Page 3 of Lost Room Lawyer
I’m not a kid anymore.
“Alright then! Have a good evening!”
As Dominic walked out the door, my gaze inevitably drifted to Corvo. The man radiated confidence. And he just raised the bet by another hundred. In a split second, I decided to take therisk. I still had enough money in front of me, so I stayed in and tried not to let Corvo’s calm stare intimidate me.
There was something irresistibly attractive about him. The fire in his eyes and the way he seemed to undress me with its intensity stirred something deep within me. And—damn!—it turned me on.
Bruce Lee revealed the last community cards. A seven and a Queen.
I had nothing! My Ace and five were useless. If there had been a four, I’d have a straight, but as it stood, I had nothing!
Damn! Stay cool, Nico! Just go through with the bluff. Let’s see how you handle it. All in the name of research.
Corvo raised another hundred. I could see from the corners of his mouth that he enjoyed challenging me. That’s when I realized I had to turn the tables. If I was going to pull off this bluff, I had to challenge Corvo, so I raised my bet by two hundred.
Corvo’s gaze drifted to the cards in the middle of the table. Papageno and Yakuza were chatting quietly, while Pestalozzi poured himself more cognac. Meanwhile, I studied Corvo’s beautiful lips and noticed the small dimple in his chin. He was truly a handsome man. Was he really gay? Maybe he had just seen through me and was pretending to gain an advantage.
When he looked back at me with a playful smile, I couldn’t maintain a poker face any longer and smiled back.
He stayed in and raised another two hundred. While he had more chips than I did, I had to see his bluff through. I’d already pushed the game too far to back out now, so I raised another two hundred.
“You’re playing with a lot of money here,” Corvo said.
Is he really trying to start a conversation with me?
I suppressed a laugh and simply glanced at him.
“The kid’s got guts, Corvo,” Papageno chimed in with a chuckle.
“Yeah, but what could he have? Do you have two Jacks, perhaps?”
I focused on the spot between Corvo’s eyebrows. His eyes were just so stunning, and I couldn’t keep a neutral expression any longer.
“Or maybe you have a Jack and a Queen?” Corvo speculated.
“Maybe he’s got two sixes,” Yakuza suggested.
“Are you staying in?” Bruce Lee asked.
There was a lot of money in the pot, and for the first time that evening, Corvo seemed irritated and slightly unsure.
“Are you folding?” Pestalozzi asked.
Corvo stared at me as if he could find the answer in my face. And then he did it. He actually threw his cards into the middle. “Fold.”
My jaw dropped, and I could hardly believe I had pulled off the bluff. Bruce Lee revealed my cards, and Corvo jumped up from his chair.
“What? You had nothing at all!” he exclaimed, looking at me in disbelief.
The men at the table laughed, and all I could think was:Damn, he’s hot.
As Corvo sat back down, laughing, a weight lifted from my chest, and I noticed how genuinely beautiful his laugh was.
“We should probably watch out for Rossi,” Papageno said. “First the Full House, and now the bluff.”
“A secret gambler?” Corvo asked.
“Not really. It’s just for research.”
