Blackjack rules were simple and many relied on luck, especially those low-tier players. For high-tier players, it was a game of technique and mind games. The surprising thing was that once Buffy sat down at the blackjack table, she became a titan and beat all the men. Half an hour later, all the men who thought they were professionals lost everything. They got embarrassed and angry but Buffy remained calm and composed, not flinching one bit.Judging from her relaxed demeanor, she must have held back from the beginning, or else the men would have lost even more. The scene discouraged the others like Luis who wanted to have a play at the table. Buffy was alluring and being at the table with her could fulfill most men’s vanity. Yet when she got too strong, no one wanted to jump into the rabbit hole anymore. It did not feel good losing to a woman at blackjack. Some bold men refused to submit and continued the challenge, but all of them lost terribly. Buffy displayed extr
Buffy frowned. She stopped everyone and said, “That’s enough. We are all friends here. “ She was afraid if the others angered Kaze and he left, then she would lose all chances to persuade him. Luis and the others were displeased at how protective Buffy was at Kaze but they did not say anything. “Kaze, how do you want to play?” she asked patiently. Kaze looked up and scanned everyone. He then looked at Buffy amusedly and said, “Since drinking is meaningless and gambling is against the law, why don’t we play something big? “If you lose, you are mine tonight. That’s my condition, or else I am not playing.” He got so fed up with the woman trying to pull him into her trap, so he came up with an excuse to scare her away. “Yours tonight?” Everyone was shocked that Kaze would voice such a bold condition. Zenika shouted, “Are you out of your mind, you jerk? Who do you think you are, flirting with Buffy like that? You are not qualified to speak to her like that. Who gave you th
Kaze raised his brows. If Buffy agreed to play under such a condition, then she must be looking to get more from him. “What is your condition?” Kaze went over to the Blackjack table and sat down. He was curious about what she wanted from him, so he did not mind sitting down for a game. Buffy looked at Kaze and scoffed, “You said if I lose, I am yours tonight. Then, my condition is, that if you lose, you are mine for a month. I want you to serve me. You do whatever I say and you cannot defy me!” A month should be enough for Kaze to cure her father. Kaze scrutinized Buffy and said, “Cannot defy you? Fine. Actually, not much of a loss for me in our bet.” Buffy clenched her teeth. The audacity to tease her again.She suppressed the urge to throw him into the river and said coldly, “Cut the nonsense. Are you playing or not? Give me an answer.” “You bumpkin! Get your mind out of the gutter. You are not worthy!” Wesley came over with a smirk and continued, “You think Bu
“Then let’s begin.” Without further ado, Buffy started to shuffle the cards. While shuffling, she saw Kaze looking at her hands, seemingly trying to mark down the cards. She smirked. He must have thought that he was the God of Gamblers. After Kaze cut the card, Buffy dealt two pairs of cards, one for him and the other for herself. Each person had two cards with one face-down.“Kaze, your card is an Ace and mine is a King. Hit?” Kaze leaned back and crossed his hands behind his head. He looked at Buffy in a teasing manner and said, “Don’t waste your time. Hit, and just show the card.” Buffy felt a slight discomfort. She felt like a toy on display when she saw Kaze’s eyes on her. Then, she tracked his gaze and noticed he was looking at her chest. She was wearing an evening gown and half her chest was revealed. The pervert had been looking at her breasts! She had not lost the game! Buffy blushed. She clenched her teeth and said coldly, “Fine. If you are so eager t
Kaze remained calm and composed. “I still have one card face down. Why do you assume that I’ve already lost? We continue.” He showed another amusing smirk. “Though I don’t want people calling me a cheater, so why don’t you open it for me?” Buffy looked at the unrevealed card in front of Kaze and she was left speechless. The table for blackjack was wide. If she had to open the card for Kaze, she would have to bend over. She was wearing a sexy gown for the evening and if she bent over, Kaze would have a full frontal view of her chest. The pervert did not only want to look, he wanted to take advantage of her. “Windy, show the card.” Buffy called her friend from earlier to reveal the card. She was not that dumb to lose her dignity to Kaze. “Alright.” Windy came over and reached out to the face-down card. For some reason, when Buffy saw the amusing gaze in Kaze, her heart sank. Windy flipped the card. Ace of Spades! 21 points! “W-What?!” Windy was stunned. Sh
Due to her pride, Buffy could not go back on her promise. She initially planned to play only one round, yet Kaze suggested the best of three. Yet she refused to hand herself over to him for the night. Luis and the others could not believe what just happened and they all thought Kaze was being ridiculously arrogant. Buffy was the birthday girl and he humiliated her, and that would mean offending the entire upper circle of Riverbank. How could a useless bumpkin from a small city do such an outrageous thing? “Bumpkin! Don’t celebrate too soon. One round isn’t enough to determine the winner. This must be a best of three!” Zenika said, “Ms. Gwake, play two more rounds. With your skills, you will win!” Luis added, “Kaze Lee, play two more rounds. Whether you win or lose, I’ll wipe our bad blood away and I won’t come after you. “If you don’t play, once you step out of Bronze Sparrow, I will destroy you!” He started threatening Kaze. He was smart. He knew if Kaze continue
Kaze appeared rather cocky. Buffy glared at Kaze, her eyes burning with rage. Since Buffy would not let the matter go, Kaze smiled and rose to his feet. He drew close and put his arm around Buffy’s waist. Furious, Buffy exclaimed, “What are you doing, bastard?” “Didn’t you say that you’d be mine tonight? Hasn’t night come yet?” Kaze kept her within his grasp, giving her no chance to wiggle herself out. “You’re my woman. What’s stopping me from holding you? I have not taken things far yet.” “You!” Buffy was livid. However, Kaze had her locked tightly against him. Take things far? He could dream on! Kaze raised a glass without a care. “Today is my woman’s birthday. You are all my guests. Make yourselves comfortable and enjoy the drinks. “Let’s raise our glasses!“Hahaha!”Kaze’s manic laugh echoed across the hall. To the crowd, Kaze’s behavior was a textbook example of arrogance, ignorance, and smugness.It looked like Kaze failed to identify his place. He
The socialites were quick to deny these allegations. No one wanted to be associated with a crime. Even a mere suspicion was a social suicide for them. Wesley said grimacingly, “We have seen everybody around. Given our relationship, we can be confident that neither of us will engage in theft.“But one individual is an exception.” Wesley pointed his finger. The crowd followed the direction of his pointed finger to Kaze, who stood next to Buffy. “I’ve never met Kaze Lee in any of our social gatherings before. I don’t even know how he got in.“He headed straight to the buffet table as if he hadn’t eaten for days. I bet he’s poor. “He must be desperate for the seven-million-dollar diamond. “Don’t you think so?” Many nodded, finding that Wesley had a point. First of all, Kaze had not been seen in the prestigious get-together among the upper class before. Even Rose was only on the guest list as Zenika’s plus-one. Luis was Rose’s suitor right now. No one knew much about
As they arrived, they saw a dozen expensive cars parked outside. The customer base was relatively stable as the establishment was targeted at the upper class. The people lining up at the club were young men and women of ordinary background. All were allowed inside Absolute Zero with an entrance fee. Since this would be a chance for ordinary people to meet and interact with the upper-class elites, they cherished it and tried their best to look good. Even movie producers and scriptwriters came to the club, seeking investments or a role in movie production. It was a shortcut to reach out to the upper crust after all. Yet they were just a bunch of fresh graduates with no resources and connections, so the club was their only chance at achieving something great. Dwight would never understand how rare the opportunity was, as he was narrow-sighted. He had never experienced power and wealth before, so he lacked the understanding of how things worked in society. “I never thought
With that in mind, Dwight checked his outfit. His black leather jacket brought out his height and wild side. He then observed Kaze. The latter was dressed casually. Dwight was worried that they would not be allowed into Absolute Zero because of their attire. Nevertheless, he could not let slip that he had never been to Absolute Zero. Without a word, Dwight led Kaze down the apartment building. Kaze could pick up on Dwight’s nerves. While in the elevator, Dwight could not stop straightening out his clothes. It was clear that he was nervous. Even so, Kaze said nothing and pretended not to notice. They got into the car and drove to an alley. The area was not huge, but there were stands selling street food. “The food is great here. Since it’s early, we can grab a bite.” Dwight was not being tight with money. As their destination was a bar, there was no need to get a proper meal. “I’ll get a skewer then.” Kaze did not have much of an appetite anyway. “Okay. I’ll or
“You’re the guest. I should be hosting you, but I don’t seem to be doing a good job.” Dwight knew he had to do better. “It’s okay. I don’t have much to do. It’s just a delivery anyway.” Kaze bought a lot of stuff online. All they had to do was wait for the delivery. Once the items arrived, they could head out. Dwight talked about taking him to a bar under the Viper’s Den’s umbrella. It was a great opportunity for Kaze to check out the scene. He had heard that the Wittersons were tied to all the Viper’s Den’s business operations.Kaze would not meet Edmund and Morris in person, but he would grasp all information related to them. Then, Kaze would stir things up between them and sit back while reaping the benefits. Kaze had it all planned out. He simply had to take his time in playing the long game. Nevertheless, it was important for him to remain discreet. At the very least, he should not show them what he was made of. It was easy to execute his plan when everybody
Kaze rose to his feet and took something out of his bag. Putting on his jacket, he was on his way out. Dwight was out of his room, too. He left his room for a glass of water and waited for Kaze to get out of the room after his nap. Dwight had a drink in the kitchen. He took an apple and chomped on it. Looking at the fruit on the table, Dwight grabbed a plate to arrange it neatly.He took out his phone to pass the time while waiting for Kaze. Kaze emerged from the room and saw Dwight. “You’re up at last. You’ve slept half the day away. Are you still tired? I can wait if you need to catch some sleep.” Dwight kept Herman’s memo to look after Kaze. “A little. I didn’t get any sleep last night. I was waiting to get on the plane.” Kaze took the red-eye flight yesterday. Dwight allowed time for Kaze to rest, knowing his travel schedule. “I know. Did you manage to get some good sleep? If you haven’t, you can go back to bed. I can grab some food for you.” Dwight’s plan
“Your main responsibility is to entertain Kaze. You will be rewarded for good work,” Herman said. Dwight nodded incessantly. “Thank you for thinking of me, Herman. I won’t forget this.” “I’d be grateful so long as you stay out of trouble. “Just focus on what you should do and take good care of Kaze.” Herman worried that Dwight might get ahead of himself and forget his primary duties. Dwight’s priority was Kaze’s well-being. The whole thing would be over if Dwight kept to himself and served Kaze until he was gone. There would be a problem if something were to happen. Without Edmund’s instructions, Herman would never have assigned a job to Dwight. It could be a good thing, though. At least, a job might keep him on the straight and narrow. “Relax. You can count on me,” Dwight said with glee.That was a nice surprise. Dwight did not see it coming. It was just incredible. Herman still could not shake off his worry. However, he had said his piece. It was pointless t
Herman’s smile vanished. His red, irritated skin was playing up. Due to alcohol in his system, Herman could not see straight. He had to grit his teeth to hold back the urge to retch. Herman was not one to drink. Yet, he would have to go through Edmund’s loyalty test every time, and he was reaching a boiling point. However, he understood that he needed to suck it up to gain Edmund’s trust. “You must be Herman. Mr. Witterson. Should I take the things to your car, or should I deliver them to your home?” asked a uniformed server who approached. “Put them in the car and get me a designated driver,” Herman replied. He headed to the lobby while propping himself against the wall. “Okay. There will be a driver out front, ready for your service.” The server tried to help Herman up, but was declined. Herman saw the cartons of alcohol and cigarettes in the lobby. Edmund had always been generous in giving out stuff like this. “These are from Mr. Witterson. You’re lucky to work for
“Kaze can pull the punches for sure. I mean, he has the Butterworth branch chief’s trust for a reason. “There has to be something for him to win the branch chief’s approval.” Edmund doubted there was depth to Kaze. After all, Edmund decided whether to take on a person based on their abilities. It made no sense to pay attention to losers, as he would hold them in contempt. Edmund had been impressed with Herman, who excelled in strategies and management. That was why Edmund bumped Herman up and made sure he stayed on top. “Got it.” Herman nodded and had one foot out the door. “Don’t be in a hurry to leave. There’s one more thing.” Edmund pointed at the table. Herman approached and stood on bent knees. Pleased with Herman’s submission, Edmund passed him a wine glass. Herman took the drink humbly before looking carefully at Edmund, awaiting his orders. “The wine was just airlifted from abroad. I can vouch for the taste. If you’re looking to sip on the finest, yo
Time went by, and a towering man in a suit showed up outside the door. Picking up on the noise inside the room, he knocked on the door. It was hard to tell whether the person inside could hear the knocking, so the man waited outside. The door was opened, and a woman, her face flawless with makeup, popped her head out and saw him. She cocked her head back at Edmund. “You have a guest, Mr. Witterson.” “Let him in,” Edmund instructed. He then leaned in to take the drink from the girl next to him with his mouth. The other girls cheered him on. The group was lost in their fun. The man, who entered the room, stood by the sofa respectfully. He kept his head down, his gaze staying low at the bottles of alcohol spread across the table. It was a bit of a wait before the man approached at Edmund’s order. “Tell me about Dwight.”While listening to the girls’ singing, Edmund turned to Herman. Herman rushed over as soon as Edmund called. He won a lot of money at poker toda
In this particular circumstance, Morris had to play it safe so that things would not get out of hand. The last thing he wanted was to be dragged into the mess. At least, he finally saw the Wittersons’ true colors. Morris’ friendly advice was met with disrespect and insult. However, the Wittersons were a force of nature, and Morris was not about to take them head-on. Despite his frustration, Morris had to walk away. Well, Edmund would soon face his downfall at the height of his power, and Morris would be there to enjoy the ride. Still, it did not sit well with Morris to have a young fella walk all over him. It had crossed his mind to keep the Wittersons in check, but there was only so much he could do. Morris had to be the one to back away as the Wittersons grew haughty. Morris believed there was more to Kaze’s visit to Westeros. Nothing major happened in Westeros recently. At least, there was nothing worth the other branch’s attention. However, a representative of the