LITMIR.BIZ

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“So when the clock strikes midnight do I turn back into a pumpkin?”

      “Cinderella wasn’t a pumpkin. Her carriage was.” Jan laughed a little. “And this is reality no matter how strange it all seems. This is amazing, Terri. You’re rich. I mean wildly rich.”

      “Oh, God.” Terri dropped one hand to her stomach in a futile attempt to calm it. She’d never had a lot of money. Growing up, her adoptive parents had been schoolteachers, so though they’d had a nice life, they’d also driven ten-year-old cars and saved up to take vacations.

      Of course, she drove to Idaho occasionally to buy lottery tickets, because who didn’t dream of suddenly becoming a gazillionaire? But to have it actually happen was almost terrifying.

      Jan reached across the table to take her hand. “Why aren’t you celebrating? Oh. Wait. Sorry. God, I’m an idiot sometimes. You’re reacting to hearing that your biological father died, aren’t you?”

      “Seems ridiculous to be sad about someone you’ve never met, but yeah, I guess I am.” In the midst of the windfall, there was that sad fact. Terri silently wondered what her father had been like. If he had known who and where she was, why had he never contacted her before? Why had he left her everything? She’d probably always wonder.

      Jan took Terri’s water, had a sip, then handed it back. “You really had no idea at all about who your biological father was?”

      “Not a clue,” she said softly. “And now I’ve got all these questions and no way to get answers and... I don’t know. It’s all so far out there, it’s hard to believe it’s really happening.”

      “Yeah, I get that. But,” Jan said, “at least you know he thought about you. Remembered you. And in the end, wanted to give you everything he had.”

      A smile tugged at the corner of Terri’s mouth. “Good point. Okay, then. No feeling sorry for myself. But I can be a little panicked, right?”

      “Absolutely. The StarFire?” Jan grinned. “That’s supposed to be an amazing hotel.”

      “I know.” Terri took a deep breath, but she had a feeling the wild tremors inside weren’t going to be soothed away. Her entire world had just been rocked.

      Terri’s mind raced with possibilities. She had a good job, if not an exciting one, but now she had been given the chance for more. Sure, she’d have a lot to learn, but stepping into this new life could be amazing.

      “And you own it!”

      “Well I own half of it, apparently.” Abruptly, Terri stood up and said, “How do I go from being a bank teller to being a hotel executive?”

      “Seriously?” Jan looked at her. “You’re going to make me mad if you start doubting yourself. Okay, fine, there’s the whole surprise factor to take into account,” Jan said. “But you’re smart and you’re good with people and you can do any damn thing you want to.”

      Smiling, Terri said, “Thanks for that.”

      “You’re welcome.”

      “I don’t even know where to start, Jan.”

      “With a lawyer.” Jan stood, too, and her expression read sympathy and aggravation. “Terri, this is your big chance. A chance to get out of the bank, to find a job that really interests you. Take it and run.”

      All true. Terri had taken this job at the bank because she needed to work. But it wasn’t where she’d wanted to build a career. She really hadn’t known what she wanted. And the longer she stayed at the bank, the more comfortable it became and the less likely it was that she would leave to find something that fit her better.

      She’d always done the expected thing. School. Work. Maybe this was the Universe giving her the opportunity to burst out of her rut and find out just what she was capable of.

      Jan was right. She had to take this chance. Had to try for... more.

      “Your new partner expects to see you in Vegas and you’ve got to figure all of this out before you meet him.”

      Terri blew out a breath. She wasn’t a coward. Never had been. Sure, she’d never been faced with anything like this in her life before, but she could do it.

      Couldn’t she?

      She’d always been the good girl. The good daughter. The responsible one. She’d had dreams of traveling but had accepted that for the things she’d wanted to do and see, she would have to spend years saving money. Now suddenly, the world was laid out in front of her. She’d be crazy to ignore it.

      “You’re right,” she said, nodding. “I’ll talk to Mike, tell him I need to take some time off.”

      Jan shook her head and smiled. “While you’re talking to the bank manager, you might tell him that you’re going to be taking off forever.”

      Terri laughed. “Things are changing, yes. But I’m not ready to throw my whole life out just yet.”

      “I think,” Jan said as they left the break room together, “someone already did that for you.”

      “I hate it when you’re right.”

      Jan laid a hand on her arm. “Terri, you’re making yourself nuts and you don’t have to. Cooper Hayes doesn’t need you to run the company. But you’re his new partner, like it or not, so you do at least get a say in things.”

      True, she thought and her mind started racing again. This was the opportunity of a lifetime and she’d be crazy to ignore it or to fear it. Sure, she didn’t know how to run a hotel. But she’d stayed in enough of them to know what she liked and didn’t. That had to count for something. And her Dad had owned a popular restaurant for decades. Terri had worked there herself as a teenager and learned from her father that the key to success in the service industry was making people happy. Sounded easy, but way too many people didn’t understand that.

      “Just go, Terri. Grab this shiny brass ring with both hands. And if you need the cavalry, I’m only a plane ride away.”

      Terri grinned. “Vegas, here I come.”

      * * *

      Four days later Terri was in Las Vegas, standing in the massive, opulent lobby of the StarFire Hotel. The floors were covered with wide, navy blue tiles that sparkled as if stars were trapped inside them. The ceiling was high and featured a night sky dazzled by twinkling stars and streaks of light from falling stars leaving trails of gold dust in their wakes. The effect was so real that if not for the crowds and the noise and the fact that it was the middle of the day, Terri would have thought she was outside staring up.

      Paintings in gold inlaid frames dotted the walls, and a waiter served complimentary champagne to guests waiting in line to register. The noise level was tremendous, since the casino spilled right off the lobby. Slot machines beeped, pinged and sang out encouragement to the hundreds of people wandering the casino floor.

      She turned in a slow circle, saw a gift shop, signs for restaurants and bars and still more people. From what Terri could see, the hotel seemed to stretch on forever. The outside had been impressive, but the inside was like walking into a different world.

      One that was hers now.

      That thought had her smiling and biting her lip at the same time. She hadn’t contacted her new partner, but she had made a reservation, so she dutifully joined the tail end of the line and accepted a flute of champagne from the waiter.

      She hadn’t told Cooper Hayes she was coming. Terri had wanted a little time on her own, to check out her inheritance. To get a feel for what could be her new life. Or to at least explore the possibilities.

      She owed that much to herself and to her parents. They’d raised her to be strong and confident. They’d sent her to college, encouraged her to find her passion. How could she walk away from this without even trying to make it work?

      And

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