Stripped Bare (Vegas Billionaire 1)

Aside from Lamar, no one knows Morgan is my daughter. Not even Hannah. I trust Hannah, but am afraid she may slip someday and I’m not ready for the shitstorm of media attention that the announcement would bring. Plus, I’m still dealing with Brandy and until I can get her under control, Morgan’s my secret.

With my father giving me my inheritance early, Brandy is pretty much out of the picture, except for the social aspect. Even though I have refused to attend with her, I do stand next to her for pictures at the functions we’re at. It’s a save-face type of situation. Her father is powerful and the last thing I want to do for my business is piss him off. Until I can have a sit-down with him, I’ll plaster a fake-ass smile on my face each time the camera is near.

Lamar comes in and shuts my door quietly behind him. I sit up straight, wondering what could be going on. If I go by the look on his face, it would seem that someone has died.

“What’s wrong?”

He puts his finger to his lips, telling me to keep quiet, and uses his other hand to point toward my wall that abuts Hannah’s desk. I quickly pull up the security camera and see that Brandy is out there with Hannah.

“What the hell does she want?” I slam my head back into my chair and sigh. I’ve asked Brandy repeatedly to stay away from my office, but my requests fall on deaf ears. She says it’s important that people see her milling about my office so they know she’s welcome. Thing is, she isn’t. Hannah knows this and I’m assuming she is trying to keep her away.

When my intercom rings, I freeze and look at Lamar, who is shaking his head. A quick glance at my watch tells me I have twenty minutes before I need to be at the airport to pick up Macey and Morgan.

“What am I going to do?”

“I’ll take care of it,” he says, rising to his feet. His large body unfolds in front of me, and if he weren’t one of my best friends, I’d recoil from fear. With my eyes set on the computer screen I watch him go out and speak to Hannah and then face Brandy. Her arms are flailing about. When I see Lamar point toward the door, I chuckle. I shouldn’t, because I know I haven’t been very forthcoming with her, but I can’t help it. I need to tell her that we’ll never be together and worry about my reputation later.

Lamar returns with a shit-eating grin on his face. “That felt good,” he says, sitting back down in the chair and sighing.

“What exactly did you say to her?”

“Nothing that wasn’t true. I told her that men don’t like needy women and that a man has to work to bring home the bacon. If she’s always coming around you can’t work, and if you can’t work, what’s the point of her coming to see you.”

I sit here shaking my head, dumbfounded by what he said. “I’m confused.”

“I think she was too, which is why she left so easily. Speaking of leaving,” he says, pointing at his watch.

“Right, I should get going.” I shut off my computer and place the file I’ve been working on in my bag so I can take it home with me. I don’t expect to get much work done while Morgan is here, but it’ll be there if I need it. “Can you take care of getting Macey a gown for tonight?”

“I already did, and also put her other ones back in your closet.”

His words catch me off guard, and try as I might, I can’t keep the smile off my face.

“I’m excited to meet her.” Lamar stands and holds my office door open for me.

“You’ve already met Macey.”

“I’m talking about Morgan,” he says, giving me a look. I know what he’s doing. He’s trying to call me out on my bullshit, pointing out that I have feelings for Macey when I won’t admit them to myself.

I pause and nod. “I never thought I’d be this excited to see someone, but it’s like she was my missing piece.”

“Who, Morgan or Macey?”

“Morgan, of course.”

“Are you sure about that?”

Instead of answering him, I take my leave. Avoidance is easy and where I’m at with Macey is perfect for me. I don’t have to worry about jealousy or impossible demands that come with being in a relationship. Right now, focusing on Morgan and establishing a relationship with her is far more important.

The drive to McCarran is quick and thankfully the lack of traffic has me there in time, but that doesn’t mean I’m on time. As soon as I park, I’m running through wayward travelers to get to baggage claim. This section of the airport is under construction and is an utter mess. It can be hard to navigate if you’re not paying attention. At least that’s what I’m telling myself while I wait by the door and continually check the monitor to see if they’ve landed. Running through the crowd has nothing to do with the fact that I want them to see me as soon as they come through the door.