Deceitful Charms

About the Book

"The King is dead;

Long live the Queen"

This is the final toast offered to Seleena Stewart as she stands with Meg Gordon, Jill Malone and Sandy Dymond at "Pinky's", their private club off the Las Vegas Strip.  Seleena and this select counsel are prepared to execute the overthrow of the Mafia in Las Vegas.

Seleena is the beautiful and capable CMO of Capinelli Construction, one of Las Vegas' largest and most successful commercial contractors.  She has complete control and responsibility for this mega company's management and all of its construction projects.

Her boss, Tony Capinelli, has entered into a contract with Las Vegas crime boss, Frank Rossi for the construction of a massive complex know as Charleston Square.  The terms of this contract are not intended to be attainable.  The project is intended to fail, thereby producing a money laundering stratagem for the Las Vegas mob.

Due to pressures from Rossi, Tony (Capinelli), is forced into actions driven by panic.  This alerts Seleena to their culpable covenant.  She becomes directly involved in the project and vows to complete the company obligation regardless of the obstacles inherent to the contract and later thrown in her way by Rossi.

As a result of her investigations and involvement, Capinelli disappears under questionable circumstances; threats and attempts are made on her life, her home is bombed and Rossi uses every form of duplicity he can conceive to delay the  project's completion.

Once committed, Seleena determines that the defeat of Rossi on this one project is not an end.  Her victory will only incur his wrath and retribution.  As a matter of  self-preservation, she finds that she must make plans for the complete destruction of Rossi and his nefarious domain.  With the help of a hand picked cadre and her own existing corporate infrastructure, Seleena not only completes this objective, she eliminates Rossi and his gang of "Consiglieres".  The result is the complete overthrow of his Las Vegas organization and both its legal and illegal operations.

Seleena's progress through this dangerous conflict is supported by her chosen First Lieutenant, Meg Gordon, a beautiful black woman equal to her own determination, Jill Malone, a burned out L.A. attorney and Sandy Dymond, a volatile ex-cop.  Her trek is playfully colored by confrontations with Bobbie Santiago, a local playboy-pimp.  Her frequent encounters with him and his girls create much of the story's sexual adventure and color.

The explosive destruction of the Charleston project on the Fourth of July and the violent deaths of Rossi and eight of his elite counsel leave little question as to who is "Queen" of the Las Vegas criminal arena.

About the Author

This is a work of exigency. After 25 years in the California construction industry and years of experiences in Las Vegas, in front of and behind the scenes, a second-life career in writing has become a necessity for J. L. Rogers. With the advent of computer technology, it has become a possibility. This is the first of hopefully many and is filled with true to life experience as well as vivid imagination.