No Way Out by Fern Michaels (great books for teens .TXT) 📗

champagne, and megastar shows were at his disposal. As long as he kept winning, the casinos were happy to pick up his tab, hoping they would eventually get their money back. It had worked for him for a few years. He would win an average of $50,000 over a weekend and was smart enough to take it home. With his winnings, and the casinos comping him, he was having the time of his life.

When he turned thirty, the second $100,000 was released to him, much to his father’s dismay. His father had never expected his son to blow the first $100,000. Richard J. Barnes Sr. thought his son was smarter than that. He was correct to believe that his son was smart; unfortunately, his son had not an ounce of common sense. Richard J. Barnes Sr. knew that his son was ambitious. What he did not realize was that his son had no work ethic, as in zero. Only when Rick had graduated from college, with a grade-point average that reflected his partying rather than his studying, did that realization take hold.

His father gave him a job working as a project manager for his real-estate development company. But all Rick managed to do was come in late, miss meetings, and totally lose track of the timeline for the job.

Rick thought his father was being too hard on him. What was the big deal anyway? he thought. There were so many projects in the works, and his father was loaded. What was the problem with one job being a week late? Except one week turned into two, then a month. The client was aggravated and frustrated and asked that Rick be removed from the project. Having no choice, and at risk of losing a valued client, his father put someone more competent on the job and gave Rick something easier to handle.

Unfortunately, Rick also proved unable to manage anything simple. Finally, his father relegated him to managing the office. His only job was to keep track of supplies. But he didn’t do that very well either. The copy machine was out of paper. The postage-stamp machine had expired. The cleaning people hadn’t been paid in weeks and threatened to stop working. But Rick always had an excuse. Lost paperwork. No one told him they needed certain things. The list went on and on. Rick had an excuse for every failure on his part. He could write a book on it; he was that good at shifting blame. Rick’s dad was starting to feel the eyes of his employees burning holes in his back when he walked into his corner office. He knew deep down that hiring Rick had not been the best idea he had ever had, but Rick’s mother insisted that he be part of the family business. Why he listened to that woman when it came to business was a mystery. Maybe it was because her father had started the business? But even if that was how Richard Barnes began, he had earned his way to the top, tripling his father-in-law’s revenues in less than four years. No, Richard J. Barnes Sr. had earned every penny. It was sad that he couldn’t say the same for his son.

So, despite his wife’s wishes, he had to find other gainful employment for Rick. Having Rick in the business was not working out, for him, the business, or even Rick.

Richard Barnes arranged for Rick to work for a small computer start-up in which his father had invested some money. That should hold Rick for at least a year, provided he didn’t screw up in the meantime.

As predicted, after a year, the computer company’s management realized that Rick was an albatross, but at that point the company was well on its way to being profitable, and Rick’s salary was a minuscule expense, given their bottom line. But that was then, and things had changed.

Rick was currently unemployed and in a place where he didn’t want to be found. There was only one thing that could change his situation. Finding her. But until then, for him, there was no way out.

* * *

After his conversation with Christian, asking for a “loan,” Rick thought about how they had all met. Christian had been on a committee that organized a fund-raising gala for underserved urban communities. The goal was to be able to provide some type of technology to these kids, either a tablet or a computer.

The night of the event, Chris brought his wife, Kara, and Kara’s best friend.

Rick was intrigued, probably because the friend seemed a bit aloof. She was a striking woman. Five-foot-seven, long auburn hair pulled into a ponytail, with big, wide eyes. She wasn’t gorgeous like the models he was used to dating. There was a different type of beauty about her.

She was wearing a cobalt-blue jumpsuit. She wore very little makeup but exuded confidence. She was confident without being arrogant.

He couldn’t help but notice her. She was laughing as if no one was watching, throwing her head back in sheer exuberance. Christian’s wife was almost as stunning, but there was something about this woman that struck him in the gut.

He sauntered over to where the two women were standing.

“Good evening, ladies.” He made a small bow. “Judging by the sound of your laughter, you seem to be enjoying yourselves quite a bit.”

Kara knew Rick through her husband’s affiliation with him. She didn’t know him well, but she knew he was good-looking and charismatic. “We are indeed.”

Rick was impatient and wanted an introduction, pronto. “Richard Barnes at your service.” He took a slight bow. It was almost comical. “And whom do I have the pleasure of meeting?”

As she introduced herself, she had held out her hand, but within a blink of an eye, he took her hand and kissed the back of it. “So nice to meet you. What brings you to our event this evening?”

Kara thought he couldn’t be soppier, but nonetheless, she found him amusing.

The mysterious, auburn-haired beauty explained