The Dakota Man by Joan Hohl Page B

quick trip to the rest room, some lesser executive’s secretary was pressed into service.
    Why that unimportant tidbit of information about Mitch’s apparent willingness to fend for himself should impress her, Maggie hadn’t a clue—and yet, it did.
    Though it nagged at the back of her mind, Maggie had little chance to examine her odd emotional reaction to Mitch’s obvious baiting of her, for Karla began the tour with the first door along the long hallway.
    The door led into another set of offices, similar but smaller than Mitch’s and Karla’s. The front office was manned by a young, nice-looking guy named Roger Knolb. Karla introduced him as the assistant to the assistant manager of the casino, one Rafe Santiago. Rafe was second in command to Mitch.
    “You’ll have to meet Rafe later,” Karla said, waving to Roger as they left the office. “He works the night shift and doesn’t come in till around five.”
    Maggie gave her a puzzled look. “Then why is Roger here now, so early?”
    “To handle the regular daytime minutiae,” she explained. “Don’t forget, most of the rest of the business world keeps nine-to-five hours. Rafe spends most of his time down on the casino floor, as Mitch’s eyes, you might say.”
    They progressed from one room to the next, the rest rooms, the records office, the security office and the money-counting room, where Karla halted one step inside the door, right next to a keen-eyed security guard. Though Karla gave a brief explanation, it really wasn’t necessary. The procedure was self-explanatory. Maggie observed the activity in awe, never before in her life having seen so much money in one place.
    From the second level, they descended to the main floor. As she had on the office floor, Karla introduced Maggie to every employee they encountered. While every one of them was friendly, they also stirred speculation in Maggie, for every one of them, from the pit boss to the bartender, referred to their employer by his given name. Everywhere they went, it was Mitch this and Mitch that, in tones both casual and respectful.
    Odder and odder, Maggie mused.
    “Is something bothering you?” Karla asked as they made their way to the far side of the casino floor. “You look puzzled about something.”
    “It doesn’t bother me,” Maggie said, quick to clarify her thoughts. “It’s just…well, it seemsa little unusual to me that all the employees refer to Mr. Grainger by his first name.”
    “Oh, that.” Karla laughed. “My understanding is that Mitch has always worked on a first-name basis with his employees. He’s never played the ‘Big Man’ role. And so far as I know, at least most of the employees not only respect him, they genuinely like him.”
    “But…doesn’t that easy, casual manner instill the temptation to take advantage?” Maggie asked.
    Karla smiled. “With anyone else, it might, probably would. But everyone knows exactly where Mitch stands. He’s fair and generous, but he demands absolute loyalty. You see, he has a thing about trust.” She paused, an odd, fleeting shadow dimming her soft eyes, and she gave a delicate shudder. “But make no mistake, Mitch can be an unholy terror with anyone who breaks his trust.”
    How ironic, Maggie thought. The man had a “thing” about trust…whereas she had come to believe that she couldn’t or shouldn’t trust any man.
    “Intimidating, huh?” Maggie said, wondering what had caused the brief, sad-looking shadow in Karla’s eyes, her shudder.
    “I’ll say.” Karla giggled, her sunny disposition restored. “I was so intimidated by him, I was here a long time before I could bring myself to using his first name, and that was only a couple of months ago.”
    A couple of months ago? Maggie thought in astonishment. Then, that could only mean…
    She slid a sidelong glance at Karla’s protruding belly. That could only mean she was completely off base in her suspicion that Mitch was the father of Karla’s