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We all laugh. Teddy is fairly recently married, and his being here tonight is a bit of a surprise considering his first child is on the way in a couple of months. But I suspect that while he loves his wife, Claire, more than life itself, they both needed a few hours to themselves. I’m actually jealous of Teddy in some ways. He wasn’t stabbed in the back by someone he loves and has achieved it all—wife, baby, generational wealth, and most importantly, heseems truly happy.
“Speaking of Claire,” Noah asks, “how’s she doing?” He folded immediately after the flop and is more interested in conversation than the cards on the table.
“Round as a beach ball and never more beautiful,” Teddy sighs wistfully, his eyes going soft at the thought of her. “We’ve both decided that we’re not going to hire an au pair. But that means I’ll be picking up a second full-time job, gentlemen. Daddy.”
“No finer job, in my opinion,” Ollie, who’s also joined us, says. “Enjoy it.”
Teddy deals out the next card, which is no help to me, a three of diamonds. But it’s my move, so I decide to imitate Austin. “Check.”
“Ollie?”
Ollie peeks at his cards and slides a hundred into the pot. “I’m feeling good.”
The bet goes to Austin, who doesn’t even look at his cards. He never does. He’s got them memorized. The man has exactly zero tells in his game, which in some ways, makes him easier to play.
Against Austin, you don’t play the man. You play the math. Ollie’s more complicated, as he’ll act pleased or not pleased with his cards. But how he acts and how good his cards actually are aren’t always the same. You have to play the man and the cards with him.
“Just to change it up for Teddy, I’ll call,” Austin says, sliding the appropriate chips in. It’s a bit of a surprise, but more about fucking with Teddy than changing his game strategy. It’s just Austin being Austin. Turning to me, he looks at me with the emotionless, murderer’s eyes that he can call on in a heartbeat whenever he wants. “Dylan?”
I knew what I was going to do even before Teddy laid out that three, but I still give an appropriate five-second pause before sliding my stack in. “A thousand.”
“The raise is nine hundred,” Teddy announces, and the table goes a little tense. For form’s sake, we’ve limited raises to a thousand, mainly so nobody gets too stupid. Some of us are married, and while a thousand dollars might be simply pocket change to everyone here tonight, nobody wants to get real feelings involved. This is supposed to be a fun, relaxing night for all of us. Not blood sport.
“I think I’ll have a drink instead,” Ollie says, putting his cards down. “No offense, Dylan, but your bar is more fun than your poker table. And it has been much, much more friendly to me tonight.”
“None taken,” I assure Ollie as he gets up and goes over to the bar. “If I can make a recommendation, the DiBaldo saffron gin goes down very well. It’s the golden bottle.”
“Thank you,” Ollie says, finding the bottle. He swirls it around, studying the contents before selecting an appropriate glass from the rack. “You know, I should be upset with you for snatching young Miss Hill from underneath me.”
He says it conversationally, but there’s a bigger question there. I went out of my way to bring Raven to the fundraiser, made a show of her on my arm, introduced her to Ollie as a prime prospect, and then hired her before he got back from his trip to Wyoming. It’s bad form but was also a complete necessity, something he understands. Business is business, even between friends.
“Why do you think my bar is open for you?” I joke, and the guys laugh. And though Ollie smiles good-naturedly and was appreciative for the replacement prospects I sent his way, there’s a shrewdness in his eye as he holds up his tumbler of golden liquor, toasting me. He’s been in this game a long time and knows all the plays and players, and I’m not talking poker. I’m sure he’s heard the rumor about Raven and me by now, and he probably received a call from Evan as well since Ravenhad an interview scheduled at Ollie’s firm. His raised glass is a friendly warning as much as an appreciation for the drink.
I dip my chin in acknowledgement.
But even the mention of Raven reminds me that it’s been too long since I’ve seen her. In truth, by the clock, it’s been barely over twenty-four hours, but those hours have been hell. I ended up staying late at the office last night, forcing myself to work well into the evening, and then slept like hell.
Today has been worse. I ‘celebrated’ the shitty anniversary by starting with a punishing workout, getting out as much aggression as I could by beating on a heavy bag, imagining it was Evan’s face. Later, a soak in the hot tub, meditation in the sauna, and a cold shower did nothing to improve my mood.
This game has been a welcome distraction, though. And tomorrow, Raven’s mother will return home. I should wait until Monday morning to see Raven again. That would be the reasonable thing to do, but honestly, I’m not sure my sanity can take not seeing her that long. My greedier nature hopes Mrs. Hill has had a lovely visit, takes a morning train, and then I can get Raven to my penthouse on Sunday for a private ‘business’ lesson.
Teddy lays down the last card, an ace of clubs. A little thrill goes through me, and I check, sending the onus to Austin, who also checks. It’s a showdown, a test of wills and mathematics. The money isn’t important.
“Okay, boys, show ’em,” Teddy says, and I flip over my cards, the ace of hearts and the ace of spades. “Three aces.”
Austin’s brows slam down as his eyes fall to my cards. “Shit,” he utters, turning his own hand. He’s got a pocket pair of kings to go with the one from the flop. No wonder he’s been cocky as fuck. He’s known the whole game that his hand was a near-winner.
Until that ace in the river. Now, we both have a three of a kind, but mine’s a higher rank.
I grin, victorious.
Everyone laughs, and as the chips get sorted out and Teddy feeds the cards into the machine to reshuffle them into the shoe, I go and get my own drink. Noah joins me.
“Thanks for the invite tonight,” he says, looking over what’s on offer and selecting a bottle of Neustra Soledad mezcal. “It’s good to get to know everyone.”
That’s the other side of our poker game. Business is discussed here, connections made, and intel shared across the table.
I pluck my favorite tumbler off the shelf. “You’re relatively new in town, right?”
