Chapter 58: Winning Some Shopping Money
William watched Alexios Demetrios and smiled at Alessandra. "Dear, let me show you my skills at the card table. That guy is a fat sheep ready for the slaughtering. I'll take his money and we can go on a shopping spree in Miami."
Alessandra glanced at William. "You're already a billionaire. It's not fair for you to be taking money from ordinary people like that."
William leaned in and whispered in her ear, "That guy isn't an ordinary person," effectively silencing any further questions she had.
William pretended to reach into his jacket pocket but actually retrieved twenty thousand pounds in cash from his storage space. He handed the cash to the bartender to exchange for chips and then led Alessandra to Demetrios's poker table.
He placed the chips on the table and asked, "Good evening, everyone. May I join?"
"Good evening," a middle-aged couple at the table replied warmly.
The others at the table gave casual nods of assent. William took a seat with Alessandra beside him. They hadn't played more than a few hands when our new Mr. Bond came over with his chips. "Mind if I join?"
William smiled. "Of course not."
The dealer announced, "The two players to the dealer's left are the small and big blinds."
"No problem," Bond said.
Once the cards were dealt, William, not wanting Bond to interfere, targeted him from the start.
Within a few hands, William bluffed Bond into going all-in. Mr. Bond's full house of three Kings and two 4s was beaten by William's four-of-a-kind Aces. Shaking his head in defeat, Bond walked over to the bar, straight toward Alexios Demetrios's beautiful wife.
Bond was truly Bond. Within minutes, he had Mr. Demetrios's wife laughing, and soon after, the two of them quietly left the casino together for a private rendezvous.
Our dear Alexios Demetrios, however, was too engrossed in the game to notice. William gave Demetrios a deep look. *That's what you get for eyeing Alessandra. Enjoy wearing the green hat.*
Demetrios felt William's stare and bristled. He had been interested in Alessandra from the moment he saw her and had taken an instant dislike to William.
William, meanwhile, was focused on squeezing as much money as he could from the man.
"Five thousand pounds," the dealer said to William. "The bet is to you, Mr. Devinshire."
William counted out five thousand in chips and tossed them onto the table.
The dealer turned the fifth card. It was a King.
"Your bet, Mr. Devinshire," the dealer said.
"Check," William said.
"Mr. Demetrios, Mr. Devinshire has checked. The bet is to you," the dealer announced.
"All in," Demetrios said, taking a checkbook out of his pocket after realizing he only had a few hundred pounds left in chips. He looked at William, then at the pot. "I'll add fifty thousand pounds."
"No, Mr. Demetrios. The house rule is cash or chips on the table only," the dealer refused.
William interjected smoothly, "It's alright, dealer. Mr. Demetrios, you can have a waiter get you chips. I'll give you a chance to win your money back."
Seeing William's consent, which meant the casino would get its cut either way, the dealer nodded to a nearby waiter.
After exchanging the check for chips, Demetrios pushed a stack of 50,000 pounds into the pot. "I bet it all."
William looked at his own stack. "Sorry, Mr. Demetrios, but I have 80,000 pounds in front of me. You don't have enough to call."
Demetrios glared at William, then at William's chips. He reached into his pocket and threw his car keys into the pot. "A 1964 Aston Martin. That's more than enough to cover your bet."
"Very well," William laughed, pushing his entire stack of chips forward.
"Show your hands, gentlemen," the dealer said.
Demetrios slammed his cards on the table: a pair of Kings.
The community cards on the table were 9, 3, A, 7, K.
"Mr. Demetrios has three Kings. Mr. Devinshire, your cards," the dealer said to William.
William calmly turned over his cards and slid them onto the table. A pair of Aces.
"Three Aces. Three Aces win, Mr. Demetrios," the dealer announced to a stunned Demetrios, gathering all the chips on the table.
Demetrios stared at the smiling William with a look of pure frustration. He took out his checkbook again, determined to win it all back.
But at that moment, a waiter approached and handed him a note.
Demetrios glanced at the note, cursed under his breath, then stood up and grabbed his jacket. He shot a final, hateful look at William and Alessandra.
"Wait, Mr. Demetrios," William called out cheerfully. "You forgot your valet ticket. Thank you."
Demetrios took the ticket from his pocket, threw it on the table, and left without another word.
William watched him go. He knew the man was on his way to see Le Chiffre.
William turned to Alessandra. "My dear, would you mind playing for me for a bit? I need to call my flight crew and confirm we can take off for the US tonight."
"But I don't know how to play," Alessandra protested.
"My dear, you've been watching for a while now. You'll be fine. It doesn't matter if you lose. The dealer will help you."
William gave Alessandra a kiss and then tossed a 500-pound chip to the dealer. "Ma'am, I'd appreciate it if you could help this lady out if she has any questions."
"Of course, Mr. Devinshire. You can rest assured, I'll explain everything to Miss Ambrosio," the dealer said, gratefully pocketing the generous tip.
The other players didn't mind Alessandra taking over. At first glance, the girl was a total novice, and they were eager to win back the money William had taken from them.
William walked out of the casino and called Barney. As soon as the call connected, Barney reported, "Boss, we lost Alexios Demetrios. He got on a yacht, and we can't follow him."
*Damn it,* William thought. Le Chiffre was being cautious.
Meanwhile, on that very yacht, Alexios Demetrios stood before a furious Le Chiffre. "I don't see how this is my fault," Demetrios said helplessly. "All I did was find a man for you."
"You gave me a man who was already being monitored by American intelligence? A man who was captured by an entire team of elite mercenaries? You're lucky he fell to his death, otherwise I can't guarantee what I would have done," Le Chiffre seethed.
"This makes me wonder if I can trust you again, Demetrios," Le Chiffre said coldly.
"Don't say that. Believe me or not, I care about my reputation. This isn't entirely my responsibility, but I have another man willing to complete the task. He just needs the details and his payment," Demetrios said desperately.
"This is your last chance, Alexios. You know the consequences of failure. Those warlords and drug lords we work for will not spare you or your beautiful wife."
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