Read with BonusRead with Bonus

6

Vanessa Vargas

I walked into the penthouse, I set the box down, Spade carrying the other two.

"Books are heavy." I heaved.

He laughed, setting the other two down.

"You good?" He looked at me.

"I'm going to throw up pizza." I sighed.

He licked his lips, looking around.

"Are you good at gambling? The card games and stuff?" I asked.

He raised his eyebrows, they looked so nice, the black hairs that made his face seemingly perfect. I think he got them waxed so they weren't bushy or overgrown.

They were thick, masculine, a slit in the right, contrasting the lip ring on the right side of his face, but there weren't loose black hairs growing out of place.

"Yes. I'd say I'm relatively good." He nodded.

"Like, luck or do you rig it?" I asked.

"I don't rig fate."

"You believe in fate." I said but it sounded accusatory.

"I believe everything happens for a reason. I've never lost a hand. So if my kind of luck exists, why wouldn't fate?" He put his hands in his dress pockets, his pecks subconsciously flexing under the white fabric of his shirt.

"Understandable. Granted I've never seen you play." I smiled.

He tilted his head when he smiled.

"You saying you don't believe me? My parents named me Spade. I own a giant casino." He said.

"Ego much?" I teased.

He scoffed.

"Fine. I'll prove it. Just wait now that I'm proving something I'm gonna lose." He laughed.

"Likely. Unless it's fate you're just that good." I raised my eyebrows.

"Wanna bet?" He asked.

"Absolutely. But in opposite effect. If you win I get something I want, you lose it's the opposite." I offered.

"You really doubt me that much?" He placed a hand over his heart faking a sniffle.

"No. I just like having better odds." I confessed and he laughed.

"Fine. I lose... hm... I pick your dresses for a straight week and you have to wear heels every day with them." He said.

"You're ruthless! But fine. If you win, we go book shopping and you're carrying them all and paying." I crossed my arms.

"Done." He shrugged.

"Great."

"Now come on. I have shit to prove." He offered his arm and I took it, hooking mine through, settling my hand on his firm bicep.

We got into the elevator and I looked up at him, seeing a word tattooed vertically behind his ear.

"What does that say?" I asked.

He smiled down at me, knowing what I was asking about.

"You'll find out maybe one day." He shrugged.

"It's Italian. Why can't I know?" I asked.

He didn't answer as the doors opened.

We walked out and I kept making eye contact with the guards.

"Why are they staring? Do they fangirl over you like the rest?" I pointed to the line of people waiting to get in, staring.

"They're guards. They're going to look out for you. Never know, a girl could come behind out of jealousy and use your long hair to choke you." He smirked, keeping his eyes forward as I stumbled over my feet but he caught me, his other hand holding firm on my other arm.

"This is why I don't wear heels. I'm a moron." I mumbled and he laughed.

"You're not, but alright. You good?" He asked.

"Yes." I fixed my dress as we walked through the doors onto the black marble tiles.

"I'm thinking... if I win, I think I should also benefit from it. You'll still get your books though." He looked down at me.

"What do you want?" I asked, when we got to the bar, we sat, his blue eyes keeping mine in a chokehold.

"I want you to be my personal assistant. I'll teach you about casinos and everything, but only if you'd like." He said.

"Don't I need some sort of degree?" I asked.

"I own it. No one has to know." He shrugged.

"Okay."

"And you'll benefit from it, I'll make sure you get paid, you can still serve me and the people around me drinks for tips." He informed me.

"Alright."

"There's a catch." He says, "You're going to work here permanently. Not a few years to pay off debt." He added.

"Uhm... should I get an apartment, make you a résumé?" I began stressing.

"No, you're fine now. I never let people rent the penthouse above me. If they're girls, they typically come to my place and invade my privacy, or else people are just loud. You can have it." He looked at his watch.

"Okay. If you win." I smiled.

"I will, Ace."

Previous Chapter
Next Chapter