A New Hell

Like Mama Card had said, a girl was assigned to take her to the locker room. She would be following this girl around to learn the job.

Emily follows her out of the older woman’s office, still trying to take everything in.

She had only been here for a short while, but already, she could tell that this place had its own world.

Different rules.

Different people.

Different levels.

And somehow, she had been thrown straight into the top VIP card room without knowing anything about card games.

The girl walking in front of her suddenly turns around and smiles.

“I'm Rosie, by the way.”

“Emily.”

“I know.”

Emily blinks.

She was probably already becoming known around here as the new fish who somehow leveled up.

Rosie looks like everything Emily wished she was.

She was confident, flirty, and so seductive even in the way she walks.

There was something effortless about her.

She walked like she belonged wherever she was.

She was beautiful, with beautiful skin and very beautiful hair.

She smiles at everyone.

Flirts with everyone.

Even the men they pass seem to notice her.

Emily watches her for a second.

She wonders what it must feel like to be that confident.

Emily had spent most of her life trying not to be noticed.

Rosie seemed to enjoy being noticed.

It was strange.

But maybe that was something she could learn too.

Rosie takes her to a room filled with lockers.

There are rows and rows of them, lined up against the walls.

Some are open, while others have little locks hanging from them.

Rosie walks toward one and hits it lightly with her palm.

“This will be your locker. That's the key. Lock it if you want,” Rosie says.

Emily nods.

She looks at the locker before taking the key from Rosie.

“Thank you.”

“Go change. I'll wait for you.”

Emily nods again and walks toward the back of the locker room where the bathroom was.

She closes the door behind her.

She looks at her uniform for a few seconds.

Then she takes off what she was wearing and puts on the uniform.

She adjusts it in front of the mirror.

The gown is short, but it fits.

She turns slightly, checking herself from different angles.

It actually looks good on her.

She is just glad it doesn't expose her scars.

Her fingers move unconsciously toward one of them.

Speaking of scars, she needs to find a way to get scar creams to fade them.

She doesn't want them visible.

Not here.

Not around these people.

Her scars are a reminder of everything she went through.

A reminder of the Collins family.

A reminder of the day she died.

She releases a sigh and walks towards Rosie.

Rosie looks at her the moment she steps out.

“Nice shape,” Rosie says, looking at body.

“Thank you,” Emily says, looking down at herself.

She still feels a little uncomfortable with the uniform.

It makes her feel exposed.

Rosie looks down at her legs.

“Try and invest in good shoes. Especially heels. It makes you look classy and sexy,” Rosie says, smiling.

Emily looks down at her shoes.

Heels?

She has never worn heels in her life before.

Not once.

She doesn't think she will be able to walk on them.

She can already imagine herself falling flat on her face in front of a room full of rich customers.

That would be another embarrassing moment she absolutely doesn't need.

But she will practice.

When she gets back to the mansion, she will ask Eve to lend her one to practice in.

Eve probably has several.

Maybe she can teach her.

“I will.”

“Good, let's go,” Rosie says with a smile.

Emily tries to return her smile even though she is so nervous.

She follows Rosie out of the locker room to the corridor.

The casino suddenly feels much bigger than it did before.

People move around them in different directions.

The sound of cards being shuffled comes from somewhere nearby.

Emily tries to remember every turn they make.

She doesn't want to get lost here.

She has enough problems already.

“We have different card rooms on this floor. You were assigned to the top VIP card room.”

Rosie glances at her.

“Blackjack.”

Emily looks at her.

“Ever heard of that before?”

Emily shakes her head.

“Never.”

Rosie laughs softly.

“You will learn. Most of us here started from scratch. The only difference between you and us is that we started from normal card rooms, not the VIP.”

Emily listens carefully.

“You must have some serious backup,” Rosie says.

There is something about the way she says it that makes Emily look at her.

But Rosie doesn't sound jealous.

She doesn't sound angry.

If anything, she sounds impressed.

Emily doesn't say anything though.

What is she supposed to say?

She can't exactly tell her that the person giving her this special treatment is Ghost himself.

The freaking owner of this casino.

The same man whose name seems to make people lower their voices.

So yeah she can't.

So she keeps quiet.

She simply walks behind Rosie, pretending that she doesn't know exactly who is behind her rise.

She doesn't even know why Ghost did it.

Maybe it's because she saved him that day?

Maybe he really was only repaying that debt.

She doesn't want to think too much about it.

Rosie glances at her again.

For a moment, she says nothing.

Then she chuckled and started walking again.

They round a corner, straight into another hallway.

Rosie greets everyone they pass.

Literally everyone knows her.

Some people smile when they see her. Others call her name. She seems to have something to say to almost everyone, and she always has a smile on her face.

She must be the nicest person here.

Emily is just happy she was assigned to her.

She can already see herself learning so much from her.

Rosie seems to know this place like the back of her hand.

Emily needs someone like that.

Someone who can show her around without making her feel stupid for not knowing anything.

They pass different card rooms.

Some rooms were noisy.

Some were closed.

Some were open, and games were going on inside.

Emily couldn't help but look into the open rooms as they passed.

There were different kinds of tables, different games, and different people gathered around them.

She doesn't understand what most of them are doing yet, but she would like to learn about other games too.

That is after she finishes with the one she was assigned to.

If she is going to survive here, she needs to learn as much as possible.

Knowledge is power.

She learned that the hard way with the Collins family.

“You don't talk too much, do you?” Rosie says.

Emily looks down, still following her.

She opens her mouth, but before she can answer, a guy suddenly calls Rosie's name.

“Who is your cute little friend?”

Emily looks up.

The guy was staring directly at her.

Before she can say anything, Rosie responds.

“Get lost, Paul.”

Rosie doesn't even stop walking.

Emily almost smiles.

She likes her already.

Rosie suddenly stops.

Emily almost hits her, but she stops in time before colliding with her.

Rosie turns toward her.

“Heads up. You see people like that?”

She raises her mouth toward the side where that Paul guy was standing.

“Avoid them. They have nothing to offer but good sex. And I'm sure that's not what you're after, right?”

Emily feels her face heat up.

She looks away.

Why would she just talk about sex so casually?

Rosie stares at her.

Emily can feel her eyes on her face.

“Oh heaven, are you a virgin?”

She actually looks horrified asking it.

Emily blinks.

What's so bad about being a virgin?

She was still one just six months ago.

Of course, she isn't going to explain that.

“Are you even eighteen yet? Should you be here?”

Emily's eyes go wide.

What the hell?

Does she look that young?

She looks at Rosie for a second, wondering if the woman is actually serious.

“I'm going to be 22 in a few months,” she says.

Then she bites her lips, thinking about whether to respond to her other question.

Her face feels even hotter.

She really doesn't want to have this conversation.

But Rosie is still looking at her.

“I'm not a virgin,” she finally says, hoping the ground will swallow her again.

For some reason, Rosie actually looks relieved.

“Well, that's good. Like I was saying, all these boys, forget them. What you need is a real man with money to spend on you. And there are a lot of them in the VIP Blackjack card room.”

Rosie grins.

Emily just stares at her.

She isn't sure what she is supposed to say to that.

Rosie hits her shoulder lightly.

“You will learn, don't worry. Big sis Rosie got you.”

“Big sis?” Emily asks.

“I'm 25, therefore your big sis. Come on, let's go.”

Emily smiles and follows her again.

She doesn't know when the last time was that someone made her feel like this.

Normal.

Finally, they got to the VIP Blackjack card room.

Rosie gives her a quick glance before opening the door.

Emily follows her.

And immediately gasps as she walks inside.

It was not a room but a hall.

She looks around in disbelief.

She was thinking it was just a small room with a table and people sitting around it.

But it was more than that.

So much more.

There are a lot of people, but the entire place looks so organized.

So classy.

Everything looks expensive.

There was a bar.

There were several tables.

The place was huge.

A stripper was dancing on a pole on one side of the hall, while a lady was literally playing a calm piano tune in the background.

The contrast almost makes Emily dizzy.

One side is crazy and wild.

The other is calm and elegant.

“What in the world?” Emily whispers.

The people around look sophisticated and rich.

She can tell immediately that these aren't ordinary customers.

Her eyes move around the entire hall.

This is the kind of place where millions could probably disappear in one night and nobody would blink.

She suddenly understands why working here is considered such a big deal.

Rosie points ahead.

“That's Table A and Table B.”

Emily nods, trying to take everything in.

“I'll be serving at Table B today, and you will be serving my table drinks while learning how to serve games.”

Emily nods.

She rubs her hands together as she feels them shaking already.

She doesn't want Rosie to notice.

She needs to look confident.

She can't let everyone here know she has no idea what she's doing.

Rosie walks towards the card table.

Emily follows.

She's assuming it is Table B.

A few men were already sitting there.

The moment they approach, one of the men reaches out and hits Rosie's ass, then presses it.

For a second, she was horrified.

Her eyes widen, and she almost steps forward to hit the man's hand off.

But Rosie actually shakes her ass for the man to even press.

Then she bends down and kisses the man.

Emily was speechless.

She stares.

The man looks too old.

She quickly looks away.

Maybe Rosie really wasn't joking about everything she had said.

“Who is your friend?” another man at the table asks.

Rosie straightens up and looks at them.

“She's new, still fresh and still very clueless. Sorry, guys, you can't take a bite yet. That's the rules.”

Emily wasn't sure if she was talking about her or maybe an actual food.

The men laugh.

“We can wait,” one man says, biting his lips and looking at her hungrily.

Emily feels disgust rise inside her.

Her stomach twists.

She suddenly becomes very aware of every pair of eyes looking at her.

She doesn't like it.

She doesn't like the way some of them are looking at her as if she is something they can eventually have.

She looks around the enormous VIP hall again.

Maybe this place really is another hell waiting for her.

Or maybe it is her stepping stone to get what she wants.

She doesn't know yet.

That entirely will depend on her.