The crowded casino hummed and vibrated with life. Patrons milled about on the game floor, moving past one another – some deftly and with grace, others clumsily and without regard for the others. Here there were hundreds of strangers gathered together for the exact same purpose: money and a damn good time.
There were young men huddled around roulette wheels, testing their luck with the help of goddess-like women at their arms. These women were wrapped in vibrant silks and dripped with colorful gemstones that glittered in the casino’s light. Older men were hunkered down at blackjack tables; thick Cuban cigars hung from their mouths and a cloud of smoke clung to the groups. Here and there, casino attendants flitted from table to table, trays of empty or half-empty glasses balanced precariously in their hands. The smell of alcohol, expensive perfume, and adrenaline-fueled fear hung in the air.
At the top of the floor’s steps, a young woman stood observing the crowd. Her thick, flame-colored hair cascaded down her exposed back. She was loosely covered by an emerald-green evening gown and ornamented with golden bands about her arms and neck. After taking in the atmosphere of the casino floor, she extended one long, milky leg and began descending the staircase.
She reached the bottom level and ambled through the crowd luxuriously. She glanced at one of the roulette wheels nearby and twitched a finger; a collective groan rippled through the crowd huddled nearby as the wheel nudged slightly to the right and away from some of the men’s fortunes. The woman smirked and continued crossing the floor.
Making eye contact with one of the older gentlemen at the card tables, she winked subtly. The man continued to follow her with his eyes, and the woman next to him – presumably his wife – noticed his stare. She saw the red-haired woman and jerked her head back towards the man, making wild, angry gestures towards him – at which he frantically attempted to console her. A soft laugh, warm and melodic, broke from the young woman’s lips.
A waitress rushed past the woman, stopping to deliver a tray full of martinis to a table of giggling women. As the waitress dropped off the drinks, one of the recipients pulled a leather wallet from her purse and rifled through it. Pulling out a few one-dollar bills, she haphazardly tossed them to the waitress, who fumbled trying to catch them. They fluttered to the ground and the waitress knelt down to pick them up. The red-haired woman, watching the waitress, cocked an eyebrow. As the waitress got closer to the bills, she realized that they weren’t ones, but were hundreds. Excitedly, she scooped them up and darted away from the table.
Another waitress stopped in front of the red-haired woman. “Can I get you anything, ma’am?” the waitress asked.
The woman smiled politely. “Yes, I have a table reserved in the back room.”
Nodding, the waitress pulled out a hostess tablet. “The name, please?”
“’Tyche’ is the first name.”
The waitress scanned her list and tapped the end of her stylus to the name when she found it. Looking up, she flashed a cheerful smile to the woman and beckoned for her to follow. “Right this way, Miss Fortune."
