Page 5 of Business or Pleasure

Two

Harlee

Seattle, Washington

Present day…

I shifted in my seat, aware that everyone was watching me. Even my tiniest moves. The twitch of an eyelid. Clenching of a jaw. Suppose I tilted my head or scratched my cheek. Almost every person seated here was waiting for me to make a mistake, say or do something that would reveal exactly what I was thinking.

Unfortunately for everyone else, I did the same to them, and I was better at it. Better at hiding my thoughts and better at reading their tells.

For example, Mr. Sleepy over there made a big production of yawning every time he tried to bluff. He yawned for a second time, and even though I knew he was faking it, I had to swallow my empathetic response. I mentally dismissed his hand and moved to the man on his right.

I’d named him Mr. Grumpy because he hadn’t cracked a smile the entire four-and-a-half hours we’d been playing. His tell was more subtle but just as accurate. He screwed up his nose to push his glasses higher when he bluffed, which was rare. For an illegal poker player, he played exceptionally conservatively.

Then there was Ms. Cleavage. A lot of it. I’d seen the glare she’d given me when I’d come in, and the moment my gaze had dropped to her tits, she’d grinned. Not actually distracted by her body or her words, I’d caught on fairly quickly that when bluffing, she licked her bottom lip, and when she was excited about her hand, she leaned forward slightly, inviting everyone to look right down her dress.

The last person at the table was the whale, Captain Asshat. He’d made a big production of being a regular here and how everybody loved him. It only took half a dozen hands to figure out that they liked him because he was terrible at poker and had plenty of money to lose. He didn’t have a specific tell. He just lied like he played cards. Badly.

“I’m willing to stake everyone a couple hundred each if we can turn this into strip poker.” Captain Asshat leered at Ms. Cleavage and then at me. “Unless you ladies want to join me for a private game without these two losers.”

“Yo! Who’re you calling a loser, bitch?” Mr. Sleepy was suddenly wide awake. “You wanna step outside?”

Ms. Cleavage turned a laugh into a cough that almost sounded realistic. Smart. She shouldn’t alienate Mr. Sleepy by letting on that she thought he was a joke.

One of the first things I’d learned as a kid was not to laugh at idiots I was trying to con.

The dealer rapped his knuckles on the table. “Two more hands before we’re closing down the table.”

“C’mon,” Captain Asshat wheedled. “I got money to burn.”

“Two hands.” The dealer’s voice was firm. “No arguing. You know how this works.”

Captain Asshat sighed. “All right.” He gave Ms. Cleavage and me another one of those charming grins. “After we finish here, we can continue at my place. Clothing optional.”

I barely kept my face blank. It might’ve been worth breaking my calm and collected vibe just to tell Captain Asshat what I thought of him. If he touched me, all bets were off. I’d gladly get myself banned if it meant I could kick him in his nuts.

I needed to find a new game, anyway. I never went to the same place over three times in a row, making it difficult for anyone to pin down my tells…or the fact that I rarely lost. By the time I returned to a place, some might recognize me in a general way, but even regulars wouldn’t remember the crucial details. Seattle wasn’t in the top ten most populous cities in America, but it was big enough.

For now.

As I folded my next-to-last hand, I wondered if a new city was in my near future.

I didn't have a family to support. Jin was the closest thing to it, and I didn't worry about losing her when I left Seattle. Our friendship had weathered far worse.

Last year, I had moved into a studio apartment in a better neighborhood, but it wasn't something I couldn't leave behind. Even when I'd gotten along well with my co-workers, I rarely stuck around for more than a year at each job, and I rarely ran into them again unless by accident. And in terms of romantic relationships? It was not that I was anti-dating, but my dating history looked a lot like my work history. It had been almost three years since I had been in a serious relationship.

Talking about casual flings. Maybe that's what I needed. Sweaty, sexy fun, no strings attached.

I decided that after the last hand, I’d go to a club. Find someone to take home.

“Two,” Mr. Grumpy said. As he put his new cards with the others, he wrinkled his nose to nudge his glasses higher on the bridge.

Mr. Sleepy took a single card and didn’t yawn once.

Both responses fit with their previous tells. Ms. Cleavage was staying with what she had, and Captain Asshat took three. I took one, and it was the Ace I needed. Bingo. Full house.

Captain Asshat raised. Mr. Grumpy wrinkled his nose again. Mr. Sleepy called. Ms. Cleavage called and leaned forward slightly.

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