The Hand You're Dealt

1| Charismatic & Red Eyes

As per her usual lunch break, Lauren Binns ate her bland ham sandwich seated on the concrete lip in the Kavel Corporation's courtyard. Set in the middle of Chicago's business district—known as the Loop—Kavel Corporation rose behind her, blending in with the other skyscrapers. Other coworkers ate their similar lunch outside too. Anything to get out of the monotonous cubicle-life of their job. She was only a receptionist on the first floor, but she had visited the upper floors enough to believe that she had a more eventful job.

Various businessmen and women came through Kavel's doors for an appointment with Mr. Kavel to discuss what newest plot of land they would clear for a hotel or apartment complex. Others did too; foreigners with thick accents were her favorite—she immensely enjoyed when a business partner from Tokyo would come in or one from Africa. At least if the influx of people was slow, she could gaze out the floor-to-ceiling windows to people-watch. The ones in the cubicles were too high to see them.

And what people passed outside! Sometimes they dressed so colorfully, she thought a circus was in town. Most of the people she watched were street hustlers earning tips for their card tricks. Her mom had taught her to watch out for street performers because nearly all of them were scoundrels, cheating people once they raised their bet high enough.

But unlike her routine of taking her time to eat, today Lauren practically swallowed her sandwich, took a few gulps of water to rinse her mouth, and jumped to her feet and headed over to a street performer. She hadn't seen him before and he had set up his stand this morning; she hoped he would still be there for her break.

He had caught her eye not only because he was an anomaly in her daily grind, but because he was really good and hypnotizing to watch work. He effortlessly entertained and astonished his crowd with his card tricks.

Him being quite handsome also kept her eye on him. His brown hair was lush and loose, but the constant windswept look did him good. She hadn't been able to make out the color of his eyes from her desk, but he had a finely chiseled jaw and high cheekbones. She imagined his eyes were just as flawless as the rest of him. But when he smiled... Lord! She felt weak in the knees, and she had been sitting down. Lauren wondered how the women gathered at his stand remained standing when he smiled.

Lauren joined the crowd at his stand, currently playing Three-card Monte. When he looked up, the color of his eyes surprised her: blazing red. The usually white sclera in everyone's eyes was black in his and the irises were red. She guessed they were colored contacts and added a lingering memory of his performance.

He expertly flipped the cards over each other as he switched them up. He charmed the crowd by talking with them, telling the newest gambler to keep their eye on the card, and even groaning when they picked the wrong card. He also had an accent: very smooth and pleasant—it sounded similar to French, but slightly different.

She knew it was all slight-of-hand, but his hands moved around so quickly it was impossible to catch him. His shirt was rolled-up to his forearms so no one could say he cheated them.

Lauren was better at keeping her eye on the card as he switched them around. She tried whispering to the gambler which card to pick when it came time for them to choose. They never listened to her—she was always right, and they were wrong.

"How about you, mademoiselle?" Her eyes shot up to find his on her. "I've heard you pick right every time. Want to give it a try yourself?"

His red eyes on her had her flustered—if they were red-and-black contacts, they were absolutely bewitching. Those eyes just made him so much sexier. "Umm... sure."

She stepped up to his stand and laid a dollar down as he flipped all three cards to show that they were different. He told her to keep her eye on the queen of hearts, then turned them back over and shuffled them. He stopped, spread them out evenly, and looked at her.

"Which one?" he asked.

She didn't hesitate to point out the one on the right. "That one."

He flipped it over to show that she chose correctly. She laid another dollar down for him to keep going. He grew faster, but she still picked right again and again. The crowd cheered each time she was right and encouraged her to bet more. Lauren wasn't a big gambler, but she was feeling confident, so she did.

When she picked right again, the dealer shook his head in disbelief. "You are quite good at this, mademoiselle. You might put me out of business."

She smiled at his chuckle, but kept her eyes on the queen of hearts as he shuffled them unbelievably fast. She lost track of her card; the smile faded. The crowd murmured worriedly behind her.

"Which one?"

This time, she hesitated; her eyes shot between the card on the left and the one in the middle. She decided on the left one and pointed at it.

"You're sure?"

"Yes... no?"

He chuckled again—it amazed Lauren she hadn't crumbled yet under his smile. "Sticking with your choice? You can change if you want."

Some gathered behind her suggested that she change to the middle one or the one on the right. No, it wasn't on the right; she was certain of it. He was just trying to invoke self-doubt.

She stuck to her guns. "No, it's the one on the left."

The crowd held their breath—Lauren did too—as he reached for the card.

All of a sudden, the cardboard box exploded as the hustler was pushed into it from behind; Lauren also fell under him. His cards and Lauren's money that she had bet—all twelve dollars' worth—flew into the air. A kid, looking to be in his late teens, snatched the money and took off on a skateboard.

The crowd cried for the cops and the street performer jumped to his feet, looking like he prepared to do something. He must've thought better, and when she saw the blue uniforms taking chase after the kid, he turned to Lauren.

"Are you hurt, ma chérie?" he asked as he offered his hand.

She took his hand. "No, I'm good."

The crowd dispersed now that their entertainment had lost his stage. "Je suis désolé about you losing your money."

"It's okay; it was only twelve dollars. If he wants it so badly, he can have it."

"A good thief doesn't let themselves be known. He was only a foolish kid." He leaned down to pick up one of the bent cards. Between two fingers, he flipped it over to show the queen of hearts and handed it to her. "For an apology, you can have your card. You had chosen right, by the way."

She felt better from being robbed at the sweet act. "Thank you."

"Je vous en prie. And merci for being my best customer." He gave a small bow.

Lauren wasn't sure how to respond to the gesture, so she just smiled in thanks. Then she remembered her lunch break was almost over.

With an apology thatshe had to return to work, Lauren ran back to Kavel Corporation. She held thecard tightly in her hand, but a thought came to mind: how did he know that washer card face-down on the ground? He hadn't looked at it to make sure...