Emma vs. The Tech Guy (13 page)

“That was really great of you,” he said.

As compliments often do, his words jabbed me in the stomach. The obvious two-word reply was stuck somewhere between my throat and tongue, so like an idiot I just stared at him. The gold flecks I’d noticed in his eyes before shimmered and pulled at me. I felt like I was floating toward him like a zombie. There weren’t many times in my life when I didn’t feel in complete control, so this autopilot sensation struck fear in me. Like a deer in headlights, I needed to look away. But a bump of turbulence shot me forward and our heads clanked together. His arms clasped around my shoulders to steady me even though I still had my seat belt on.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his face now inches from mine.

Was that my fault or the plane’s?
“Oh my God, I’m sorry.” I couldn’t have felt more stupid if I’d jumped in his lap.

“It’s not your fault. Here, let me see.” He released my shoulders and moved his hands to my cheeks. One hand brushed the hair from my face, as he examined a nonexistent injury on my forehead. Why was I letting him baby me like that? Like I’d done with Adam. I didn’t need that sort of thing. Did I? I finally came to my senses and took hold of his wrists. His eyes met mine and I felt claustrophobic, overheated, surely from being in the small space of an airplane. It was totally normal.

“I’m fine, thanks.”

“Guess you’ve got a hard head,” he said. He smiled and sat back.

My mouth flew open, but before I had a chance to be offended, he continued.

“So why does Adam go to these things if he’s afraid of flying?”

“Not much of a choice, I guess. Bill wants Jayne to stay and hold down the fort, but he doesn’t want me to go alone. It’s only once or twice a year, and Adam is great. Besides, I thought you men weren’t supposed give into to your weaknesses.”

“True. Same reason we don’t ask for directions.”

“I guess that’s why they invented GPS—stubborn men.”

Guy shot out a breath and gave me a look.

“What?” I said.

“I bet you can be pretty stubborn yourself.”

I wasn’t about to admit that he was right. “Why do you say that?”

“I’m a pretty good judge of people, and from what I’ve seen, you know what you want and nothing less will do.”

I didn’t answer, checked the time on my cell. The plane would be descending soon. “You should buckle up. We’ll be landing in a few minutes.”

He pointed above his head. “That’s what that little sign is for. Hey, I didn’t mean that in a bad way. I admire your drive and determination. And after what you did for Adam, I’d bet you’re like that with the people you care about, too.”

I wished I could say that was true, but he didn’t know me as well as he thought.

After Guy realized I wasn’t going to respond to that, either, he added, “You know what else I figured out about you?”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“You hate compliments.”

The light came on for passengers to buckle their seatbelts. I shot Guy a haughty look. He buckled up and after the announcement that we’d be landing at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, he leaned over and tapped me once more.

“Yeah,” I said.

Guy held back a smirk. “I just wanted to say that you look very pretty today.”

Smart ass
!

Chapter 14

The plane landed just after nine a.m., which gave us enough time to cab over to the hotel, check in, and get settled before our first lecture at eleven-thirty. It was more of an introduction by one of the keynote speakers. Then we’d have a short break followed by a three-hour workshop on creating a tablet business strategy. My head was already spinning so I couldn’t remember what came after that. I was starting to have some serious doubts about whether we were ready for all this and if Guy could handle our transition into this new world. For all I’d done to get the magazine where it was, including our upcoming redesign, this was way over my head.

The trade show was held at The Rio Hotel and Casino, and I made sure we stayed there, as well. Its location was a bit away from the main strip. I’d wanted to avoid traipsing down the street on a carpet of fliers covered with half naked women, especially being with two guys. Some men simply can’t help but compare you, and your body, to the bimbos on display.

The moment we stepped foot outside the airport doors, the hot Vegas wind draped across us, and Adam seemed to snap back to his old self.

“Oh, yeah, this is what I’m talkin’ about,” he said.

“Don’t get too excited, bro.” Guy slammed a hand down on Adam’s shoulder and squeezed. “This is going to be like boot camp. I’m not sure how much time or energy we’ll have at the end of these days.”

“Speak for yourself, man.”

“You’re both right,” I said. “Those workshops are going to kick our asses. But nothing can keep Adam from a city full of potentially single women.”

“That’s right,” Adam said. “And with the Voodoo Lounge right above our heads, it’s just an elevator ride away. We can at least go for the view and a drink.”

“Sounds good,” Guy said.

I added my standard, “We’ll see.”

There were three cabs waiting at the curb. One driver was sitting inside his cab, while two others lurked like hawks ready to swoop down for the mouse. A short, thin man with salt-and-pepper hair raced over to us and reached for my bag.

“Need a cab?”

We followed like we had no choice, and he piled our bags into the trunk. Adam and I grabbed the backseat and let Guy take the front. I’m sure he didn’t mind and wouldn’t want to miss out on another lengthy convo with a complete stranger.

The cab ride was as expected—full of congestion in the streets, wall-to-wall tourists on the sidewalk. Late spring was a busy time in Vegas; the killer heat hadn’t set in yet. The driver asked what brought us to Vegas and Guy filled him in on the magazine and the trade show. They talked about the street art, the shows, and Guy pressed him for interesting cabby stories. The man asked if it was for the magazine, but Guy assured him he was just interested. As they talked, I tried to ignore the cabbie’s eyes continually looking at me in the rearview mirror.

Adam sat next to me, silently texting like a courtroom stenographer. After I’d sent my own messages out—checking in with Jayne and letting Pop and Howard know I’d arrived safely—I looked out the window. Vegas had to be the absolute number-one spot in the world to people watch. It was something I’d done since I was young. I loved to look at people, to try to figure out their story or make one up as I watched them. My stories were typically off the wall and not what most people might guess. If I saw an older woman holding a bag, I’d pretend she was a retired bank robber, or maybe a Hell’s Angel. She was buying a present to give someone at the next Hell’s Angels reunion. The truth was never as fun.

We stopped at a light, and I surveyed the stream of pedestrians treading the streets of Sin City. Many held tight to the little hands of children that struggled to keep up, stomping across fliers that fell to the ground, probably dropped by people surprised at what they’d just been handed. A group of girls in short, tight dresses with boundless energy strolled by with drinks in one hand and cell phones in the other. Those girls had their shit together, looking like they stepped into the Viper Room on a Friday night, only it was ten in the morning on the Vegas strip. I was tempted to nudge Adam. Then he suddenly stopped texting, looked up, and said, “Hey, this is where you got married, huh?”

Guy turned his attention to the back seat. “Really?”

I nodded and smiled. “Yep.”

I guess that wasn’t good enough for Adam. “Yeah, it was one of those Elvis weddings. The pictures were so classic, and Emma was pretty sexy as Priscilla. Damn, Priscilla was hot back then, wasn’t she?”

The cab driver peeked at us in the mirror. “She was.”

“Wow, that’s … interesting.” Guy looked at me like I had three boobs.

“What is?”

“I just didn’t take you for an Elvis-themed, Vegas-wedding kind of woman.”

He was right. It really wasn’t my style. Looking back, I can’t believe I agreed to it.

“That was back when I’d started at the magazine. Bill wanted wedding pics for the ‘Newlywed News’ column.”

The driver cut into my story. “I bet you made a beautiful bride.”

Guy and Adam shot the driver curious looks.

“Thanks,” I said, wishing he’d keep his focus on the road. Traffic seemed to stop every five minutes. “Anyway, Bill wanted something fun and unique, so Howard came up with the idea to do the Elvis thing.”

“So do you have any pictures with you?” Guy asked. “I’ve gotta see that.”

“No, and no.” I shook my head and then added, “never” to be crystal clear. If he really wanted to, he could pull up a back issue and see for himself, but then I’d have to kill him. Note to self: burn wedding picture.

***

Adam and I checked into the rooms while Guy made some calls in a nearby seating area. Once we made it to the front of the line, I had my room in about five minutes. Then I waited for Adam to work his magic. One of his many talents was securing upgrades and freebies. I’m not sure why he bothered this time, given that the Rio was an all-suite hotel, but I’m sure he was after something—even if it was only a date with the cute blonde assisting him.

I left Guy alone. It was clear he was gabbing it up with someone. I assumed he would call Bill, and I wondered how much the two talked about me. Did Guy ask questions about my personal life? Did Bill ask Guy what he thought of me as an employee? I was being overly paranoid and an idiot. This wasn’t a 007 movie.

When he finished his call he waved me over.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

“Yeah. Marty had to reboot the server this morning, but it’s all good.”

“What would we ever do without Captain Marty?”

“You know, I kind of felt sorry for him at first,” Guy said with a mysterious smile. “But I think he’s a closet ladies man.”

I folded my arms and slumped down on one hip. “Are you on drugs?”

“No.” He laughed with a head shake. “When I was going through his system, I noticed a ton of emails to and from
KittyKat88
. Some of the subject lines were fairly suggestive.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. But then again
KittyKat88
could have been anyone. Hell, it could even have been a man. You never know.

“Did you read any?”

“No, and I was going to say something, but then I had to take a call. When I came back, they’d been deleted. Said he got started on it for me.”

“Geez.” I didn’t want any more visuals of Marty with anyone, so I turned to check on Adam.

He ambled over just in time to save my breakfast from making another appearance and joined Guy and me in the seating area. He smiled and held up his room key. “Thirtieth floor.”

I was on the eighth and didn’t care. “Is that all you got?”

Then he held up his cell. Got her number, too. We’re having drinks tomorrow night.”

Guy stood and fist bumped with Adam. “You’re a fast worker.”

“Want me to see if she has a friend?” Adam asked.

Guy glanced at me for a split second. He probably didn’t want to be rude and leave me out of things, but I’d planned to spend the nights checking in with the office and getting some sleep.

“I’m good, man. But thanks,” he said.

I pictured Guy stretched out on the bed channel surfing alone in his room. Or playing some electronic chess game against himself. Then he added, “Maybe I’ll hit the tables, play a little blackjack.”

I guess he wasn’t too worried about me after all, not that I expected anything more. We weren’t in Vegas for a bonding session.

“All right. Now that the important stuff is taken care of, shall we get to work?”

We weaved our way through the crowds and headed for the elevators. Right before we reached the doors, I glanced back and didn’t see Guy.

“Hold on,” I said to Adam and doubled back the way we came. I found Guy standing in the middle of the lobby, people passing him in every direction. His eyes were transfixed toward the casino area. For a second I wondered if maybe the blackjack tables were already calling his name.

“Everything okay?” I said.

He didn’t turn my way. “Yeah. I just thought I saw someone.”

He had a strange look on his face, not his usual jovial expression or even the dopey airhead look he gets sometimes. He looked confused with a hint of sadness.

“Who was it?”

He stayed that way for another moment and then snapped his attention to me. “Nobody. I just thought I saw someone I knew. Sorry.” Then he walked off in the direction of the elevators.

The elevator was packed, and in the short amount of time it took to get to our floors, Guy had taken inventory of half the people there. He even spoke to a young girl with wet hair and a towel wrapped around her.

“How was the pool?” he asked.

“Crappy. Mandalay Bay’s pool is way better.”

“Lilly!” Her mother sighed and sank as if the outburst was not something new. “Sorry,” she said to Guy.

“No worries,” Guy said. Then he smiled at the girl

To my surprise, the two gentlemen accompanied me to my room before going on to their suite at the more desirable higher level. These guys were all over the place. And they thought women were hard to figure out. We met back in the lobby half an hour later to attend the keynote speaker’s introduction, followed by a workshop with a breakout session. By the time we were done, I had a headache and cramped fingers from all the notes I’d taken. Guy used his tablet, and Adam relied on his superior memory. Or maybe he was smart enough to realize Guy and I had it covered.

After all that, they insisted on going to the buffet. It was late, and I couldn’t bring myself to deal with that circus. I went to my room for a long, hot bath. I’d planned to get room service, but after checking emails on my laptop and making calls, I grew anxious. So I sat alone in the coffee shop and ordered a salad and iced tea. My waiter was in his thirties with a five o’clock shadow and a friendly smile. He seemed out of place among the handful of fifty-ish female servers I’d noticed. I left a twenty-two percent tip—fifteen is bare minimum for me since I once had to serve the public for a living too—and thanked my waiter as I passed.