Page 4 of Poker
As soon as I exit the room, my thoughts return toher, and I don’t have anything to stop me from going down that rabbit hole of fantasy.
CHAPTER2
MERI
Shit, he looks sexy in a tux.
“Can I get another Bud Light?”
I smile at Vince, one of the regulars at the bar, as I reach into the cooler and grab him his third bottle of the night. The second I set it in front of him, he lifts it to his lips and takes a long pull.
“I’ll put it on your tab,” I tell him with a smirk.
“You’re a doll.”
Rolling my eyes, I wipe down the bar, collecting recently left tips as I go. Tuesdays are notoriously slow, which is part of the reason I chose it for my other job. It’s only a little after six, and I’ve got an hour to go before I can go home and change, but the game won’t start until nine.
Plenty of time to mentally switch gears.
I picture the dress I set out before leaving for my shift, knowing I picked it because tonight a certain someone RSVP’d to my invitation to join the poker game I host. The emerald green satin flatters my curves, has an impossibly high slit up the leg, and a deep V that dips between my breasts to my belly button.
When I received the RSVP text on my burner, I almost swallowed my tongue. Poker comes to the games a lot, but this is the first time he’s included the plus one I allow each player.
It’s been two years since I started my side-venture of hosting high-stakes poker games. In the beginning, I would let pretty much anyone who could afford the ten-thousand dollar buy-in participate. That’s no longer the case, and I’m much more selective. Only those who receive an invitation and RSVP can join, and I have enough players that they don’t all get invited to every game. The dress code is black-tie, which I enforce, but typically, no one balks at that because they’re all rich as fuck assholes.
I do allow a plus-one, but the additional guest is not permitted to play the game. All participants must surrender their cell phones and any other electronics or weapons at the door, or they’re not permitted entry.
The only person who knows about any of this, outside of my thoroughly vetted security and the players, is Poker. And he’s the only person who has ever gotten a pass on my rules.
But tonight, because I sent an official invite, he’s required to abide by the same protocols as everyone else.
And he’s bringing a plus one.
“Earth to Meri!”
I whirl around, startled by Grady shouting my name. “Fuck, you scared me,” I accuse.
“Sorry, but your shift was over ten minutes ago,” my boss says with a smirk.
“Shit,” I mutter, tossing my rag into the sink. After clocking out on the computer, I grin at Grady. “I’m out. See ya Thursday.”
I always take Wednesdays off because I never know when the poker games will end, having learned that the hard way the first time it lasted until six in the fucking morning.
“Have a good night,” he says to my back as I move through the doors that lead to the break room.
Twenty minutes later, I’m climbing into the shower to wash the bar stink off me. It didn’t take long for me to make enough money to catch up on my rent and buy myself out of my lease, and a few months later, I was able to buy my current house.
It’s nothing special on the outside, just a brick ranch house with a few acres of property. The inside wasn’t anything to write home about either, but I’ve had a lot of renovations done, and everything is perfectly me.
After drying my hair and doing my makeup, I slip into my dress and glance at myself in the full-length mirror. I’ve never considered myself vain, but damn, I look good.Better than good.
As I make my way into the two-car garage, I grab my Sig Sauer P365 and secure it in the holster at my thigh, completing my transition from Meri to Mistress Green. I might make the players forfeit their weapons, but I’m not about to be a sitting duck.
Climbing into my nori green pearl Lexus LC 500 convertible, I smile when I remember how I came up with my alter ego. It wasn’t hard. Hell, it’s probably too juvenile for the air of sophistication I wanted to portray, but I chose Mistress Green because green is the color of money.
And shit, do I have a lot of it now.
It takes less than ten minutes to arrive at the warehouse, and when I pull into the lot, I spot my head of security standing by the door. Conrad is ex-military, built like a tank, and as loyal as they come. He’s been with me for a year and a half now, and I couldn’t ask for someone better to have my back.
