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“Great. I didn’t want to have given my money to that man over there in vain.”
Matt laughed. “Don’t worry. If there wasn’t a game, he would have to give it back to you.” Thomas and Terrance made their way back into the room and took their seats at the table.
“Well, hello, little lady. You gonna join us tonight?” Terrance asked her, noticing there was someone else sitting at their table. “Do you think you can hang with the big boys?”
Jessica rolled her eyes. “I just saw you get beat, and you’re going to come here acting like you’re so big shot?”
“She got you there,” Thomas said. “Thomas Epstein,” he extended his hand to her to shake.
“Jess,” she shook back.
“And that’s Terrance,” he pointed to the man who had been teasing her.
“You already know, Matt,” Terrance spoke.
“Actually, we were just talking. Hadn’t got a chance to introduce ourselves yet,” he replied. “Nice to meet you, little lady. What’s your poison?” he pointed to her empty glass.
“Dirty martini, three olives.”
Matthew snapped his fingers and talked to the waitress. For the rest of the night, Jessica would never have to worry about her glass being empty again. Whenever she took her last sip, another glass would take its place.
Something told Matthew that she needed to let loose and have a little fun tonight. Well, not something. He knew the exact reason she was here and why she needed to get loose, but he wasn’t telling anyone that little secret. Not now. Not ever.
“So, what are we playing?” she asked.
“Texas hold ‘em,” the dealer said as he sat down at their table. “Everyone, place your bets.”
All four players put in their initial bets, then the dealer passed out two cards to everyone, and the game started. This was the most important part of the game for Matt. This moment was when he observes all those at the table and tries to figure out their tell. He already knew Thomas’ and Terrance’s tells, but he needed to figure out how Jess ticked. He needed to see what or if anything made her nervous during the game, and that’s where the endless drinks came from. Alcohol made a person a little more honest and easier to read. He wanted to know more about her. He needed to know what kind of poker player she was and how much about her life she was going to spill to distract herself from being a really good player. Good poker players didn’t open up about anything, including their life. If she were smart, she would drink slowly and focus on the game, not her problems.
“So, why is a pretty girl like yourself at this magical place all alone? I don’t know too many people who come to Monaco without a companion unless it’s for business,” Matt asked her.
Jess put her cards face down on the table and looked up at him. “This was supposed to be one of the most important vacations of my life, but nothing turned out the way it was supposed to. So, I decided to get on the plane and come anyway. I deserved this getaway, even if my best friend wasn’t here with me. I knew I would meet some new people and hopefully have some great stories to tell when I got back. Ever since I can remember, I have always wanted to come to Monaco. And I wasn’t going to let anyone keep me from not going on this vacation, especially when I budgeted for this trip for the past year and a half,” she told him.
The game continued, and he could see that the conversation was making her feel really uncomfortable. She kept adjusting herself in her chair, and her facial expressions told it all. There was more to her side of the story than she was letting on, and he was dying to know more. After hearing her story, he felt kind of bad for her. Planning a trip of a lifetime with your best friend, but then they decided to cancel on you for whatever reason. Matt came to Monaco all the time alone, but that was on business, as he liked to call it. However, he had made a lot of business associates – like Thomas and Terrance – and they usually caught up about what was going on in their lives before, during, and sometimes after a couple of games.
“That really sucks,” Matt said without thinking. Everyone at the table looked at him like he was crazy. Matt was a very calm player and never blurted out things during a game. What made this situation different than any other one? He averted everyone’s eyes by taking a swig of his drink. “I hope that you find our company a little more satisfying tonight. Forget about them and enjoy a little friendly game of poker.” Maybe he could make her night and help her forget about all of her problems. He was very curious about how the night was going to play out.
Jess raised her eyebrows. “A friendly game? It seems like I have a lot of money riding on this game,” she said with a chuckle. “You know the one thing that will make me feel better? Going home with my purse a little fuller than it was when I came in tonight.”
“Well, let’s see what you got,” Matt said as they continued to play. His phone chirped, and without thinking, he picked it up.
Hey Matt, it’s Spencer. Call me. I didn’t go through with it.
There was the text he was waiting for all day. The plot just started to thicken. Now, he didn’t feel bad having Jess sitting right across from him, playing into his hands.
Matt wondered what Spencer would tell him. He would give his friend a call when he got back to his hotel room. He knew he would still be away and waiting for his call, but now, he needed to get back to the task at hand.
5
Jessica’s head felt light, and her movements were all delayed. She knew she had way too much to drink, but she kept drinking anyway. She didn’t want to think about Spencer anymore and all the hurt he had caused her. She wanted to focus on this particular moment, and that is exactly what she did, or to the best of her ability. Maybe that’s why she didn’t realize that Matt had upped the bet to $50,000. Everyone else had folded, so it was just between them and the dealer. It came down to who had the better hand.
Staring at the two aces in her hand, she knew that she had this in the bag. Matt was a good player, but there was no way that he could continue to keep winning hand after hand. No one’s luck was that good, then it happened, and she felt like she was living in a dream. All three put their hands on the table, and her mouth fell open. She was right, Matt’s luck was going to have to run out sometime, but she thought she would be the one to take his money. Instead, they both lost to the dealer. Jessica couldn’t believe that not only was she not going to walk away with nothing when she had a great hand this whole time, but also she was going to walk away in debt. She didn’t have $50,000 to pay back the casino. What was she going to do?
Her brow furrowed him worry.
“You alright?” Matt was standing over her. “You don’t look good.”
“I think I might have had a little too much to drink,” she replied.
