Page 23 of Roberto

It wasn’t until we finished eating that Han asked, “What would you like to do after dinner?”

“Go back to the hotel and sleep.”

“Mr. Lau would be severely disappointed with me if I didn’t do my best to entertain you.”

“Then he’ll have to be disappointed.”

Han gestured at the casino. “We’re already here. We might as well gamble.”

“I don’t gamble.”

Han raised one eyebrow. “Not at all?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“The odds are always in the house’s favor. On a long enough timeline, everyonebutthe house loses, and I don’t like throwing my money away.”

“The house doesn’t participate in poker games other than as dealer,” Han said. “It’s only players. How about a few hands?”

“No, thank you.”

Han smirked. “You don’t know how to play, do you?”

I gave him a withering look. “I know how to play poker.”

“Then let’s play a few hands.”

“I’m not interested in playing in a tournament.”

“We can’t enter – it’s too late. I was thinking of one of the tables for the high rollers.”

“As I said before, I don’t like throwing my money away.”

“I’ll tell you what: the Syndicate has a line of credit here. I’ll have the casino front you $100,000 in chips. If you lose, you owe us nothing. Anything you win above $100,000, you keep. How about that?”

I could tell Hanreallywanted to play. This was probably one of the few perks of his job – cutting loose with clients, which included getting drunk and gambling.

The alternative was going back to my hotel suite and being alone.

Which, to be honest, sounded quite appealing at the moment.

However, I figured it might be advantageous to get on Han’s good side.

“If I lose, I owe you nothing… but I keep any winnings above $100,000,” I reiterated, wanting to make sure we were on the same page.

“Exactly.”

“…why the hell not, then.”

For the first time since we’d met, Han smiled. “Good.”

Han got $200,000 worth of chips from a cashier – 100K for him, 100K for me – and we joined a game of Texas Hold ‘Em at a high roller’s table.

Several of the players had already lost in the tournament and were looking for some rubes to hustle. They eagerly welcomed fresh meat.

I quickly saw I’d been right: this was the one time Han got to have fun on the job. He ordered a whisky and began betting aggressively.

---