Character's not mine, they belong to Showcase and Lost Girl
Chapter 3
"So…have a good night?"
Tamsin peered at her friend over her cup of coffee. The pair were sitting in the lobby area waiting for the car that was going to be sent for the doctor. Bo had called the doctor earlier that morning to invite her to Red Rock for the day and the blonde agreed as she was thankful for the distraction from thinking about her dinner companion from last night. It had been a restless night for the doctor and she was looking forward to spending the day engaged in some fun rather than worry about what could or could not happen as far as Sloan was concerned. Lauren rolled her eyes and nodded as she took a slow sip of the warm caffeinated liquid. "Nothing exciting. We went for dinner and she dropped me back here."
Tamsin nodded. "No wine, dine and sixty-nine?"
Lauren huffed. "Okay what is your problem with her?"
The taller blonde shrugged as she set her coffee down. "She's fine. And you know she's dating someone right?"
Lauren sighed internally but didn't outwardly react to this piece of information that confirmed her suspicions. "And why would I care about that exactly?"
Tamsin chuckled and shook her head. "Maybe you don't. But from where I was sitting yesterday I recognized the Lewis charm being turned on…slightly."
Lauren shook her head. "Jealous?"
Tamsin choked on her coffee slightly. "Of the rich bitch? Hardly."
Lauren shook her head and laughed as she looked at her friend who appeared to be sulking slightly. The town car pulled up to the private entrance and Tamisn grumbled as she followed Lauren out of the hotel and into the awaiting automobile. The pair were quickly en route to the casino on the outskirts of the city and Tamsin looked at Lauren with slight curiosity. "So…what made you decide to try Red Rock anyone?"
Lauren sighed and leaned back against the seat. "Just trying something different. That okay with you?"
The short tone to her voice was not lost on Tamsin who just sighed and nodded. "I'm sorry Lauren, I'm not trying to be difficult."
Lauren turned to look at her and gave her a small smile. "I know. And I'm sorry I'm just a bit tired. I didn't get much sleep last night."
Tamsin smirked and scooted slightly closer to her. "You should have called, I'm sure we could have found something to do to put you to bed."
A much needed laugh was shared between the pair and Lauren just shook her head at her friend's suggestive comment. The car pulled into the back entrance of the casino and Bo stood at the curb greeting the pair with a smile. "Welcome to my casino Dr. Lewis. And Tamsin…Tamsin?"
The taller blonde laughed and gave Bo a tight smile. "Bo Dennis. Nice to see you again."
Bo groaned somewhat internally as she kept the genuine smile plastered on her face. She hadn't fathomed that Lauren would bring Tamsin with her so it was going to turn out to be quite an eventful day if the feisty blonde was around. Lauren gave Bo a sincere smile and nodded as she followed the brunette into to the gaming area. "This is a gorgeous property Bo."
The brunette smiled and led the pair onto the casino floor. "It really is. So this is the main gaming area with the table games in the middle of the floor surrounding the bar. The various denomination of slots extends outwards from the tables with the exception of the high limit slots which is directly across the main walkway here. We have various eating venues in our food court and a bowling alley down that way." Bo pointed out the various things she was talking about as she continued leading them through the main casino floor. Lauren looked around and noticed the almost calmer atmosphere in the establishment.
The trio continued walking to a set of elevators behind the main entrance where Bo hit he button for them to head upstairs. Once inside she turned to the pair with a smile. "The high limit room is upstairs as is the poker room. I'll take you up to the poker room first and if you like we can head to the high limit room after."
Lauren just nodded and smiled as she gave Bo a slightly weary look. No doubt the woman was breathtakingly beautiful and she carried herself with the right amount of class and charm to be tempting to any man or woman on earth. And to be honest, she would have been exactly the kind of woman Lauren would have chased after when she was younger but for some reason Lauren didn't feel more than the physical appreciation of a beautiful woman for Bo and it puzzled her. She shook her head as she followed Bo out of the elevator and into the poker room that seemed to be much livelier than the main floor downstairs. A quick sweep of the room told Lauren there was a fair mix of local players among the tourists who were in town to try their hand at real poker. Lauren recognized a few pros scattered among the group and was surprised the pros weren't drawing a bigger crowd than they were.
"So right now we have 3/6 and 4/8 limit hold em, 2/4 pot limit Omaha and one table with 2/4 no limit hold em." Bo told the pair after a quick glance at the board. She knew these games wouldn't interest Lauren but she didn't want to seem pushy about getting the doctor up to the private poker game going on in the penthouse.
"How big do the games normally get?" Lauren looked at Bo patiently and ignored Tamsin who looked on with boredom on her face. Sure there was action in the room but given the table stakes she wouldn't walk out of there with more than a few thousand dollars and that wasn't worth her time at this point.
Bo smiled and motioned to the board. "Standard big game is 10/20 no limit and a 4/8 pot limit Omaha on the weekends. Average buy in for the hold em is five thousand and two thousand for the Omaha game."
Tamsin didn't even try to hide her disdain as she snorted. "We came all the way down here for five thousand?"
Bo bit the inside of her cheek as she tried to hold back a snarky remark. She'd never gotten along with the snarky blonde but she wasn't going to let old disagreements get between her and her job, which at the moment was to get Lauren upstairs. "I promised Lauren a big game and don't worry, I can deliver. Follow me ladies."
Bo led the pair out of the room and down the hall to another elevator. Bo put what appeared to be a special key card into the slot and hit the penthouse button with a smirk on her face. "For our special guests we put on a very special game. No limit hold em with a one hundred thousand buy in. The big game being the half million dollar buy in but those are rare. This is an invite only game and isn't staked by the house so there's no rake. We have one table going right now and there's spots for both of if you'd like."
Tamsin looked at Lauren with curiosity as she was surprised her friend had accepted this prestigious invite right off the bat. For as long as Tamsin had lived in Vegas she knew about these secret games the casinos hosted for their high rollers but she'd never gotten an invite on her own. Probably because she didn't spend too much time in the poker room but the blonde could hold her own and has sat with the best of the best and walked out with a larger bankroll than when she'd started.
The elevator sounded alerting them that they'd reached their destination and Bo led them past the two armed security guards who stood at the entrance. She smiled as she entered the room alerting the others to their presence. "Gentlemen, and ladies, welcome our new guests."
The players at the table turned to face the pair who looked on in curiosity as the somber atmosphere of the high limit game engulfed them. Lauren scanned the players at the table and her heart stopped when she saw the person sitting on the opposite side across from the two open seats. The doctor made her way over to the table and took a seat carefully. "Sloan…"
The brunette smiled and nodded as she glanced at Tamsin briefly before looking back at Lauren. "Doctor…"
Bo got Lauren and Tamsin settled making sure the cocktail waitress in the room got their drinks and that they were both situated with chips. Both ladies fell in line with the other players and exchanged fifty thousand in chips while keeping fifty thousand in cash on the table. There were two men in tailored Italian suits to Lauren's left between her and Sloan and two younger men sitting to Tamsin's left who was sitting at the open seat next to Lauren. The doctor figured these were some kind of techy nerdy overnight millionaire types who were online players trying their hand at the real deal. After making sure the pair were set Lauren watched Bo walk over and take the open seat between Sloan and the dealer. Bo set her own rack down on the table and smiled at the pair warmly. "Shall we?"
Lauren looked at Tamsin who raised an eyebrow. "You sure you want to do that Bo?"
The brunette laughed and put and arm around the back of Sloan's chair. "I'll be fine Tamsin. Isn't that right baby?"
Sloan looked from Tamsin to Bo to Lauren with a smile. "Absolutely."
Lauren seethed in her chair at the obvious gloating the pair across from her were doing at getting her to the casino and into their game. She quickly realized she'd been tag teamed by the couple to get her there. She looked over at Tamsin who was looking at her with a smirk and felt her own lip curl slightly in return. The pair may be an odd match but when they were on the same wavelength the two blondes were notorious for being quite the headache and today seemed like a good time for them to sync up and have a little fun.
Lauren didn't say anything else as she posted the big blind and waited for her cards. She wasn't going to play the mind games with the pair, at least not yet, and she was going to prove to the brunettes just how tough she really was. They took her for an easy mark, a rich woman with no real skill and she was going to show them what a mistake it was to underestimate her.
On her left Tamsin smirked as she looked at her cards knowing exactly what that look from Lauren really meant. The fellow blonde was in the mood to have some fun and Tamsin sat back to get comfortable knowing they were going to be in for a long day. If it was fun that her friend was after she would do everything in her power to ensure it was just that.
ooOOoo
"Okay ladies…it's been fun but when the money's gone it's time for me to leave as well."
The man, Doug, who turned out to be an oil tycoon from Texas stood up and bowed to the table slightly. The group had been engaged in the high stake game for the last few hours and after the two young kids departed when Lauren and Tamsin took them for all they were worth rather quickly the group had been reduced to the four women and Doug and his friend. The other guy, Charles, was an investment banker and seemed to have a bit more aptitude for the game as he remained with about eighty thousand in front of him which included the top off he'd done when his stack had fallen below fifty thousand.
Bo and Tamsin were sitting pretty both with just over a hundred and fifty thousand but the big stacks at the table were Lauren and Sloan with the blonde having just slightly more than the pro who had about two hundred thousand. Bo stood up and smiled as she walked him to the exit graciously. "Thanks for coming Doug, and please call me anytime."
Doug nodded to her with a warm smile. "Thank you Bo, it was fun. Not as much fun as winning but I can't complain about spending the afternoon with you beautiful gals."
Bo smiled and laughed lightly as she held the door for him at the exit. Back at the table Tamsin watched Sloan roll her eyes slightly at Bo's subtle flirting and the tall blonde snorted. "Not a fan of her day job I see?"
Sloan just grunted as she folded her nine and five of hearts. "It's fine. And none of your concern Tamsin."
Lauren called the big blind of two hundred dollars and looked over at her friend who smirked as she glanced down at the pair of tens in her hand. "Three thousand."
Charles checked his cards and shook his head as he folded his big blind. Lauren took another look down at her ace and queen of diamonds but decided it wasn't worth it to tangle with her friend at this point. She rolled her own eyes and folded to Tamsin who raised an eyebrow at her but didn't say anything as she took down the small pot with a sigh. Bo returned to the table and smiled at the group. "How about a dinner break?"
Charles nodded and smiled as he stood up and stretched. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and started answering emails as he wandered out of the suite down to the bar most likely. He had been among a group of businessmen that were in town for a conference so Bo assumed he was meeting his colleagues for a bite.
"Can I buy you ladies dinner?"
The two blondes shrugged and mumbled agreement as they followed Bo and Sloan out of the suite back to the elevator. They thought they'd be going down to one of the restaurants downstairs so they were significantly surprised when they stopped a few floors down and entered Sloan's suite. Room service had been ordered and Lauren had to admit the food looked wonderful as she realized just how hungry she was.
"Tamsin, a word?"
Bo guided the taller blonde into the kitchen area of the suite leaving Sloan and Lauren alone in the dining area. Lauren stood there somewhat awkwardly as she wasn't sure how to approach this situation. Upstairs things were under her control as she could navigate the poker table with ease but in this unfamiliar social situation she was slightly at a loss for words. Even in her personal and professional life she was always in control so being here, and feeling slightly embarrassed, Lauren wasn't sure how to approach conversation with the woman who had kept her up all night.
"Champagne?"
"What?"
Lauren was jarred from her thoughts by Sloan who was holding a glass of bubbly out for Lauren to take. The blonde smiled a bit bashfully as she accepted the champagne and sighed slightly. "You can drop the act now. I'm here, playing your game. I mean that's what you wanted right?"
The words held a bite that surprised even the blonde and she took a big sip of the champagne to calm her nerves slightly and try and keep her head focused on the situation. Sloan chuckled slightly as she sipped from her own flute and looked at her sadly. "No, that wasn't the only thing I wanted."
Lauren looked at her skeptically. "Then what else is there? After all I highly doubt your girlfriend would approve of you wanting anything else."
Sloan laughed lightly. "Bo and I are complicated."
Lauren set the champagne down on the dining table. "What does that mean?"
Sloan took a few steps towards her and set her own glass down as she spoke to Lauren with a husky whisper. "It means she and I don't have responsibility to each other beyond that which we give each other."
Lauren looked confused. "I don't know what that means."
Sloan smiled. "I don't either. But it sounded good don't you think?"
The pair shared a laugh and Lauren shook her head. "Well I think we'll never know what would have been."
Sloan looked curious. "You don't want to find out?"
Lauren sighed softly. "I live in California and split time between coasts Sloan. Even if it would have been great it wouldn't work out in the long run."
Sloan nodded. "Okay, I understand. But Lauren…"
The blonde looked at her carefully. "Yes?"
Sloan smiled gently at her. "Just know it wasn't all about the gambling. Okay?"
Lauren nodded and took a seat at the table. "Okay."
She was doing her best to remain stoic but it was proving more difficult than she thought. Here was a woman who finally made Lauren feel something and she had to walk away. She may be a high risk gambler but Lauren knew when it came to matters of the heart that she couldn't afford to risk too much. She could be broken and Lauren Lewis wasn't willing to risk that, no matter what the prize.
ooOOoo
"You sure she's invested?"
Bo looked at Tamsin with a raised eyebrow. The pair may hate each other on some level but on others they were the perfect pair. They had the good-cop bad-cop routine down pat and could work any mark in any situation to perfection. Tamsin sighed and leaned back against the counter. "I told you Dennis, whatever Sloan did or said to her has her hooked. She'll be back."
Bo smiled and nodded as she moved over to one of the cabinets. She glanced back over her shoulder and looked at Tamsin with a raised eyebrow. "I hope this doesn't put you in a precarious situation?"
Tamsin shook her head with a laugh. "If anything it might get me laid this trip so I should probably be thanking you and your crazy scheme."
Bo rolled her eyes as she opened a safe and took out an envelope. She counted out a few bricks of money and pushed it over to Tamsin with a smirk. "Don't spend it all in one place."
Tamsin laughed as she picked up the bricks. She counted the fifty thousand dollars and nodded to the brunette. "Don't worry about me beautiful, you just worry about keeping your girlfriend in check. If she gets too close she'll fuck it all up and the doctor won't return."
Bo licked her lips as she put the envelope back in the safe and locked it securely. "Trust me Tamsin, Sloan is the last thing you need to worry about."
She sashayed past the blonde back into the living room with a sway of her hips that Tamsin knew was for her benefit. Glancing at the money once again Tamsin stuck it in her jacket pocket and shook her head as she laughed and followed Bo back into the living room.
On some level Tamsin felt guilty about setting her friend up but at the end of the day money talks and right now Tamsin was listening. She'd been skeptical at first when Bo had proposed they lure Lauren to the Rock and she thought it was brash of the young host to set her mark on someone so well known among the other casinos but once Bo had convinced her there was no turning back. One million dollars was very convincing and Tamsin knew it was more about Bo wanting the satisfaction of taking the doctor for all she had more than it was about the money. Bo was competitive and she was going to be the only host to own the doctor. With a little help from Tamsin it seemed her plan was working out beautifully and if everything went accordingly Sloan would never know Bo was serving the doctor up on a silver platter.
Let me know what you think and thanks for reading!