check in the lobby of Fortune’s Gold as they prepared to film the last segment of the commercials for Blake’s casinos. She’d finally managed to talk him into being his own spokesman for the ad campaign, but it certainly hadn’t been easy. He’d come up with every excuse imaginable, from claiming that he would feel like he was on display to wanting to maintain his anonymity. But in the end, she’d convinced him by showing him the marketing statistics. It had been proven time and again that when the public felt a personal rapport with the owner of an establishment, the amount of traffic increased and ultimately so did profits.
“We’re ready for Mr. Fortune as soon as Sally Ann finishes his makeup,” the director said, walking over to stand beside Sasha.
She’d worked with Michael Atkinson on several campaigns for Dakota Fortune and knew his production company was the best in Sioux Falls. By the time the commercials aired in all of the major cities across the Midwest, he would have them edited and tweaked to show Blake and the Fortune Casino Corporation in the best possible light.
“I want to thank you for working this into your busy schedule, Michael.” With a little less than two weeks left before the opening of Fortune’s Gold, she’d had to scramble to get Michael’s company to shoot the commercials, as well as arrange scheduling with all of the television stations to run them on such short notice.
“It’s been well worth it, Ms. Kilgore.” Michael grinned. “It’s not every day that my crew and I get to fly to a shoot on a private jet or have our lunches catered by a master chef.”
“Mr. Fortune appreciates your willingness to put your other clients on hold in order to shoot his commercial,” she said, diplomatically ignoring the fact that Blake was paying the man double his normal rate to expedite the job.
“Let’s get this spectacle over with,” Blake groused as he removed the tissues the makeup artist had tucked into his collar to keep from discoloring his shirt.
Once Michael moved away to have a final word with the cameraman, Blake leaned close to whisper in Sasha’s ear. “I’m going to get even with you for this.”
As he described exactly how he intended to make her pay up, a tingling sensation coursed through her. She started to tell him that she was looking forward to her night of reckoning, but Michael chose that moment to motion for Blake to step in front of the camera, and for the next hour she watched him deliver the ad copy she’d helped him put together.
At first, Blake appeared stiff and extremely uncomfortable. He glanced her way several times and she could tell he was adding to the sensual retribution he had planned for her. But by the last few takes, he appeared confident and completely at ease in front of the camera.
When Michael announced the job was a wrap and he and his crew began tearing down their equipment, Sasha smiled as she walked over to Blake. “That wasn’t all that unpleasant, was it?”
Placing his hand to the small of her back, he guided her toward the casino exit. “No, it wasn’t as bad as I figured it would be. But I sure as hell don’t plan on repeating the experience.”
Sasha stopped when she saw Blake’s limo waiting outside and realized that he meant for them to leave. “I should probably stay until Michael—”
“I have people to see that Atkinson and his crew get packed up and on their way.” He waited for her to get into the limousine, then slid in beside her. With a look that sent her blood pressure soaring, he pushed the button to raise the privacy screen between them and the driver.
“You owe me big time,” he said, dragging her onto his lap. “And guess what?”
She laughed when his fingers danced over her ticklish ribs. “What?”
“It’s payday, sweetheart.”
“Plan on spending the entire week of the grand opening here in Deadwood with me.”
Wrapped in plush hotel robes, Sasha and Blake snuggled on his couch as they stared at the flames from the gas log in the fireplace. “I would love to, but unfortunately, I can’t take that much time off.”
“Why not?”
A wave of goose bumps covered her arms when he kissed the side of her neck and she had to concentrate hard in order to give him a coherent answer. “I have to pay rent, utilities and eat. I can’t do either if I don’t work.”
“Don’t worry about it, sweetheart. I’ll see to it that—”
“Don’t you dare say you’ll pay my bills for me.” She pulled back to let him see that she meant what she said. “I have never taken money from anyone that I didn’t earn and I’m not about to start now.”
He shook his head. “Calm down, Sasha. I was going to tell you that I would arrange for you to have the time away from Dakota Fortune with pay.”
It was her turn to shake her head. “I can’t let you do that.”
“Why not?”
From his baffled expression, she could tell he didn’t have an inkling as to why she felt the need to refuse. “For one thing, it wouldn’t be fair to my coworkers. They work just as hard as I do and they won’t be offered time off with pay.”
A deep scowl creased his forehead. “Why are you being so stubborn about this?”
“Because it doesn’t sit well with me.” Trying a different tack, she asked, “Would you pay one of your employees for work they didn’t do?”
“No.” There wasn’t a bit of hesitation in his answer.
“Then why would you think it was all right to do it for me?”
He surprised her when he smiled and shook his head. “You’re wrong, sweetheart. I wouldn’t be paying you for nothing.”
It was her turn to feel confused. “Would you care to explain?”
“How many hours would you say you’ve put in on my ad campaign and how many strings did you have to pull to make it all happen?” he asked, catching her hand in his to tug her back down beside him.
She shrugged as she settled back against him. “I don’t know. I haven’t kept track.”
“You worked last weekend to come up with a plan and every night I’ve called this past week, you’ve been ironing out the details.” He kissed the top of her head. “And correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t remember giving you a single dime for any of it.”
She was beginning to understand his reasoning, but that hadn’t been part of their agreement. “I don’t expect you to pay me. You asked me to do a favor for you as a friend. Which I did.”
His frustrated breath stirred the curls at her temple. “All right. I appreciate your efforts and accept that you won’t let me compensate you for your time.” He wrapped his arms around her and held her close as he pushed her robe aside to trail kisses down the column of her neck and over her shoulder. “But I’m not asking you to be with me for opening week as a favor. As your boss, I’m telling you to be here.”
“You can’t do that.” Desire began to stir within her as his lips continued to move over her skin. But she refused to give in to it. They were having
