Chapter 81
‘s remember the last time we played cards, Dawson was winning at last, but then each of us look a big hand, and we ended up taking back everything he’d painstakingly earned. He wwwalked away with a bigger less!” Messaid, gloating
Autumn glanced at Dawson His silence only confirmed Rico’s story
“shall we continue the asked.
may won’i gerary on you,” Robin said, with jamte nodding in agreement.
Today, the three of us gentlemen are cropping all pretenses of marmers”
Rico, abeays up for some mischief, ligured that if Dawson had already unwanded Auburn with a race KPT, letting her win now would’t be as fim. He wanted her to keep losing so the game would keep going
Tared with their challenge, Autumn simply milled. “No problem. Bring it on.”
immediately perked up. “Oh–he, Dason! Your little secretary’s throwing down a challenge! So, who are Dawson still looked utterly uninterested, the he couldn’t be bothered to respond.
are you betting on? Us or her?”
Π
autumn, usually as cool and detached as an Al, had accepted the challenge with surprising confidence. That alone was enough to fire up Robin’s competive streak “Autumn, I’m not letting
You ma
Jamme, deciding their newfound friendship could wait, chimed in, “Me neither.”
autumn had only ever folt that kind of adrenaline during extreme sports, where she could forget everything else.
for the first time, she wanted to win
At that moment, her mind was dear. She just wanted to win back what she’d lost.
The thrill of it all was besdrating
As the dice spun, Autump’s lips curled into a confident smile. “It’s fine. Brington.”
But after that round, she lost another &,000 dollars. The others kept teasing her, but Autumn didn’t flinch
I’m waiting for the right hand,” she said, her voice steady and bull of confidence.
Dawson watched the card table from his seat behind Robin, directly across from Aut, carried in conversation, as if woning were inevitable.
- an. He stole a glance at her. She was laser–focused, playing with the same tident air she always
Autumn, who was
Maybe it was the sting of many pastes, but Dawson had no hope for her this round. Instead, his eyes drifted to Robin’s hand, which was remarkably strong. Unlike a still new to the game, Robin played like a seasoned pro
Without a doub, Autumn would lose this sound too
Dawson had already seen how this would end, so he watched with idle detachment, waiting for the takeout he’d ordered while Autumn had been off shopping for clothes. ti should be arriving soon
He hadn’t eaten much at the charity dinner and was starting to feel hungry. He gured the others probably were too.
just as the thought crossed his mind, his phone rang, Dawn
By the time he hung up, nearly all the game had passed.
Robin was now just one card away from winning
quick instructions to the delivery person to leave the food at the front desk and have a staff member bring it u
Tup
Autumn, on the other hand, was hanging by a thread
Just then, a server tapped on the doos and entered, as full of about bugs from one of Dawson’s voice restaurants. The food was neatly laid out on the table, and the server quietly exited once everything was in plac
Dawson’s attention dilled from the card game, dawn instead to the sell of food. He was no langes allowing the game, simply waiting to the round to end so they But then he mockend something of None of the four players was speaking.
The moment la gaze shifted back to the table, Autumn looked up, locking eyes with him. There was a sharp leam in her expression. “Full house beats all three ”
She smiled slightly. *14,000 dollars Alter suberacting the 14,000 lost eater, that’s a clean 10,000 dollar gain.” She added, “Mr. Faulkner, I’ve completed my task “ She’d hidden it well, but Dawson caught the faini mace of unug, satisfarben in her eyes.
“Autumn, that was incredible You even managed the score?” Rico leaned forward, eyes wide with adultation, clearly wishing that the winning hand had been his Boden conceded with sale. “Aar you sure this is your first time playing carda?”
“jump lucky,” Autumn replied casually.
“Too lucky!” ku exclaimed.
“Agleed,” Jarle added with a pain
Autumn gave a small shoug. “I was just a good fund, that’s all “
he’d waited patiently, and the right cards hinally come her way. Without them, there would have been nochance
Robin chuckled. “Well, Prill better than someone we know.”
He turned to Dawson “Regrelling it now! You should’ve let her win a hundred grandisstead of just des Shame lended so fast.”
But Dusson was already looking elsewhere. He nodded toward the table piled with takeout “Let’s AIL”
