She lifted her brow and met his eyes, causing him to chuckle.
“Have you always been so...” he trailed off, clearly not sure the best way to word his question.
“Uncoordinated?” she finished for him. “No. I’ve thought about going to the doctor to make sure nothing is seriously wrong with me. I was head of the cheerleading squad in high school and I also played soccer recreationally up until I left Los Angeles a few weeks ago. I’ve always been sure on my feet...until recently, that is. Now, I half expect to fall on my ass every time I leave the house,” she told him with a smile. When she decided to start dating again, she’d have to remember that hot guys were all too eager to rush to help when she had a mishap in public. Who’d have thought embarrassing yourself would lead to getting asked out?
“When did your bad luck begin?” Laik asked.
Elly heaved in a deep breath and let it out. “A few weeks ago after I left my job at Palmer Inc. It started out as little things, but has gotten worse since my move to Vegas. And here I thought Vegas was supposed to be lucky.”
“That’s a common misconception,” he chuckled before sobering. “Why did you quit Palmer Inc.?”
How much should she tell him? What did it matter? Might as well get it all out.
“My boss, Ian Palmer, got weird, so I quit. I’m not just talking a little weird either. He became possessive. Ian wanted to know where I’d be at all times, what I was wearing, and who I was seeing. I tried to blow it off. The pay was great and my student loans are insane, but then one day he insisted I move into his house with him so he could keep an eye on me. He didn’t like the fact that a guy from accounting had asked me out and that I’d accepted. Ian said I couldn’t be trusted by myself and I needed to be supervised by him 24/7. I told him hell no and quit on the spot. Then he got downright creepy. He made it so I couldn’t even get an interview anywhere; one of the secretaries told me as much when I called to follow up on my resume. Ian started following me around—everywhere. I couldn’t get him to leave me alone. Everywhere I went, he was there. He proposed to me one night out of the blue. I turned him down again. He said that I had to be with him or else. That’s why I packed up and left,” she admitted.
“Really? It was that bad? Did you go to the police?” Laik asked.
“I did after I quit. He showed up to one of my dates and threw a huge tantrum. He threatened to make my date disappear—needless to say, I didn’t get asked out a second time. I called the police when I got home to file a complaint. They didn’t believe me. In fact, they tried to turn things back around on me, like I was stalking him. I didn’t try to call them again after that. Who knows what they would have accused me of?” She looked away as she fisted her hands at her sides. It was silly to think that any of her misfortune since leaving LA had to do with Ian, but the timing was too much of a coincidence. Don’t be crazy. It’s not a coincidence. He threatened you and promised you would pay if you angered him. His threat had been real—real enough to make her leave LA that night. I just wish I knew how he was doing this to me. She debated whether to tell Laik about her theory. He’d probably think her loony for suggesting her bad luck had to do with Ian. “Anyway I came out here and got a job at the Old Moon Resort and Casino.”
“I’m guessing Acelynn helped you out with that too,” Laik grumbled, with a huff.
“Yeah, she did. Why?” she frowned. Was he upset Acelynn had helped her?
“I’m not sure you’ll be doing any dancing,” Laik said, as he tucked a piece of medical tape over the gauze to hold it in place.
Elly sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. “I was thinking the same thing. I didn’t want to dance tonight, and ironically, now I can’t. Perfect.” How the hell am I going to come up with my share of rent if I can’t work? Acelynn’s done so much for me. I can’t let her down now.
“Why didn’t you want to dance tonight?” he questioned.
Elly shrugged. “The outfit is ridiculous, for one. For whatever reason I’m moving like I have two left feet. I loved cheerleading and soccer and always felt I was coordinated. Now I’m terrified I’ll hurt myself or someone else. I’m probably being silly for this, but when I went to school and studied business I thought I’d be doing something more prestigious than being a back-up dancer for Elvis on the Las Vegas Strip. My parents would flip their lids if they knew. But it’s work, and Charlie does an amazing Elvis impersonation. The dances we perform don’t really go with the flow of the music, if you know what I mean.” The dance was sexy and more seductive than dancing to the beat of the music. It was an odd combination, but the show was always sold out according to Charlie.