With a genuine smile I answered, “You would be a very pleasant addition to my table.”
As she began to sit down in the chair across from me I widened my field of vision to take her in completely. Her beauty wasn’t limited to her eyes, in fact it was accentuated by them. She was dressed simply so I guessed she was one of the professional gamblers. Definitely not one of the elite crowded into the room with us. The sleeveless teal shirt she wore emphasized just how pale her skin was. She had strawberry blond hair that cascaded down over her right shoulder and with her hair landing across her bare skin I was able to pick up on the very slight coloring. It had just the barest touch of honey.
With an effort I tore my eyes from her exposed shoulder and was amazed when I realized she was wearing almost no makeup. And yet she still managed to look stunning. Her ruby red lips were widened with a warm smile and I was able to see her glisteningly white teeth. She was quite simply gorgeous and by the way she carried herself, she seemed to know it.
As she settled in her chair I really wanted to say something smart, something clever. Instead, my idiot mouth blurted out, “Though I do hope we won’t start at the same table when the tournament begins.”
By the time I finished speaking, her smile had been replaced by an ugly grimace full of an intense contempt for my words. While keeping that glare upon me she somehow managed to keep her pleasant tone, “So you’re one of those types of players.”
As she started to back her chair from the table I rushed in to try and fix my stupidity, “I think you misunderstood what I was saying…”
But she didn’t seem to be all that interested in letting me finish. As she interrupted me she managed to keep that pleasant tone in her voice, which was in complete contradiction to the angry look in her eyes. “No I understood perfectly, you don’t like women intruding into your precious game.”
Forcing my body to relax I shook my head and clarified what I had meant, “No that’s not it at all. I love playing with women. I just don’t like the thought of separating a beautiful woman from her money.” For whatever reason I was actually attempting to keep her from leaving, and it certainly helped that I was being very sincere, though perhaps a bit too specific. Matt and I would run scams on just about anyone, but I did have one guiding rule when selecting our marks. I never targeted women or children, in fact sometime I would typically enlist random women or children and let them in on the take.
Early on I had had to enforce the rule with Matt, he believed that everyone was fair game. Who they were didn’t matter to him. I certainly had to reign in his enthusiasm from time to time. Now-a-days he mostly lived by the same rule, though I could tell when he thought about going after the occasional rich woman. When those thoughts started creeping in, I took steps to present him with a better alternative, which usually worked.
My words must have registered with her because she froze halfway out of her chair. And her scowl had eased itself into more of a neutral line. She must have been flattered by what I had said, though still a little wary. After another moment of consideration her smile reappeared. She then guessed at what I had left unsaid. “I’ll assume you don’t have the same sentiment when it comes to men.” She paused, pursed her lips a bit and asked, “Or ugly women?”
Nodding I told her the rule that I, more or less lived my life by. “My dear lady, men are easily parted from their money. But should anyone dare to try and part a woman from hers; that poor fool will suffer for a lifetime.”
This time she laughed as she eased herself back into her chair, “Should I take your flattery as a way to put me off balance.”
“No, the flattery was sincere. You truly are a beautiful woman.”
Ducking her head down ever so slightly she attempted to hide blushing checks. Since she had been trying to hide them I decided to be nice enough to oblige her and pretended not to notice the rosy coloring. Once her embarrassment had subsided a bit, she tilted her head back and asked, “Why not pick on women? Men can be even more vindictive than us.”
Her words held a little bit of fire, she must love arguing with people. But I could tell from her tone that she was only half-heartedly fighting her point. “For the most part a man will be singular in his vengeance. But a woman, well now, she has the imagination to truly put the fear of God into any heart. As we all know, ‘Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.’”
She smiled and lifted her finger in a chiding motion, “You have a point sir.” Ignoring the finger I did return a smile of my own as she asked, “So does that mean when the two of us meet at the tables that you will willingly surrender your chips to me?”
I was surprised that she had taken my words and thrown them back so deftly. She was quick-witted. That was not the best thing for potential opponents to possess. I hesitated a moment, looking for an appropriate response. “Just because I don’t like to separate a woman from her money doesn’t mean I’ll hesitate to do so if she’s insistent.” I leaned back and spread my arms out as I finished my train of thought. “And I can only assume that since every woman here came willingly, they are insisting that their money should be taken away.”
“Smooth recovery sir, very smooth. I applaud you.”
“Well thank you…
For a moment I felt her eyes examining me, trying to decide if I was worth anymore of her time or if I deserved to know her name. But then the moment passed and with that beautiful smile she said, “Bella. And you are?”
“Marcus.”
“Marcus, the name suits you.”
“Thank you, Bella. And I do have to say it’s a pleasure to share some time with you before we get started.”
“Thank you Marcus, but so far the pleasure has been entirely mine.”