Rino reached for the dropped cards on the table to shuffle a new round, but Reynar reached for his hand and stopped him.
"We need your reply, this instant," Reynar said with a firm tone.
Rino looked up at Reynar, still holding the edge of the cards firmly.
"I will give my reply..." he said, and pulled his hand slightly backward, then flipped the cards into his palm. "...after this round."
Reynar's mold faltered a bit. He glanced at Malcolm first, then Dalia, then Zaira.
Each of them he looked at nodded in approval.
They seem to value Rino's presence.
Slowly, Reynar withdrew his hand with reluctant resignation. "Fine. Then, we play again."
In as much as the members have agreed that another round shall be played, Kasper leaned forward as if he protested against the idea.
Then, as if controlled by shocks, he clicked his eye close, and open and said. "Let's raise the stakes."
Rino paused.
Before the first round of the cards was played, he had expected that this was that sort of club where people deposited huge amounts of money to play even the slightest game and at the end, the winner collects all the profit made.
Now, it is happening as he initially expected.
Kasper sat straighter.
"If you are going to join the game, then we are all entitled to stake at least a hundred grand."
$100,000? Rino's eyes widened, but he didn't show it.
He knew he had that much money to spend with a closed eye, but, to bring to money out pained him.
It was as if pulling out a hundred grand from the many he had was going to reduce his net worth by a drastic amount.
As if that was his last card he was going to withdraw from his account.
It just pained him, but why?
However, the other members showed no sign of surprise. They had expected this to come.
They knew it was a natural phenomenon for them each time they gathered.
Who knew how much they had spent in the previous days?
Kasper's voice caught Rino off-guard as he saw the grin on his face.
As if referring to Rino, Kasper commented with a cool, but confident voice. "This is Red Tann. We waste no time on child's play."
As if there was no time to waste time, Malcolm reached into his pocket and retrieved a gold card, tossing it on the table with carelessness.
"300 grand," he said as the card landed with a soft, deliberate slap.
"$100,000," Zaria followed next.
"Same," Reynar followed Zaria's lead.
Amaka didn't make much body reaction. She simply took out her black wallet, pulled out a black metal card from it, and slid it onto the glass table.
"$150,000," she muttered.
Rino, as well as Kasper shot her different looks.
Kasper knew she was capable from the start, but Rino didn't expect her to be involved in the game as well...judging from her behavior all this while.
"$150,000 as well," Kasper proclaimed.
"$100,000," Dalia said, placing her card next to Kasper's.
"Let's see what the billionaire's son has got," Malcolm mouthed.
All eyes turned to Rino.
He had to act like he belonged, even if his heart beat just a little louder now. Not out of incapability to bring out that amount.
Earlier on, he could have come out of his house without a gift card just like the others had with them. It was a long time ago, that his belief against physical transactions faltered.
He deals mostly with mobile transactions, now.
But on second thought, he decided to collect the last gift card he knew he had and had deposited exactly $100,000 into the card.
I am Mister Luck, he thought with a smile, confusing those who waited for his action on the table.
Reclaiming his expression, he removed his own card, a golden card as well, and slid it on the table.
Dalia immediately looked over to see the amount Rino had placed on the table.
"$100,000," Rino said calmly, knowing why Dalia was eager to know, and disappointing the lady as well.
She seemed to be the only one who expected him to contribute higher than Malcolm.
Like before, Malcolm summoned Bayo once again with a sharp snap to come to collect the cards.
Within moments after collecting the card, Bayo returned with a rose-tinted tablet.
"Please, confirm," he said as he went to each member to tap into their transactions.
Rino was the last to type in his transfer key.
"All done," Bayo confirmed, retreating into his corner spot once again.
Rino let out a deep exhale, took the full deck of cards in his hand, and began to shuffle them.
After shuffling the cards, he dealt them one by one, beginning from Malcolm in a clockwise direction until he ended the sharing on his front.
Silence was the next option in the room since stakes had turned their leisure into a war ground.
Rino collected his card and glanced at his hand.
Somehow, he was lucky once again.
He wished he was.
He had three high-value cards, but his odds weren't great. Amaka's calm confidence, Malcolm's dominant air, and even, Kasper's confidence all unnerved him just a bit.
Dalia was the key opener of the game.
She placed a king of hearts at the center of the table. "Let's see how this goes."
She stirred the stew, and subsequently, the play went around.
Zaria played her queen.
Reynar added a ten.
Amaka dropped an ace.
Rino had no choice. He kept a straight face as he played his low-value eight.
Malcolm was the man who couldn't hold back his laughter. "Looks like your luck has dried up, Mister Cat."
"At some point, I almost named him Mister Luck too," Reynar mocked.
But Rino didn't reply to any of their words. He just watched everyone play and waited.
Two rounds had gone, and the tension between the group had intensified. Kasper was leading.
Rino—he already lost one of his strongest hands too early.
His $100,000 will be in vain now. He was certain. He was going to lose.
Not until he noticed something.
His four main competitors happened to be Kasper, Amaka, Malcolm, and Reynar.
Malcolm was aggressive during his play but very predictable.
Reynar used straight flushes and royal mixes to lay surprised elements.
Kasper was fond of playing his middle cards to bait high plays, yet, Amaka always countered each move he took.
Rino paused.
It was his turn, and an idea crept into his mind.
He took out his nine of diamonds and sacrificed it deliberately hoping that the next man would fall for his trap.
And he did.
Kasper dropped a queen with a smirk.
So, it worked.
Rino began using this observation to lay subtle traps, while Kasper and Malcolm kept falling for these traps.
Zaria and Dalia were out for a long time. Now, Amaka and Reynar would be joining their crew.
There were three competitors left. Malcolm, Kasper, and Rino.
"Last cards. Let's go," Zaria said, raising the tension between the trio.
Good enough, Malcolm's was the first to play.
With a cocky grin, he tossed a jack onto the table.
Next was Kasper who laid a king.
Then, it was Rino last.
He held his card and hesitated a bit before dropping it on the table.
It was a Queen of diamonds.
They paired his last card with the earlier nine and ace from prior hands, and it was a hidden straight.
"Well played," Reynar clapped.
"You sneaky bastard," Malcolm blinked, then laughed.
Rino just leaned back with his calm eyes, motioning for Bayo to step forward immediately.
Bayo stepped forward with the tablet in his hands. "Your details."
"Good."
Rino said as he collected the tablet typed in his SimCoin Wallet details, and handed it to Bayo.
Within a few seconds, Rino received the soft chime which vibrated in his pocket.
He pulled up his phone and checked it.
$1,000,000 confirmed making his balance a total of $25,995,000.
Rino smiled and raised his head.
Six pairs of eyes met him, with surprise tinged in each of them.
"I will be a member," Rino said.
Reynar folded his arms and reclined to his chair.
Zaria smiled.
And in that moment, the alert clicked in his mind.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
«↓ Mission Completed ↑»