I trained my eyes on her. I knew she would know I was solely focused on her, but she had a cavalier attitude about it from what I could see. Her nails were painted blood red, her lipstick was firetruck red, and she was dressed all in black. Her hair had been slicked back, giving her the air of a femme fatale, and it was working a number on me.
She dropped her chips. One on 18 black, one on 30 red, one on the line of the 27.
I shifted my stance a little to the left, so I could get a closer look.
The game progressed as she predicted a couple of the right numbers. She whooped it up with a few of the people next to her, moving her hands and speaking with animation.
She wasn’t fooling me with the hand movements. I saw her shove her chip forward lightly. She’d been able to do it because the other people were placing bets and talking to the croupier while distracting her long enough. I cast my eye upward to look at the camera. The movement was so slight I didn’t know if the camera caught it. I knew they looked hard at the monitors upstairs, but they hadn’t picked her up on the floor, so I didn’t know if they were going to pick up this movement here. To date, they’d seemed to miss her illusionary tricks.
The game finished and she attempted to make another bet after the winning hand.
The dealer gave her the stop signal.
Her hands. Her hands. Watch her hands.
With a slight push of her elbow and a simultaneous hair flip, she pushed a chip forward onto the black diamond. The dealer seemed unaware and gave her the payout she was looking for. She quickly picked up her handbag and walked onto the next table. She must have seen me watching.
Why would she do that in front of me? Maybe she didn’t see me… or maybe, just maybe she wanted to get caught. All I knew is that I had to confront her about it. As she moved away from the table, I quickened my step and grabbed her elbow.
She flashed a vile look at me and wriggled her arm out of my grip.
“Headed to the cashier with chips that you didn’t win?” I challenged her with a flash of anger.
“I won them fair and square, what are you talking about?” she spat out.
“Do you have anything that you want to confess right now?” My eyes bore into hers. Her perfume waltzed into my nostrils. Her scent was intoxicating and dangerous, but this time I didn’t fold. I held firm. I was security after all and it was my job.
She snorted as she rubbed her cute snub nose. “You mean like a Sunday confessional?”
“Something like that. Now’s the time,” I coaxed. I wanted her to tell me herself why she was doing what she was doing. I saw her with my own eyes. I noted the time?8:02 p.m. That was the time I would look for when I got back upstairs and nailed her ass to the wall?figuratively, not literally. My mind did go there, naturally. She possessed all the womanly features a man like me would go for. I’d been playing the field for a while now, and there wasn’t anyone keeping my attention.
She reached the cashier and froze me out as I stood right next to her. “Hi, I want to cash in these chips. Thank you so much.” She smiled hard at the woman and waited while she weighed the chips and counted the bank notes. She turned her mouth up at me with a catch-me-if-you-can look. She ran her eyes up and down me as she leaned against the cashier window.
The cashier spoke to her, “Hey, do you mind? Please stop leaning over the counter.”
I grinned at her. She was trying to defy me, but once I had the tape she was toast.
“Oh, sorry about that.” Her misplaced wrath turned to me. “Why are you watching me all the time? Do I need to report you for literally stalking me all over the casino?”
“No. I’m not stalking you, I’m doing my job,” I replied as calmly as I could.
She arched one of her eyebrows at me. “Oh, yeah? How come you’re in here? I didn’t know that you worked in this room.”
“I work all rooms of the casino, you’re changing the subject. Do you have something you want to tell me? I’m giving you the opportunity.” I was forcing it and I knew she wouldn’t budge. She didn’t seem like the type of woman to concede. If anything, I kind of liked that. She was the right challenge for me.
“The only thing I have to tell you is goodnight. Byeeee!” She waved at me over her shoulder.
I watched her butt wiggle as she swiftly made her way out of the door to the exit.
Damn.