didn’t search for him.”

“You didn’t because you thought it was a fake name,” she reminded me.

“True.”

“So, do it! Go out and have a night of debauchery. You truly have nothing to lose. You’ve been saying you felt like you were in a rut and needed to shake things up. This is your chance. It’s not like great sex is a chore.”

“I don’t know,” I said. “He might just want revenge sex.”

“Honey, revenge sex is just as good, if not better than normal sex,” she said, grinning. “The end result is the same. You both get off.”

I laughed at her bluntness. “I suppose that is true.”

“You both said you fell in love with each other that night,” she said. “I don’t know if I believe in love at first sight, but it’s never happened to me. If you guys believe in it, then I think you owe it to yourselves to at least talk. Just talk. Stop playing games. Figure out what you both want and then move on. If he is still single, you have to wonder if that’s because of you. I think you have both wasted enough time. You need to move on.”

Everything she was saying made sense. It was sound advice. All but the part about jumping into bed with the man. I wasn’t sure how that was going to solve anything. I had a feeling it would only complicate matters.

“If he asks me to dinner again, I’ll accept the invitation.”

“Good girl,” she said, grinning. “I’m secretly hoping he turns out to be the knight in shining armor after all.”

“That’s probably a tall order,” I said, sighing.

We finished our class, picked up Chinese for dinner, and went home. I sat at the table with my laptop open while stuffing my face. I was putting together another packet for tomorrow. I needed to get it done tonight and go in early tomorrow to get copies made. His team had sent over some things they wanted to add to Jon’s biography. Initially, I thought it was just a way for him to stroke his ego. But now I understood the motivation behind the additions.

Trisha was sitting across from me and working on her own stuff. This was often the way we spent our evening. The scene was just a little too normal.This is why I should be jumping at the chance to go to dinner with him.

Anything I could do to break this cycle would be a good thing. If I wanted to shake things up in my life, I needed to start actually doing it.

“Check this out,” I said around a mouthful of orange chicken. “He volunteers at a women’s shelter.”

“What?”

“Jon,” I said. “I’m putting together a bio page to hand out tomorrow. He volunteers at a women’s shelter once a month.”

“Shit, is he going for sainthood?”

“He does work with a boys’ and girls’ club,” I went on. “Every year he puts out a watch, and half of the proceeds go to his charitable foundation.”

“Wow,” she said. “I’m failing to see the bad in this guy. He was mean to you at the interview, but that was him lashing out. He was a surprised animal. I don’t think he’s as bad as you might think. You definitely have to go to dinner with him. At least feel him out. Figure out where he’s coming from and what he wants from you.”

“I will, but it feels risky,” I said. “If he’s this perfect on paper, why hasn’t another woman scooped him up?”

“Maybe because he doesn’t want another woman,” she replied. “Maybe there is only one woman he wants.”

I snorted. “Yeah, I’m sure it’s the girl he took back to his room in Vegas he’s holding out for.”

“Might as well have dinner with him and find out.”

After putting together the flyer with the information for the students to sign up to volunteer, I shut down the computer. “I’m off to bed. I’ve got to get up early and get all this done.”

“If I don’t see you tomorrow, have fun,” Trisha teased. “Be just a little naughty. You have earned it.”