The sound of dropping coins and winning chimes filled the large room. It muted the side conversations used to manipulate and conspire against others. It was safe to say there was far more men than women lounging in the clothed chairs. Everybody was dressed in their best attire with suites, gowns, and short skirts. They all knew how to either fake or hide their wealth.
She stood out of the crowd though. Her silver gown that covered just the top of her thighs and let her clevage show proudly. The long length of her hair was tied into a tight bun on the top of her head with bangs hanging down to cover part of her face. She was a regular at the casino and many powerful men knew her, but probably couldn't even tell you her name. She was a mystery to both and she had planned to keep it that. Way.
"I want to sit at a table with her." He spoke to the man beside him, nodding towards the beautiful woman that caught his attention.
He didn't hide his stare, he hoped that she would notice. He sat back in his chair to admire the way she moved and played the game. At some point in her life, she learned to gamble and she was obviously good at it.
"Right this way, Sir." The man beside him ushered him to the table and pulled out a chair for him to sit.
The seat was directly across from the woman he was admiring from afar. She didn't seem to notice his presence at the table or maybe she just didn't care. This was a change for him. Usually woman stared at him for an embarrassing amount of time and then scurried away. Although he found him attractive, it seemed as if they were frightened away.
He didn't know how to react to her lack of interest in him. She gave him a quick glance and then resumed her focus on her cards. It was hard not to notice the large stack of chips that sat before her. Where did she learn to play so well? He wondered. He wanted to find out, but was too shy to even say hello.
Instead, after one round he bowed out and left the table. His friend noticed the frustration in his stance and followed him outside of the business.
"What's the matter?" He asked, trying to match the pace of his friend. "Christan slow down!"
"Who is she?" He replied.
"Who? That lady in there? I don't know."
"Find out." Christian barked back, turning around to face him.
"Why?" His friend asked, throwing his hands up in the air. "Why do you need to know."
"Tell Taylor to find out who she is. He can use the casino footage to identify her." Christian walked towards the curb as his car appeared in the busy city streets.
"But why? Do you recognize her from somewhere? What's going on?" He questioned more.
"I'll talk to you tomorrow." He waved his friend off as he climbed into the car.
"Whatever man." He mumbled and brought the phone up to his ear. "Hey Taylor, Christian wants you to track down some girl….No, I don't know anything about her or why…..He saw her at the casino and stormed out. I've never seen her before, maybe he fucked her one night and she's hard to forget. Who knows. Just find out her name…..Bye."
The next night, he sat at the same casino. The same sounds filled the room, the same scents of strong cologne and cigars sat heavy in the air, and there she sat at the same table. She had a sparkly red gown this time with black heels that added a few inches to her stance. He observed that she was there alone and wasn't there to sell anything, especially not herself. Defeat showed on each man's face they slowly left the table. She was taking their money round after round. He waited to see some kind of reaction from her, but her face was statue still the entire time. NO matter if she won or lost the hand.
"Why don't you go talk to her?" An old gentleman suggested.
"What?" Christian asked, breaking his gaze away from her.
"You've been staring at the poor girl for almost an hour. I don't know how she hasn't noticed, but she's bound to get you kicked out of here if you don't stop." He pointed out.
"Mind your own business, okay?" Christian turned his back on the older man.
"She's here almost every night. The regulars know her well, only the visitors sit at that table and try to fool her. She gets them every time." The older man laughed to himself. "How much money did she take from you?"
"Not enough to hurt me." He shook his head, annoyed with the conversation. "Have a nice night."
He wasn't the type to back down from a challenge. The fact that she stole money from men every night bothered him, he wouldn't be one of those foolish men. Two could play the game of distraction.
"Hello." He greeted her while taking a seat beside her. "How are you?"
"Fine." She replied and ordered another drink as the waiter passed by.
The dealer paused with the cards in her hand, glancing between the two of them, but stopping at him. She tilted her head for a moment to admire him...and eventually recognized who he was. A smile appeared on her face along with the flushing of her cheeks. The woman beside him cleared her throat in effort to help the dealer focus on her job.
"Sorry." She whispered and dealt out the cards.
Christian decided to play a few rounds with her, playing more strategically each time. His agitation became apparent each time he loss. By the end of the night, his tie was pulled from his neck and a sore began to form inside his lip from the constant biting. He found himself becoming angry with her, a woman he knew nothing about.
"You're very good." He commented.
"Thank you." She relaxed into her chair for a second and took a drink from her glass.
"Do you come here often?" He questioned her lightly.
"You could say that." She smiled at the dealer and rose from her seat. "It was nice to meet you, but I have to go."
"I didn't catch your name." Christian stood up with her.
"Good night Sir." She slid on her coat and made her way to the exit.
"Wait." He started after he.
She continued to walk away without looking back. He watched her hips sway with each step, her heels hitting the carpet floor. She released her hair and let it fall down her back. It took so much of his self control not to follow her. Christian Grey didn't chase women, he reminded himself.
"Elliot." He spoke into the phone. "Are you in the city tonight?"
"Hey baby bro! I'm at a club right now, come join me." Elliot suggested.
"Send me the address." Christian hung up the phone and made his way through the crowd of people on the streets.
"Mr. Grey." He heard someone call behind him. "Mr. Grey!"
Christian ignored the man, walking quicker to reach his car. This is why Taylor never wanted him to drive himself. Too many people recognized him on the street and the crowds of the city could be too much to escape. Once he was in his car, he attempted to find music that could calm him down, but nothing worked. Instead, he sped off into the street and found the club Elliot was at.
"Hey man. What's up? You're the last person I expected to hear from tonight." Elliot found him in the crowd.
"I thought you'd be in town." Christian replied and ordered a drink.
"What's wrong? You seem more pissed off than normal." Elliot laughed.
"Nothing." He responded and sat stiffly in the chair.
"Hello." A woman appeared at the edge of the table.
"Hi!" Elliot beamed. "How are you tonight?"
"I'm doing well." The girl glanced at Elliot and then back at Christian. "How are you?"
"I'm fine, thanks." He became annoyed with her attention.
"You two should go dance. Try to loosen up a little christian." Elliot suggested.
"No, that's okay-" Christian tried to protest.
"I can help you with that." The woman smiled and tugged on his hand. "Let's go babe."
"Thanks Elliot." Christian muttered and followed the girl to the dance floor.
"Now I just need to find a girl for me." Elliot smiled and made his way to the bar.
"Hello there." He sat beside a girl sitting alone at the bar.
"Hi." She smiled and moved the hair from her face.
"Are you having a good night?" Elliot asked.
"Sure." She nodded and traced the rim of her glass. "You?"
"It could be better." He responded. "Would you like to dance?"
"No, thank you. I don't dance." She laughed quietly.
"Oh come on, I bet you'd look incredible moving in that red dress." Elliott encouraged.
"No, really. I'll fall on my ass within seconds. The dress would be ruined." She joked back.
"That's a shame." He laughed. "What's your name?"
"I'm Ana." She answered. "And you?"
"Elliot. What the hell? Why do you insist on setting me up with crazy women." Christian appeared beside him, looking over his shoulder in case the woman from the dance floor found him.
"Sorry, man." Elliot answered and turned back to the girl beside him. "I'm Elliot, this is my brother Christian."
Christian looked at the girl out of the corner of his eye to mumble a hello, until the red dress caught his eye. He quickly turned to see her face, shocked at who he was looking at.
"Hello stranger." He smiled.
"Hi." She raised her glass. "Thanks for the drink."
"You two know each other?" Elliot asked.
"No." Christian shook his head.
"Your brother is terrible at poker." Ana pointed out. "He should stick to his day job."
"Oh really?" Elliot laughed and looked at Christian with raised eyebrows.
"Or maybe, she's dangerously good at gambling." He looked at her.
"He's bad at his day job too." Elliott joke. "The fact you don't know who he is proves that."
"Well who are you?" Ana asked with a smile on her face.
Christian was distracted by her red lipstick, the way it made her lips look. He wanted to take her home and do terrible things to her. Her breasts were just as distracting the way they looked in her tight dress. It was hard to tell if she was a wealthy daddy's girl or a well dressed hooker.
"He's the next president of the United States." Elliot answered. "He just attempting to be a modest man for once in his life."
"The next president, huh?" She nodded. "It is pretty sad I don't know who you are then."
"It's early. You have plenty of time to learn my name." Christian shrugged. "I'm not from New York."
"Sir." Ana nudged the man on the other side of her. "Do you know who this man is?"
"Ana-"Christian tried to stop her.
"Christian Grey." The man mumbled. "Why?"
"Hmm I guess I was too busy taking your money to realize who you were." She smirked.
"Is that your day job? Taking money from old men?" Christian asked.
"Wouldn't that be a fun job." She winked.
"Let's dance." Christian suggested.
"I don't dance." Ana replied.
"You don't dance or you just don't know how?" Christian shot back.
He watched her turn towards him and narrow her eyes slightly at his remark. She licked her lips and continued staring him down. Elliot knew this was a waste of time, Christian spent half his time staring people down in order to get what he wants.
"Well this is fun. Come on Christian, she doesn't want to dance with you." Elliot patted him on the back.
"Okay, okay." He backed off. "I better get going, I have a flight to catch in the morning. Here's my card."
"You could just put your number in my phone like a normal person." Ana remarked.
"Sure. Hand me your phone." He laughed and took her phone. "This is my personal number."
"I feel honored." She took her phone back and glanced at the number. "I should get out of here too. It was nice meeting you both."
"You too." He waved goodbye as she left.
"That was interesting." Christian mumbled.
"She's kind of a bitch." Elliot commented.
"I like her." Christian laughed.