High Stakes (2 page)

“You never told me that,” he said quietly.
“Why?”

“You would’ve made me quit, and I didn’t
want to. I wasn’t ready.” She twisted the ring on her finger, a braided
platinum and diamond band her parents had given her for her sixteenth birthday.
“It does a number on your self-esteem, feeling as though you’re never good
enough. Buying nice clothes made me feel better about myself. It made me feel
pretty.”

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. I had no idea you
felt that way.” He smiled. “You’re so beautiful. I always thought you knew
that.”

“All of the girls in that world are
beautiful. Everyone’s special for a minute; then she’s not. I had my moment,
and I wouldn’t trade it for anything, but it’s over now, and I know I have to
figure out where to go from here. But the truth is, I haven’t got a clue.”

Alisa had spent the years since she
graduated from college trying to figure out how to move on. Volunteering,
working as an apprentice, trying to uncover some hidden talent, but she had yet
to find her passion. She was beginning to fear she may only be good at modeling,
and since she didn’t have that anymore, it left her with… nothing. And that
terrified her. She was too young to feel so useless and inept.

Trey regarded her carefully as he slipped a
silver pen between his fingers. “The way I see it, you need somethin’ to focus
on.” He winked. “Somethin’ to keep you outta trouble and out of those tabloids
I hate so much.”

She knew he was right. As it was, most of
her girlfriends were either working full time, pursuing graduate degrees, or
involved in serious relationships. It was time for her to find a purpose, if
only she could figure out what that was. “What did you have in mind?”

Her father had enjoyed a career in country
music that spanned more than three decades and he was still selling out
stadiums all over the world during the years he chose to tour. Music was in his
blood. Too bad she hadn’t inherited his gift.

“Fashion has always been your first love.
You studied at the best school in the world. Why not put that fancy degree to
good use? You could start your own business.”

“Are you serious?”

“Sure, why not?”

“Uh, these things take money.”

Trey chuckled. “Good thing your daddy has
plenty of that.”

“I couldn’t take any more of your money.”
Especially since he’d already reamed her out about the condo, the car, even her
shoes.

“You wouldn’t be takin’ it.” He leaned
forward, bracing his arms on the desk. “You’d be borrowin’ it. We’d structure
it the same way we would any other business loan. Except this contract would
have a few unique stipulations.”

She knew there had to be a catch. Her
father was too shrewd to offer her a dream job on a silver platter without
insisting she meet his terms. “What are they?”

“I’m not askin’ for much.” He smiled. “You
simply agree to work your butt off to make this business a success and keep
that pretty little face of yours out of the papers. Shouldn’t be too hard,
right?”

She considered the implications of letting
him control her actions. She’d always had to fight for her freedom, something
Trey never seemed ready to relinquish. If she accepted his loan, she would be
agreeing to live according to his rules, but at least she would have a reason
to get out of bed in the morning. A business she could pour her heart and soul
into. A purpose.

She reached across the desk to offer her
hand. “You have yourself a deal.”

He shook her hand before bringing it to his
lips. “I know you’re gonna make me proud, baby girl.”

Alisa sat in the office long after Trey
left. She was making notes, doing research, making plans. She felt alive for
the first time in years, and she couldn’t wait to throw herself into the plans
for her new boutique.

“Hey, I didn’t know you were still here,”
Sierra said, coming up behind her. She set her hands on her daughter’s
shoulders and peered over her shoulder. “What’re you doing?”

“Daddy and I had a little chat.”

Sierra glanced at the crumpled newspaper
lying on the floor. “Yeah, he had that when he came back from the store this
morning. He was pretty angry.”

“I know.” Alisa set her pen down and turned
to face her mother. Everyone said she looked so much like her mother, same
blond hair, though Sierra’s was now streaked with subtle silver highlights,
light blue eyes, slight frame. The years had been kind to Sierra. She was still
a stunning woman. Alisa could only hope they were as kind to her.

“So, what happened?” Sierra propped her hip
on the edge of the desk and crossed her arms. “Did you two argue?”

Alisa smiled. “He threw his weight around
some, made threats, but then he made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

“Really?” Sierra raised an eyebrow. “Now
I’m intrigued. Do tell.”

“He didn’t talk to you about this?”

Sierra laughed. “No. He did talk about sending
you away to a convent, but I told him he’d never get away with it.”

“That sounds like Daddy.” She smiled. “Seriously,
he offered me a business loan, and I accepted.”

“A business loan? Really?”

Alisa wasn’t upset that her mother seemed
surprised by the news. Since she’d returned home, she hadn’t shown much
interest in anything other than partying and trying to convince the world she
was over the man who publically humiliated her and broke her heart.

“Yeah. Daddy pointed out that I’ve always
loved fashion. I have the degree… so why not?”

“Indeed. Why not?”

“So you think it’s a good idea?” Alisa had
several close girlfriends, but her mother was always her rock. She consoled Alisa
through teenage angst, agent rejections, failed tests, and the worst of all,
the day she had to break off her engagement when she found out her fiancé was
cheating on her with his high school sweetheart.

Sierra reached for her hand. “I think it’s
a great idea. As long as you’re sure this is what you want.” She narrowed her eyes.
“I know your daddy can be tough to say no to when he gets an idea in his head,
but this is your life, honey. We can’t tell you how to live it.”

That’s where her parents differed. Sierra
had always allowed her daughter to make mistakes, and she was always there to
pick up the pieces, never telling her she’d been irresponsible or reckless,
even when she had. Trey, on the other hand, wanted to protect and shield her
from pain, and he seemed to suffer more than Alisa did when she made an error
in judgement. Like agreeing to marry Nick Sinclair. Trey was out for blood
after that fiasco, and he vowed if that man ever crossed his path again, he’d
haul out his shotgun and use him for target practice.

“I feel good about this, Mom. I think this
is exactly what I need right now.”

Sierra rubbed Alisa’s hand between both of
hers and smiled. “Honey, you don’t get over a broken heart overnight, and
throwing yourself into something else isn’t gonna help you to heal, much as you
might wish it would.”

“I know that.” She raised her chin. “This
has nothing to do with Nick, if that’s what you think.”

“Really?” Sierra smiled. “You gonna tell me
the drinking and partying and endless supply of new boyfriends has nothing to
do with him either?”

Alisa couldn’t deny her ego had taken a hit
when she found out her fiancé was seeing another woman, and it helped to know
that other men still found her attractive. “Not everything I do is about him.”

“You were with him for two years, honey. At
your age, that seems like a lifetime. I know. I was your age once, remember?”
Sierra squeezed her daughter’s hand. “Were you hoping he’d see those pictures
and wish he’d never been stupid enough to let you get away?”

Her mother had this way of zeroing in on a
problem with laser-sharp focus, no matter how hard Alisa tried to conceal it.
“I don’t know, maybe.”

“You know you can tell me anything.”

“It hurt so damn much,” she whispered,
blinking back the tears. “Knowing that I wasn’t enough, that she had something
I didn’t.”

“Oh, baby,” Sierra said, stroking her hair.
“You weren’t the one lacking; he was. Maybe she was the right woman for him,
but he should have been man enough to tell you that before he slept with her.
Alisa, that moment can only define your life if you let it.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve been trying to prove something to
him for a while now. Every day is about getting back at him, not getting on
with your life, and that’s what you should focus on.”

She sighed. “I know; you’re right.”

“You’ve been going out with all the wrong
men for months now. These guys are selfish and immature, exactly like Nick. You
need someone who’s responsible and mature. A man who’s been around enough to
know that you’re special. Someone who’s gonna respect you for the incredible
woman you are on the inside and value the treasure he’s found in you. That’s
what you deserve, sweetheart.”

“Spoken like my mother.”

Sierra laughed. “Maybe, but it’s true. Your
dad was young when we got together. He still had a lot of growing up to do.
That’s why we grew apart. It took five years of being apart to realize we
belonged together. But it doesn’t have to be that way for you. You can make the
right choice the first time around if you’re clear about what you want and
you’re willing to hold out until you find the man you deserve.”

“I thought I had found the right man and
look how that turned out.”

“Maybe you just need a break from
relationships for a while, but don’t avoid getting involved just because you’re
scared.”

“I am scared,” Alisa said, looking at their
joined hands. “What if I make the same mistake again? What if I trust the wrong
man and he breaks my heart, too?”

“It’s a risk, but if you’re not willing to
take that risk, you can’t expect to find happiness.”

Alisa drew a shaky breath. “I think I’ll
start with the business first, see how that goes.”

Sierra reached down to kiss her cheek. “I
believe in you. I know amazing things are out there waiting for you; you just
have to be brave and face your fear head-on.”

Alisa eased into her seat in first class,
barely able to contain her excitement. She’d flown all over the world the past
few months, buying inventory for her new, upscale retail store, and Las Vegas
was her last stop before her grand opening next weekend. She’d heard great
things about a funky new handbag designer from her contacts, and if she was as
talented as her online portfolio indicated, her products would be the perfect
addition to her boutique.

Alisa had gone to great pains to ensure her
retail haven was on trend, but incorporated enough classical pieces to appeal
to the upscale middle-aged set as well. She bought the pieces she loved and
could only hope her patrons would share her enthusiasm.

A tall, broad-shouldered man with subtle
silver streaks highlighting his black hair claimed the seat beside her.
Wow
.
Alisa normally didn’t go for older men, but this guy exuded a sexy confidence
that was impossible to ignore. 

She waited for him to glance in her
direction, for a flicker of awareness or attraction to pass between them, but
when he pulled a
Harvard Business Review
magazine out of his black
leather briefcase, it was obvious he intended to ignore her.

For some unknown reason, his rejection
offended her. It shouldn’t. She wasn’t in the market for a man. She hadn’t
indulged in bedroom recreation for months, not since she’d signed on the dotted
line and promised not to disappoint her father or herself. She had to stay
focused on her business. The first year was the most important. She knew it
could be the launching pad for the future stores she hoped to have, or she could
go down in a burst of flames. The latter wasn’t even an option. She had to
succeed at this, and that meant she couldn’t afford any distractions.

Opening the latest copy of
Vogue
,
she tried to ignore the muscled thigh pressed against her bare leg. She was
going for comfort when she’d selected the lightweight black cotton skirt and
matching tank that morning, but she suddenly wished she opted for a little more
coverage instead. Bare skin provoked naughty fantasies of being tangled up in
the sheets with a certain sexy stranger. She realized she chose the wrong
moment to look up when his light blue eyes captured hers in a look filled with
enough sparks to set off an explosion.

“Good afternoon,” he said, beginning a lazy
perusal that started with her bare, bronzed legs and ended where it had
started, fixed on her eyes.

Alisa was too shocked by her physical
reaction to his scrutiny to respond to the casual greeting. She was used to
male admiration, but when a man was this obvious, she usually felt irritated,
not warm and tingly all over.

His eyes zeroed in on her bare left hand,
and he smiled, revealing a flash of white teeth and disarming grin so sexy it
should have come with a warning label. No man had a right to be this handsome.
It simply wasn’t fair to the poor unsuspecting girl seated next to him with no
hope of defending herself when endless hours filled with nothingness stretched
out before them.