Deadly Odds Read Online Free PDF Page B

smile and laughed. “Yeah, you will. You know it’s the right thing.” With that, he faced Kate. “You may have figured out that Marcia runs this place. Be nice to her.”
    Marcia rolled her eyes. “Your charm is wasted on me, but thank you.”
    Ross did a little bow and that same low squeeze Kate had felt in the casino hit her again. Trouble . But, wow, trouble looked awfully good.
    “I’ll be giving Ms. Daniels a tour of the casino. Call me if you need me.”
    Kate followed Ross to the emergency stairs where he held the door open for her. “Stairs are faster. Hope you don’t mind.”
    “Nope. All for it. You have an easy rapport with your staff.”
    “I do. There’s a line though and they know when they’re getting close to it. I like to be clear on that. I’m still the boss. Except with Don. He doesn’t report to me. We both report to Samuels. We work well together. I try to stay out of his wheelhouse. He’s old school so our methods are…different.”
    There were just enough rumors swirling around Vegas to make Kate believe that Don Sickler shouldn’t be messed with. “You’re a Wharton grad?”
    “I am.”
    At the bottom of the stairs, he shoved his thumb against a pad, swung the door open and the shouts and blinging noises of the casino filled the stairwell.
    “Why casino management?”
    “I love it. I worked as a dealer while in business school. The energy in a casino appeals to me. When it came to running a business, this was the business I wanted to run.”
    A man wearing a red blazer and black pants—the casino uniform—walked toward them. He was accompanied by three other employees, two of whom also wore red security jackets. The third man pushed a cart. From her own experience, Kate recognized them as the team who gathered cash from the tables and gaming machines and delivered it to the vault area.
    “Morning, Mr. Cooper.”
    “Morning, Bruce.” They strode past and Ross jerked his thumb. “Drop team. They’re collecting the drop boxes from the tables.”
    “Do you know everyone by name?”
    “No, but I do my best. We have over ten thousand employees. Like every business, we have turnover. Every time we get a new employee in the casino, I get a file on them and introduce myself.”
    “A good practice. They know you’re hands on.”
    “Yes, they do. And it’ll stay that way.”
    An hour later, while doubling back toward the mini-baccarat tables, a young blonde woman wearing a chic black dress and towering strappy heels stopped him. She was a tiny little thing, but her doe-eyes and sleek bob gave her a presence—refined, yet sexy.
    “Hey, boss.” She smiled at Kate then went back to Ross. “Got a sec?”
    Ross excused himself and the two stepped away. After a brief conversation, Ross returned. “That’s Steph. She one of my VIP team members.”
    “VIP team?”
    Ross nodded. “They manage the biggest gamblers. Whatever the whales need, her team is responsible for getting it.”
    “Who’s on the team?”
    “Anyone who comes in contact with the player. Housekeepers, butlers, the concierge, casino hosts, credit managers. You name it. No matter what their function, they’re the best we could find.”
    Something caught her eye, but Ross was still in tour guide mode and directed her attention to the ceiling where all that hand-carved molding had probably taken a year to create.
    “1,500 cameras are monitored 24/7 by surveillance agents. Seventy-five percent of the cameras can rotate 360 degrees. The zoom is so tight we can see the serial numbers on a bill.”
    She slowed her pace and focused on the man sitting at what Ross had earlier identified as table six. Whoa.
    “Kate?”
    She grabbed Ross’s jacket sleeve, halting him. Being obvious right now would possibly tip someone off.
    He cocked his head and studied her. “Something wrong?”
    “Look enamored.”
    “Oh, sweetheart, that’s not a problem.”
    She rolled her eyes— such a player —but moved closer. To anyone