Poker Princess

2 - Virago

"Hottie at 12 o'clock, Don't look now", I whispered. Alana turned her head so fast I was worried she had gotten whiplash.

I face-palmed as she visibly ogled at the tall brooding men in expensive suits. 

Alana was something else. She was my best friend since 6th grade and she was my only friend from the orphanage, who had bothered to keep in touch. After we turned 18 and moved out of that shithole, we rented an apartment together and we've been roomies for a year so far. Even if she might seem to prioritise hot men, she knows what her goals are and she's working towards them. I admire her for that.

She casually 'smashed' or 'passed' the group of men as they all strolled in as if they owned the place and for all I knew, they most likely did. One of the men held himself, a lot taller than the other guys and kept his face in a hard, cold stare. His jaw was clenched and his eyes flew from every face in the Casino. The black blazer clung to him and his Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. I'm going to call him the 'hot one', it matches his features well. His eyes calmly searched the room just as I dropped my gaze, going back to work.

I didn't need to give Mr Ling-Hee another reason to fire me.

Alana leaned in, whispering , "Dibs, I'm serving their table, Rory." I laughed as she strutted away, fixing her hair.

I lean back as I pulled my hair out of my ponytail and pulled the miniskirt down to further cover my legs. I sat in our bartender chair and spun myself multiple times, waiting for the crowd to pick up as that meant better tips.

I stopped and glanced at my watch; it had been 3 minutes into my shift and I finish at 12 tonight. I groaned inaudibly and shut my eyes for a miniscule of a second just as I felt a hand on the counter in front of me, I jumped. Barely stopping myself from falling of the chair, a tall man in his 30's was smirking down at me.

I shot up, pulling my skirt down once again, smiling.

"Hello, welcome to Venus Casino, what can I get for you today?", I recited.

The man was silent for a few seconds, his eyes lit in amusement. He scanned my face silently.

"Can I get a Vodka and a Bacardi please?", I immediately nodded, and reached for two of the strongest alcoholic drinks we serve.

'Someone's getting wasted tonight' I thought to myself.

"So, what's your name sweetheart?", his words held no mal intentions but it was always slightly unnerving when a customer asks for your name. I always go with a fake one.

"Scarlett, Scarlett Richardson"

Somehow this amused the man even further as he threw his head back and laughed.

Is this man already drunk?

"I'm Andrei, Andrei Romanov" he stated.

Nobody asked.

I nodded politely as I poured the drinks into assorted glasses and handed them to him. He nodded, whispered a quiet 'thank you' and walked off.

Before I had the time to breath, Alana had shuffled back over to my spot behind the counter. Her excited demeanour had lowered to a worried one. I instantly picked up on her change in mood.

"Lana, what's wrong?", she frowned slightly as she turned to me. Our eyes locked and I caught the concern built into her golden-brown eyes. "Alana?"

She swallowed.

"You know the table I wanted to serve? The one with the hot guys? Table 7?", I nodded briskly. "they asked for you to serve them."

I raised a single eyebrow. "What?"