Page 4 of King of Players

“Nothing threatens your relationship with that family, Abel. Whatever that woman ends up doing—or accepting—will be at her full will and conscious choice.”

“You manipulate women, Chad,” he suddenly said. I’d never heard that opinion of me from his lips before.

“What makes you think that they don’t like playing the game? Have any of them ever complained to you?”

Looking away at the distance, he narrowed his eyes. “Dalidah seems to be complaining to the entire world.”

“You know it didn’t happen.”

Turning to me, his eyes were burning. “You walk a painfully fine line, Chad. A line that’s blurred for many. Your mind may be sharp, and the women you choose may be intelligent, but somehow… you’re never really satisfied. And because they’re always so exceptional, they can feel it, Chad. They know.”

I didn’t know why that truth bomb was being dropped on me in the middle of a church fundraiser, but I supposed I had to take my friend’s mood as it came. Perhaps it was an observation that Ella had made to him. Or maybe that was truly what he thought.

Silently nursing my refreshed beverage, I let my eyes scan the room. The party was nothing like the ones I threw at my house. No excessively revealing clothes on women, no drunken dancing by the pool, no overwhelming mixes of perfume and lip gloss. It was just so… adult.

But then I spotted a single young blonde in a golden dress. She seemed cheerful, laughing out loud without a care in the world. I examined the man who stood next to her—an older gentleman. Perhaps an uncle or even her father’s friend.

And an idea occurred to me.

If Kaira didn’t know who I was, or the effect I had on women, she might actually notice how I was going to entice that young blonde. My mission was to have Miss Goldie follow me like a puppy within an hour, doing what I asked. That would teach Kaira exactly why she should remember my name.

“May I say that the gold of your dress barely holds a candle to that of your hair?” I took my standing spot next to the blonde the very second the old man released her from the obligation of polite conversation.

She turned to me with a smile, and her eyes immediately widened. “U—Oh—Chad Niles?”

I chuckled, seeing Kaira approach as she did her rounds with the guests. “In the flesh.”

“Oh my God, I love all your movies!” the blonde squealed, garnering disapproving looks at her loudness. She quickly realized, coyly placing two fingers over her dewy lips. “I forgot where I was!” she giggled, coming closer. “But more importantly, why are you here?”

Leaning forward, I turned on the charm. I calculated that at this proximity, she was going to smell my intoxicating cologne. She would get a good look at my two-day stubble that I had left in place on purpose. Her eyes would linger on my jawline and the way my lips moved. And I whispered, “Actually, I could use your help. This stuffy room needs some action.”

Making sure that the look on my face and the gaze in my eyes screamed flirtatious, I also ensured that Kaira was watching. And out of the corner of her eye, I knew she was.

“What do you propose?” the blonde softly asked.

“See that lady over there?” I pointed at a woman in her thirties with a cigarette. “She should pay for polluting the air like that, don’t you agree?”

The blonde raised a suggestive eyebrow. “I smoke… but not cigarettes.”

“That’s interesting. If you try to summon that experience now and accompany me to her… maybe we can speak to the heart inside of her and make her contribute tonight.”

“I never expected you to care for church stuff.”

Shrugging, I raised my hand high enough to suggest that I was about to touch the lock of hair dangling by her cheek. But at the last second, I withdrew my hand and scratched my nose instead. “You don’t look like the type either, but since we’re both here… why don’t we write a story to tell our friends later?”

Her smirk widened into a grin, and so when I decided to drop my hand to hers and take it, she let me. She was ready to do whatever I wanted her to do. With steady steps, I marched toward the old lady with the cigarette… and the blonde followed… and so did Kaira’s eyes.

“Good evening, ma’am—”

The woman instantly chuckled. “Oh, my! Chad Niles! Hello, darling.”

“If you have a moment, we’re helping Ms. Bradley raise funds.” Gently pushing the blonde forward by pressing to the small of her back, I turned to the woman’s husband. “Sir? Please allow my friend to explain to you what we’re doing here.” I winked at the blonde, who immediately understood what I was up to. While I fed the old lady gracious words, buttered up sufficiently for her to swallow, my blonde assistant worked her magic on the husband.

In less than five minutes, we had collectively raised donations of one-hundred-thousand dollars.

Excusing myself to go to the bathroom, I knew that the blonde wasn’t going to stand too far away. But as I made my way there, I watched Kaira’s face light up as the woman responsible for collecting the donations told her about what I did. Just as I was about to walk her by, I leaned over her ear in passing and said, “Ready to discuss whenever you are.”

And I disappeared into the men’s room.

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