Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 64885 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64885 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
He bought into the hand, accepting our first round of cash blinds. Now he was in with something to prove. And lucky for me, I had a good fucking hand. I only had one goal with the bet.
By the time all community cards had been dealt, I knew I had the best hand, but by the way Doyle was betting, he had the second best.
And I'd played it like I'd had the worst the entire round, showing him exactly what he wanted to see—a desperate man.
He bought my lie so well that he was almost smug when he scribbled on a blank chip. “Give me my daughter back,” he said, the words written on the chip as he tossed it in.
“We don't bet people,” Asher said.
“I'll match that,” I said. “With the terms that you lose your seat if I win.” I wanted to also add that he’d let Serenity go free, but I knew he wouldn’t call that. It would show him that I had the winning hand, and I didn’t want to lose him when I had him so close.
Doyle laughed, but nodded, so confident he had the winning hand.
Crossland smiled next to me, knowing that I had him.
Knowing that I would never risk Serenity like that.
Asher motioned to us to show our hands now that I’d called his bet.
Doyle confidently rolled over the second-best hand on the board, already reaching for the chips and calling me an idiot, when I showed him mine.
It took him a few seconds to put two and two together, and he released the chips in the middle of the table before slamming his fists down on the edge. He got up so fast his chair toppled over, and he pointed at me. “You're a fucking idiot! You have no idea the shit you've started.”
I rose from my seat, looking down at him. “You've lost your seat,” I said. “You're no longer welcome here. If you decide you want to be an adult and settle this respectfully, you know how to reach me. But know this, you should feel lucky that I let you live.”
The color drained from his face, and he glared at me before stomping out of the room.
My friends let out a collective breath, all of us settling back into our seats, congratulations and high-fives erupting.
I quickly checked in with my guards, making sure that they were on alert should Doyle run into the girls while they were shopping, and they confirmed that the girls were wrapping up and about to head back to Asher’s villa.
It was the only comfort that kept me in my seat.
“I never thought we’d have a legitimate reason to force him out of the game like that,” Asher said after a few more hands.
“Me either,” Wes said.
“I hate what Serenity has been through,” Ethan added. “But I’m not sad he’s gone.”
“I won’t miss the asshole,” Cross said. “I just hope this doesn’t come back to bite you.”
“Same,” I said, unable to assure them that it wouldn’t. This was just step one in a long list of steps I had to contend with.
We all decided to end the game after a couple of hours, each of us crashing after the tense situation with Doyle.
I thanked them all again for their support and help, and headed back to my room, where I knew Serenity was now waiting for me with hope flaring in my chest.
I found her in the bedroom, freshly showered and in PJs, reading a book. She put it down the moment she saw me, eyes wide and curious.
I quickly shed my clothes, climbing onto the bed and pulling her into my arms.
“It's done. He's out of the game.”
Relief pooled in her eyes, but she tilted her head. “What about us?”
“I tried,” I said, disappointed that I'd failed her. “He's not seeing reason. I'm hoping that he’ll come to his senses soon. I'll keep trying.”
She nodded, understanding shaping her features. She smoothed her hands over my chest, her eyes focusing on mine. “What now?”
I smoothed some of her silken hair away from her face. “Whatever you want.”
CHAPTER 12
Serenity
“Ihave a day filled with meetings,” Gareth said as we shared our morning coffee at the kitchen table in Charleston.
We'd been here for two weeks, settling into a new routine that had a wholly different vibe than the one in Chicago. A routine that was filled with normal business transactions on Gareth’s end and a lot of adjusting to my new surroundings on mine.
Gareth had managed what I thought was impossible, which was getting my father kicked out of the billionaire’s game, and despite knowing he wouldn’t back off now that he knew I wasn’t an asset to him anymore, at least not until he squeezed something from Gareth, either money or a favor, it still felt like a win.