Secret Nights with the Billionaire

Season 1, Episode 3: The Vesper

SATURDAY

The blaring sound of Natalie’s alarm rang out in the quiet room. With her eyes still closed, she fumbled around for her phone on the dresser beside her, desperately trying to find the snooze button. Her head was pounding from her hangover, and as soon as the obnoxiously loud ringtone came to an end, she breathed a sigh of relief.

“Good morning.”

With a start, Natalie’s head shot up from her pillow, her eyes jolting wide open. She looked around wildly until her gaze landed on the man lying beside her in bed. His back was against the headboard, and he’d clearly been busy on his phone, which he sat down beside him on the opposite dresser. His broad, muscular chest peeked out from the sheets, which covered the lower half of his body.

Natalie quickly glanced down, realizing that she, too, was completely naked, and her breasts were poking out from the top of the sheets. With a gasp, she quickly pulled them up over her shoulders so that only her chin was poking out.

“Sleep well?” he asked, quirking his eyebrow in amusement.

“I, um…” she stammered. “So…last night really happened?”

“Sure did,” he smirked. “Anyway, I thought we could order some room service. What sounds good to you?”

“I can’t stay,” Natalie said quickly, grabbing the duvet and wrapping herself up in it.

Once she was sure that she was covered, she slid off the bed and began to search for her discarded clothes from around the bedroom.

“Leaving so soon? At least stay for coffee and a bite to eat. Especially after that marathon we ran last night–”

“I have to work,” she interrupted, feeling the heat rising to her cheeks. She leaned down to scoop up her lingerie in her arms, but she was still missing her shoes and dress.

“On a Saturday?”

“Yeah,” she replied, grabbing her phone from the nightstand. She was sure she looked like a penguin with the fluffy duvet wrapped around her naked body as her head peeked out, but she had more important things to worry about at the moment. “It’s kind of ‘all hands on deck’ right now at work.”

“Too bad,” he sighed, looking visibly disappointed. “I thought we could stay in and go for a few more rounds.”

“This was fun, but I really gotta go,” she said hastily, walking out of the bedroom to find her dress and purse on the floor. She scooped them up and disappeared into the bathroom, pulling on her clothes as quickly as possible.

Glancing in the mirror, it was obvious that she’d had a rough night of partying and drinking. Her mascara was smudged beneath her eyes, and her lipstick was smeared at the corner of her mouth. Strands of hair stuck out at all sorts of angles on her head, and she quickly reached for her wallet.

“Ah, thank you, Sober Natalie,” she whispered, thanking herself for thinking ahead.

She always packed a “Walk of Shame” kit when she went out, which contained a small comb, a hair tie, a travel-sized toothbrush and toothpaste set, and a perfume sample. Grabbing a tissue from the box on the counter, she touched up her makeup and set to work to quickly make herself presentable for the day. After running the comb through her hair, she threw her long, brunette hair up into a tidy ponytail and gave herself one last look of appraisal in the mirror.

“It will have to do,” she sighed, gathering her stuff back into her wallet.

But she knew that she couldn’t wear her club dress to work, and she didn’t have time to run all the way to her apartment on the peninsula and back. No, she would have to find some clothes in the Grand Canal Shoppes downstairs before heading across the street to work. At the very least, she could probably get away with wearing her heels to work, although her feet would probably hate her guts by the end of the day.

My shoes!

She realized that she still needed to find them before heading out the door. Hopefully, she could just grab them and sneak out of the hotel suite quietly.

However, when she opened the door to the bathroom, he was standing in the doorway, holding up her shoes in his hands. He was wearing nothing but a pair of boxers, making Natalie gulp nervously.

“Looking for these?” he asked, his eyes ablaze with mischief.

“Yes,” she muttered, snatching them quickly out of his hand to tug them on.

“I had a great time last night,” he replied, watching her fumble with her shoes. “I’d really like to see you again while I’m in town.”

“I’m not really looking to start anything,” she answered quickly, darting around him toward the door. “But it was fun. Uh, best of luck to you.”

Before he could say another word, she darted out the door and set off quickly down the corridor.

Phew, that was awkward, she thought as she raced toward the elevator.

***

After buying a pair of dress pants and a silk blouse from The Shoppes at the Venetian, she ordered a coffee and a pastry from Starbucks. She reluctantly glanced at the receipt while she waited for the barista to make her order, silently scolding herself for spending so much money on one outfit.

As soon as her coffee cup appeared on the counter, she grabbed it and set off toward the exit of the hotel. Fortunately for her, her hotel was only across the street, and since she didn’t have to commute today, she’d actually be a few minutes early for work.

The fresh air of the outside, as well as the coffee in her hand, were a welcome relief for her headache. It wasn’t the worst hangover she’d ever had, so hopefully the brisk walk across the street would kick it before she walked into work.

Natalie gazed upon The Vesper Hotel & Casino from across the street, waiting for the light to change to allow pedestrians to cross. It looked like just another pair of glass, high-rise buildings during the day, but at night they glistened in hues of blue and purple. To be honest, it was the exact same blueprint as its flagship property in Las Vegas, but she still marveled at the fact that she got to come into work here every day.

After crossing the street and approaching the lobby beneath the portico, she waved in greeting at some of the familiar bellmen she’d grown used to seeing after her morning commute. They grinned and waved back at her before turning their attention to the taxis and limousines that were beginning to roll up.

In direct contrast to the vulgarity of the architectural themes of The Venetian, The Vesper was sleek and modern. It had only recently opened just weeks ago as part of their soft opening, and the casino floor wasn’t even open to the public yet. Everything smelled new from the fresh paint to the plush carpet, and even the black tile sparkled as her heels clicked against the floor of the lobby. Chic house music blared through the loudspeakers as LED panels, dancing with abstract light displays, lined the path past the front desk.

She waved once again at a few of the front desk agents before taking a right. Disappearing through an inconspicuous door along the wall, she entered the back of the house, which was lit with fluorescent fixtures overhead in the spacious, concrete corridor.

Housekeepers were bustling about, tying their aprons as they hurried to clock in for their shifts. The house music had disappeared, and now the morning announcements were echoing over the loudspeakers. She recognized five distinct voices giving the housekeepers their instructions for the day in Cantonese, Mandarin, Portuguese, Filipino, and English.

She disappeared around another corner to enter the food and beverage department. Room upon room was filled with the smells of baking bread and fresh fish as Natalie strode past. This corridor, in fact, stretched half a mile long underground, and this was where they provided all the cuisine for The Vesper’s sixteen different restaurant outlets.

With a grin, Natalie took another sip of her coffee, basking in the atmosphere of excitement that was palpable in the air. It was never this exciting back in Las Vegas, but she had never experienced a hotel opening before. The energy and pride of the staff was infectious, which made her excited to come into work everyday.

She took a left, entering another door into the sales offices. The plain, concrete walls disappeared into a more upscale setting, and she waved at Mr. Ho’s assistant, Esther, as she strode past her desk.

“Jóu sàhn, Natalie!” she crooned in her accented voice.

“Good morning, Esther,” she replied with a wide grin. Esther didn’t speak much English, but she enjoyed building this simple relationship with her that went beyond words.

Natalie walked behind Esther’s desk, past printers and counters full of office supplies, until she reached the door of her small office. She threw her small purse on her desk before popping the last of her breakfast pastry into her mouth, but she kept her phone and coffee with her as she made her way back to the department’s daily morning meeting.

She found the small conference room, where Mr. Ho and a couple of her fellow casino hosts were milling around and engaging in small chit-chat.

“Good morning, Miss Torres,” Mr. Ho said, nodding his head toward her respectfully.

Mr. Daniel Ho was the Director of Casino Marketing at The Vesper. He was in his fifties, and he came from Taiwan in the early 2000s to work his way up in the tourism industry. One of the other hosts had told Natalie that the Taiwanese accent was considered “coquettish” by the mainland Chinese high-rollers, and that helped the casino hosts attract them as their clients.

“Good morning, Boss,” she grinned, taking a seat toward the end of the long table, leaning back in her seat.

Natalie really liked working for Mr. Ho. He was a very professional and fair leader, and she much preferred him to her last boss in Las Vegas. He was around Natalie’s height, except when she was in heels, and he wore thick-rimmed glasses that gave him an air of intellect. His dark hair was slicked back neatly, and he always wore a nice suit to work.

She sipped her coffee quietly while the rest of her department slowly filed in. Her eyes wandered onto a new hostess, who seemed a bit lost as she wandered into the room.

“Hi,” Natalie greeted with a smile. God, I hope she speaks English, or I’ll look creepy just grinning at her.

“Hello,” she said, giving her a respectful bow.

The girl, who couldn’t be any older than twenty-five, came and took a seat next to her.

“I’m Natalie,” she said, extending her hand.

“I am Tamiko,” the girl replied in a soft accent. “It is my first day.”

“Oh, welcome!” Natalie replied. “Tamiko…is that Japanese?”

“Yes,” she said, her eyes lighting up at the recognition. “Mr. Ho hired me to target the Japanese high roller market.”

“Awesome,” Natalie replied. “I just transferred from The Vesper in Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago. My job is to attract the high roller westerners to The Vesper.”

“All the westerners?” Tamiko asked, her eyes growing big. “That is such a big market!”

“Yes, but unfortunately, they aren’t coming to Macau as much as they are going to Las Vegas,” Natalie sighed. “So, hopefully, we can convince them to come to Macau and spend their money here at The Vesper!”

Tamiko and Natalie turned to Mr. Ho as he clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention.

“Everyone, please take your seats,” he said seriously. “It’s time to get started. I have some exciting news to share.”