Chapter 47

It turned out that having so much to make up for was hard work. After I left Serenity's, I drove home and grabbed a shower and some clean clothes. Then I went straight to the office and put in a few hours of prep for my meeting with the Robertsons.

Getting them to come back in hadn't been easy, but thankfully, they hadn't booked a different venue yet. With a little apologizing and some talk of discounts, eventually, I'd managed to convince them to take another meeting. Lance didn't know yet that they were coming back.

He had no reason to think they would change their mind, so he just hadn't asked. Actually, he hadn't spoken to me at all today, but that wasn't much of a surprise. I'd passed him this morning and he was still a grumpy Gus.

Hopefully, getting the Robertsons back onboard would appease him, but I knew that the meeting I'd missed hadn't been the root cause of the anger. It was merely a symptom, so I planned on talking to him after to address the real reasons.

After popping in to see Serenity, I felt fucking unstoppable. Unbeatable. My day wasn't over yet, but things sure seemed to be coming up Dash so far.

I made the arrangements for our trip on the drive back to the estate. Then I went to the conference room to wait for the Robertsons thirty minutes before they were supposed to arrive. I used the time to lay out all the prep I'd done, which was pretty much the entire wedding on a table.

Since I didn't know what they wanted, my options' options had options, but it was organized to within an inch of every options life. They were going to get the full, professional Dash St. Clair experience today, and if they went with someone else after that, then they just weren't meant to be here after all and it wouldn't be because I missed a damn meeting.

When they finally walked in, I stood up, offering them a charming, apologetic smile and extending my hand toward William Robertson first. Father of the bride, he was a career politician who knew everyone. They were rumored to be inviting presidents to his daughter's wedding—and those presidents were supposed to have said they wouldn't miss it for the world.

"Mr. Robertson," I said, addressing him with a firm handshake while looking him right in the eyes. "Thank you for agreeing to come in today. Before we get started, I'd like to extend my sincerest apologies for missing our meeting before. An emergency came up with my mother's wedding, and as it's only days away, it required my immediate attention."

The man nodded, stepping aside to introduce me to his wife, his daughter, and his future son-in-law. The boy looked around the conference room with wide eyes, his gaze settling on the view through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Ashley, the bride, giggled as she took his hand and gave him a sweet smile. "I told you this place was amazing. Was I right, or was I right?"

Everyone sat down. William exhaled a harsh sigh, taking a seat beside his daughter and folding his arms on the table before he turned to me. "I guess it's no secret that she wants to get married here. She loves this place. We came to a charity fundraiser here once when she was twelve and she's been saying she wants her wedding to be here ever since, but I'll be honest with you, Dash. Your father was a true professional. I wouldn't have had qualms about making the booking when he was still alive, but right now, I'm not sure I feel the same way about you."

"I don't blame you, sir," I said easily. "Can I offer you coffee or a drink?"

My assistant was waiting in the doorway and he took their orders before he disappeared.

With the formalities out of the way, I got straight down to business. "First impressions are important and your first impression of me is of some flake who couldn't be bothered to show up for an appointment you made a month ago. You're right to have been appalled, but I can assure you that's not how I do business. Nothing short of a family emergency would've pulled me away when it did."

"What happened?" he asked directly.

I answered him the same way. "The chef who was supposed to cater my mother's wedding this weekend broke his hand. As you can imagine, the venue has been booked, the invitations sent, and the menu settled, but you can't have a wedding without food."

Ashley gasped. "That's awful. Did you manage to find someone else?"

I smiled at her as I nodded. "We did. Thank you for asking. It's been rather stressful leaving my own mother's wedding in another planner's hands, but at least she's excellent. We found a solution right away and I raced back here to try to make the meeting, but I was too late. You were already gone, which I completely understand. Your time is valuable."

Mrs. Robertson glanced at her husband and squeezed his hand, giving him a meaningful look. "Surely, we can all agree that the chef for his mother's wedding isn't likely to break another hand. It seems to have been a one-off incident to me."

William grunted at her, but I could see the wheels in his head turning as he looked back at me. "Fine. What have you got for us?"

"A tailor-made package that will make all your little girl's dreams come true," I said smoothly. "Clearly, she already loves the venue, but I'll give you another tour myself if you'd like to take another look around."

"That won't be necessary at this point," he said. "If we decide to consider it, then sure, but let's not get ahead of ourselves."

"I appreciate your candor," I said before I proceeded to walk them through all the preparation I'd done, assuring them I'd done it all personally. By the look of things, that assurance set them at ease.

I was nearing the end of my presentation to them when Lance walked in and I grinned. "You've met my right-hand man, Lance Yates. He and I work closely together on every event that we host here, and when I get married, you're looking at the guy who will be planning it."

Lance's eyes bulged, but he chuckled and greeted each of the Robertsons by name before he glanced back at me. I pulled out the chair beside mine as I motioned him over. "I'm going to let Lance take the lead from here. When he's done, I have every confidence we're going to be writing your name into our calendar. In pen."

My friend cleared his throat, blinking away his surprise and not skipping a beat as he jumped in. After, once the Robertsons had made their booking and paid the deposit, he beamed at me. "How in the hell did you get them to come back here?"

"I can be charming," I said teasingly, walking back to his office with him and sitting down across from his desk when we got there. "So look, I know I shouldn't have ditched them for a girl, but she's not just any girl."

"I know. I saw the news this morning."

I shrugged. "I figured, but I thought you should know that I didn't just blow you off. Things have been crazy ever since I met her. I know that. There have been a lot of ups and downs and I've been out of the office a lot, meaning you've had to pick up the slack. I'm not blind to that fact and I want you to know how much I appreciate it."

"It's not just that, Dash. This is your mom's wedding. Obviously, that's been keeping you busy and I completely understand that you've had to help her, but you need to stop treating the company as your last priority. It's only been a couple months, but you seem to have lost control and that's not good for us."

"I haven't lost control. I swear. I'm on top of everything. Pull any file and ask me anything, and I'll be able to answer."

"I said you seem to have lost control," he reiterated. "Looks can be deceiving. I know that, but you need to be seen taking it back."

"And I will be," I assured him. "The wedding is this weekend, and after that, I'm back in all my glory. In the meantime, I'm going to be gone tomorrow morning. I'll be here in the afternoon, but I'm taking Serenity away for the night."

He groaned but nodded. "Don't fuck it up with her again. Also, thank you for admitting that you were wrong and for fixing it. I didn't really think you would, but you came through."

"I always will in the end," I said as I got up. "You're good here without me in the morning?"

"We'll be fine," he said, but he stopped me when I turned to head to the door. "You must really like her, huh? I've never seen you this interested in anyone before. You've never been as distracted as you are when you're on the outs with her."

"I can't resist her," I admitted. "I don't know what it is, but she gets me. And she gets to me, but I'm working on the distractedness. It'll get better."

"I know." He sighed, giving me a warning look before I left. "I mean it, though. Don't fuck up with her again. A guy only gets so many chances and I'm pretty sure you're running on fumes."

I nodded. "Yeah, I know. I'm good this time. I'm not going to fuck it up again."

His brows swept up, but he wished me luck. I went home to pack and let her know I was ready to leave when she was. The jet was waiting already and I didn't need much, so I just tossed some things into a bag. Not long after, she texted me that she'd managed to get away early and that she was waiting.

I grinned, excitement coursing through me hot and heavy at the prospect of another night with her. It was late afternoon by the time we arrived at the runway, and she hadn't stopped asking me where we were going even as we boarded the plane.

"Just tell me," she pleaded as she poked my ribs, sticking her lower lip out when I glanced at her. "Pleeeeaaase?"

"Nope." I chuckled, handing over our overnight bags before leading her to our seats. "It's a short flight. You'll know soon enough."

"A short flight, huh?" She started tossing out guesses, but I shrugged in response to each one.

Once we were airborne, I kissed her deeply.

When I broke the kiss, she rested her forehead against mine. "Fine, but you're going to have to distract me if you want me to stop asking until we get there."

"Gladly," I murmured. "We won't have time for anything except making out, though. I want to be able to take it slow with you today, but we just don't have that kind of time on the plane."

Her cheeks flushed, her pupils dilating, and she bit her lip. I groaned and kissed her again. In between, she kept trying to trick me into telling her but I held my ground.

As our descent started, the pilot finally came over the speaker and answered the question she'd been asking all afternoon. "Welcome to Las Vegas."

I grinned at the shock that registered on her features. Then I murmured in her ear. "Welcome to Sin City, baby."

"Let the games begin." She winked as she pulled away from me, excitement sparkling in her eyes that I felt in both my heart and my cock.

We might only have one night here, but I had a feeling we were going to hit the jackpot.