Taming Vegas Read Online Free PDF

I give her a quick wink and lean forward as I start to open up
documents on the laptop.
    “I know that you usually don’t give bonuses, Alex, but my
son’s school is asking for their money. I don’t mind if you don’t give me a
raise this year, but I was hoping that you could foot me some money early.” I
click through the revenue from the bar and put two fingers to my lips as I
start calculating. Anna is one of three bartenders, and she’s my most
profitable. It’s not by much over the others, but she works the day shift, and
that makes an immense difference.
    “Who’s manning your station while you’re up here?” It’s just
an idle question, but she takes it as an insult immediately. Sometimes I feel
as if I’m dealing with one of my sisters.
    “It’s my break, and Steven is running the bar!” Her huff of
indignation makes me smile, and I glance at her as I think over the offer. There
indubitably isn’t that much to think about considering it’s Anna.
    “Don’t get all uppity with me, Anna! I was just asking a
simple question to fill the air with words. It wasn’t meant to piss you off.”
Her gaze wanders to the view from the windows, and she relaxes a little. I
decide I’d better get back to her with my answer soon, or she’ll try to beat it
out of me. I’ve had enough of baseball bats for today. “You’ve made one hell of
a profit this year for this place, Anna. I’m surprised you didn’t come to me earlier.
It’s only a month early, so I’ll front you a raise of fifteen dollars and get
back to me with the amount you need for your son’s school. He’s in that fancy
school for gifted kids, right?”
    “Yeah, he’s doing real great there. I can’t believe he’s actually
making friends for once in his life. If he had to go back to public school, it
would be finished. He’d clam up again and never speak to me.” I nod with
understanding. Anna’s kid has autism, but he’s one of the kids with autism that
has an IQ of over one hundred and seventy.
    “How much, Anna?” Now she looks a little defensive, but I
put up my hands in surrender and lean back. “I just want to help, alright? You won’t
owe me anything. We need more kids like yours in this world. He has some real
potential.” With pursed lips, she tells me the amount.
    “I need ten thousand dollars to cover his tuition for this
quarter.” I don’t flinch at the number and pull out my personal checks from my
drawer. She sees which ones I’m using, and I hear her sharp inhale, but she doesn’t
argue with me. I’d rather pay this out of pocket than have it come from the
business right now. Besides, I take quite enough to pay for her kid’s tuition
for the rest of his lifetime.
    “Tell him he’d better get good grades.” I hand over the check,
and she stares at it for a few minutes as she works her bottom lip. I smile
because I know that thank you’s are very hard for Anna to hand out.
    “Thanks,” She tells me quietly as she slides off the desk
and starts to walk away with the check still in both her hands. Then she turns
around with one hand on her hip and narrows her eyes as she looks at me. I
narrow my own back as I stare at the violet contacts. Sometimes I idly wonder
what color her eyes truly are underneath.
    “Are you sure this isn’t some type of personal debt?” She
asks me suspiciously. I shake my head at her and close the laptop lid.
    “No, Anna. You do one hell of a job here, and I value your
work ethic. If you ever need anything else, don’t hesitate to come ask me,
alright?” She nods once slowly as she looks back down at the check. I watch her
turn around in the elevator at the last second and to my shock there are tears
shimmering in her pretty eyes. I had no idea keeping her son in that school
meant so much to her. I’m going to have to make an effort to get to know my
employees a little better.
    The door closes, and I’m left along in the sky high office
with only one thing left to do. Hector