to admit, every damn view he got of her was a good one.
Too bad she was such a pain in the ass.
The elevator swept up in a rush and she laughed, a rich, deep bubble of sound that whipped through the small, enclosed space and wrapped itself around his throat until Cooper felt like he couldn’t breathe. Pure enjoyment wreathed her features, when only a moment or two before, she’d been irritated, and damned if he wasn’t...captivated. Most women he knew were more guarded about their emotions. But Terri was honest and open and he found that intriguing.
She grabbed hold of the brass rail at her side, tossed her hair back and slanted him a delighted glance. “Well, that’s faster than I expected.”
“Express elevator.” His own voice sounded as tight as he felt. Cooper watched her staring up at the elevator roof and realized she was the first woman he’d been with in this elevator who didn’t turn and check herself out in the mirror. Every female he knew would fluff her hair or smooth her lipstick or simply give her appearance a mental thumbs-up. Terri Ferguson, though, was looking up at the digital midnight sky.
“That’s so fabulous. Like the lobby.” She shook her head. “I love the shooting stars. It looks so real.”
“I wouldn’t know. Living in a city with this much ambient light, you don’t see many stars.”
She leveled her gaze on him. “Now, that’s a shame.”
“I’ve never thought so.”
“Then you don’t know what you’re missing,” she said, looking at him with what could only be sympathy.
Well, Cooper Hayes didn’t need anyone to feel sorry for him. Especially over something as minor as not being a stargazer. Watching her, he figured this was just one example of how the two of them were from different worlds. She looked at the stars in the sky, and the only stars he was interested in were the celebrities who came to his hotels. Yeah, a partnership between them would be doomed. Best to end it as soon as possible.
She turned her gaze back to the ceiling, a soft smile on her face, when falling stars left trails of gold dust across a digital sky. Cooper didn’t bother looking at the illusion. Instead, he watched her pleased smile and wondered why the hell he was enjoying it.
Deliberately, he brushed it off and started talking. “We work with a company who designs and installs illusionist skies in the hallways, casino, the lobby. StarFire can follow you all over the hotel.”
“That’s amazing. I’m a little technologically challenged, so imagining people who can do that? Wow.” She looked at him. “It’s really great. I mean, everything I’ve seen since I walked in the door has been just beautiful.”
Her face was open and easy to read. So he saw her excitement, the touch of nerves in the way her teeth tugged at her bottom lip. The easy curve of that smile did things to him he really didn’t want to think about. Irritated, he snapped, “Glad you approve.”
And just like that, her smile wobbled and her eyes lost that sparkle.
Idiot.
Being charming with a beautiful woman had never been difficult for him. Before Terri Ferguson, apparently.
He spoke up again quickly. “The illusions are relatively new. Installed just a couple years ago, but everyone seems to like them.”
“I can see why.” She relaxed again, but her eyes still looked wary, as if she had walls up because she’d wandered into a hotbed of enemies. Which he really didn’t want her to be thinking. He needed her to see him not as an enemy, but rather as a man who was going to do her the favor of sparing her all the work necessary to keep a company like Hayes Corporation running.
“You said yourself this was a strange situation to be in,” he reminded her with a deliberately casual shrug. “Well, I only found out about you a few days ago, too.”
She blinked at him. “Jacob never said anything about me?”
“No. I didn’t find out the truth until a few hours before you did. So now we’re both surprised.” He tapped one finger on the key card folder she held. “Anyway, your card will take you to any of the top floors. Right now I’m showing you to your owner’s suite.”
She dragged in another breath, tossed her hair back over her shoulder and tightened her grip on the cold, brass rail. “Is that where my father stayed?”
“Only when he was in town. He mainly lived in New York.”
Even to him, his voice sounded cool, disinterested—and that wasn’t good. If Cooper’s plan was to smooth the way for her to become an in-name-only partner, then he needed to be a hell of a lot more amiable than he’d managed to be so far. It shouldn’t have been difficult at all, but his attraction to her was throwing him off balance. Not something Cooper enjoyed. “Jacob wasn’t in Vegas often over the last couple of years, so I didn’t see much of him. And I would have, since I live here in the hotel.”
Her gaze snapped to his. “You do?”
He’d surprised her and he supposed he could understand it. In her world, people probably lived in neat little houses with backyards and dogs and kids. People visited hotels; they didn’t live there.
“I practically grew up here,” he told her. “Always figured to move out eventually. Get a place away from the Strip, but I realized I like the Strip. And living here is easy. My office is right downstairs. Twenty-four-hour room service, and housekeeping.”
“Sure. Of course. Well, housekeeping I really understand. That would be handy.” She laughed a little and he heard the nerves in it. “Sorry.” She held up one hand and shook her head, smiling wryly. “This is hard to take in. Last week I juggled bills so I could pay to have my car fixed and now...”
“Now you can buy any car you want.”
She blew out a breath. “That hasn’t really settled in yet.”
“Get used to it,” Cooper advised quietly.
This was good. He wanted her to realize that the money she’d inherited could change her life. He wanted her to go out and play, explore the world. Hell, do anything but stay in Vegas and try to help him run his company.
“Your old world is over.” When the elevator doors opened with a whoosh, he added, “Welcome to your new one.”
A wide hallway where the sun shone through several skylights plugged into the ceiling stretched out on either side of the elevator. Pale blue carpet covered the floor, and the soft gray walls held framed photos of different hotels in the Hayes chain. Cooper watched her take it all in and felt a flush of pride. He was so used to his surroundings, he rarely noticed any of it. But her reaction to the place made him pause briefly to enjoy what he’d built.
“So many different hotels,” she murmured, walking up to the closest painting. It was the villa in Tuscany that boasted views from every room and a world-class spa.
“We’re in hundreds of countries,” he said, not without a touch of pride.
She turned her head to look up at him. “I hate to keep using the word amazing, but it’s the only one
