“I didn’t know what the casino had,
so I brought everything with me.”
He eyed the packed carts. “Equipment?”
Chantal shrugged. “You know. Costumes, props, work-out tools, sound
and visual equipment. That sort of thing.” She tapped her foot
pointedly. “You can take a good look at it when I come to work the first
day, but for now I’m really tired, so…the car?”
Mace gave her a mocking bow. “This way, Ms. Montgomery.”
When he turned his back to lead her out of the customs area,
Chantal patted her heart and blew out a quick breath. She was irritated
her orders hadn’t been followed, but even more troubling was the rush of
heat that had hit her when she’d met her assistant-to-be for the first
time.
She’d never been one to go for Asian men, even though she was as
close to Lì as a sister. She’d met dozens of the breed, all good friends
of her adopted brother, but they just didn’t turn her on. Yet one look
at her new assistant, and she’d had to reverse that opinion.
He was taller than most Asians and very lean and fit. It was
obvious he cared about his body, and Chantal was enough of an athlete to
appreciate that. She wondered idly how he’d look in work sweats and a
T-shirt. If he moved as good as he looked, she’d love to do a dance
number or two with him.
And he wore that charcoal Armani suit well, though—she frowned for
a moment—she wasn’t sure how he could afford one on the salary he was
paid.
But it was his face that made her take a second look. He was really
gorgeous. But in a completely unique way. She’d been around a lot of
attractive guys in her profession, both gay and straight, but there was
something different…something distinctive about her assistant.
His hair was so black it had shimmering blue tints to it, and it
was slightly mussed, like he’d run an impatient hand through it. She had
to admit she liked that little imperfection. His face wasn’t classically
handsome, in all honesty he looked more dangerous than good-looking. But
it was a good dangerous. The kind of man she always wound up looking at
twice. And his slightly tilted eyes—eyes that made a woman’s heart beat
faster—they were a mysterious deep ebony set below equally dark
sculptured brows. She patted her heart again.
His skin was a light golden brown, paler than Lì’s, but with the
black of his hair and eyes, the contrast was striking. His nose was
definitely aristocratic which was interesting for an Asian, and the five
o’clock shadow on his chin was another flaw that made her smile. And his
full sensual lips? Well, those just made her want to bite him.
Which was really unfortunate since she was his boss.
“I suppose you really like your job,” she said wistfully.
He glanced at her over his shoulder, and one of those dangerous
eyebrows winged up in surprise. “Are you firing me already?”
She shrugged. It would be the only way she’d ever find out
what he tasted like. Chantal had a strict policy. No dating co-workers.
Period. She never had and she never would. And she’d never even consider
touching a subordinate. That was just asking for trouble. Even in Macau.
Staring at his delightfully nice ass as he pushed open the outer door,
she bit back a gusty sigh. “No. Damn it.”
“I thank you for your restraint,” he said dryly.
Chantal narrowed her eyes at his back. He sure didn’t act like any
assistant she’d ever met before. And he was definitely different from
his emails. In those he’d always been so deferential, a very Chinese
trait, but one that often irritated her. He certainly wasn’t that way in
real life. Which, she had to admit to herself, was a breath of fresh
air. Maybe they would get along okay. If she could get him to follow her orders from now on.
She watched silently as in fluent Cantonese, he ordered the porters
to load up the taxi. It was obvious he was used to giving commands and
having them followed. Too bad he didn’t know how to do it himself.
He glanced back at her. “What hotel are you staying at?”
She handed the taxi driver her carry-on. “The Venetian.”
His whole face darkened as if she’d somehow offended him. But he
only turned and gave her destination to the driver.
“What other languages do you speak?” she asked, curious about this
man who would be such an important part of fixing Lì’s casino. “Other
than your native Cantonese and English?”
He stepped back and stood next to her, yet kept a weather eye on
the loading of the van. “I speak Mandarin, Italian, French and some
German, Ms. Montgomery.”
She was impressed. “Did you learn all that in school?”
His lips curved into his first real smile, and Chantal felt the
jolt all the way to her toes. Okay, this man didn’t only look dangerous.
“In school and in business. I make it a policy to learn all I can.”
He opened the door and gave an almost mocking bow. “Your chariot
awaits.”
She slid in the backseat. “If your policy is to learn,” she said
quickly, snatching at the opportunity he presented, “why didn’t you
follow my orders and let me find my own way to my hotel? As I
requested. You seem too intelligent to pull a bonehead move like
that.”
Those sexy lips narrowed as he slid in next to her and let the door
shut behind him. “I assure you, it will not be a mistake I make again.”
“That’s all very well and good. But you still haven’t answered my
question. Why do it in the first place?”
He turned and looked at her, and the intensity in his eyes made her
bones go weak. She was abruptly glad she was sitting down.
“I wanted to have a look at you.”
Chantal blinked. “Excuse me?”
“Lì is always saying such wonderful things about you, I was
curious.” He shrugged. “I knew you didn’t want to be met, but I decided
to come anyway.”
She chewed on that for a moment. “So you went against a direct
order because you were curious?”
He inclined his head, his gaze never leaving hers. Her heart
stuttered to a stop, and she had to force herself to take a breath. Was
that desire she saw in his eyes? Abruptly, her mouth was as dry as sand.
She had to clear it twice before she could speak.
“W-While I appreciate curiosity, I really do, if we want to work
together, you’ll have to put a halt to that kind of impulse. Agreed?”
His eyes crinkled into another smile as he bowed his head again. “I
think I can manage to curb my impulses.” Oh, hell, Chantal thought as she struggled to keep her face
from revealing her thoughts. This wasn’t good at all. Of all the men on
the planet, she had to get the hots for her assistant?
“As you can see,” he said smoothly as if he didn’t notice her inner
battle. “I can be taught.”
She gulped. The things she’d like to teach him danced in her mind
and made her whole body tremble. While she wasn’t a virgin, she could
count the relationships she’d had on one hand. Lì said she was waiting
for the perfect man, yet Chantal knew she’d just never had the time to
get close to someone. But to have her long dormant hormones start doing
their own striptease over her new assistant? Talk about bonehead stupid.
She’d have to call Lì and see if Cái could be transferred elsewhere.
And that, for some reason, made her want to cry.
“Have you been to the Cotai Strip before?”
His innocuous question made her blink, but she grabbed at it
gratefully. “No. I’ve visited Lì in Hong Kong, but I’ve not been to
Macau.”
“You’ll find it a very interesting place.” He pointed out the
window. “Cotai is the portmanteau or blending of the names of the
two islands it connects. This whole area is reclaimed land. It once was
the sea, a channel between Taipa and Coloane. Developers began working
on the area in 2006 when the Venetian resort was built. It is the
biggest casino in the world. And it has helped the entire island of
Macau by drawing in tourists and other investors. One by one all the
casinos you see now were added. The City of Dreams is the next largest,
but more are being built every day.”
Chantal peered out the window at the huge resorts lining the streets.
“They say it’s the Las Vegas of Asia.”
“On a much smaller scale.”
“Is that The Golden Tiger?” Chantal craned her neck as she saw the
distinctive logo that marked all of Lì’s new stationary and proclaimed
the newest casino on the strip. A huge crouching tiger snarled over its
shoulder as it stood in the gateway of a mock Chinese Temple. “Lì said
it was amazing. He was right.”
“So why not stay there? Why take your business to a competitor?”
She blinked at the bald question, but found herself explaining. “I
wanted to have the freedom to look around. Incognito. That’s my
word of the day. But I can’t do that if everyone knows who I am.”
“Incognito?” He gave a snort of disbelief. “Honey, you should know
by now, you stand out in a crowd. Staying in a different hotel won’t
help you.”
Her mouth dropped open at his easy use of the endearment. She’d
have to nip that little bit of unprofessionalism in the bud. But before
she could say anything, they pulled up in front of the massive Venetian
hotel. She stared in awe at its glowing pale yellow walls, old world
columns, huge frescoes and paintings. As she was helped from the taxi,
the sound of Italian music drifted in the air, and she gaped at the
immense lagoon that wrapped around the front of the vast building. It
was complete with flickering street lamps and black painted gondolas.
“The actual gondola ride is inside the casino alongside a twisting
inner city of streets and shops,” her assistant offered when he saw
where she was looking. “The gondoliers even sing. I hear they are quite
good.”
“Maybe I’ll see if they want to switch casinos,” she muttered as
she gawked at the sprawling resort. She had been all over the world, but
she still found she was impressed by this type of magnificence. “No
wonder Lì is worried. It will be hard to compete with this.”
“But you’re going to make it all better, right?”
This time there was no mistaking the mockery. Chantal whirled
around and glared at him. The fact just looking at him made her itchy
gave her anger even more strength. “Just what is your problem?
Did you want my job or something?” She stomped her foot. “Damn it. I’ve
had enough. You are the most opinionated and rude assistant I’ve ever
met. You are too bossy, ask the wrong questions and can’t even follow a
simple direct order. Are you trying to get fired?”
To her surprise, instead of backing down, he only grinned. “You
can’t fire me, Chantal. And I don’t have to take your orders.”
She stared at him, nonplussed. When she spoke again, her words
simply dripped with ice. “I beg your pardon.”
“You do that very well. The diva attitude.” He laughed and flicked
a long finger against her cheek. “I don’t have to take your orders
because I don’t work for you.”
Now he’d gone too far. “You sure as hell don’t anymore,” she
snarled.
He handed the new porters some money and sent them on their way
inside the hotel, their carts loaded with Chantal’s baggage. Then he
turned back to her. “Wrong, honey. I never did.”
She went from being furious to completely confused. “What?”
Taking her clenched fist, he smoothed it out and kissed it lightly.
Then he slid back into the taxi. “Cái!” She put her hand on the car door. “We’re not
finished here.”
“That’s just it, Chantal.” He gave her a wink, making her think of
a very smug black panther she’d seen at the Hong Kong zoo. “I forgot to
tell you.”
“Tell me what?” she gritted out.
“I’m not Cái.”
Her hand dropped away in astonishment, and the taxi’s automatic
door closed. Cursing, she jerked it open again. “If you’re not Cái, then
just who the hell are you?”
He grinned again, but this time she wasn’t aroused by it. She was
too damn mad. “I’m the one Lì put in charge of the hotel while he’s
gone. So in a way, that makes me your boss.”
She stomped her foot again, ignoring his claim of being her boss.
She knew what her contract said, every word of it, and she answered to
no one but Lì. “You still haven’t told me who you are.”
He dipped his head again and those ebony eyes sparkled. “The name
is Mace D'Avranches. You might have heard it before. I’m Lì’s
half-brother.
