TWO

 

 

I waited until the attention was distracted to the other end of the table and then froze time around me.

Actually, I didn’t stop time, I just stepped between moments of time, but it had the appearance that I had frozen time.

Then I stood and said toward the ceiling, “Stan, need a little help.”

Stan, my boss, the God of Poker, appeared a moment later.

He was dressed as he always dressed, in a button down sweater, tan slacks, and brown loafers. With his plain face and short brown hair, he was the most nondescript person I had ever met. He liked to stay hidden.

On the other hand, I liked to be right out there. I always wore a black leather coat and a fedora-like black hat. I called it my superhero uniform.

When Stan appeared, I indicated the guy at the end. “Know him? He calls himself “The Presumptive.”

Stan glanced at my large stacks of winnings and then laughed. “You must be in heaven playing with him.”

“So never seen or heard of him before?” I asked.

Stan just looked at the guy a little more without answering. “He’s playing scared. More than likely on borrowed money, even though he pretends to be rich with those rings and such. He’s got an addiction problem.”

Wow, my boss was good. No wonder he was the God of Poker. He could read a guy at a glance.

“My take on him exactly,” I said. “This is a small casino and he might be getting this money on credit. I don’t know, but he shows no signs of slowing down giving his money away.”

“Think he’s pulling a scam of some sort or another?” Stan asked.

“Can’t figure it out though, whatever it is. Might just be a rich kid playing with parents’ money, but I don’t think so. I’m getting a sense of something more.”

Stan nodded. “He might have just expected to win and sat down at the exact wrong table.”

“He called himself The Presumptive so very possible,” I said.

Stan stared at the guy for a moment, then asked, “Second buy in?”

“Second,” I said. “Ten thousand both times.”

Stan nodded and smiled at me like a parent looking at a child. “He will make three more rebuys, all ten grand. Take his money and let me know when you get it figured out. But don’t let him leave the casino without calling me.”

With that Stan vanished.

I was sure I could hear him laughing as I went back to my chair and got back into the flow of time.

Stan knew what was happening and he wanted me to figure it out.

How annoying.

Almost as annoying as idiot boy at the other end of the table.

Not quite, but close.