Call My Bluff

by Elizabeth Knox

  Holly turns her laptop toward me. “I managed to get past their firewall and got the blueprints for the living quarters and the offices.” Braxton lives in one of the hotel’s penthouses that are on the same floor as the offices.

  I was surprised to learn that he lived at the casino. I figured he’d live in a huge ostentatious mansion that matched his father’s. Most casino owners live in a gated community about thirty minutes from the strip.

  “This is excellent.” I cover my mouth and yawn. “I’m hitting the sack.” I set my coffee cup in the sink and come around the table, kissing the top of Holly’s head.

  There are four of us who live here, well okay technically five. We call ourselves the lost girls. Tragedy and circumstance brought us all together when we met five years ago. I’d been a scared nineteen-year-old who didn’t have a clue about life.

  Holly and I met first when she came into the diner I worked at. She was always on her laptop, and little did I know she was breaking the law. We got to talking one day and she learned about my situation, suddenly mysterious envelopes of cash started showing up for me.

  I never should’ve kept them, but I was desperate. When she finally confessed that it was her I tried to give it all back, but she said she’d just hack into my bank account and put it there.

  Not too soon after that she introduced me to Asia and she’s the one who taught me how to be invisible, to pick pockets, and how to con people to give me their money. It didn’t take long before she knew that I was a natural.

  We worked on changing my appearance little by little— I wanted to erase who I was before. Larissa Renee Peters died, and Lara Ann Foxworth was born. It was then when my scams became larger and larger— before you go thinking I’m a terrible person, I tend to only con men, especially the assholes, the cheats, the misogynistic jerks. I have to have some boundaries.

  In my bedroom I strip out of my dress and walk naked into my bathroom. I brush my hair out before I put it in a knot on top of my head. In the shower I scrub myself from head to toe, wanting to get Matt’s stink off of me. Once I’m finished, I step out and quickly dry off.

  I rub my favorite lavender lotion all over my body and then throw on a black tank top and a pair of purple cotton panties. I step across the hall and slowly open the door.

  My six-year-old daughter, Emilie, sleeps soundly in her pink princess bed. I move further into the room and sit down on the side of her bed. I reach out and run a hand down her dark brown locks. Her eyelashes are so dark and thick just like her father’s.

  Here’s the deal, Braxton and I went to school together. He and his cronies used to torment me endlessly— you know the poor, chubby nerd, but then right before graduation the attention he was giving me changed.

  We began dating and in no time, I foolishly fell in love with him, gave him my virginity, and then he humiliated me in front of all of his friends. He threw me away like I was trash.

  Six weeks later I found out I was pregnant. His father intercepted me when I went to tell Braxton. Braxton II told me that if I told his son about the baby that he would claim I was unfit and have my child taken away from me and then he’d put the baby up for adoption.

  For a brief second I thought about terminating the pregnancy, but then one night I dreamt of a little girl who I’d love forever and ever and the next morning I cancelled the appointment.

  Emilie believes her daddy went to heaven and maybe it’s wrong to lie to her but why tell her that her dad is the devil and wouldn’t have wanted her if he knew about her anyway. He didn’t deserve to know her after what he did to me.

  I grab the picture that sits on her nightstand. It was the day I had her and I was sitting on my bed with her in my arms. That scared teenager is long gone. She was a borderline chubby, brunette, and had crooked front teeth, but she never looked happier— I never looked happier.

  Now I’m a blonde, I stopped eating carbs, I found a love of exercising, got my tits and nose done, and then had my teeth fixed.

  For our plan to work Braxton can’t recognize me at all, and I don’t think he will because I barely recognize myself when I look in the mirror. I hate that now there is no resemblance between me and my daughter at all. Now all I see is her dad when I look at Emilie, but it’s a small price to pay because when the job is done my daughter and I are going to take my cut and then we’re out of here.

  Her eyelids flutter open and she gives me a sleepy smile. “Mommy your home.”

  “Hi baby. I didn’t mean to wake you.” I crawl under the covers with her and wrap my arms around her. “Go back to sleep and Auntie Holly will get you up for school in a few hours.”

  “Okay, love you.” Emilie mutters sleepily and then begins doing the deep heavy breathing thing she does while she sleeps. Thankfully it doesn’t take long before I fall asleep too.

  I work out at Gold’s Gym not too far from the strip. This place is basically a meat market, but it gets the job done on my physique. As I use the leg press my eyes go to the mirror in front of me and that’s when I see him walk in.

  What is Braxton doing here? As long as I’ve been working out here I’ve never seen him. I need to get out of here because I don’t have my armor on; my makeup, dresses, and heels. After quickly going through the rest of my workout I grab my bottle of water and head toward the locker room.

  “Do I know you?” I freeze because I’d recognize that smooth, velvety voice anywhere.

  I look at him over my shoulder. “No, I don’t think so.” I keep my steps relaxed even though being so close to him short circuits my brain.

  I’m almost to the locker room when a hand grabs my arm. “I wasn’t done talking to you.” Oh God, he’s got that air of superiority down.

  “Well I was done talking to you.” I remove his hand from my arm. “See ya.”

  I’m only able to relax when I’m inside the locker room and hiding in a bathroom stall. I hold up my hands and they’re trembling. I shake them out until the shaking stops.

  He still causes riotous emotions inside of me. Braxton causes my brain to short-circuit every single time I see him. I need to get a handle on that before I have to get extremely close to him.

  I take a deep cleansing breath and then head to my locker. I grab my phone and see I have thirty minutes before I have to pick up Emilie after school. Then after she goes to sleep, I’ll head to the casino and try to make my approach tonight.

  On quick feet I head out and hustle to my car. I can’t be around him without my armor. I don’t feel protected without it. When I finally get to the school, I find my princess in the same red plaid skirt and white polo that I used to wear.

  Her Avengers backpack is almost as big as she is. My sweet Emilie is obsessed with those movies, Spiderman is her favorite. When I pull up, she climbs into the backseat. “Hey Mommy, I had the best day.”

  She leans between the seats to give me a kiss before sitting back down in her booster seat and buckles her seatbelt.

  “That’s great pumpkin. Why don’t you tell me why you had the best day while we eat cupcakes?”

  Emilie claps her hands. “That’s a great idea.”

  We head to The Cupcakery and order a dozen. Hand in hand we walk over to a bench and I hand her a cupcake covered in pink frosting. I take the same kind. I smile at my daughter as she takes a huge bite of it.

  I reach out with my napkin, wiping her mouth. “You’re a mess.” Leaning down I kiss her lips that taste like the sugary buttercream. “Tell me about your day.”

  “We had a guest come to the school today. He owns a casino.” My stomach turns, what if it was Braxton or his son.” That wouldn’t be possible because why would either of them even come near a school.

  Plus, it’s not like they’d know who Emilie was. Her last name is my mom’s maiden name, which is also what I changed mine to as well. “Oh yeah. What casino was it?”

  My pulse races while I wait for my daughter to answer. “Umm . . . something about shoes.”

  “Oh, th
e Horseshoe?”

  She nods, while taking a bite of her cupcake. “Das da one.” Little pieces of cupcake fly out of her mouth.

  I’m able to relax as I peel back the paper of my tasty treat even though I need to avoid treats like this I take a huge bite. The last thing I want is for my daughter to have body issues like me.

  I swallow it down and enjoyed every second of it. After sticking the rest of my cupcake in the box I grab Emilie’s hand. As we walk back to my car, she talks my ear off, “Bailey is going to talk to her mommy and then I might be able to have a play date with her. Can I please?”

  I’m a little overprotective of my girl. My sisters, my girls all call me Momma Bear when it comes to my girl. I’ll never let what happened to me happen to her.

  Chapter Three

  Lara

  I bend down kissing Emilie’s forehead. “Goodnight my beautiful girl.”

  “Night night Mommy. I love you.”

  “I’ll see you in the morning.” I step out of her room, shutting the door behind me. In the hall I take a deep breath before heading into my room to get prepared for my night.

  Tonight, I decide to wear my blue sequin dress that hugs my breasts— pushing them up to make them pop. I throw on my pair of Manolo Blahnik Tama Mesh Leather Sandals.

  I snagged them on sale and the things they do to my legs makes it totally worth the price I paid for them. My eyes are smoky, and I have a pink dewy glow on my cheeks. My lip gloss is nude, since my lips are naturally plump and pink, I don’t really need too much color.

  A quick spritz of perfume and I’m ready to go. I open my door and find Asia on the other side with her hand up, ready to knock. “Hey babe.” She pulls me into a hug and then kisses me on the lips. It’s completely innocent she’s just one of those affectionate people, especially with those she loves.

  “How do I look?” I strike a pose.

  “He’ll be eating out of your hand.” She leans in close and whispers. “Things are moving along nicely.” Asia is “dating” the head of security at Silver Zephyr. Her plan is to use her charms to earn his trust and then steal his ID badge so we can make a copy of it.

  “That’s great. I’m hoping to get the invite from Braxton tonight.” Asia’s the only one who knows that Braxton is Emilie’s father. When I brought my plan to her she demanded to know why the Zephyr. I had no choice but to tell her. After all she’s done so much for me and Emilie.

  I am who I am now because she saw something inside me. Yes, I know what we do is wrong, and honestly I’m not going to apologize for doing what is necessary to make sure my daughter is well taken care of.

  I’ve got a contingency plan in place if I ever get arrested, but so far we’ve played it really smart.

  “Have fun and be safe.” She kisses me once more before disappearing into her bedroom.

  Downstairs I find our other roommate, Amber. “Hey girl,” I say as I step down the last stair.

  She looks up from her laptop. “Hey, you look great.”

  “Thanks. What are you doing?” I ask as I take a seat next to her. Her curly auburn hair is up in a bun on top of her head, but I reach out, tugging on the stray curl hanging down in the back.

  “Nothing just making some wish lists for stuff I want when the job is over.” Amber works for a local locksmith and that had actually been a coincidence because she worked there when we met. When I get a lock on the type safe she’ll work on getting it open.

  “I’ve got to head out, but I’ll have my phone on me if you need me.” I pat her leg before I stand up. I decide to take an Uber instead of driving myself. I really need to step up my game and I’ll need alcohol . . . lots of alcohol.

  I’ve been here for an hour and the only thing I’ve done is win a couple hundred dollars on the slot machines. I decide to treat myself to a nice dinner. I make my way toward Urban Fyre— the Silver Zephyr’s most popular restaurant. Braxton is the one that is in charge of it and every six months he brings in guest chefs to glam up the menu.

  The hostess takes me to a little table in the bar and I take a seat. With a quick look around I’ve got a prime view of the entrance just in case he comes in or walks by.

  I order a glass of red wine and their signature beef tenderloin. While I wait I pretend to be reading on my phone. My waitress sets my salad down in front of me. I smile up at her. “Thank you.”

  I’m just finishing it when a hand touches my back. “Mind if I join you?” I keep my body loose and turn, letting my eyes wander over his body until I look up at his stupid handsome face.

  “Sure.”

  He takes his seat across from me and signals to my waitress. “Yes, Mr. Banks?”

  “Bring over a bottle of Cristal and I’ll have what she’s having.” The whole time he speaks to her he keeps me locked in his stare. She nods and scurries away. “I feel like I’ve seen you everywhere lately. Do you know who I am?”

  It takes everything I’ve got not to roll my eyes— he still loves himself more than he’s ever loved anything. I shake my head, “no, sorry.”

  Braxton doesn’t say anything at first. I worry that I may have played that wrong and he’s going to leave. Instead he throws his head back, laughing. Fuck, why do I like that sound coming from him?

  “What’s so funny?” I cross my arms in front of me.

  He doesn’t answer so I push back my seat prepared to leave, but he reaches out, grabbing my wrist. I ignore the sparks that shoot up my arm and the way my nipples harden. "I wasn’t laughing at you. Sit down, gorgeous. I’m just not used to people not knowing who I am.”

  His thumb strokes over the back of my hand. “Well, I’m Lara.”

  “Braxton.” He turns his hand over in mine so he can shake my hand. Except Braxton doesn’t shake it, he pulls it toward his mouth, kissing the back of it. “You have got to be the most gorgeous woman I’ve seen around here.”

  Our waitress comes and interrupts us with a bottle of champagne, two flutes, and one of those fancy contraptions that you set the bottle in the water and the water is spun around the bottle keeping it cold. “Leave us.” He tells her before taking the bottle, pouring us both a glass.

  He hands me my glass and I take a sip, letting the bubbles tickle my tongue. I drink it down and he pours me another glass. Our dinner comes, I’m not surprised they put a rush on his.

  I inhale the delicious scent and then smile at the waitress. “Thank you so much. This looks wonderful.” When I turn back to Braxton I find him watching me. “What?”

  Braxton shakes his head. “Nothing at all.”

  I cut into my steak and the moment I place the bite in my mouth I moan softly. Fuck that’s some good meat. Braxton is watching me, I can feel it. I set down my fork and grab my champagne.

  “Tell me about yourself Lara.” Here we go— I’ve practiced my backstory so many times I could say it in my sleep.

  “I grew up near Urbandale, Iowa. I went to a small high school and was a cheerleader.” I take another bite of my steak. After I swallow it, I look at him. “I came here to go to UNLV.”

  “What do you do?” He’s a lot more attentive than I thought he would be.

  I smile. “I’m a freelance graphic designer.” I know the bare minimum about computers. Emilie knows more about my cellphone than I do.

  “Really? I didn’t peg you for the computer type.”

  Our waitress comes over to check on us. “We’re fine.” Braxton says with an arrogance that makes me turn to the waitress.

  “Everything is delicious. Thank you.” As soon as she walks away, I turn back to Braxton. “You could be nice to your waitstaff. I waited tables through college, and you’d be surprised how shitty people treated me just because they thought they could.”

  Shit I should’ve kept my mouth shut. Now he’s going to leave . . . shit, shit, shit.

  “You know most people are scared to talk to me like that.” Here it comes, the brush off. “I like it and you’re right.”

  We finish and our wa
itress comes to take our plates. I don’t miss when he hands her a fifty-dollar bill. “Thank you, Mr. Banks.”

  Braxton pulls out the bottle of champagne and tops off both of our glasses. He surprises me though when he gets up and brings his chair around to sit right next to me.

  The scent of his cologne wraps around me. It’s a mixture of spice and woodsy, if that’s even a scent, but it works. I try to ignore how much I love it. He wraps his arm around the back of my chair.

  “What are your plans for the rest of the night?” Braxton says, his lips against my ear. Goosebumps pop up all over my body, but I ignore them or I try to, but it’s so hard— fucker.

  It’s time to turn it up a notch as I lean in close to him and place my hand on his thigh. “I’m not sure.” I’m proud of the way I sound so casual.

  He brushes my hair over my shoulder and his fingers skim over the skin of my back. My pussy clenches and I mentally tell it to shut up. We’re not letting him in there again . . . ever.

  The plan is to give him just enough, so he brings me upstairs. I need to be up there long enough to scope out the layout. Maybe even accidentally wander into one of the offices.

  “Come hang out with me tonight.” Of course, he doesn’t ask. He just expects me to agree, but who the fuck am I kidding— I’m going to hang out with him. I just can’t fuck him, I can’t.

  “Okay, I’d like that. Can you excuse me?” Braxton stands, and helps me up from my seat. “I’ll be right back.”

  Chapter Four

  Lara

  I grab my clutch and make my way toward the restroom. Once I’m inside I suck in a breath and blow it out slowly. I quickly fix my makeup while I suck on an Altoid. After I use the bathroom I wash my hands and then dry them.

  I let out a little squeak because Braxton is standing in the doorway. “What are y . . .” He cuts me off when he slams his lips down on mine. My brain immediately short-circuits as he brushes his tongue against my lips. I open to him, moaning into his mouth as his tongue brushes against mine.