Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 145803 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145803 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
Four hours later, she was facing Art, Charles, Jameson and Leo. She’d been dealt a pair of queens. She opened the betting at three times the blind. Park and Theodore folded. Art was dealt the ace and king of spades. He called. Charles had the jack and ten of hearts. He couldn’t resist taking the flop, so he called the bet as well. The flop was laid out—ace of hearts, queen of hearts and eight of diamonds.
Vienna made a pot-size bet, knowing Art and Charles both connected on this flop. Art raised the bet considerably, over five hundred thousand. He was sitting on two aces. Charles had a royal flush draw; the king of hearts would make his hand unbeatable. He didn’t hesitate to stay in. Jameson and Leo folded. Vienna put her chips in and raised the bet another five hundred thousand. Art studied her face. Looked at the cards on the table in front of them and then pushed his chips in. Charles did so without hesitation, staring at her belligerently.
The turn was a three of clubs. That changed nothing. Vienna was still sitting best with her set of queens. Art still had top pair top kicker, and Charles was still in with a massive royal flush draw. Vienna bet big again; she knew that Art was too good to call her with just one pair, even if it was top pair. But Charles, on the other hand, was stuck. His draw was too strong in his mind.
As expected, Art studied her, studied his chips and came to the correct decision. He slid his cards back to the dealer. Charles coolly raised the bet on the river card another million.
Art sat back in his chair. “You’re going for red on the river, Charles,” he announced with a shake of his head. “Pretty damn ballsy.”
Pretty damn stupid in Vienna’s opinion. She was certain Charles wouldn’t have done it had he been betting against any of the men. He seemed to have a grudge because she was in the game. She was there for the money, just like the rest of them. Vienna answered him coolly, pushing her chips in, her eyes meeting his as his eyes shot daggers at her.
The dealer turned the last card over. The eight of hearts. Charles made his flush, but it paired the board, giving Vienna a full house. Charles shoved all his chips into the middle, daring Vienna to call. She slid her chips into the middle and said, “Sorry, Charles, flush is no good. Queens full.”
For a moment there was absolute silence, as if everyone in the entire room held their breath. Charles leapt out of his chair, pacing around the table, swearing under his breath. There was no recovery. He had no chips to continue. The crowd’s low murmur seemed shocked at the outcome. Charles had appeared so confident.
Vienna didn’t make the mistake of smiling over her victory. She offered her hand graciously. Charles nearly slapped her hand away, but in the end, he shook it, as he pretended to be civil before he left. The dealer rose, signaling they were finished for the day. It had been a grueling few hours and they were down to six players. Vienna had bumped both Benny and Charles and improved her chips by several million. She’d also made at least one enemy.
Art handed her a bottle of cold water as she stood and stretched. “I’m sorry he was such a dick. I gave you a bad time, but I didn’t mean anything by it. I do that to all the players.”
She took the water gratefully. “I’m well aware. I’ve studied your techniques for years.”
Leo came up on her other side. “Art, I told you that was a bad idea, getting in front of the camera the way you do. Someone smart is going to study your every move and figure you out. Who knew it was going to be our lovely addition?” He saluted her with his water bottle.
Vienna laughed. “I don’t think I figured him out. He has his timing down so perfectly, that would be nearly impossible.”
“Charles is a dick,” Park announced.
Leo put his hand on the small of her back to urge Vienna away from the table and the onlookers shouting at them. The cameras were still on and audio could capture anything they might say. He was used to being under the glare of the lights, having been a celebrity in the poker world for well over a decade, going on two now. He leaned down as Art took up the other side of her.
“Audio picks up everything we say,” he whispered.
Vienna nodded. She had realized that immediately and gave a small shake of her head to Park, indicating the cameras. He grinned at her, uncaring, used to getting away with almost anything just by smiling. She had to admit, he was rather breathtaking. Theodore came right up behind them while Jameson led the way. She had the feeling the men were protecting her, but she wasn’t certain from what. Or they were getting their airtime, afraid she would take it away from them. She didn’t want it, so if that was their motivation for keeping her inside their “pocket,” she was happy to stay there.