The Rise of Rachel Price T-Girl Pt. 14

This made Rachel think of Hunter - he was definitely BG material. She hadn't thought of Hunter in a long time; she was too preoccupied. He was a black hole of a man who, if she got too close, could tear her apart. Rachel relied on Levant's retainer to ensure that his grandfather received the best medical treatment possible. Grandfather seemed more energetic lately, and Rachel wasn't going to jeopardize that for any reason.

Rachel studied Volk's face more closely now. It was narrow and housed unsettling nervous eyes under a nose that flared unevenly. He looked incredibly nervous and kept looking at a stack of PowerPoint slides on his laptop over and over again. Rachel noticed that Volt did differential calculus on a pad as a way to master his nerves. While weird, Rachel felt it was kind of hot. She would check her score with Charlie later. Volk was called into the meeting and nodding at Rachel and Charlie and left laptop stiffly under arm.

Eventually, Levant left the meeting long enough to tell Rachel and Charlie to head down to the tables and enjoy themselves, and that he would catch up with them later.

Rachel and Charlie took the elevator down. Rachel felt more confident that no one would recognize her here. The casino had various zones with different degrees of exclusivity. All eyes were on them as they passed velvet rope after velvet rope, finally reaching one of the more elite areas. Here, fewer eyes followed them as the girls moved between the tables, they were more intent on the cards before them. Rachel carried a small stack of chips and moved around as Charlie explained some of the games. It turned out Charlie had worked for a year running a section of the Atlantic City casino hotel. Soon, Levant, smelling of cigars and in a very good mood, joined them and used his good looks and charm to excuse his absence from the party.

They stopped for an excellent dinner at one of Levant's restaurants. During dinner, there was a "close-up magic" performance by a magician who walked from table to table. The couples would tell the magicaian and the audience they were celebrating a wedding anniversary or a honeymoon. He would do small tricks to amaze them.

"Look, ladies and gentlemen," the magician said, smiling. "It's the hotel owner, Douglas Levant." This was followed by applause. "And who is the beautiful young women with him? No, don't look behind you, I meant you. I better be careful what I say, ladies and gentlemen, he can get me fired. But the question on everyone's lips is, what do you have to do to have so many wonderful nieces?" The magical said.

Rachel liked the fact that Levant could take a joke like that against himself.

The magician continued, "So, tell everyone your name and what you're celebrating."

The audience laughed as the magician handed the microphone closer.

"I'm Rachel Price," Rachel said with a crimson smile to the microphone bulb. "We're out celebrating managing to ending my Netflix subscription."

The audience laughed.

The magician looked up" I'll be out of a job soon." He said "Well, I can't go without giving you this."

As he spoke, the magician produced a single red rose from thin air and gave it to Rachel. Rachel took it and smiled while the audience clapped.

After dinner, the evening continued with a visit to The Bellagio. Rachel knew nothing about it, but she had been promised that this was the most sophisticated casino in the city. They were joined by Charlie, and Levant reveled in having two women on his arm. When they arrived, the manager appeared immediately and ushered them into the incredibly exclusive high roller area. They ended up in a very sophisticated section where the men were impeccably dressed in dinner jackets and the women wore long, elegant evening dresses. The staff wore smart uniforms that matched the exotic design of the casino. Levant wrote a check, and a large number of high denomination chips appeared. The center of the intersecting private rooms was a huge mahogany roulette table that seemed to have come straight from the 19th century. The table was like a dark red altar to money.

Rachel looked down, witnessing the most astronomical sums of money being bet. One man called a well-dressed waiter over with a finger, and with a card and a few pin digits, spent twenty thousand dollars on chips. He managed to lose most of that in less than twenty minutes, but then made at least half of it back before stopping. At one point, someone won enough to buy a house.

To keep the high rollers happy, waiters and waitresses weaved in and out, bringing free cocktails to the players. Levant seemed in his element in his dinner jacket, and Charlie appeared at ease with the tens of thousands of dollars being laid out with each spin.

"I will take you to Monaco someday," Levant promised Rachel. "They really know how to do this with style."

"I like the idea of losing money with style," Rachel said. "If you have to lose money, it's probably the best way to do it."

At Levant's insistence, more champagne flowed. Rachel sat on Levant's arm with Charlie on the other, while he showed off how skilled of a poker player he was. Rachel liked the way he would intimidate other players just by dumping enough money on the table to scare them.

Rachel went to the bar and whispered to Charlie. Charlie was in her element, surveying the competition with a professional eye. Levant continued to bluff and bluster his way to a small fortune at the card table. He had initially lost, but was making much of it back.

"Is he going to be okay?" Rachel asked, looking at the growing pile of chips.

Charlie shrugged. "The key to running a high-stakes table like this is to keep the people who know what they're doing out. The casino gets the house winnings, a share of the tips, enough to keep the place running. You keep the wolves in one room, the sheep in another, and everyone gets on," Charlie said dispassionately. "I'll be back in a couple of minutes."

Rachel didn't sit alone for long before a man turned around from the bar.

"If you were mine, I wouldn't leave you alone even for a minute," the man said. He was young, good-looking, smart, and well-dressed. He was on the rung below BJ. WMD - When mad or drunk.

Rachel was on the delightful edge of being drunk. "Well, if I were yours, that would make going to the bathroom very awkward," she shot back. "Both of us in a stall in the ladies'. Could get messy."

"Sounds like it could be fun," the man said.

"Good news is, I'm not yours, I'm mine," Rachel said. "By the way, why did I rate the number five pickup line?"

Denver had read that line on a list on the internet. He had memorised them and practiced but never got the opportunity. With his current knowledge he might go to University workout and get to WMD status but not now.

Before the man could continue, his friend moved over and whispered in his ear.

"Jack, don't you recognise her that's Rachel Fucking Price, man. Levant over there he can see you. Keep your hands where we everyone see them and step slowly away."

The man smiled and couldn't resist glancing over at Levant, who was dragging chips towards himself.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Price," Jack said, nodding and moving his drink away and glancing Levant."Have your self a nice evening."

"Nice to meet you, Jack," Rachel said as Charlie approached wondering what was going on. "Thank your friend for letting me know what my middle initial is. Say hi to Andre Tate, for me."

Charlie returned, she had spotted a card counter and told the floor manager about him.

Charlie and Rachel drifted over to the roulette table. Charlie explained the rules and conventions. It wasn't complicated, and you did win often enough to make it fun. Rachel found it hard to be thrilled when it didn't feel like real money. She used the time to look at some of the women and copied their reactions and expressions. By the end of the evening, Levant complained that Rachel didn't lose enough money. She noticed how some of the wealthier patrons used high denomination chips as tips for the waiters and waitresses. Feeling a bit mischievous, she discreetly hid a few thousand chips in her purse, partly as a good luck charm and partly as a souvenir.

As they continued, Volk turned up. Volk seemed to be in a celebratory mood, just like Levant. They appeared to be celebrating something. Soon, Levant took Charlie and Falk with him to a club somewhere. The club was filled with movement, lights, energy, and above all, a lot of noise. Above the dance floor, scantily dressed women swung on ropes and long swings, creating an exotic atmosphere. Rachel couldn't remember much detail after that, as the night became a blur in her memory.

***

The next morning, Rachel woke up with a start. Her head felt like it was in the grip of a vice and her mouth was as dry as the side of a matchbox. She looked around and realized she was in Levant's bed room. She was in the negligee. She panicked and quickly checked the sheets for Levant, but he wasn't there. However, the other side of the bed had been slept in. Rachel could smell alcohol on herself and felt terrible. She noticed she had become untucked during the night. Peeking out of the door, she saw Charlie and Levant chatting about business near the pool, with Charlie sitting by the poolside. Beyond them, a waitress was serving breakfast. Rachel hastily retreated back into Levant's room and locked the door.

After ten minutes of tidying up, adjusting her clothes, straightening her wig, and applying some lipstick, Rachel emerged in a dressing gown, covering her negligee, bra and padding.

"You're awake!" Levant said, smiling. "And looking fabulous, that's wonderful."

Rachel approached Levant and Charlie nervously. "I might look fabulous, but I certainly don't feel it. What happened last night?" she asked tentatively.

Charlie immediately spoke up, "You had a wild night in bed with my boss, or at least that's what I would like to say. In reality, you went to Levant's bedroom and fell asleep. Douglas slept in your room."

Rachel looked confused. "But the other side of the bed was slept in."

Charlie smiled. "You woke up early and came through. I had fallen asleep on the sofa here for some strange reason. You invited me to share your bed, saying you couldn't sleep. So, here we are."

"Okay," Rachel said, relaxing a bit and looking at the spread of food on the small table.

Levant seemed very happy. "Oh," he said as Rachel approached. "I had a very good night last night. I struck the deal of the century, and I'm blaming it on you being my good luck charm. So, I got you there"

The first box was a Luminor Due Goldtech™ Madreperla women's watch. It had the words 'Officine Panerai' on it.

"This is lovely" Rachel said putting it on. Levant delicately helper her put it on. Then handed over the next box. It wasn't large, but it was big enough to hold a fabulous ring Rachel opened it up, saying, "You really don't need to. You can have them all back when we are done. Oh."

The box contained two perfectly matched one-carat diamond earrings that sparkled like a newborn's eyes at her. "These are fabulous, but they are for pierced ears," Rachel said. "I mean, we do have the 'nothing permanent' rule... are you sure?"

Levant shrugged. "Keep them for later. Let's have some breakfast."

They ended up having a very leisurely breakfast and then drove to the private airport. The flight back was as laid-back as a Sunday morning could be. They had a late light lunch in the comfort of the Thornbury. Rachel felt relaxed, realizing that the Thornbury was becoming a very large second home.

"You had a good time? How was your first time being a woman for the week?" Charlie asked smugly from across the nook where they were hiding from the sunlight.

Rachel smiled. "The best."

Levant came over and caught the end of the conversation. "Well, this has been a great weekend for me. It feels like the start of something... amazing. You've been a real lucky charm. We should do something again. Do you ski?" Levant asked.

Rachel shook her head. "No, but I'm up for learning."

Levant looked over. "I'll think of something. Aspen is good, Switzerland is better... leave it with me. Hey, those new dresses were lovely. Charlie, you should take Rachel out and get some new stuff for her.'

"Yeah, the fall collections are coming out," Rachel said, displaying her knowledge of the fashion world.

"Maybe we should have a trip to Paris to see what's on the catwalks there," Charlie said, followed by something in French.

Levant nodded. "Yeah, Charlie, get some more clothes from that good place you know. Make sure you throw out the old stuff. Nothing but the best for Rachel."

Rachel looked up. "You don't have to," she said, not wanting to feel guilty about dumping everything when she left. It wouldn't be long.

Levant smiled with his easy charm. "I have to. I have to keep your voodoo working for me, or it goes away. Everyone in Vegas knows when you're on a winning streak not to stop playing."