Gabriel's Horn

Despite the movement going on around him and the steady current of conversations, Roux heard the light tread and sensed the movement behind him. He took another puff off the cigar and didn’t react.

“They’re happy.”

“Yes,” Roux agreed, “they are.”

Ling Po stepped to his side and joined him at the railing above the pit. “You knew I was there.”

Roux glanced at her. “Yes.”

“Yet you ignored me.”

“Trust me, dear girl, you’re not easy to ignore.”

“Well, then, why don’t you pay more attention to me?”

11

Roux took in Ling Po’s slender figure. It was obvious from the graceful way she moved that she paid attention to her physical health and was athletically inclined. The black pants, black jacket and white blouse almost looked like a business suit, but the tailor had made certain the material didn’t hide the curves beneath. There was a generous expanse of cleavage.

“How did you know I was there?” Ling Po’s brows knitted, and the effort almost made her look like a little girl.

“ESP?” Roux suggested.

Ling Po smiled. “No, I don’t think so.” She paused. “You’re a very interesting man.”

“I am,” he agreed, and he silently thanked the gods that gambling wasn’t the only interest left to him. His infatuation with young women, especially those who felt they had to compete with him on some level, was huge.

Ling Po laughed. “And you certainly don’t lack for confidence.”

“I find myself emboldened by your beauty,” Roux said. “I find my spirit made larger for being in your presence. You’ll have to forgive me.”

Her cheeks turned slightly pink. That had been unexpected. With all of her wealth he would have expected her to be hardened to any form of flattery.

“You talk a lot of nonsense,” the young woman responded.

“Do you think so? I thought it sounded much better than telling you that you had a great set of hooters.” Roux smiled.

Ling Po laughed, but she didn’t bother to hide her cleavage. She seemed genuinely amused rather than put off by his crude remark. “You know, I could think you’re hitting on me.”

Roux lifted his eyebrows. “I’d be devastated to know that you approached me with anything less in mind.”

“You’re entirely too confident.”

“I’ve always been very successful with women.”

“Have you?”

“You came over to meet me, didn’t you?”

“Not because of any sexual allure.”

“Are you certain?”

“You’re old enough to be my grandfather.”

“And that makes me even more intriguing, doesn’t it?”

Ling Po didn’t deny it. “I like the way you handled Connelly.”

Roux shrugged. “The man was positively begging for a comeuppance of the rudest sort. Although, if the cards hadn’t favored me, that could have been embarrassing.”

They shared a brief laugh.

“He didn’t know that you allowed yourself to be caught bluffing earlier,” Ling Po said.

Roux managed an innocent look but couldn’t help grinning just a little. Ling Po was sharper than he thought. It would be good to keep that in mind.

“Did I do that?” he asked.

The young woman nodded. “Yes. It was very carefully done, by the way.”

“Thank you.”

“I don’t think anyone else caught on.”

“Yet you did.”

“Truthfully, I think I’m better than anyone else in that room.”

“Ah, I see.”

“I don’t mean to take anything away from you. You’re a very good card player,” she said.

“Again, you’re too kind.”

“No. I’ve seen some of the best. That’s why I’m surprised I’ve not crossed paths with you before.”

“I play a small game.”

“By choice. You could be on television, playing in one of the tournaments that get broadcast.”

Roux waved that away and took another puff off his cigar. He rounded his ash into a nearby ashtray. “I’ve no interest in that. Entirely too much attention.” And there was too much of an opportunity for too many people to see him and perhaps recognize him.

“I can’t believe you’d be shy.”

“Perhaps I just prefer a gentleman’s game among friends.”

Ling Po shook her head. “After the way you ambushed and baited Connelly, I don’t think so. That wasn’t very gentlemanly.”

“He isn’t—by any stretch of a generous imagination—anywhere close to being a gentleman.”

“No, but I have to wonder what you’re all about.”

“Then I’ll just say that I like being mysterious. I’ve found that women think that’s attractive.”

“It is.”

Roux turned to face the young woman. “So is your intent in meeting me merely to get a better sense of my game? Or do you have something else in mind?”

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