Morgan walked into the conference room to see the manager's assistant sitting at the round table drumming her pristinely manicured nails. She scowled when she saw him, leaning back in her chair.
"You'd better have a bloody good excuse for being late," Bethan Callahan scolded. Morgan looked around at the table, empty but for Callahan.
"Where's the boss?" Morgan asked, walking past the table and towards the manager's office.
"Don't go in there!" Callahan hissed, jumping from her seat. "He's with the Don!" Morgan stepped away from the door and the two of them took their usual seats at the table. They sat in silence, having little to say to each other since Morgan thought Callahan was a conniving bitch, and Callahan was prone to refer to Morgan as all brawn and no brain. After a few minutes the manager's office door opened and the Don strutted out. Dave Rossi had been in control of the family for almost two decades, and he'd shared a friendly and lucrative relationship with Aaron Hotchner, who had managed the Casino Queen for the past fifteen years.
"Don't worry, Hotch," Don Rossi said, placing a hand on Hotch's shoulder as he spoke. "My people will get this worked out. I have eyes and ears all over my casinos. We'll know the minute news breaks."
"Thanks, Dave," Hotch sighed, shaking Don Rossi's hand. "I owe you one. Considering the circumstances of the...incident, I couldn't go to the police." Don Rossi nodded.
"We've always handled this sort of thing in-house, and it's always worked out before. Don't second-guess yourself, Hotch. This ain't our first rodeo." As he spoke, Don Rossi walked past the table without so much as a sideways glance at Morgan and Callahan. When he opened the door his bodyguards appeared, seemingly out of thin air, and escorted him down the hall.
"What was that all about, Hotch?" Morgan asked as Hotch took his seat at the table. Hotch rubbed his eyes.
"Someone's stealing from the casino," Hotch informed him. "We think it's an inside job." Morgan scoffed.
"I'm telling you, that card counting bitch Reid needs to be taken care of!" He leaned forward as he spoke, eyes gleaming with anger.
"No, Morgan. It's not him. We're talking about large amounts missing from cash registers, amounts we're not catching until the end of shifts." Bethan smirked.
"We'll need your security team to be on their toes," she spat at Morgan. Hotch gave her a look, and she sat back in her seat.
"Don Rossi is sending in a couple of people to help keep an ear to the ground." He explained to Morgan.
"Like who?" Morgan asked, interested. Of course the mafia boss wouldn't go to the police, he'd send in his own undercover agents.
"Jason Gideon and Elle Greenaway," Hotch answered.
"You mean Jason Gideon, the private investigator who drinks like a fish and doesn't even show up half the time?" Morgan asked, incredulously. Hotch nodded.
"The man's a bum, but he really is good. If anyone can help us he can. He's been working for Rossi on and off for years." Hotch leaned back as he spoke, allowing Morgan to ruminate on the information for a few seconds.
"Okay boss, so Gideon will be around. We'll help him however we can, but who is this Elle chick?" Callahan began drumming her nails on the table again and yawned. Morgan glared at her.
"She's Rossi's best hired gun. Kind of a loose cannon, but she always gets the job done. She'll be working undercover, so to speak, with our dancers." Morgan nodded as Hotch spoke.
"Well this I can handle," he said. "And I'll let my boys know to be on the lookout for suspicious activities." On second thought he added, "Well, more suspicious than usual."
"I need to make a few phone calls," Hotch said, rising from the table. "That's really all I needed to talk to you about for now. I trust that you'll keep things running smoothly downstairs, as usual." Hotch shook Morgan's hand before going back into his office and closing the door behind him. Callahan got up from her chair and crossed her arms.
"You know, if you weren't so soft on him, he wouldn't come back," she said, narrowing her eyes at Morgan.
"What the hell are you talking about, shrew?" Morgan sighed, getting up from his own chair.
"The Reid boy, you're too easy on him." Callahan tossed her hair, a matter-of-fact smirk on her face.
"Last month, I broke his collar bone. That's too easy on him?" Morgan shook his head, turning away from her and heading for the door.
"You know what the Don will have done to him if he finds out Reid is still hanging around," Callahan sneered. "If you do have a soft spot for the lad you need to keep him out of here. Otherwise it's likely you'll never see him again. In or out of the casino."
Morgan gave her a final glare and slammed the door as he exited.
Lila Archer sat at her vanity table applying fake eyelashes. The show would start in thirty minutes, and she hadn't even set her hair in rollers yet. She had to hurry and get ready or she'd be in big trouble with the boss.
"Hello, gorgeous," a male voice called from behind her. She looked up into the mirror and saw Spencer Reid sneaking into the room, grinning at her.
"Spencer, how many times do I have to tell you not to come back here? If Morgan knew you were here you'd be dead meat, and I could lose my job." Lila scolded, lifting her eyelash curler to her eye.
"It's nice to see you again too, baby," Spencer retorted, placing his hands on her bare shoulders and gently massaging. Lila sighed and turned to face him. Before she could get a word out, he leaned over and pressed his lips to hers, lifting his hands from her shoulders and running them through her hair. She kissed him back, letting her annoyance with him fade to the back of her mind. When he pulled away from her she couldn't supress a smile. He smirked.
"Now that's what I was waiting for," he remarked, taking her chin in his hand and turning her face up towards him.
"I really do have to get ready," she said, turning back to the mirror. "I'm going to be late." Spencer took a seat at the empty vanity next to Lila's.
"The offer still stands, Lila. You and I can get married tonight and leave town, never look back. You won't have to work another day in your life," he told her, leaning forward. Lila laughed and started rolling her hair.
"I'll keep that in mind," she mumbled, trying not to drop the bobby pins she held between her lips. Spencer sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
"Get out of my seat, queer bait," Jordan Todd called out as she approached the vanity where Spencer sat. Before Spencer could react, Jordan grabbed the back of the seat with both hands and pulled, spilling Spencer into the floor.
"Always a pleasure to see you, Jordan," Spencer drawled sarcastically, standing and brushing off his pants. Jordan made no reply, but sat down at her vanity and started digging through her makeup drawer.
"I'll let you ladies get ready for the show," Spencer conceded, kissing Lila lightly on the forehead. "Don't forget about my standing offer," he added, winking at her. Lila just shook her head and continued rolling her hair. Spencer opened the door, looking both ways down the hall before slipping out of the dressing room and heading back to the casino lobby.