The Millionaire Gambler (Ashley's Choice)
Read The Millionaire Gambler (Ashley's Choice) Online
Authors: Laura Charles
Tags: #alpha male, #hot, #Erotic Romance, #sexy, #Erotica, #Contemporary Romance
Copyright © 2012 by Laura Charles. All rights reserved worldwide. part of this publication may be replicated, redistributed, or given away in any form without the prior written consent of the author/publisher or the terms relayed to you herein.
Laura Charles
c/o Retro Marketing
P.O. Box 308
Tooele, UT 84074
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Table of Contents
Books and Stories by Laura Charles
Books and Stories by Laura Charles
Books and Stories by Laura Charles
Inspiration of Steel - The Complete Series
The Millionaire Gambler - Ashley's Choice Book 1
The Temptress - Ashley's Choice Book 2
The Merchant - Ashley's Choice Book 3
Ashley's Choice - The Complete Collection
Chapter 1
Ashley James was tired and frustrated. She'd been on her feet all day, dealing with grumpy, caffeine-deprived customers, and she was worn out.
Working at a coffee shop wasn't exactly Ashley's career plan. She'd gone to college, majored in literature, and eventually found herself working as a paralegal. She found herself out of work after her last employer turned out to be both a lecherous jerk and a crooked lawyer. He soon found himself residing at the state penitentiary, and Ashley found herself both relieved and out of work. After a few futile months of trying to find work as a paralegal, she began working at Lattetude, a coffee shop in downtown Dallas.
She really couldn't complain; the job kept her busy and her boss, Michael Travis, was a pretty good guy. He was easy to work for, easy to get along with, and he usually let Ashley take time off when she needed it. Ashley was pretty sure that Michael had a crush on her, but he wasn't one to express such things; if he had a thing for Ashley, he was keeping it to himself. Still, there was something about the way he looked at her that made her think he was interested. While he was handsome enough, with light brown hair, green eyes, and a terrific smile, Ashley ignored that; she really didn't think a romantic involvement with her employer was a good idea.
She wasn't sure why
anyone
would be interested in her, though. Ashley was certainly pretty enough, standing a petite five foot three with a slender build, shoulder length brown hair and a winning smile. Ashley didn't care much for her figure, though. Although she was thin, she was small-breasted and quite self-conscious about it. Most guys seem to like women with large breasts, and Ashley had definitely been shortchanged in that regard.
While no supermodel, Ashley had had a few steady boyfriends over the years, and now, at 25, she was still young and attractive enough to turn the occasional head. She hadn't had a boyfriend anytime recently, though. A year ago, her fiancé had broken their engagement just two weeks before their scheduled wedding, and that traumatic event had left a bad taste in Ashley's mouth. She just wasn't sure she was ready to start dating again, despite the best efforts of her roommate, Erin Johnson. Erin was always trying to set Ashley up with blind dates, but for now, she was having none of it.
One might think that an attractive brunette working in a coffee shop might meet lots of eligible men, but Ashley rarely looked her best while at work. She usually wore little makeup and always had her hair pulled back in a ponytail. As a barista, Ashley wasn't going to impress anyone with her fashion sense, either. While she loved beautiful clothes, and owned more than her share, this job was strictly a jeans and T-shirt affair. When you're working long hours with messy coffee grounds, you dress for comfort and convenience, rather than for style.
In other words, while Ashley was more than capable of looking gorgeous, she usually looked pretty plain at work, which was where she spent a great deal of her time. It was a bad recipe for meeting men, but then again, Ashley wasn't all that eager to do so right now.
Right now, what she really needed was a break.
“Mike? Is it OK if I take a break?” Ashley took off her apron in anticipation of his answer.
“Sure. We're not too busy right now. I'll take over.” He'd been working in the office on some bookkeeping, but he was more than happy to take over when Ashley went on break. Michael enjoyed owning a coffee shop, but he'd much rather spend his time working the espresso machine than dealing with accounting and bills. While he was generally the quiet type, he was surprisingly good with customers and seemed to genuinely enjoy talking with them. For Michael, taking over the machine and the cash register every now and again
was
a break from routine.
Ashley poured herself a cup of drip coffee, grabbed a chocolate chip cookie from the display case and started to step around the counter to have a seat at one of the tables in the small shop. As she stepped around the counter, she bumped into a male customer who had just come in, spilling her coffee and dropping her cookie in the process.
“I'm so sorry!”, she said with embarrassment as she got her first look at the man, who was surprisingly handsome.
“No, it's my fault. I didn't see you coming around the counter. Did you get any coffee on you? Are you burned?” He seemed genuinely concerned.
“No, I'm fine. I just need to clean up the mess and pour another cup.” Ashley went back behind the counter, picked up a few rags and cleaned up the mess. She poured another cup of coffee and stepped around the counter again. The man went to the counter where Michael took his order.
Ashley found a table in the corner and sat down to enjoy her break and her cup of coffee. She decided not to bother with the cookie; she probably didn't need the calories, anyway. She took a sip of the hot, satisfying brew and noticed that the handsome man she'd bumped into was standing in front of her.
“Would you mind if I sat here? I'm still feeling guilty about spilling your coffee. My name's Jason, by the way.”
Ashley looked him over.
This guy is hot. Why on Earth is he interested in me?
she thought.
Ashley extended her hand. “Not at all. My name's Ashley.”
Jason stood about six feet tall and looked maybe 30 or so. He had short, dark brown hair, brown eyes, and a trim, athletic build. He didn't look musclebound; he looked more like someone who found time to hit the gym four or five days a week.
He looked good. Actually, he looked positively amazing. He was also dressed particularly well; wearing a silk dress shirt that looked like it might have been a Gucci, along with matching pants and a watch that was clearly a Rolex. His shoes looked as if they cost more than Ashley's car.
“You don't strike me as the sort of person who'd be working in a coffee shop. Shouldn't you be working as a model or something?”
Ashley blushed. “That's kind of you, but no, I'm not the modeling type. I'm actually a paralegal, but I was laid off about a year ago. I've been working here for a while now.”
Jason took a sip of his coffee. “Sorry to hear about your layoff. The coffee's good here. I guess I can thank you for that.”
“So what do you do, Jason? You obviously have a better job than I do,” she said, pointing at his watch.
Jason hesitated for a few seconds and took a sip of his coffee. “I'm a professional gambler, as it happens.” He took another sip of his coffee.
“A gambler? Here in Dallas? We don't have any casinos around here.” Ashley had a baffled look on her face.
“I do occasionally gamble in casinos, but my primary game is poker. You can find high stakes poker games just about anywhere, and there's no shortage of them here in Texas.”
“I had no idea,” she replied. Ashley looked at the clock on the wall. “It looks like my break is about over. I need to get back to work. Nice meeting you, Jason.”
She got up and returned to her place behind the counter, trying her best to stop staring at the gorgeous man she'd left at the table. Jason looked as if he belonged on the cover of GQ, especially in those clothes.
A few minutes later, Jason approached the counter.
“May I call you? I'd love to take you to dinner.”
Ashley blushed again. “I'm not sure that's appropriate. We just met, and I don't really know you.” She had no idea why this wealthy, handsome man was asking her out.
“How can you get to know me if you don't let me call you?”
“I'm sorry. I really need to get back to work.” She turned her back to him and resumed making an espresso for a customer.
“Sorry to bother you,” he said. “I hope we'll have the chance to meet again.” With that, Jason gave her a wink, and then turned and left the shop.
Ashley wasn't sure if she'd done the right thing or not. The guy was way hot, and he obviously had money, but a gambler? Really? And why was he interested in her? He looked like a guy who could probably have any woman he wanted, and if he had money, he probably ran in social circles that were full of drop-dead gorgeous women.
I have no idea why he'd show interest in someone like me.
“Looks like you've got an admirer,” said Michael, as he headed back to the office. His look betrayed just a hint of jealousy, but of course, he said nothing to that effect.
“Oh, I don't know. Maybe he just wanted some company while he drank his coffee.”
“He's a nice looking guy. Certainly well dressed. You wouldn't be interested in someone like that?” Michael was clearly fishing here.
“I guess he was rather nice looking. It doesn't really matter; he's gone now.” Ashley turned around and began cleaning the counter.
Chapter 2
Ashley didn't have to wait long to find out more about Jason. He walked in to the coffee shop just three days later, right before the 9 PM closing time. Business is usually slow late in the day, and Michael had left early to take care of some personal business. He didn't like to leave Ashley in the shop by herself, but she assured him that she'd be OK this one time. The area around the coffee shop was relatively free of crime.
