“You still coming, or did Mr. Alpha whisper some dirty magic words to get you back on the dance floor?” Luca asked.
Shaking my head to clear it of all the lust-filled thoughts Jace had instigated, I smiled at Luca. “Not a chance. I want to make some grown men cry.”
He gave me a look that told me he wasn’t convinced but headed to the opposite end from where the bar was. “This is a thousand-dollar buy-in. I realize that’s not a problem for you, but just so you know, this isn’t amateur hour. Jace and I put this game together with a few high rollers who like to invest in our clubs and what they have to offer. They don’t like to play with Jace because he’s too good, so I babysit them at these openings. You’re not gonna be put off with working girls being in there, right?”
“Are they going to be fucking on the table?” I asked with as serious of an expression as I could make.
“No.”
“Great, then why would I give a flying fuck what they’re doing? Girls got to make money somehow, and if they want to do it this way, then more power to them,” I stated.
“Not really sure why I even asked. We run the biggest strip clubs and escort services in the city,” Luca muttered.
I grabbed his arm and clung to it as I kissed his cheek. “It was still sweet of you to ask, though. Oh, one thing, if they don’t know who I am, let’s not tell them. I want to be given a real shot at this, not worrying about men sucking up or letting me win.”
Luca looked a little flustered at my closeness but nodded sharply in agreement. “I don’t think there would be any reason they would know about you yet, so your chances are good. Did you want to go by Astin?”
“Oh, good call. If you didn’t know what my name was, what would be your first guess?” I asked, still holding onto his arm as he opened the door.
“What? Why are you asking me that?” Luca spluttered, completely caught off guard.
I pushed out my lower lip in a pout. “Come on, Luca, just play along.”
“Angelica, because you’re such a brat,” he muttered.
Laughing, I let him drag me into the first room where he greeted the guards who were the ones to open the second door, allowing us to enter a swanky room that still fit the vibe of the club but more toned down. A small bar was tucked in the corner, and the large octagon poker table was set up with ten chairs around it. Eight of them were filled, and it made me wonder if they’d needed an extra player or if I was going to get someone kicked out.
“Ah, Luca, no Ryker tonight?” One of the men greeted, rising to his feet to shake hands.
So I did kick someone out of their game. Thankfully, it wasn’t someone important.
“I hope you don’t mind if I take Ryker’s place. I’m Angelica,” I shared, nodding my greeting at the other men.
The older gentleman at the table chuckled.
“Do you even know how to play poker?” Another of them asked.
I shrugged. “It can’t be that hard, can it?” Shifting, I looked at Luca. “You can loan me the money I need to play, right?” I asked with a pleading look.
“Don’t worry about the money, I’ll get you squared away,” Luca assured me.
“Lovely,” I cheered and took a seat in one of the open chairs. “What are we playing, boys?”
Two women walked over and passed out drinks to the other men wearing stunning lingerie. These must be the working girls Luca mentioned. One of them came over to me, batting her artfully done false eyelashes. “Hi, I’m Libby. Can I get you anything, angel?”
“Yes, I’d love a gin and tonic with three limes, please,” I requested. “Also, I have to ask, did the club provide your outfits? They’re amazing.”
“Oh, that’s Braxton. He’s the man who runs the club,” she answered. “Us girls trust whatever he picks out. It’s always something yummy and looks good on us all. He says the packaging needs to be as pretty as the goods.”
“Wow, smooth-talker, that one, hmm?” I teased with a small smile.
She grinned and nodded. “Don’t get attached, though, if you ever meet him. That man breaks hearts left and right.”
“Ladies, I hate to interrupt your girl talk, but we have a game to play,” a grumpy old voice cut in.
I rolled my eyes conspiratorially at Libby, making her giggle as she went to grab my drink. Luca sat with a tray full of chips and sorted them between us. It would seem the man believed I was good at this since he only gave me ten thousand to play with while he had twenty. The rest of the table had roughly around thirty, give or take a few thousand.
“Might I ask your names? I feel like if we’re going to play a game together, we should at least cover that formality,” I suggested.