Page 28 of The Billionaire Gamemaker

His grin is wiped off his face, proving what I predicted; that her audience bet early and bet hard only to keep betting as the pot became bigger. My guess is Carrick lost even more money today for Blue.

“Daddy’s budget not out yet?”

“Fuck you, Vale. I was just coming to tell you that you make a better Advocate than I ever could be.” But his words are laced with double meaning.

“Did you need something, Carrick?”

“I just came over to tell you congrats on winning Blue. I know she was very sought after. You must have pulled some strings to get her back in the game.” He pauses, waiting for me to respond, but I don’t give him the satisfaction. “A Player like her, you know, is gonna have alotof people after her.”

“You mean after her betting earnings.” I can’t stop the words before they flow out. After the part in Blue’s truth game about Carrick chasing after her earnings, I can’t help but be wary of anything Carrick does. He’s not below exploiting others to earn money, and he’s never worked a day in his life. Blue was nearly a victim of it.

Carrick is not a fan of my words. His face twists in rage, but then turns pale, and I continue before he can say anything else.

“You should work on being more discreet about cheating. Nobody likes a cheater.”

I walk past him like he’s nothing more than a discarded piece of trash I’m trying to avoid, wanting nothing more than to leave this building and Carrick’s presence despite wondering what has brought him to the processing center at this moment in time, what he’s looking for.

I wish I could guess that he was looking for a sexual favor from the expired Players who offer them, but my guess is it’s something far more nefarious. I can feel his eyes on the back of my head as I walk away, heading back to the manor to see Blue.

The walk is riddled with burning thoughts over the web I’ve gotten myself caught in. I want to say Terrence is the spider, catching his prey and feasting on all of us, but that’s giving him too much credit. It’s the game itself, the game of desire and lust and the downfall of men. Money and sex. It’s hard to not get caught up in it. It’s what led me to taking the offer as a Gamemaker in the first place.

When I enter the manor, I make a path straight for my rooms, only briefly taking in the sounds of the servants setting up for the gala down the long, broad hall. I wonder how long those expired players have been here, how many galas they’ve set up for the games that entrapped them.

Entering my room quietly, I’m still lost in the thought, but am pulled away from them at the sight of Blue fast asleep across my bed. One bare leg sticks out as she straddles the bunched-up comforter, wearing nothing but one of my t-shirts which is not being very generous in covering her up. I can’t say I’m complaining. Her book,The Sun Also Rises, is resting pages down next to her face. Without waking her, I lift up the book to read where she left off, finding a familiar feeling with the book and wondering where I saw it recently.

But as I scan the pages, I find that it’s one of the sections where notes were taken. Before I can read it, Blue stirs, and an eye peels open to stare up at me.

“You have some explaining to do.”

Closing the book, I set it down on the bedside table and sit on the edge of the bed beside her. “What questions can I answer for you, Blue?”

Chapter Twelve: Eve

The Secrets of Women

The mixing noise of chatter filling the gala room does little to distract me from thoughts of my conversation with Laurence just before we left. Standing beside me, he’s dressed in a fine, all black three-piece suit with accents of red. I think he looks devilishly handsome, but it takes on a new meaning knowing now he’s one of the devils that run the games.

I take a sip of my champagne, the cool, bubbly liquid perhaps the only redeeming factor about the evening. That, and my dress.

Laurence got me a bodycon black dress that reaches down to my ankles, but has a high slit up one side, a simple straight-line neckline, and thin straps. I have heels to match and I feelstunning, but that’s only dichotomous to how terrible I feel on the inside. There’s nothing that can compare to the feeling I got when I uncovered Laurence’s files on each of the players, tucked away within a briefcase in the closet. It wasn’t designed for me to find. Then again, he might not have expected me to snoop.

Glancing at Laurence, he catches my gaze as he talks to Heathe, Lily’s Advocate. She silently observes, like me. She has a gold collar on today, studded with diamonds.

The same look crosses his face today as it did during our earlier conversation: disappointment. He looks away, and so do I as I recall our tense exchange.

“What do you want from me, Blue?”

“I want the truth.” I hate that he pretends like that’s so hard. I just want to know what happens to the Players when we’re disqualified. Based off the file folders, they have plentyof information on our pasts to blackmail us for the rest of our lives. Most of us will end up in jail if any of it comes out.

I was surprised to find Lily has a history of breaking and entering. Stella was involved in a drug ring. The list goes on. We each have dark pasts, and that’s obviously not a coincidence. We were preyed on for our precarious situations.

It makes my stomach turn.

Laurence stares me down, remaining immovable in the bedroom. I rise from the bed and approach him.

“Where were you just now?” I ask quietly, afraid of the answer.

“It’s just part of the process,” he says quietly.

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