‘You mean, low-paid and with no prospects?’
Unable to resist the gleam in her grey eyes he laughed. ‘My turn to fold, I think.’
‘I thought the house always won,’ she said softly.
‘Then you must be the exception to the rule.’
He felt a ripple of excitement glide beneath his skin. She was a warm-bodied, soft-mouthed exception to every rule.
With an effort, he dragged his mind away from that tempting image. ‘So why would you prefer Macau to Vegas?’ He didn’t really care what she thought—he just wanted to direct the conversation away from the black ice of their banter and back to the solid ground of business.
She hesitated. ‘This feels classier. More sophisticated.’ Her gaze flicked over his shoulder. ‘For starters, the female staff don’t dress like they work in a nineteenth-century brothel.’ A smile dimpled her cheek. ‘I guess that’s one of the many benefits of having sisters. Makes for a more enlightened man as a boss.’
Charlie felt his shoulders tense. Dora’s innocent assumption of his familial closeness could hardly be farther from the truth.
Lei, Josie and Sabrina... He and his half-sisters all held positions in their father’s empire and they all presented a united front to the world. They had to. That had been the price of admission to any relationship with Lao Dan. His father had demanded and enforced a façade of family unity and, raised since childhood to seek his approval, they had complied.
Only at what cost?
He reflected on the fierce bond of love between Dora and Della, then he pushed the thought away. Yes, his father’s way had been unflinchingly ruthless, but so was life.
Only by training hard, by enduring tough lessons early on, could you deal with life. And not just deal with it, but triumph. Dora wouldn’t get why it was important for Archie to learn those lessons too and nor did she need to: she had no place in his father’s dynasty.
He shifted in his seat. ‘This is supposed to be an opportunity for you to ask me questions. So, do you have any?’
There was a pause. The shadows under her eyes made her look young, uncertain.
‘Did Della ever come here with him?’ There was a quiver on the margins of her voice. ‘Your father, I mean.’
‘They worked together, Dora,’ he said quietly.
‘I know. I just wondered whether he went out with her...or whether it was just... Actually, never mind.’ Her eyes found his. ‘I’m sorry. That was a stupid, inappropriate question.’
So that was why she had looked so furtive earlier. She had been thinking about her sister. It was a testament to how distracted he was that he had forgotten Della had worked here. Or that Dora would make that connection.
His chest tightened. First rule of the casino: leave your emotions at the door.
And he always had. Until now.
‘They were very discreet—so, no, I don’t think they came here outside of work. But he cared for her. It was more than just—’
‘Thank you,’ she said quietly.
‘For what?’ He frowned.
‘For answering me.’ She screwed up her face. ‘I know it must be difficult, talking to me about her...about them.’
It should be.
There had always been other women for his father, but none had given him a child—a son—and his mother had been devastated.
It had hurt, seeing her so upset, so diminished. But without their affair there would be no Archie.
No Dora.
‘Excuse me, Mr Law.’ His PA, Arnaldo, took a step forward and bowed. ‘I’m sorry to interrupt, sir. It’s just that your sister Lei is on her way to your office.’
He felt Dora’s surprise even before she started to speak. ‘I thought you said they were away?’