Accidental Billionaire (13 page)

Logan grabbed her hand, and they ran back. Baylee hopped up on the nearest opening and shoved the bunched silk of her skirt in to make room for Logan. There were probably twelve couples with them.

“Any other changes of heart?” Rawlings asked and more of the room laughed. At them. She didn’t care. She had the feeling she’d read the situation right.

Another curtained partition lit with fairy lights moved into the room, closing off their view of the individuals who lined the walls, taking them out of the game. Their protests echoed through the partition: “Wait.” “I changed my mind.” “Unfair.”

Baylee caught Logan’s grin. Goodbye disloyal partygoers. Rawlings climbed to the center of the table, his black shoes stark against the white of the table cloth. He’d be in so much trouble at her house for standing on the table.

Logan stroked her arm, drawing her attention back to him. “Good thing I’m not claustrophobic, the way this room is shrinking. You’re not claustrophobic, are you?”

The room was still bigger than ten of her trailers. “Nope.” His hand dropped away. Yes, terribly claustrophobic, more soothing motion, please. Now that they were a team, some of her tension eased. They should have teamed up to start with. Partnering with Logan was the right choice. She didn’t know why it hadn’t seemed obvious to her in advance, but sometimes choices had to be experienced to see if they were right.

The lights dimmed, and the exit glowed. Though the room was shorter, the green exit sign was in the same spot. Rawlings motioned for the wait staff to come forward. Carrying white bags, they positioned themselves at each of the four corners of the table. “Leave now or you are in the game until you win or lose.”

“Leaving is losing,” Fritz said.

No one left.

“Do you think leaving’s losing?” Baylee asked Logan.

“Yes.”

Her father had left when she was little, and then came around on occasion. She always thought she and Mom lost. Baylee lost a fulltime dad; Mom lost a husband. But really, he was the one who lost most of all. She tried to tell herself that when she was angry with him, which was every event when dads were present and hers wasn’t, like graduation. “How’d you end up in boarding school?” She lowered her voice. “Was it when your dad left?”

Logan blinked at her. “Going off to prep school was always in the works. Best education and all that.”

She wanted to talk to him more about it, but the game drew their attention. They were each handed a black bag. Inside was an iridescent white box the size of a cigar box with a small gold clasp on the front.

Pretty.

Rawlings rolled his hand and the room hushed. “You may open now.”

Inside the box were a quarter, a dollar, a slim two-pocket wallet, and a jewelry box.

The wallet held a credit card and an ID. The fake ID had all her details with two changes. First, the date of birth. It made her twenty-one, old enough to gamble, not a shock. And the last name, Bologna.

“Baylee Baloney? Are you kidding me?”

Logan snickered and looked over her shoulder. “Ba-loan-yah. Our club was founded in Bologna, Italy, in the fifteenth century.”

“Still. I’m Italian now? And a lunch meat? What’d you get?”

“Logan St. John.”

“Why do women always have to change their names?”

Logan hooked her waist. “You want the guy to take your name?”

“I like the idea of combining last names. Or creating a whole new one for my family.”

He crooked one eyebrow. “That’s not happening.”

That might happen.

The wait staff pulled the curtains from the walls and hit a switch and the room brightened, showing three arched doorways. Each doorway was decorated with iconic Vegas scenes.

One was labeled
Casino
. It had flashing neon lights, and a sign that read,
must be over twenty-one to enter
.

A second was labeled
Chapel
, with an arch covered in white roses and an
I Do
sign on top. Wedding rings hung from a white ribbon at the center. A man stood behind it dressed in a gray suit. He waved a bible in the air, touching the platinum wedding rings. That one provoked giggles.

“Maybe that’s a clue. Maybe Mr. Bologna’s on the other side waiting for me.”

Logan’s guy-expression made her laugh. “If there’s a choice, and there usually is with Rawlings, we’re not picking that one.”

The last doorway had steps leading to a stage, sparkling blue velvet curtains, and a table that held a magician’s hat and wand.
Magic
.

“Each of these scenes hides a way to make money. Think it out and choose carefully because you’ll need cash to go on.”

“Give me my wallet back, and I’ll have plenty of cash,” Fritz said.

Rawlings said, “Bitcoin won’t get you anywhere in this game.”

Other players snickered.

“Give-over, which one is the best payout?” Kira asked Rawlings with a wink.

Rawlings tapped his wrist. “I’m only giving information as I receive it from the game. Open your cases.”

Everyone went for their oblong jewelry cases. Inside was a man’s watch with a large rectangular computer face — a smart watch. Baylee held it against herself and hooked it on her wrist with the last possible hole; it slipped down her hand. She measured out a spot on the leather band where she needed a hole to make the watch tight enough to wear and marked it with her pink pen. “Give me a hand.” She motioned to his watch and he unhooked it for her. He used the prong on his to make a new hole.

Drake did the running man dance. “So there is an app. App. App. Baby. We’re in Vegas, baby. Jackpot.” He swatted Kira’s butt and bounced toward the casino arch.

A competitive sense of urgency filled the room. The white watch face flared on with two words:
Resources
and
Quitter.
The screen flashed again and a clock appeared ticking down time. Two minutes.

Logan asked, “Which do you want to try? Casino? Chapel? Or Magic?”

She had no clue. There didn’t seem to be much division, everyone was funneling through the casino arch, which built a weird sense of pressure to go that way, but was that the right choice?

The watch face flared red and its clock ticked down to thirty seconds.

A dark-skinned girl in plum behind her said, “Countdown to what?”

“Let’s find out,” her date said.

Ten seconds.

Baylee ran toward the casino arch. Logan followed her.

The door closed behind them, shutting them off from the last couple.

Zero.

The watch face changed back to
Resources
and
Quitter.
Did that mean the girl in plum and her date were out? She didn’t know, but suspected it. Time pressure was a concern, but fewer couples to compete against was a good thing. Inside, slot machines pinged and clicked. Card shuffle machines whirred. “Rolling,” the stick man said at the dice table. The room looked like a small casino. It had the same bank of gaming areas: big spin wheel, roulette wheel, dice tables, card tables, and pinging slot machines laid out in a walkable circle in a room with no windows. But it was themed differently: the carpet was maroon with the club’s Latin motto woven in gold along the path, gold curtains, and gold high-backed chairs – regal but flashy.

Ella popped over to them. “Fritz is playing blackjack with Rawlings. What are you two going for?”

“Dice,” Baylee said.

“Roulette,” Logan said.

Baylee shook her head. “No way. You know the odds on that?”

“Red or Black. Fifty/fifty?”

“There’s a spot for the house. They always have an edge.”

Logan winked. “I’ll take that.” He drifted that way.

Ella yawned. “This would be so fun if I were playing with my boyfriend. Being paired with Fritz sucks. But his family’s friends with my boyfriend’s family so I’m trying to keep the peace.”

Kira came over swishing her spring green skirt. She stopped, standing a few inches too close. “So you and Logan are together-together now?” She used a confiding tone.

“It’s just a date.”

“Oh. So you still have your coin. I gave mine to Drake because I was up, but tried to get extra for you guys and dice took my extra. Now I only have two coins.” Kira held open her palm. “Baylee, you should give me yours. Logan will cover you.”

No way. “No.”

“Unbelievable.” Kira drew out the word. “Ella, let me have yours so I’ll have three. Fritz will cover you. He was up. Drake was all over him to borrow some coin.”

Ella shook her head. “I’m not with Fritz. We just partnered for the game.”

“I know that.” Kira snorted. “You two are way too tight. I’ll get some from the guys.” She headed back to the card table and leaned against the back of Rawlings’ chair. “Ella needs an extra coin.” She looked back at them and winked.

Ella stiffened as Rawlings flipped Kira a coin and got up to go to the exit. “See you on the other side.”

Ella turned dark red, her cheeks approaching the maroon hue of Nadine’s gown. “I hate that.”

Rawlings crossed over to a green banner Baylee hadn’t seen before, but now wondered how she missed it. The gold lettering read,
Three Quarter Exit
. A man stood blocking the exit, holding up three fingers. Rawlings dropped coins in his hand and the man pressed a button opening the door behind him. Rawlings disappeared.

“I guess some people’s strategy is to borrow.” Dad had that strategy. She hid how often she gave her dad money when he came around. Her mom worked too hard and still had a great view of their family. She didn’t want to spoil it. Her watch flashed red. A five-minute clock appeared. “Let’s see how Logan’s doing.”

Logan was at the roulette table with Drake. Logan had his money on a green square. Drake bet red. “This one’s for you, Kira.”

“You go, baby.”

The ball landed on a green number, and Logan’s bet doubled.

“Lucky,” Drake said, watching the dealer take his money. He lifted his final quarter and held it to Kira’s lips. “Blow on this for luck.”

Kira blew, and then she looked up at Baylee and Ella. “Baylee, you haven’t met my boyfriend. Baylee’s the one I’ve been helping out.”

Sort of. “Kira’s a great cook.”

“Don’t I know it.” Drake rubbed his flat belly. He was good looking up close, too, but he wore a lot of product in his hair, a lot of beachy cologne, and required a lot of attention. Ella moved away from them and stuck her coin into a nearby diamond-themed slot machine. Three white reels spun on the screen. A lemon, a blank, and a spade appeared. The pinging stopped. It took her money.

Four minutes.

Baylee stopped watching roulette and headed over to the dice table. She stuck her quarter on the pass line and the stick man handed her the dice. She rolled an eleven and he paid her a second quarter. She lifted one coin and left the other on the line. The stick man returned the dice to her. The plastic edges rolled in her hands.

“One hand on the dice, miss.” His tone was sharp, like she was trying to switch the dice or weight them or something.

“Sorry.” Baylee dropped her other hand to her side and threw the dice out. Her hopes soared as the red squares plopped down to the green felt table and rolled, spinning numbers at her. One landed on six.

Plop.

The second die landed, showing six.

“Twelve craps.” The stick man scooped up the money, leaving her with one coin.

Oh.

Play or go?

Three minutes.

Crap. She spun on her flats and checked in with Logan.

Ella stood watching him at the roulette table. “He’s up.”

Logan had a stack of coins beside him, one on the line, and one flipping between his fingers. Awesome.

Baylee waved her solo coin. “You may have done better than me.”

Ella held up one coin. “And me.”

Fritz joined them. “I got mine. You’re not done yet?”

Ella shook her head at her date. “Nope.”

Fritz frowned. “I only have three. I shouldn’t have to cover you, too.”

“I’ll get it.”

“Really,” Fritz said. “Better check your watch and make that happen. We are a team you know.”

Two minutes.

A girl in an emerald green gown with a Queen Anne neckline stomped past, followed by a girl in a light yellow patterned dress with a teal underskirt. They were arguing with their dates and evidently only had enough quarters for two people to go. Neither couple was willing to give the other couple money, so they were all out. They might be leaving together tonight, but they wouldn’t be together in the morning. She could see the dilemma other couples faced. Friends, money, love – not everyone would get to walk away with all three. Rawlings’ game had a tricky bite.

The roulette wheel clicked and landed on red.

Baylee put her hand on Logan’s shoulder. “Logan. We should go. I’m going to have to borrow two coins from you. I just have one.”

“They said we’d need money,” he replied. “I don’t have what anyone would call money.”

Ella held up her coin. “I’m going to Hail Mary at the slot machine.”

“I might have enough for you, too.” Logan took his winning bet from the table and rose. “Let me count. I have four from this bet and Baylee has one. That’s five.” Logan reached for his pile of coins.

The stack was gone.

The little stack. Black chips piled in a small tower on the polished wood edge — gone. Logan looked at the dealer. “Did you see where my coins went?”

The dealer shook his head, staying silent.

Oh no. Jeeze. Baylee looked under the table, but she knew. She had that paranoid feeling that happened when something went missing; some exiting player had stolen Logan’s chips.

Ella rubbed her arms. “Did you put them in your pocket?”

“No.”

One minute.

“We only have one minute,” Baylee said, panicked.

“Ella, are you done yet?” Fritz called from the doorway. He was standing by Drake, who was begging each exiting player for any extra coins they had. “Logan owes Drake, so I took his stash, but I can save two for you.”

Drake jumped on the three coins Fritz handed him and dashed through the doorway without looking back.

Logan said, “Hey. I don’t owe Drake.”