Chapter 22

Max was in the game room with Nick’s assistant learning how to use the automatic shuffler on the new poker table when Simon stuck his head in the room. “Tanvi, how old are you?”

“Twenty-four,” said Tanvi. “Why?”

“Cool. We need you for a second.” said Simon.

Tanvi dutifully followed Simon. As a decent human being and Nick’s temporary stand-in, Max followed Tanvi. One did not just let attractive young women follow where Simon beckoned them, particularly immediately following an age-check.

As Max had expected, Simon was up to something nefarious. But it wasn’t as nefarious as Max had feared, so he let it run its course before saying anything.

Tanvi signed the delivery man’s pad and Simon handed him a twenty before the man slid his cart out neatly from under its payload, turned, and left. Once he was safely headed downstairs in the elevator, Max asked, “Simon, why are you having cases of beer delivered and making Tanvi sign for them?”

“Last question first,” said Simon. “I asked our dear new friend Tanvi to sign for the delivery because the gentleman who just left was attempting to enforce an unjust and puritanical law and failed to respond appropriately to a reasonably-sized bribe. I imagine he thought I owned this place and could afford more than twenty dollars in baksheesh.”

“And the first question - the important one. Why are you having cases of beer delivered here when there’s already a ton of alcohol in the loft?” Max asked.

Simon picked up a case of beer and gestured to the remaining stack. “Help me carry those into the game room and I’ll explain.”

Max sighed and grabbed a case, following Simon.

Once Simon had placed his case into a corner, he said, “What is the one thing we can’t really do comfortably with Nick here?”

“I imagine there’s a lot more than one thing,” offered Max.

“Exactly. We can’t get drunk.” Simon took the case from Max and placed it on top of his own. “Before you correct me and say that several of us did in fact get at least pleasantly buzzed on the Fourth of July, I should point out that what I mean is that we can not get drunk without a special occasion. And that by ‘can not,’ what I mean is that we could, but Nick would make it really awkward by working so earnestly to make it not awkward that we were getting drunk and he was sipping like a virgin at first communion.”

Before Max could ask another question, Simon was out of the room again. Max caught up with him as he was picking up another case. “But, why do we need more alcohol?”

“We don’t. Grab that please.” Simon gestured at the other case with his head. As Max followed him, he said, “We have plenty of alcohol, but we have no beer. We haven’t had any since the fourth. And beer is clearly the drink of choice for playing poker. You don’t need to mix it. It’s not so strong that you can’t have one and still make intelligent decisions. And once I bought the coolers and the ice, it seemed like a waste not to fill them with beer.”

Max sighed. “I was hoping we’d break in the new poker table tonight, but why do we need so much beer. That’s four cases for five of us.”

“Should we deprive our new friends of the chance to lose at poker to us?” Simon asked. “There are eleven chairs at that table. Four cases are a mere ninety-six long-neck beers. That’s just enough to guarantee no one runs out and that we mice still have enough beer afterwards to last us a while in case the cat doesn’t go away and let us play for a while.”

Max sighed, knowing he was beaten in this discussion and not particularly wanting to win. “Ok. Fine. When do we start playing? It’s been weeks since I last emptied your pockets.”

“After dinner, I thought,” said Simon. “No need to make the staff complicit in our teenaged hijinks. We’ll start once they go home.”

That was surprisingly considerate of Simon, making Max immediately suspicious. “You didn’t mind making Tanvi complicit.”

“I don’t mind being a little complicit.” Tanvi had gone back to shuffling, cutting, and getting comfortable with the table. “I should be a reasonably competent dealer by then.”

“We’ll probably end up playing all night,” warned Max. “We usually do.”

“I don’t mind,” said Tanvi. “I’m staying in one of the guest rooms anyway. I don’t have anywhere better to be.”

“It’s all set then.” Simon clapped his hands. “Beer and poker after dinner. Tell your friends.”

Max allowed himself a small smile. The “tell your friends” had been a running joke among their little group pretty much the whole time they’d been having their occasional poker nights. It was frequently spoken when all five of them were in the room. In Brownfield Mills, they had no other real friends. On all but a handful of occasions, the game was just the five then, when Lev arrived, six.

This time, he actually had someone to call. Paige picked up on the first ring. “Hey, Max. What’s up?”

“We just got a real, professional poker table at the loft,” said Max. “And a bumper crop of beer that needs drinking. We’re going to combine the two and see what happens. Should I save you a seat?”

“Ooh. Ten minutes earlier, I would have said yes. But I have plans,” said Paige.

“With Howard?” Max asked.

“Harold,” said Paige. “And yes if you must know.”

“Well...” Max wasn’t sure what he was going to say until he said, “Invite him along. I’d like to meet him.”

“Seriously?” Paige paused. “I’ll float the idea to him, but not tonight. It’s his birthday. He’s having a party, I think.”

“A Howard party? Sounds like fun,” Max couldn’t help smirking.

“Harold,” Paige reminded him again. “And honestly, your party sounds like more fun, but he asked me first and it is his birthday. Also, if you really want to meet him, maybe the loft isn’t the best setting the first time. He’s already a little intimidated by you. He calls you Kael Drogo.”

Max laughed. “Don’t you have pictures of me on Facebook or something?”

“I do. He’s seen them. I don’t think it’s entirely a physical resemblance he’s getting at,” said Paige. “He knows you have a strong khalasar.”

“Does he know I’m the one cleaning up after the horses?” Max asked.

“No because you’re not,” said Paige firmly. “You’re Nick’s best friend. I’ve seen the tattoo on your ass.”

“Shit. I haven’t. I wonder when that got there.” Max sighed. “All right. If I can’t peel you off of Hadrian, I’ll have to start calling my other girlfriends.”

Paige chuckled. “You’re already down to ‘P.’ I guess that means Adriana Lima and Bella Hadid had plans.”

“Ah, well. Maybe Queen Latifah is free,” said Max.

After the call ended, he sighed. Max definitely had more friends now than he’d had in high school, but they were still mostly part of the cluster centered on Nick. He had a much richer social life online - guilds, battletag friends, people he knew from forums. None of the ones he might actually like to meet in person lived in New York as far as he knew.

Of course, the group were still pretty insular. Nick was getting to know the Stones, but he wasn’t here and it was probably just as well he not invite any of his cousins to their first poker game. They’d probably want a million-dollar buy-in and have no respect for the idea of table stakes.

With the image of Nick’s five closest friends playing poker without him firmly in his mind, Max was surprised when Tanvi came to find him. “The table for tonight is filling up pretty quickly. Do you have anybody you want to put on the list before there are no more seats?”

“Who’s signed up already?” Max frowned.

“Simon, you, Arwen, Lev, Dennis, Emily, Cat, and Casey,” said Tanvi. “Plus, I was thinking I might play.”

“So, one more seat?” Max asked. “I tried to invite two people. I didn’t realize the game would be so popular.”

“I can sit in the dealer seat and play if nobody objects,” said Tanvi. “We’ll fit your two guests just fine.”

“Err, they’re not coming actually,” said Max.

“So, should I ask Shelby and Alexis?” Tanvi offered.

Max gave a nervous laugh. “Uh, maybe you should ask Arwen about that. I don’t think she’s evolved to the ‘playing games with Shelby’ phase of her metamorphosis yet.”

“I could ask Arwen if you don’t mind me putting her on the spot like that,” said Tanvi. “But, Nick did leave you in charge.”

“Simon’s really organizing the game and Shelby’s his ... whatever she is to him.” Max grumbled. “Maybe you should ask him.”

“I did,” said Tanvi. “He said he had no idea and that I should ask you because Nick left you in charge.”

Max scowled and took a deep breath. He wanted to object that his role was entirely titular, that he’d never been meant to make decisions, and that Arwen should really decide. Instead, he said, “Fine. They’re both guests here. It would be rude not to at least invite them to our reindeer games. If they come and it’s a disaster, maybe Nick will learn not to leave me in charge next time.”

“All right.” Tanvi smiled and nodded at him. “Do you need anything else from me?”

“What do you mean?” Max asked.

“Nick left you in charge. That means I’m your assistant until he comes back to work on Tuesday. I’m on the clock until six, but I can work later if you need anything,” Tanvi’s smile got even broader like she knew she was making Max uncomfortable and it amused her to do so.

“Uh, no. I haven’t even been down to the office yet today and what I’m researching is pretty technical stuff I need to know anyway,” said Max. “Uh, but you’re welcome to join the poker game even if you have to play from the dealer’s hole. Executive decision.”

Tanvi made a curtsying motion. “Thanks, boss.”

Despite Simon’s stated intentions, the beer did not stay hidden away until after dinner. By the time Max headed out to dinner, there were empty longneck bottles dotting the lounge and many more on the dinner table. A half-full cooler of ice and bottles sat at the head of the table as if Nick had left it, rather than Max, in charge for the weekend. If the staff were troubled by its presence, they hid it well.

Max took his seat at the table. “I thought those were for after dinner?”

“So did I.” Simon toasted with his own bottle. “It turns out that putting beer out to cool around young people is like leaving an open can of tuna on the counter around cats. Grab one.”

“I’ll pass for now,” said Max. “I don’t need the empty calories.”

“I think you just want the unfair advantage of sobriety.” Simon gestured with his bottle and said to the rest of the table. “Keep an eye on this one - total card shark.”

“I don’t need sobriety. I already have an unfair advantage over you, Simon.” said Max. “I’m a much better poker player than you are.”

A loud chorus of “Oos” went up around the table. Shelby offered. “Best buzz to calorie ratio is vodka, then.”

“Et tu, Brute?” Max asked her.

“Venio ad Caesarem laudet, sed conde.” Shelby responded with a toast of her own. “If this is going to be a fair contest, you should match us drink for drink at least.”

“You’re playing?” Max asked.

“You invited us. We’re playing,” said Shelby.

Max looked for Arwen, found her, and met her eyes. Arwen tilted her head and shrugged. He sat at the empty seat across from her. Quietly, he said, “They’re Nick’s guests. I figured if he would invite them, I should.”

Arwen gestured to the head of the table with an empty bottle. “Beer me, please.” Once the new beer came, she handed it to Lev who twisted the top off using only the palm of his hand. “It’s fine. One session of D&D doesn’t make Shelby super-gamer-girl. Just promise you’ll do your best to send her home wearing only a barrel. I will be.”

“I ... don’t think we have any barrels,” said Max.

“Even better,” Arwen toasted him. “If you win her new wardrobe, I can buy it off you deeply discounted. She has some awesome pieces I’d like to try.”

Max raised an eyebrow, but didn’t comment. Arwen wanting to see Shelby stripped of her garments as the result of fair combat might actually qualify as a thawing in their relationship. Plus, it seemed to fit the mood of the table. There was an air of concentrated jocularity like they were all finally free of adult supervision and planned to make the most of it before Nick came back.

Nick certainly wouldn’t like to think of himself as adult supervision or a buzzkill and he wasn’t exactly. He was weird about drugs and alcohol and didn’t trust himself to handle them responsibly. Simon’s characterization, while unkind, had been largely correct. Nick worked so hard to make sure everyone was comfortable engaging in their own vices around him that it made them all a bit uncomfortable.

So with Nick gone, everybody was cutting a bit loose. Max took a deep breath and let go of the idea that this was really his responsibility. He might be Nick’s seneschal, but he wasn’t Nick. He could use a drink or six himself.

Still, it was Coke Zero with dinner. Max might talk a good game about poker, but Simon was a tough competitor - predictable only in that he seemed to have an almost supernatural ability to detect weakness and exploit it. Beyond that, half the table would be people he’d never played with before. He wouldn’t be surprised to find some of them were really good players, particularly Shelby and Cat.

Arwen might think Shelby was an easy mark, but Max wasn’t sure he agreed. Even if she had no natural aptitude for poker, there was a competitive streak to Shelby a mile wide that he wouldn’t want to take lightly. Comparably, Cat seemed very easy-going, but she was like the super-cool cousin who might casually drop into conversation that she’d been smoking dope with the Dalai Lama and then wave it off when you seemed surprised.

Of course, Max could actually afford to lose at poker now. Living with his parents, the twenty-dollar buy-in for Simon’s occasional game could be a significant investment. Not only could he afford that, he could afford to play real live poker in a casino if he could get to Europe.

A quick check of the Internet over dinner and he texted Paige, “Want to go to Saint Martin next weekend?”

She texted back, “Srsly?”

After he texted back that he was serious, his phone rang. He got up from the table and went to a quiet part of the lounge. “Khaleesi.”

“Would this be like a date where I pay my way with a non-binding insinuation of possible sex or would I have to pony up for half of a trip?” Paige asked.

“Uh, I was thinking the sex thing would work,” Max suggested. “Would it still be non-binding at this point?”

“We could try a little binding if you like,” offered Paige. “I’ve enjoyed some binding in my time.”

“So, it’s a date, then?” Max asked.

“Definitely,” said Paige.

“Cool,” said Max. “Wish Harold a happy birthday for me.”

“And may I wish you a passive-aggressive good luck at Lingerie Models Play Poker with a Billionaire’s Friends as well?” Paige asked.

“There are only going to be two lingerie models there,” Max pointed out. “I’m not sure they get top billing.”

Paige laughed. “Have fun with your friends, Max.”

“You too, Paige.” Max got off the phone feeling pretty good about himself. People were just finishing dinner as he came back.

Emily looked at her phone. “Max, do you know who Firiona Vie is?”

“A character from EverQuest,” said Max. “I didn’t play that one much. Why?”

“A guy in Hollywood wants to cast me as her and Casey as Sylvanas Windrunner in a movie together,” said Emily.

“Those two are from different games ... different franchises,” Max pointed out. “And I can’t imagine anyone is looking forward to making another Warcraft movie. Are you sure it’s not someone trying to get you to do porn?”

“I got the same e-mail,” said Casey. “It’s definitely porn.”

“I don’t see anything...” Emily scrolled down with her finger. “Oh, okay. Definitely porn. Maybe not that one then.”

“I have a spam filter than catches anything with the word ‘tasteful’ in it,” offered Casey. “It blocks a lot of the porn come-ons.”

Tanvi rose from the table, wiping her mouth dramatically with a napkin. “I’m going to do a ten-minute touch-up, then I’ll be setting up in the poker room. You pikers can join whenever you’re ready.”

As she walked away, Simon asked, “Is it wrong that being called a ‘piker’ in that accent makes me a little bit hard?”

“You should just assume that anything which makes you hard is probably wrong, Simon.” Alexis suggested.

“No fun in being right all the time,” Cat rose a little unsteadily to her feet. “I’m going to go call Hall, then I’ll be good to go.”

Casey rose to follow her. Simon watched them go. “Hall is a very lucky man.”

Lev asked. “Is there any filter between your brain and your mouth?”

“There is, but it’s pretty beer-soluble,” Simon got up. “I’m going to go piss and grab some cash.”

“Max, could you grab the toy box and haul it in the game room?” Emily gestured towards the half-full cooler with her head.

Max wasn’t used to being assigned lift-and-carry duties, but he supposed it made sense. He was the only person who hadn’t started drinking. And the cooler was less than half full. He managed to haul it into the game room without sweating or splashing ice water onto himself. Just as he was putting it down, Simon said, “You don’t think we’re actually going to go through all the beer tonight. Do you?”

“Emily asked me to bring that in here, I brought it in here.” Max shrugged. “Pretty blondes ask me to do things, I forget to ask questions.”

Simon started loading beers from the case boxes into the cooler Max had brought over. “I didn’t calculate for one of us being Australian. I think I’m in the red for tonight no matter what.”

“You bought four cases of beer and thought you were going to make money on the deal?” Max asked. “You really have gotten a swelled head.”

“Six new people, all girls.” Simon shrugged. “One or two of them might know how to play - maybe Tanvi and Cat. The rest might as well pour their purses onto the table and go home. If we drink half the beer, I only need to make about fifty bucks to break even. Maybe we should increase the stakes.”

“You’re not going to get any arguments from me about raising the stakes. Mama and Papa Whitford can’t confiscate my paychecks anymore,” said Max. “I’m actually planning on flying to Saint Martin to play in a real casino next weekend.”

“Good thinking. I should try that some time,” said Simon. “After the summer. I’m not sure my arrangement with Shelby covers transporting her out of the country.”

“Speaking of Shelby...” Max started. When Simon shot him a dirty look, he decided now was not the time to discuss his friend’s love life, so he changed course. “Aren’t you selling her a little short? I bet she could clean your clock.”

“At poker? Not a chance. She barely made it through three years of high school math,” said Simon. “She’ll probably be the first one to call it quits tonight.”

“Put money on it?” Max asked. “A hundred dollars says she’s winds up ahead at the end of the night. That’ll cover all the beer if you win.”

Simon considered it. “Even bet?”

“Yeah, but you can’t tell her about it and split the money on me,” said Max.

Simon frowned. “All right. But, any time you fold in a showdown with her, you have to show your cards so I know you’re not sandbagging.”

“Not every time,” said Max. “You can ask me twice and I’ll show them.”

“Four times,” said Simon automatically.

“Twice and, if she’s the first one to quit the game because she’s busted out, I’ll pay you an extra fifty,” said Max.

“Deal.” Simon put out his hand to shake.

Max considered all the angles, then shook. It was important to consider all the angles with Simon. “Deal. And nobody tells Shelby.”

“Nobody tells me what?” Shelby asked, having come into the room at the worst possible moment.

“I just sold the remainder of your contract to Max,” Simon quipped.

Shelby looked Max over thoughtfully. “I still get this weekend off. But, whatever you paid, you got a good deal. You don’t have what I’m worth.”

“I used Nick’s checkbook,” said Max. “I hope he doesn’t mind.”

“It was really more of a ‘Ransom of Red Chief’ situation,” Simon added. “Or maybe it was ‘The Monkey’s Paw.’ I’m not much of a reader.”

Shelby gently patted Simon on the cheek, making him flinch a little. “Joke all you want. We’ve got the whole summer to work through your issues.”

As she walked over to the table, Max turned to Simon. “You know, she might actually be too good for you.”

“What are the odds?” Simon rolled his eyes. “One guy in the whole world she’s too good for and that’s where she winds up.”

Tanvi returned having changed from her professional-looking button-down white blouse and black skirt into a long black and red tunic top in a batik pattern and blue jeans. She sat in the dealer’s chair and started separating out cards from one of the decks. She took a small subset and washed them around the green, felt tabletop. When Max went over to sit down, she said, “Pick a card.”

Max turned over the five of spades. Tanvi pointed to a chair directly across from her. “You’re in the five seat.”

Max hadn’t heard of drawing for seats before, but he sat. “Have you played in a real casino? You might have an unfair advantage over us.”

“Really? I thought you were pretty good,” said Tanvi. “You’re better than Simon. Right?”

“I just tell him that to lull him into a false sense of security,” said Max. “I’m actually terrible. I can never remember whether a straight beats a flush or the other way around.”

“Save it for the rubes, boss.” Tanvi laughed. “I’m on to your head games.”

“So, I guess you’re pretty good?” Max asked.

“I might be,” asked Tanvi. “How does the horse move again?”

Max made an “I’ll be watching you gesture” from his eye to Tanvi. She smiled and made one back.

Dennis led Emily in. They drew for seats. Emily wound up immediately on Max’s left and Dennis two seats further down. Emily leaned in. “I’ve never played this before. Can you explain the rules?”

Max exchanged a knowing look with Tanvi. “Do you think you can go over the rules once we’re all seated? Some people might be a little rusty.”

Alexis and Shelby came in and took the one and three seats to Tanvi’s left. Alexis did a little victory dance on drawing the ace of spades that Max couldn’t really look away from. Lexi might be here to explore her sapphic side with Shelby, but the two of them couldn’t look more femme. Shelby’s dark hair, dark eyes and generous curves were in strong contrast to Lexi’s tall, narrow frame, blue eyes, and soft corona of wheat-blonde hair.

Simon drew for his seat and Max said a little prayer that the universe not give him the two seat. There were too many obvious jokes if he wound up between Lexi and Shelby. The universe seemed to overcompensate for Max’s request by putting him in the ten seat on Tanvi’s right.

As soon as Lev and Arwen came in, the universe reasserted its sense of humor by placing Lev as the meat in a Lexi-Shelby sandwich and Arwen between Shelby and Max. Lev gave his girlfriend a worried look. Arwen just smiled and went over to a cooler, returning with fresh beers for the two of them.

As Cat and Casey flanked Dennis, Max considered the table layout. He and Simon were far from each other. Tanvi might even keep Simon’s legendary aggression in check by being on his left. As long as Arwen kept her aggression against Shelby to within the rules of the game, Max could probably reraise on her a few times and steal even when Shelby had stronger hands. He discovered that he liked drawing for seats.

“So, what are the stakes?” Simon asked once everyone was seated and drinking.

“Same as they’ve always been.” Dennis went for his wallet. “Twenty-five twenty-five with a twenty-dollar buy-in. Right?”

“Still? Seriously?” Simon challenged. “That’s what we played for when we were all broke.”

“Not all of us are making ‘Nick’s best friend’ money,” Shelby reminded him. “I heard twenty-dollar buy-in.”

“You’re crying poverty, Shel?” Simon asked disbelieving. “You might not be the rich girl at the table anymore, but you’re still probably the richest girl in Brownfield Mills.”

“It doesn’t matter to me,” said Shelby. “I’m not going to lose. But, we were all told the stakes. Those are what we should play for.”

“I ... don’t really want to lose a lot either,” said Emily. “This is my first poker game. I’m making good money now, but that’s a pretty new thing.”

“All right. Point granted,” acknowledged Simon. “For the sake of the junior circuit, we’ll keep it at quarter-quarter-twenty, but at some point I’d like to play for some real money and I don’t want to wait another three years to do it.”

As people started reaching for their wallets, Cat asked, “Do we want to discuss the obvious alternative?”

Everyone paused for a few seconds. Of all people, Lev caught on first. “I’m not sure that’s as obvious as you think.”

“Oh, strip poker!” Emily announced. “I’d much rather play that way.”

“You would?” Max turned to look at her.

“Sure.” Emily sipped her beer. “Once I get this stupid bandage off my ankle, I’m going to start figuring out a way to show the whole world my tits. It doesn’t cost me anything if you all get a preview.”

“You can Google my tits,” said Casey. “I’m in.”

“I’m in,” said Arwen. When everybody turned to look at her, she added, “What? You can’t Google my tits and only one person at this table has actually seen them. That’s got to put them at a premium.”

“Wait,” Max felt that, as seneschal, he should at least make some small effort at avoiding something he very much wanted to happen. “Clearly, no one wants to waste a full house seeing my tits.”

“You don’t have tits anymore. Do you?” asked Emily. “I’ve seen you without a shirt.”

“I’d like to see what Max is packing these days,” offered Shelby. “I’m in.”

“I’m not entirely comfortable with this,” said Lev. Everyone stared at him. “I’m not. I haven’t been naked in front of people since the first week of junior year and I’m still getting crap about it.”

“World’s best humblebrag,” said Simon. In an exaggerated Israeli accent, he said, ‘I don’t want to play strip poker. People will see my massive schmeke.’”

“There is a variant played at Riverwalk,” said Tanvi. Everyone turned from Lev to her. “Well, there are a lot of variants played at Riverwalk. But, there’s one where everybody gets a stack of chips for free and then, when you bust out, you can choose to give up an article of clothing or a set amount of money for a new stack. At the end, people divide up whatever money there is based on how many chips they have left.”

“How much is ‘a set amount of money?’” Lexi asked.

“Twenty dollars,” offered Simon.

“Nobody’s seeing my tits for forty bucks,” said Arwen.

“I figure these are at least thousand-dollar tits,” Shelby gestured to her own chest. “But, we can average down.”

“And amortize,” Arwen retorted. “At least three people at this table have already seen you naked.”

Shelby looked around the table, eyes momentarily resting on Dennis before she looked away. “Who’s the third?”

“That would be me,” Arwen reminded her. “We had gym class together like all last year.” “I didn’t actually get naked for gym class. Did I?” Shelby asked.

“You did,” said Alexis. “You once held an entire conversation with me about cheerleader tryouts wearing nothing but a thong.”

“That’s not naked,” said Shelby weakly.

“The fixed amount when we played in Boston was a hundred dollars,” said Tanvi. “That seemed like a good, balanced amount where everyone from receptionists to factotums could play and enjoy themselves.”

After a bit more back and forth and a few more fresh beers, Shelby finally said, “It sounds like we’re agreed. Deal, Purvi.”

“Tanvi, actually,” said Tanvi.

“I know. Purvi’s just a nickname,” said Shelby.

“We’re going to do a practice hand first. Right?” Emily asked.

“You’ve seriously never played poker?” Dennis asked.

“Apocalypse cult. Remember?” Emily said. “I don’t think I saw a deck of cards until I was at least sixteen.”

“You’re going to be naked in record time,” said Dennis.

“You’ve seen me naked.” Emily sipped her beer. “Do I have anything to be ashamed of?”

Dennis made a gesture of acquiescence. As Tanvi started to explain the rules, Shelby rose, “Deal me out. It’s time for Max’s vodka.”

Max groaned. He’d forgotten about the vodka and couldn’t remember if he’d agreed to it or not, but he made a “bring it on” gesture.

As Shelby went over to the wet bar and poured, Max decided he’d better choose a strategy now before he started drinking. There was a good chance this game would ultimately come down to money. Unless Emily was playing a very deep con, she was just someone to avoid trying to bluff. She wouldn’t be good enough to know to fold. There was a good chance at least some of the women would play down to their underwear, then play for cash the rest of the night. The real money would be in trying to pick off Dennis and Lev, both of whom were mediocre players and had been for years. It was a shame Nick wasn’t here. He tended to lack the killer instinct and leak money as a result.