《Emperor of Poker》Chapter 7: Meet the team

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The road to the top of the poker world is a lonely one, perilous and cutthroat. So whenever possible, enjoy the rare moments when you can share a laugh with others on that journey, whether passerby or foe.

Amy and Joey were walking outside getting some fresh air after the long lesson.

“You’re an obedient pupil,” Amy said.

“Umm.....thanks,” Joey replied, uncertain about how long she planned to maintain this professor facade. “So, when do I start?” he asked.

“We’ve got a game tonight. I’m sure Angelo will want you there. There are always at least three dealers there.”

“Why’s that?”

Amy considered her response. “It’s because some of the players think that when they’re getting bad cards, it’s the dealer’s fault. So every 30 minutes, a new dealer comes in. That way, the players who have been running bad or who don’t like a dealer, can have a change.”

“Hmm, alright. How long have you been working for Angelo anyways?”

“...I guess about a year now.”

Joey commented, “You know, Angelo surprised me when he asked me to work there, but seeing a girl like you there surprised me even more. Don’t you get uncomfortable working with mobsters like that?”

“Angelo and Johnny? They’re not so bad once you get to know them.”

Joey shook his head. “If you say so...How’d Angelo find you anyway? Did they make you an offer you couldn’t refuse?”

“Linkedin,” Amy replied.

Joey coughed several times until he caught his bearings. “Why would someone look for dealers for an illegal poker club on Linkedin?”

Amy shrugged. “I guess Linkedin’s marketing department is doing a good job. How would I know? I wrote my talents on there and Angelo was the only one to contact me. So I took the job.”

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Now Joey was curious. “What talents?”

Amy answered, “The usual stuff: Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, card tricks, espionage, dungeon diving, swashbucklin--“

She continued on for a full minute but Joey’s brain shut off at some point. When he recovered, his only thought was, ‘I can understand why only Angelo contacted her.’

By this time, they had circled back to Angelo’s cardroom. Amy said, “The others must be here already, let’s go up.” She led the way up the stairs. When they returned inside, there were two new people lounging around at the poker tables.

“Come on, I’ll introduce you,” Amy stated as she brought him over. “Joey, this is Andrew. Andrew, meet Joey.” Amy had brought Joey over to a young Asian man who played some game on his phone. He was skinny and tall, with spiky black hair and casual clothes.

“Sup,” Andrew greeted as he looked up from the screen for a brief instant.

“...Hey,” Joey responded.

Next, Amy walked Joey over to the other guy who sat in a dealer’s chair. He was a short, overweight, Latino middle-aged man with a bald head, goatee, and oval sunglasses dangling low on his nose. He sat with his arms crossed, unmoving like a statue, staring at the entrance door like he was a guard dog. Most unusual was the contrast between his stern posture and his Hawaiian dress shirt.

“Joey, this is Pedro,” Amy introduced. Without breaking eye contact with the door, Pedro gave the slightest of nods in Joey’s direction. Then he returned to his exact previous posture.

Amy said, “Don’t worry about him. Pedro’s harmless. He just likes to act like a badass ever since an incident six months back. He was dealing at a game that got robbed. Two guys came in with guns and stole everyone’s money and valuables. When they got to Pedro, they wanted his Rolex but he refused to hand it over…until one of them shot him in the leg before taking it,” Amy explained.

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Pedro’s head lifted in pride when hearing the story.

Andrew chimed in. “Yea, too bad the Rolex was fake…”

Pedro’s head went right back down.

Amy was deep in thought. “Not really sure who took a loss on that one...”

Pedro’s head entered the turtle shell of his Hawaiian shirt.

...

The room remained in a state of quiet contemplation.

Minutes later, Angelo stepped out of his office and shouted, “Alright, everyone’s here, good! Players are gonna show up soon so get this place ready!” At that time, a buzzing sound emitted from the front door. Angelo went back to his office, scrutinized a small monitor to the side of his desk, and pressed a button.

“What was that?” Joey asked.

Amy replied, “A player arrived. The doors are hooked up to an electronic system with video security for safety. Angelo just let him up.”

“...If it’s under an electronic security system, then why is Pedro staring at the door like that?” Joey asked everyone.

The room reentered quiet contemplation.

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