Twist of Fate Read Free Page B

“Bad enough. I was in a car accident a few weeks ago. They’re going to have to operate on my knee the day after tomorrow.”
    â€œThen what?”
    She smiled. “Therapy for a while and then I get to go on my annual vacation. I’m going to walk along a Caribbean beach and do a lot of swimming. It’s supposed to be very good for getting the leg back into shape.”
    â€œI see. You don’t spend your vacations in Vegas?”
    â€œNo, Mr. Cage. I don’t find gambling very amusing. It’s your style of recreation, not mine. At a wild guess I’d say gambling appeals to you because it seems to provide an alternative to the precision and calculation with which you normally operate, but I doubt that it gives you a real change of pace. As a form of recreation it probably doesn’t work very well for you in the long run.”
    â€œWhat makes you say that?”
    â€œBecause you probably play the way you work: lots of skill and concentration. It’s not really a change from business for you. All gambling does is inject more unknowns into the situation. Still, that must provide some diversion. My little game of chance will do more for you because the stakes are more meaningful.”
    He kept his hand under her arm for a few steps as they walked back toward the hotel entrance, dropping it only when Hannah calmly pulled away. He continued to pad barefoot along beside her. “I take it you wouldn’t get the same charge out of this, er, game of chance you’re suggesting as you think I would?”
    â€œI’m afraid not.”
    He eyed her assessingly. “I think you’re lying. I believe you would find it very exhilarating. Otherwise you would never have proposed it.”
    She came to a halt at the glass doors and turned to face him. She was leaning very heavily on the cane now but she managed to keep her expression aloof and reasonably serene. “I don’t really care what you believe about my motives. My only concern is to talk you into taking the chance. I’m staying here in the hotel. Room 432. Call me this evening after you’ve had a chance to consider my proposal. All or nothing, Mr. Cage. Win or lose, for once the House doesn’t get a cut. How can you resist?”
    â€œAre all guidance counselors this bizarre in their approach?”
    â€œNope. Some would give you a twenty-page test to determine your true interests and abilities. Then they’d tell you what you already know: you’re a born genius at business and you like the occasional bit of gambling—as long as the stakes are high enough to make it interesting.”
    Cage opened the door. “Tell me, Hannah Jessett, are you really very good at your work?”
    â€œOne of the best. I have a talent for it.” She moved the cane cautiously onto the step, avoiding the gravel that had proven so treacherous earlier. “Call me, Mr. Cage. I’ll be at the hotel until tomorrow afternoon. Then I leave for Seattle.”
    â€œThat sounds like an ultimatum.”
    â€œIt is. I’m giving it because I’ve got one hanging over my own head. I have to be in the hospital the day after tomorrow. I don’t have time to string this out.” She didn’t look back as she made her way into the air-conditioned hallway. The glass door hissed shut behind her.
    Before she turned the corner at the far end of the hall, Hannah glanced back once. Cage was still standing on the step, watching her. Her first thought as she rounded the corner and disappeared from his sight was that Gideon Cage looked surprisingly interesting in a swimsuit. Not at all like a spider or a snake.
    Her second thought was that if he did call that evening she would suggest they eat at one of the half dozen restaurants in the hotel. It would save having to drive some place. She was getting better about driving, but Hannah still avoided it whenever possible, especially in a strange