Page 15 of Betting Her Curves

“Buthow?” Ashley cries, dropping her hands to gaze at me again. “How did you get into the room?”

I shrug.

“It’s easy. I know Christian Degas, the owner of the casino. It’s not like the layout of the hotel is a mystery either. Using one of the maps they provide guests, I figured out where the staff hallways and entrances are. You did the same thing, right? It’s not hard.”

Ashley shakes her head, biting her plush bottom lip.

“No, I didn’t use publicly available information. Or rather, I did,” she corrects. “I went to the county assessor’s office and asked to see the blueprints for the Degas. They don’t let you take them home, obviously, but anyone can ask to look. I committed the blueprints to memory, and figured out all the back passageways on my own.”

“And let me guess,” I add in a low growl, still rubbing soothing circles on her narrow back. “You’ve pieced together the layouts of all the casinos on the Strip.”

Ashley’s cheeks bloom with color again, and it’s the cutest thing. She’s young and innocent, and I love having her curvy weight in my lap as her big breasts tremble and heave mere inches from my chest. I love having that soft rump pressed against my hard tool, and at that moment, it twitches from the proximity of so much beautiful female. But Ashley’s too distracted to notice, and gazes into my eyes once more.

“Ihavescoped out all the casinos,” she admits in a low voice. “It’s just something that I feel is my professional responsibility. This isn’t a game, you know. This is real life.”

I can’t resist any longer. This woman is gorgeous, intelligent, and so damn clever that I have to kiss her. My head bends forward and I press my lips against the soft curvature of her cheek, worshipping her sweetness.

“Of course,” I breathe. “Our jobs are demanding.”

She nods, her pupils dilating as she stares back at me. Her nose is petite and dainty, and that plush pout sets off a small, but stubborn chin.

“Itisthe job,” she repeats. “Are you going to report me for my actions?”

I shake my head, pressing another heavenly kiss to her slender throat.

“No, not at all, sweetheart. Like I said, it’s not cheating to get the lay of the land, and besides, I was doing the very same thing. Not with the diamonds, of course, but getting a spatial feel for the premises. But I have to add that the gems aren’t worth as much as you think, baby girl. They’ll get you a handsome sum, but probably much less than you anticipate.”

Ashley shoots me a quick look.

“Are they diamonds though? I haven’t gotten them assessed, but I thought as much. They didn’t look like crystals when I held them up to the light because they flashed and sparkled much more than cut glass. But who would do that? Why would someone commission a chandelier made of precious jewels?”

I smile ironically.

“They’re diamonds because Christian Degas is a rich fuck who can do whatever he wants. It happens when you have too much money. But even he’s not so stupid as to use mined diamonds, honey. That chandelier would be worth millions, if not billions, and he’s got a ton of chandeliers hanging all over his hotel. No, the answer is lab created diamonds, sweetheart. I understand he owns a lab somewhere and grows this shit for fun, and then decorates his hotel with the fruits of his labor. Like I said, the rich fuck has too much money on his hands,” I shrug.

“Lab created?” Ashley asks in a slow voice. “I’ve heard of that before, but I’m a little confused as to what it means.”

I shrug.

“I looked into opening a lab myself a couple years back, so I happen to know the business. Basically, lab-grown diamonds are synthetic diamonds. Mined diamonds take billions of years to form within the Earth’s crust, as intense heat and pressure cause carbon to crystallize into a lustrous gem. But now, the process is mimicked in a laboratory, and you can “grow” a diamond in mere weeks. It’s remarkable what human ingenuity is capable of.”

Ashley blinks with surprise.

“But are lab-grown diamonds real?”

“Absolutely,” I affirm. “There are no physical differences between lab-created and mined diamonds. The internal structure is the same, and the lab gems shine and sparkle with fire, just like anything that comes out of the earth. The difference is in the supply, of course, and the price. Now, we can create diamonds just as brilliant as the originals within weeks. Youcan manufacture them, cut them, and sell them, and ninety-nine percent of the population wouldn’t know.”

Ashley looks blown away, her perfect pink lips parting in a glossy “O.”

“Wow,” she murmurs. “I’ve heard of synthetic diamonds before, but I’ve never seen one in real life. I had no idea.”

“They’re everywhere these days, and no one can tell the difference,” I quip. But then I correct myself. “Actually, scratch that. Scientists with special equipment can scan the rocks, and there will be some slight differences between lab-created and mined. But the naked eye definitely can’t detect any variance, and even a jeweler’s loupe is unreliable. From what I understand, natural stones carry trace amounts of nitrogen, whereas the lab grown stones have none.”

“Okay, yeah, I wouldn’t be able to detect nitrogen with my eye,” Ashley murmurs, an astonished expression on her pretty features. “I don’t even know what I’d look for.”

“That’s it exactly,” I chuckle, pressing another affectionate kiss to her cheek. “The stones can’t be differentiated because the chemical structure is the same. But yes, these new suckers are revolutionizing the industry because now, humans can make diamonds on demand. Suppliers can sell them at far lower prices, and that’s why the diamonds you snuck out of the Degas aren’t going to go for much. Have you tried pawning them yet?”

Ashley blushes again, shaking her head.

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