Harper, the oldest of the three women by a year, was Ross Fontaine’s only legitimate child. She had the training and the ambition to take over for her grandfather when he stepped down in two years. Harper’s mother came from old East Coast money and had insisted her daughter be raised in New York City and educated at an Ivy League school. Her style was elegant and professional, from her smooth chignon to her black designer pumps.
“You’re the perfect role model,” he finished.
“The perfect role model,” Scarlett echoed, her throaty voice rich with laughter. “The ultimate professional.”
Logan glared at her, realizing he’d laid it on a bit thick. But the task his sister and brother-in-law had handed him was outside of Logan’s expertise.
“I’d love to help,” Harper retorted. “As soon as the hotel opens.”
“I was hoping you could start showing her the ropes sooner.”
“I don’t know how I can....” Harper sent a hopeful look in Scarlett’s direction. “What about you?”
“My schedule is wide-open,” Scarlett said, her gaze as steady and watchful as a psychiatrist’s. “I’d be happy to help.”
This was not at all what Logan had in mind. His relationship with Harper was professional and cordial. What happened between him and Scarlett could only be called acrimonious. His niece was already a troublesome seventeen-year-old. Under Scarlett’s influence, the girl would become completely unmanageable.
“Unless Logan doesn’t think I’m role-model material,” Scarlett continued when he didn’t immediately jump on her offer. Her ability to read his mind with unnerving accuracy gave her an unwelcome advantage over him.
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Harper appeared oblivious to her sister’s subtext. “Besides, your hotel is operational. She’ll get a much better sense of how things run. Now, if you two will excuse me, I have an internationally famous pain in the ass to meet with.”
Logan stared after Harper, cursing his bad timing. He should never have brought up his problem within earshot of Scarlett.
“Tell me about your niece,” Scarlett prompted.
“I don’t need your help.” Being subtle was not the way to handle Scarlett.
“No,” she said in a sugarcoated tone, “you don’t want my help.” She added coffee to her cup, lifted the rim to her mouth and blew across the surface. “There’s a difference.”
Captivated by the small O formed by her bright red lips, he took far too long to respond to her gibe. “Very well,” he agreed. “I don’t want your help.”
“How old is she?”
Logan took a couple seconds to grind his teeth. Despite being trapped between frustration with his niece and the woman sitting across the table from him, he told her what she wanted to know. “Madison is seventeen. She’s my sister’s youngest.” And in the past three months had driven Paula and her husband, Randolph, past the edge of patience.
“Madison? As in the capital of Wisconsin?”
“As in Madison Avenue.” Logan winced. “Her father owns a large ad agency in New York City.”
And Paula was a partner in a prestigious law firm. Madison had inherited both brains and ambition from her parents. She’d graduated second in her class and had been accepted to four prestigious universities. If she’d wanted, she could’ve swiftly climbed any corporate ladder she chose. Instead, to both her parents’ horror, the teenager had decided to become an actress.
“And he’s hoping she’ll follow in his footsteps? From your sour expression I’m guessing that’s not what she wants to do.”
“She’s refusing to go to college. She turns eighteen in two weeks and is determined to move to L.A.”
Scarlett’s curiosity sharpened. “What’s wrong with L.A.?”
“It’s not the city, it’s her chosen career path.”
“Instead of me dragging it out of you one question at a time, why don’t you just tell me what’s really going on. And why you wanted her to shadow Harper.”
Sharing family troubles with outsiders went against the grain, but he desperately needed help. Anyone’s help. Even Scarlett’s.
“Madison ran away to Los Angeles over spring break. She’s determined to become an actress.”
Scarlett’s full lips twitched. Over the years he’d noticed how well she could read people. Normally he concealed how easily she riled his temper and his hormones, but in this case his sarcastic tone had given too much away.
“The scandal that must have caused your family,” she deadpanned.
“She’s only seventeen.”
“And she could’ve fallen into someone’s evil clutches.”
Logan didn’t appreciate that she was having fun at his expense. “Thankfully that didn’t happen.”
“What did happen?”
Not a damn thing. Madison had moved in with a boy she’d met in New York City the summer before and signed up to take an acting class. She’d even gotten a callback for a commercial.
“Her father found her before she got into trouble and brought her back to New York.”
“Why don’t they just let her follow her dream?” Scarlett poured herself a little more coffee. “Being an actress isn’t the worst job in the world.”
“Paula and Ran don’t think it’s the proper career for a girl as bright and capable of going places as Madison,” he explained. “They want her to go to college and get a degree.”
Other than a brief narrowing of her eyes, Scarlett’s expression remained tranquil. “I didn’t go to college and I think I’m doing all right.”
So said the former child actress whose exploits had kept the paparazzi awash in scandalous photographs for several years. Scarlett’s support of Madison’s acting dreams was exactly why he hadn’t asked her for help.
“You also had a billionaire grandfather bring you to Las Vegas and hand you a hotel to run.”
He didn’t realize how insulting that sounded until her seductive charm vanished in a flash of annoyance. For the first time ever, Logan believed he’d been granted a glimpse of the genuine woman beneath the mask. And it heightened his already keen awareness of her desirability. He inhaled slowly and let his breath leak out as he wrestled his libido under control. As his blood continued to pulse hot and slow through his veins, he had to repeat his breathing exercise.
Damnation. Why the hell did she have to be so utterly gorgeous?
She had flawless pale skin, dramatic bone structure and a body built to drive a man insane: large firm breasts, tiny waist, lean long legs. The way she moved invited everyone to stare. And her mouth... Her lush, red lips were crafted for kissing.
“You’re right,” she drawled, her temper giving the words a sarcastic bite. “It’s unrealistic to think I would be running Fontaine Richesse if Grandfather hadn’t gotten this crazy idea that his granddaughters should compete for the CEO job. I’d still be in L.A., auditioning for roles, working when I could and waiting for the part that would reenergize my career. But I would still be a success and I would be happy.”
“Look, I only meant that you never would have been considered as Fontaine Richesse’s general manager if you hadn’t been Ross’s daughter.”
For the first time in five years, she’d let him see how much he’d upset her. But all too quickly, she regained her equilibrium. “And you’ve made it perfectly clear you don’t think I