The chips taken, the buy in costing one hundred thousand dollars—our table begins the most expensive Texas poker in the lounge.
"Madam Ruby has a straight flush. She wins." The dealer calls out.
Around the table edge are golden plates engraved with nicknames. Each alias based off jewels with the Ruby plate in front of me.
I give a victorious grin as the dealer pushes the chips in my corner.
"Again?" Miss. Blake sighs, sipping her daquiri.
"Luck seems to be on my side tonight." I smile, glancing at the other guests at our table calling it quits, and bystanders clapping at my victory.
"I'll play again." Meredith smiles.
"Meredith, you lost all the rounds, are you sure?" Miss. Hayashi giggles.
"Of course. Losing's apart of the fun." Meredith throws in her chips.
"But don't you always lose?" Miss. Blake laughs.
"Not always, I'm just on a losing streak." Meredith boasts, laughing with her friend.
"Miss. Vidius would you like to play again?" I ask.
She pauses, thinking to herself until she locks eyes with me.
Her eyes read that she's intrigued, but knows that it's time to call it quits in the face of the victor.
"No, I'll sit this one out." She shakes her head, giggling slightly.
"Seems like it's just us then." I smile, locking eyes with Meredith.
"Hm, seems like it."
"May we join?"
An intrigued smooth voice calls out from behind.
I turn, glancing to see four men dressed in luxurious suits.
They all wear different masks, but the one mask engraved in my mind, belongs to the one I hoped would come.
The navy-black colombina mask, paired with a black velvet suit accented with a dark navy vest, and a black coat draped on his shoulders. His hair slicked back, and his eyes scanning over the ladies around the table.
Carlisle Lennox finally shows himself.
The man who spoke, wearing a tidied cream suit with a charcoal black turtleneck. His brown-green eyes, the ends turned downwards—almost like a puppy dog—under his white and gold pantalone mask.
"Of course, the more the merrier." I smile.
The man sits in the space of Emerald beside me, followed by the rest of the men sitting in their seats. The crowd grows more as ladies gather around them.
Only three of the men throw in chips, and I glance at the target who simply watches.
"You seem fairly confident, Lady Ruby." The man in front of the Peridot nickname, wears a maroon and gold suit, smiling through his gold zanni mask.
"Forgive me if I sound too conceited, but with the way the games have been so far, I think I deserve to have such confidence." An airy chuckle escapes my lips—ever so lightly tapping my fingers upon the table.
Meredith giggles, fixing her posture.
"Ruby, you're going to jinx yourself." She teases—wiping the lipstick smudge off her glass with her thumb, before taking a sip.
Needing a way of communicating, I taught Meredith signals.
Tapping my four fingers lightly against a surface, followed by tapping only my index, middle, and ring finger indicates that the target is in our presence. Meredith wiping the lipstick mark on her glass means she understands.
"Lady Sapphire, you seem worried for your friend." The Emerald man speaks to Meredith.
"Of course. She has a winning streak, but I would hate for her to ruin her luck."
The dealer deals the cards, setting the game up.
"Well, here's to seeing who luck is with tonight." The man sitting in Opal smiles, lifting his drink to signal a cheers.
"Four of a kind, Lady Ruby wins." The dealer announces, pushing the chips my direction.
"Seems luck is still with you." Sir Peridot chuckles, stretching his neck.
"It seems so." I giggle, placing the chips back into the case, "This has been such an entertaining game gentlemen, but I worry I'm testing Lady Luck's generosity."
Just as I finish off my cocktail, a few chips are thrown in.
"I'll join." The target sitting in front of the Garnet plate gives a sly grin, "Won't you play, Lady Ruby?"
I raise a brow as he stares back at me.
The target wears a look different than the other time I've met him. Is it because he recognizes me or is he intrigued by Lady Ruby?
I settle back in my seat and give a demure smile, narrowing my eyes slightly.
"Sir Garnet, are you sure you want to face a champion?" I question with the subtlest tone of flirtatiousness.
"Only if you're confident enough to protect that title."
I scoff, opening my case. I throw in the chips and smile.
"Shall we?" I ask the others with a smooth, soft spoken voice.
The men all throw their chips in and Meredith does too. The game begins.
I glance at my cards after watching the men look at theirs.
No matter how undetectable their emotions seem, they're far from being able to trick me. With the extensive way the agency trained us to read and observe subtle changes in others, being a champion in poker is only natural.
Only the target proves to be difficult to read.
"Fold." Sir Opal speaks, throwing his chips in.
The table glances at me as I give a feigned smile.
"Oh dear... Well, I'll raise as a homage to you." I throw in six brown chips.
The worth of the chips exceeds any normal amount, the lowest chip equaling one hundred and the highest being the brown chip worth fifty thousand dollars.
Sir Emerald sighs and set his cards away.
"Damn, I'm out."
"I fold too." Sir Peridot sips his drink, sitting back in his chair.
"And you, Lady Sapphire?" The dealer asks.
Meredith pauses. She glances at me and back at her cards.
"I fold." She sighs, sipping her cocktail.
I meet the target's eyes.
"Sir Garnet?" The dealer calls out, "What would you like to do?"
He stares back at my eyes for a few moments until closing his eyes. He thinks to himself before flashing a slight arrogant look.
"I'll raise." He throws in thirty brown chips.
"Oh? Are you that confident?" I giggle, staring at his chips.
"Your choice, Lady Ruby." The dealer speaks.
Everyone around stares as I continue to meet the target's eyes. It verges on impossible to hide the delighted grin sneaking upon my lips.
"Hm... Well, with so many viewers, I should make this an entertaining game."
Pushing all my chips in, I give a confident, intoxicating smile. The dealer looks back at the target, and he pushes his chips in as well.
"All in." The dealer speaks.
"Not yet." The target speaks up.
I give him a dubious look.
"Care to make it more interesting?" He asks.
"And what did you have in mind?" My tone slightly high, but keeping close to my original pitch as a way to lure him in further.
"I want a night."
"A night?"
"For a night, you'll be mine. If you win, you'll have a night too."
"Sir Garnet." I giggle—rolling my eyes until sharpening my gaze, "What makes you think I want you?" I pout slightly.
"Then you can ask for anything else."
"And if I wanted the world?" I rest my cheek against the back of my hand.
The target chuckles, resting his arms on the table.
"Then I'll do everything in my power to give it to you, Lady Ruby."
I pause looking back at him. Our eyes locked and our body language showing only full attention to one another—as if the world falls away, leaving just two of us.
"I want a drink." I smile.
"A drink?"
"Yes. I want you to buy me a drink if I win."
For a moment his eyes become clear, the look of amusement and fascination flickering across them as he plays into the palm of my hand. The area surrounding the table is quiet, only the sound of the classical music heard.
He nods to the dealer and leans back in his seat.
The dealer flips the card, revealing the set made up of a queen of hearts, a king of hearts, a ten of spade, a king of spade, and a ten of hearts.
Carlisle flips his cards revealing an ace of hearts and a joker of hearts.
"Sir Garnet has a royal flush." The dealer calls out.
I chuckle and sigh.
"It seems my luck fed my ego too much." I flip my cards to reveal a king of diamond, and a diamond four.
"Lady Ruby has three of a kind. Sir Garnet wins." The dealer pushes the chips to the target.
"Oh no! That was a good run!" Meredith's friends pout slightly.
"Don't be sorry, after all, it's true that gambling's fun when you lose too." I giggle, standing to receive their condoling hugs.
The bystanders congratulate the target as his friends share a celebratory drink. Bystanders approach and give kind words to the run I had, but I know everyone's more interested in the target.
"Come on, let's grab a drink, it'll make you feel better." Miss. Blake takes my hand, leading me and the other girls to the bar.
They order various cocktails, but after the intoxicatingly candied cocktails I've had to drink, I order a 25 year Glenfiddich on the rocks. About to walk back to the booth, the target still in sight amongst his peers—we're stopped by a group of dapper men. They begin to chat up Meredith and her friends.
I rest against the counter avoiding conversation, nursing my scotch as I wait for them to finish talking.
"Lady Ruby was it?"
A man dressed in a warm brown suit smiles. His light ash blonde hair parted in the middle, curling slightly to give a look of a chic mess.
"Yes? Shall I ask for your name or use a nickname to uphold the façade as well?" I reply swallowing the strong liquor.
"For tonight, you can call me your partner if you'd like."
My brow raises as I stare at his polite smile.