Polished Chatter

The whole place was literally glittering.

The lighting, the good looking paintings on the walls, the rugs on the floor. Everything looked expensive, polished, and almost too perfect.

The casino felt like a completely different world.

There were a lot of chatters around her, voices mixing together from every direction.

Girls walked out of rooms with drinks in their hands, their short uniforms making it obvious they worked there. There was laughter coming from the men around them, some loud and careless, while others sat around tables with serious expressions on their faces.

Emily slowly looked around.

Some people looked at her and then looked away.

Others stared for a second longer before returning to whatever they were doing.

She couldn't help but feel a little out of place.

She was still holding the file she had been given, and for a moment, she wondered if everyone could tell she was new.

Probably.

She took a deep breath.

She couldn't stand here looking lost.

She had to find Manager Mike.

Emily looked around again and spotted two girls wearing the same gown she has seen on few other girls

She walked toward them, putting on her biggest smile.

She didn't know what kind of reception she would get, but there was no point looking nervous.

She needed to learn how to survive in places she didn't belong in.

“Hi, please, I'm looking for Manager Mike.”

The two girls turned to look at her.

One of them just glared at her for absolutely no reason.

Emily blinked.

What did she do?

She tried not to let it bother her and focused her attention on the one that at least wasn't glaring at her.

“There’s no opening for a job here,” the girl said, looking at her hand.

Emily looks down at the file in her hand.

She raises one hand and shakes it.

“No, no, I'm not looking for a job. I already have a job.”

The girl squints at her.

The other girl just glares at her even harder.

She will never understand why some women just hate their fellow women for no reason.

She had barely spoken to them.

She wasn't even asking them for their job.

Yet one of them was looking like she had personally offended her just by talking to them.

“You have a job already?”

She nods, forcing out a smile.

She didn't come here to make enemies.

“Oh, I see. Well, walk down, take your left turn. The first office is Mike's office. You will see his name boldly written on the door.”

“Thank you so much,” she says.

She gives the girl another small smile before turning around.

At least one person here wasn't completely unpleasant.

Emily starts following the girl's directions, walking down the hallway while holding tightly onto the file.

The farther she walks, the quieter it becomes.

The noise from the main hallway slowly fades behind her.

She looks around as she continues walking.

This place was so huge.

Eventually she reaches the left turn.

Just like the girl said, she spots the office. Her eyes land on the name written boldly on the door.

Manager Mike.

This must be it, she thinks as she walks toward it to knock.

She raises her hand. Her knuckles are just about to touch the door when she freezes.

A loud moan comes from inside.

Emily's entire body goes still.

Her eyes widen.

“Right there… big Mike! oh! my God, right there!”

Her hand remains frozen in the air.

She doesn't know where to look.

Big Mike?

The voice is so loud that she feels embarrassed just hearing it.

Imagine feeling shame for what she didn't do.

Emily is the master of feeling shame for other people's actions.

She slowly lowers her hand.

Another sound comes from inside.

Emily's face becomes even hotter.

She takes a step back from the door.

Maybe she should knock?

She shook her head. No

That can make her new manager angry and Emily doesn't want to start by provoking her new boss.

It's best she waits.

She glances at the door again.

How long is she supposed to wait?

She thought of going somewhere to wait for them to finish.

But where?

She doesn't know this place.

If she walks away now, she might get lost and end up somewhere she isn't supposed to be.

And she really really doesn't want to get into trouble on her first day.

Emily takes another step away from the door.

She looks behind her as she hears footsteps approaching her.

A woman was walking toward her, holding a file in one hand.

The woman frowns as her eyes land on Emily.

There is something about her expression that immediately makes Emily straighten.

She looks like someone who doesn't have time for nonsense.

“Who are you?” the woman asks.

From the way she's dressed, she might be a staff member too.

“I'm Emily. I'm assigned to the VC VIP Card Room.”

The woman's expression changes slightly.

She looks at Emily again, this time from head to toe.

Emily suddenly feels like she is being inspected.

Like she is some kind of strange object that has just appeared in the middle of the hallway.

The woman finally speaks.

“Oh, you're the new girl that leveled up huh”

Emily doesn't know what to say to that.

She's the new girl that was supposed to start from the bottom but somehow, she had skipped a few steps to the top.

She had gone from being a new fish to getting a coveted position at the casino.

She has no idea how many people already know about her.

But judging by the woman's reaction, it seems like news travels fast around here.

She doesn't know if that is a good thing.

So she stays quiet.

The woman stares at her.

For a little too long.

Long enough for Emily to start feeling uncomfortable under her gaze.

Then she starts sizing her up, slowly looking her from head to toe.

Emily stands still, trying not to fidget.

She doesn't know what this woman is looking for.

Maybe she is wondering what kind of connection she has to Ghost.

“I'm Naomi. Your card room director.”

Emily's eyes go up.

She gives her a little bow of respect.

“Nice to meet you, Naomi…”

“Around here they call me Mama or Madam Card,” the woman says.

Emily nods quickly. That sounded cringe and stupid as hell but who was she to judge?

“Nice to meet you, Mama Card.”

The moaning sound coming from the manager's office almost startles her.

She had almost forgotten about them.

The sound was loud enough to make her eyes widen again.

Mama Card looks at the office and scrunches her nose.

Emily feels even more weirded out.

She doesn't know how the woman can stand here looking so calm when someone is practically screaming inside the manager's office.

Maybe this is normal around here.

“Follow me,” the woman says.

Emily follows her immediately.

She doesn't even look toward the manager's office again.

The last thing she wants is for whoever is inside to come out and find her standing there.

She walks beside Mama Card.

The woman moves quickly, and Emily has to slightly increase her pace to keep up.

“I heard you had a clash with Florence.”

Emily feels her heart beat a little harder in her chest.

Her steps almost slow down.

How did she know?

As far as she knows, most of the people working in the casino don't stay in the mansion.

But then again, she knows almost nothing about how things work here.

Maybe Florence is friends with her, who knows?

She can't even question anything because she has no idea who knows who.

She looks at Mama Card's back.

For a moment, she weighs her options.

Will this woman also bully her?

Will she be another Florence?

Another person who thinks because she is at the bottom, she can treat her however she wants?

Her fingers tighten around the file.

She is already tired of being treated like she is nothing.

“Relax. I don't care.”

Mama Card says it without even turning around.

Emily blinks.

She must have noticed her anxiety going off the roof.

Emily releases a breath she didn't even know she was holding.

“Okay.”

They walk down a different hallway, and the hall leads to an entirely different side.

Mama Card finally stops in front of a door.

Then she pushes it open.

This must be her office, Emily thinks.

“Come in.”

Emily nods and walks inside.

The office was small, but neatly kept.

There wasn't anything unnecessary around. Everything looked organized.

Mama Card walks behind her desk and sits down.

Emily remains standing.

“I don't care who you are and what connection you have. But as long as you're under my section, you must obey the rules surrounding it.”

Emily looks at her and nods.

She understands that.

“You're not a lizard. Respond with words.”

Emily's eyes widen slightly.

“Yes,” she stammers out, feeling her cheeks get hot from embarrassment.

She really needs to stop doing that.

Stammering.

Looking stupid.

She has already embarrassed herself enough today.

Mama Card continues like nothing happened.

“There aren't many rules here, just the basics. No fighting is allowed. Don't resume work late. Always be at your assigned section during your work hours.”

Emily listens carefully.

“You're allowed to report any abuse of any kind, whether from customers or your fellow worker. And you're also allowed to sleep with anyone you want as long as it doesn't affect your job.”

Emily almost chokes on her spit.

Her eyes widen.

Was that part necessary to add?

She looks at Mama Card, hoping she is joking.

But the woman has the same serious expression on her face.

She wasn't joking or playing around.

Emily doesn't know what to say.

Madam Card stares at her like she is trying to figure out something.

Emily suddenly feels exposed.

Why is she looking at her like that?

“I'm saying that because a lot of the customers will want to fuck you. You're fresh, beautiful with a great body. They have money and you must need money. If you want and they want to spend on you, you can fuck as much as you want. There's no rule against that.”

She chokes on literally nothing

She holds her chest, coughing as she tries to catch her breath.

Mama Card looks at her almost weirdly.

For a few seconds, neither of them says anything.

Then the older woman looks away as if Emily's reaction is the strangest thing she has seen all day.

Emily wipes her mouth.

She doesn't know whether to laugh, cry, or disappear.

She had expected actual rules.

She did not expect to be told she could sleep with customers if she wanted to.

This place is really something else.

The older woman opens a drawer and pulls out her file.

Then she hands it to her.

Emily takes it.

“Go through it, then sign it.”

Emily looks down at the file.

She opens it carefully.

Before she can start reading, Madam Card pulls out something in a nylon and throws it at her.

Emily catches it against her chest.

She touches the nylon, already wondering what was inside.

“That's your uniform. I will assign someone you will work with. You will learn everything from her. In the next two weeks you should be able to handle things on your own.”

Emily nods.

“Also, you're going to use two hours every day to learn card games and the tricks behind them.”

“Yes, Ma'am.”

“Get along with your fellow workers, learn from them, work with them.”

“I will,” she says.

“Sit down and go through it before you sign it.”

Emily wasn't sure she had any choice in any of this.

Still, she sat down and went through the file.

The pages contained the rules and penalty for breaking them.

There wasn't much on it.

No fighting.

No coming late.

Stay in the assigned section.

Report abuse.

Follow instructions.

Simple enough.

She agrees with what was on it.

Even if she didn't, did she have any choice?

Her life was already not hers.

She takes in a deep breath.

Then she signs it.

Her name sits at the bottom of the page. She stares at it for a second.

A strange feeling moves through her chest.

This was another big step for her.

She has no idea what is waiting for her outside this office.

She doesn't know who she will meet….who will try to hurt her.

And how many enemies she will make here.

She is here now though.

So she will learn.

She will survive.

Mama Card takes the file back after checking the signature.

Then she looks at Emily.

“Go get ready. Your shift starts now.”