Certified Male Read Online Free PDF

carpet patterned with mauve, teal and golden medallions. Ornate marble pillars soared to the ceiling overhead, where enormous crystal chandeliers glittered. Waitresses dressed in low-cut bodices and not much else hustled by carrying drinks trays. The casino had the sense of opulence, a decadent playground for the wealthy, though it was open to all comers.
    Under the luxury, though, was the reality of gambling. The air freshener pumped into the cavernous main room of the casino didn’t quite dispel the lingering staleness of cigarette smoke. The faces of the gamblers held a fixed intensity as they hoped for the big score. Or hoped just to break even. She couldn’t have found anyplace more unlike herself if she’d tried.
    Then again, she couldn’t have looked more unlike herself if she’d tried.
    â€œYou know why you’re there,” Joss said. “You’ve got to find Jerry.”
    A balding man in his thirties glanced up from his computer poker machine as Gwen walked by. “Hey, baby,” hesaid, toasting her with a plastic glass that held one of the free drinks handed out by casino waitresses. After a lifetime of wanting to be unremarkable, Gwen had gone the other way completely. Exit Gwen and enter Nina, the bombshell.
    â€œI look like a tart,” she hissed, tugging at her tight, low slung jeans and her scrap of a red top.
    â€œYou don’t look like a tart. You just look like a woman who’s not afraid to flaunt what she’s got.”
    â€œYeah, well, the flaunting part’s working.” A bellhop walking by tripped over his own feet and stumbled up with a grin. “Joss, this is not my style. This should be your job.”
    â€œIt had to be you,” Joss told her. “Jerry knows me too well. He’d recognize me in a second.”
    â€œLike he’s not going to recognize me?”
    â€œAll Jerry’s going to register is blond, tight and built. I doubt he’s going to think much beyond his gonads. Anyway, you were always in the back room. He hardly saw you. And no way would he expect you to look like this. You’re different head to toe.”
    â€œTell me about it,” Gwen muttered, resisting the urge to pull up her neckline. “And don’t think I didn’t notice you took my regular clothes out of my suitcase.”
    â€œI didn’t want you to be tempted to backslide,” Joss said smoothly. “You’ve got to be Nina through and through.”
    Joss had effected quite a transformation, Gwen thought, catching sight of herself in one of the enormous gold-framed mirrors that hung on the wall. Gwen—tidy, understated Gwen—was gone. In her place was Nina, whose Wonderbra-induced cleavage alone was likely to distract Jerry from recognizing the person underneath. How Joss had managed to get her into a good salon without notice, Gwen had no idea, but her brownish hair was a thing of the past. Now it had the same streaky, sun-bleached blondlook it had had in Africa, only better. The makeup artist had made her eyes more vivid, her smile more bright, somehow without making her look as if she’d troweled on the makeup. She was undercover and, she had to grudgingly admit, she looked good.
    Just not like herself. Still, the sooner she got the job done, the sooner she could turn back into Gwen. “All right, well, I’m in the casino, so it’s time to get to work,” she said briskly.
    â€œWhat’s the plan?”
    â€œHaven’t a clue. Wander around and get the lay of the land. Watch for our friend. I’ll figure something out and call you tomorrow.”
    â€œHave fun,” Joss said a little enviously. “Put a five spot on red for me. I’ve always liked red.”
    â€œRight.”
    Gwen switched off the phone and tucked it into her pocket. She was here. She was incognito. Now she just had to find Jerry, cozy up to him, figure out where the stamps were and spirit them away