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Ugh, there’s nothing worse than a recently converted fitness–enthusiast friend. Taylor’s likely already at the gym, so sadly, I’ll have to take a pass. I snicker at my little joke as I walk out of the bathroom and nearly run into Fabio; he’s wearing a different designer suit than the one he was in earlier.
“Let’s go.” Fabio takes my hand and leads me out the back, opening the door to the SUV for me. “You did good tonight.”
“Thanks,” I say, secretly beaming at his praise as I buckle my seat belt. Fabio slides behind the wheel, and I comment, “Hey, I met Vince and Luna tonight. What’s their story?”
“Vince is a family man. Good guy. Luna’s a big-time chess player.”
“Chess? Then why was she at the poker hall?” I wonder.
Fabio shrugs, and it’s clear that is all he’s going to say on the subject. “I have an offer for you,” he says, changing the subject. “Come work for me full time. Make sure what happened tonight never happens again in any of my backrooms. Deal on occasion if you’d like; you run the show, answering to me.”
“Sounds tempting. And illegal.” Sure, I like skirting the line, but I like skirting that line outside of any correctional institution.
He waves away my concern. “That’s assuming the cops cared; their palms are greased enough to where they don’t. On the books, you’ll be my restaurant’s assistant general manager, so you won’t run into any tax problems. Every angle is covered, you have my word. And I’m happy to match the benefits you receive now at the casino in cash equivalent, and increase your pay by double.”
“Triple my pay—including tips,” I counter.
He chuckles. “They don’t call you ‘the Shark’ for nothing.”
I click my tongue. “Flattery will get you nowhere with me, Mr. Mazza.”
“What will get me somewhere with you, Katerina?” he wonders.
I shrug. “Depends. Where are you wanting to go?”
“All in,” he tells me confidently.
“A sucker bet on my part.” He goes to argue, but I hold up my finger. “Let’s say I quit my job and work for you. We work together, we play together?—”
“Like the sound of that.” He hums.
“But,” I pause.
“Don’t like the sound of that,” he amends.
“Inevitably things go off the rails; except, it won’t be a problem for we, but a problem for me. I’ll have lost my seniority at the casino and be left without a job, while you’ll continue business as usual.”
“What if I guaranteed you could get your job back at The Diamond at any time, if that’s what you wanted? Seniority and all.”
“An insurance bet,” I muse.
“I don’t know what that means,” Fabio admits.
“We’ll work on blackjack at our next lesson,” I tell him with a little laugh.
“So do we have a deal?” he presses.
“I’ll think about it.” Glancing out the window, I realize we’re headed away from Fabio’s restaurant, where my car is parked. “Where are we going?”
“You’ve got the next two days off.”
“That doesn’t answer my question, Mr. Cryptic,” I inform him.
“That’s not my pet name.” He side-eyes me.
“No, it’s not,” I agree. “But you chose mine; I should get to choose yours.”
“So we have pet names for each other.” He flashes a winning smile.
