storms&saints

Aside from a few debutante types who couldn’t hold their liquor and a few guests who were definitely high on something other than life, the evening itself had been going relatively smoothly. Perhaps it was the fact that this event was for charity and had put its guests in amiable spirits, but it was far more likely that those who had a reputation worth losing were simply on their best behavior to avoid being plastered on the front page of tabloids the following day.

Carmen was near the one of the many open bars available, watching as a couple seemed to be fawning over one another. Or more astutely, how the girl seemed to have the man wrapped around her little finger, as he nearly fell out of his seat in admiration or lust might’ve been more accurate. He went to get up, possibly to use the restroom when Carmen had recognized the girl’s features.

Making her way over, she glided through the crowd before sidling up next to the brunette. “I see you’ve been busy.”

Fox only chuckling in response. “ What’s he gonna do, kick me out? He’s not my dad…” Fox scoffed. The worst the man could do was escort him from the event, but that would loo childish on his part, and Fox knew how these men cared for their ego and appearances. Still, there was a rumor going around about someone illegitimate child showing up, and the last thing Fox needed or wanted was people thinking it was him.”

“Um, you’re right I must not look like him because I’m great at pool. But maybe it was my mistake and I confused you with this girl who was so drunk off her ass and staring at how handsome I am that she kept scratching the ball the entire night. Weird…” 

  Carmen shook her head lightly at his comment. She didn’t respond, mainly because she didn’t want to keep discussing her employer’s father but she didn’t want to risk anyone overhearing their conversation. Also, she’d rather not have to escort out one of the perhaps two people she knew attending the event. Sure, there was plenty of recognizable faces and names and even a few good potential employment opportunities, but people she actually knew knew? Carmen had been somewhat lacking.

“Oh, I definitely would’ve remembered if he was attractive.” Carmen teased, not wanting to inflate his ego. He seemed like the type to know his own appeal and she wasn’t about to add herself to the ranks of women who undoubtedly fawned over him regularly. “And for the record, I wasn’t drunk off my ass, I just had a head start before you.” She countered, knowing full well she could hold her liquor if she needed to. “I’d offer a rematch to you right now, but…” She tapped the radio attached to her hip. “I’m on the clock.”

“I used to add Hershey's chocolate syrup on top of the flan my mom used to make. She wasn't happy about it. Something about arruinando la cultura. I still do it though.”

{ High Roller Event 001 }  90th Annual Calhoun Charity Gala

“Side hustle? Now what tells you that I have a main hustle?” She asked with a cheeky smirk, wondering if this girl had seen her around some time either at the club or getting free drinks from men that thought they were winning her over. 

Cassie let out a pleased laugh, glad that she’d played along. “Ooh, infamous. That’s ten times more interesting anyway. Now I just want to know what for.” She wiggled her brows, “I’m gonna sound so cool when I tell everyone.” She grinned as if it really were something she could brag about and shook her hand.

“Just play is not exactly a tactic to win, is it?” She asked, leaning her hand on the edge of the table, careful not to let her fingers hang over onto the felt lest she get knocked by a wayward ball. The most she knew about pool was that the balls were to go in the pockets, and the turns switched if nobody ‘scored’, and that meant it was her turn. 

Cassie eyed the solids and looked for one that seemed easier to hit, and picked a purple one. Leaning over the table, Cassie looked over and flashed a grin at Carmen. “Shouldn’t you be stood behind me when you say that?” She teased, even though it didn’t have the tone of a come-on. “Just got out of work, I need to wind down first.”

“Just a guess.” Carmen conceded, putting her hands up for emphasis. “Though, there’s nothing wrong with a girl doing what she has to do to get by.” She continued, in part as a reassurance towards her present company and perhaps also as if those words had been partially meant for herself.

Carmen let out a breathless laugh as the girl’s insinuations, shaking Cassie’s hand firmly albeit lightly. “Just wait until all the wanted posters go up tomorrow and you’ll find out.” She winked, perpetuating the waggish air that had settled between the pair.

“No, though we could get to that later. Right now, it’s about getting comfortable. Confident.” Taking a moment to observe the girl’s form as she went to take a shot. Truthfully, Cassie wasn’t that far off as she seemed to think she was save for a few adjustments here and there.

“Hmm, you’re right. If only I was as good of an instructor as all those boys.” Carmen sighed dramatically while rolling her eyes playfully. “I guess you’ll have to settle for me.”

Assuming it was her turn, Carmen went to line up the cue before adjusting her position so that the other could see her hand placements. “The shot you took before wasn’t half bad. But you see here?” Adjusting the hand that was on the back end of the cue stick, she brought it forward slightly. “You had your hand a little too far to the back, try bringing it forward next shot.”

Going around the table to a red striped ball, she took a shot as the ball neared the edge of a pocket before succumbing to gravity and falling in. “Normally, I would keep going, but I want you to try again.”

Sidling off to the side once more, she waited for Cassie to take her turn while considering her answer to Carmen’s earlier question. “Late night shifts. Wide awake when everyone’s ready to sleep. I hear that.”

Aiden’s games were known for the debauchery that ensued. Players who dropped small fortunes simply because they could while in indulging in the fine liquor and, on a good night, a few beautiful women were also around to sweeten the deal. Carmen wasn’t on the menu that evening, at least not in the way some of the men were used to it, but the woman commanded a presence that Aiden couldn’t turn down when looking for new security personnel. From what he could tell during their brief interview, she could handle her own and was positive she’d break a guys hand if he tried anything.

Thankfully, the players caught onto that memo pretty quickly and didn’t try anything beyond a few lingering gazes. Grabbing the half empty bottle of whiskey and sliding over two glasses, he nods for Carmen to come over to the table. “Thought so.” He nods, not at all surprised by her response. “Can’t blame a guy for trying though?” Chuckling, he pours two generous servings of liquor into the glasses. “Well, maybe, you can but it was good for business tonight. Best game we’ve had in awhile.”

The truth was she preferred the jobs like this. The ones with high risk, but high reward. It might have been what attracted Carmen to the city of Sin in the first place. Or maybe it was just fate’s taunting sense of irony, a misguided attempt at quelling the spark of recklessness with a self-proclaimed mission of shielding those who get caught in the crossfire. She tried not to dwell on it for too long however, something she had apparently become proficient at.

It was how she found herself under the employment of a one Aiden Calhoun. The name had been vaguely familiar, distant, but had no connotations worthy of trepidation as far as she was concerned. At first, she had considered him simply: here goes another pretty playboy with money to burn. But there was something more there, unobservable save for what she could sense in the way his staff seemed to hang on his every word.

Said staff that was now diligently removing any evidence of the night that had just transpired just a mere few minutes ago. “I’m pretty sure they are going to be needing that whiskey more than you after the losses they had tonight.” She smirked, briefly considering for a moment that perhaps there was a good possibility he was counting on something like this to happen with her presence.

“Glad I could be of service.” Closing the distance to the table, she slid into a stool as a fleeting moment of hesitation struck her. Drinking with your employer was generally never a good idea, but this was an unconventional assignment and well fuck it her shift just ended. Responsible enough. “So are both those glasses for you or are you going to share?” 

“Let’s just say I’ve been told I have a type. The type that usually gets my ass in trouble.”

Cassie cackled out a laugh and nodded, stopping with the chalk and setting it on the table next to her beer. She tapped the cue as indicated, again wondering why they were doing that, but not bothering to ask this time. She didn’t quite care enough, she wasn’t playing to win.

“Right so boring technical shit and I should just go with it?” Cassie questioned playfully, giving a knowing nod at the better theory. “Yes, now that I can get behind. Look at me, pro at this.” She smirked, giving another tap to the cue and made a show of holding it casually at her side.

“Have I just met some famous Carmen that everyone knows except for me? I feel so out of the loop.” She sighed, a teasing smirk on her lips. “Let’s fix that, I’m Cassie.”

“See? You catch on quickly. Keep it up and this could be your new side hustle in no time.” Carmen chuckled. Just then the waitstaff had returned with a fresh beer in tow and she had quickly handed off a few dollars, muttering a quick ‘thank you’ before returning to the lesson.

“Famous? More like infamous, maybe.” She joked. The thought of any of her past catching up to her, however unlikely it may have seemed, was something she’d rather not consider. “Well, Cassie, now that you’ve met me you can tell all your friends.” She extended her palm for her to shake. The younger woman was easy to talk to and had an off the cuff sense of humor Carmen could vibe with.

Examing the table, she took a swig from her beer. “Now the best way to learn is to just play. I’ll be stripes and you can be solids.” She explained, glancing pointedly at the balls below. “I’ll go first, to start us off.” Leaning forward, she quickly lined up her shot, dispersing the billiards. Standing back up, she took a step back to make room for the brunette.

“So what’s a pretty girl like yourself doing out alone? ” It was more of an observation than a line and she was genuinely curious.

“Once. I couldn’t give her what she wanted, so I ended it.”

“Five and counting as far as tattoos. I used to have more piercings back in the day, but anything with a hoop is just asking to be pulled in a fight.”

“Independence. I don’t have time to babysit.”

“Grew up with a mix of English and Spanish, though mama wanted to make sure I understood English first. No matter how proud she was of where we came from, she didn’t want me to struggle in school. More than half the kids ended up speaking Spanish anyway. Picked up some French along the way, though nothing you’d say to people you didn’t know unless you want to get slapped. If my father had been around, I would have liked to have learned Arabic. It’s a beautiful language.”

“Good banter is always better than any pick-up line. One of my favorite ones though was when some vato came up to me as I was leaving my post and was all like ‘Baby, you wanna know the difference between a cheeseburger and an erection? You’re not giving me a cheeseburger right now.’ One of us went home with blue balls and the other went home with a cheeseburger so I guess you already know who won that night.”