"Are you a magician or something? How could your luck be so good that you win each and every time? Were you lying when you said you're bad at it? You're so good; I can't believe you could have lost over forty million here," Esmi couldn't help but ask Ryder questions one after another. Her shock was impeccable.
"Were you lying about that as well?" She asked.
"I never said I lost forty million," Ryder ignorantly replied as he raised both his hands.
"But you clearly said forty million. I don't have that bad memory," Esmi exclaimed in surprise.
"My dear Esmi, if you have such a great memory, then try to remember the question you had asked before I said forty million. And repeat that question to me," Ryder told her as an amused smile spread across his lips.
"Huh? The question? Alright. I had asked how much you had won or lost in betting here," Esmi repeated the question, but she suddenly stopped as a look of understanding dawned on her face.
"You meant you won that much, not lost?" She exclaimed in shock.
"It's not much. Just forty million," Ryder said, enjoying the shocked look on her face.
"I guess you already broke that record today. You won fifty million today already. Are you planning to win more?" She asked Ryder, laughing. "Do I even need to bet more? It seems like you won a little competition of ours. So what's your wish going to be?"
Ryder glanced at Esmi as he nodded. It was true that he had won their competition.
"My wish? It's simple. My wish is that you tell me your wish so I can fulfill that." He told Esmi.
"Huh? You want me to tell you my wish? You want to fulfill that? Why? You won, not me," Esmi reacted, surprised.
'It's true that I won in this timeline, but the real score is still 0-1. You won. Unfortunately, I can't tell you that. So let it be this way. You deserve the victory,' Ryder thought as he shook his head.
"I won because I was lucky. But I think you deserve this victory. As for a reason, don't ask me. Just tell me what your wish would have been," Ryder told Esmi, nodding his head.
"Hahaha, I feel like I don't deserve this win, but I'm not going to say no to this kind offer. And since you already said that you'd fulfill one of my wishes, you can't say no!" Esmi said right away as she took the offer.
She slowly brought her lips closer to Ryder's ears, sticking her body closer to his. Ryder could already feel her breast sticking close to his body, distracting him.
"My wish is that you... Take me to a hotel after we're done here and... Do I need to say more?" She whispered seductively as she gently licked her ear tip before she moved back.
"I was planning to do that even if you hadn't asked," Ryder replied as he smiled wryly. "It seems like you wasted that wish."
"Alright. Let me change it then," Esmi smiled cheekily as she said.
"Nope. Not allowed. You only had one wish, and that's gone now," Ryder responded as he shook his head. "As for the hotel, let's just go through one more round before we leav-"
He was still speaking but stopped without finishing his sentence as he looked back. Someone had tapped on his shoulder.
Turning his body sideways, he glanced back.
"Yes?" He asked the dark-haired man who was standing behind him.
"Excuse me, Sir. But the boss of this place invited you to meet him. Would you please accompany me?" The man asked Ryder respectfully.
"I'm sorry, but I'm busy. I don't have time. Tell your boss maybe next time," Ryder refused without even entertaining the thought. "I have another meeting. I was just leaving."
He stood up. Esmi also followed suit.
"Sir, please. I insist," the dark-haired man repeated. Even though his tone was still respectful, the man had moved back his coat to reveal a gun that was tucked in, clearly in an effort to intimidate Ryder, which he clearly understood.
"If you think that's going to work, then you're clearly wrong, my friend," Ryder lazily said as he tapped the shoulder of the man.
"As for such toys, I have many. So step aside," he added as he pushed the man to the side.
Grabbing the hand of Esmi, he started leaving.
"Sir! We are telling you. Please stop!" The dark-haired man again repeated. "Our boss just wants to have a little coffee. If you leave, my job will be in danger."
The dark-haired man still seemed respectful. He hadn't taken out his weapon but changed his tone.
"Sweetheart, are you interested in a coffee?" Ryder asked Esmi, gazing into her eyes.
"I wouldn't mind a cup. Let's go meet his boss. I want to see what he wants." Esmi nodded, grinning.
Nodding, Ryder glanced back and looked at the dark-haired man.
"Alright. Take us to your boss."
...
The dark-haired man started leading Ryder through to his boss's cabin.
"This is where our boss is sitting. Please go inside. No need to knock. He already knows you're here. I'll send coffee in the meantime," the man said as he turned back and left.
Click!
Ryder turned the doorknob and pushed it open after the sound of a click.
Opening the door, he stepped inside.
"Mr. Ryder. Welcome to my place. You're such a big member of this place; I should have greeted you long ago. I can't believe it took so long. Please take a seat," the man inside the room told Ryder as he gestured for them to sit. "As for Miss Esmi, I'm glad to meet you as well. Please sit."
Both Ryder and Esmi stepped forward. Pulling the chair back, they sat.
"I'm Gander. I think there's a good chance that you heard of me already," the man said to Ryder.
Ryder, on the other hand, looked confused. Who was this guy, and why was he supposed to know him? Was he that famous?
The only thing Ryder knew about this man was that he was the owner of this place which dealt in millions of dollars, so he was most probably filthy rich. But other than that, he didn't know anything.
Gander could already understand as he saw Ryder's expressions. It was clear that he hadn't heard about him.
As for Esmi, she had. She started explaining to her Ryder since she also realized that Ryder didn't know about a Gander.
"You're the owner of over eighty percent of the casinos in the country. Not only that, but you're also the cousin of our vice president. As for your wealth, I don't even think I need to talk about it. You're filthy rich in short. Did I guess it right?" Esmi asked Gander.
"Hahaha, Miss Esmi. It's not called guessing when you tell the answer which you already knew," Gander said. "Anyway, yes. You're right. Since you already know that I have plenty of money, then you don't need to worry about me hurting you for the little bit of money that you won. So you can relax."
"Even if you win a few billion dollars here, I wouldn't honestly be concerned," he added.
"If it's not about money, then why did you invite us here? Don't tell me you called us here to have our company as you drink coffee," Ryder jokingly asked.
"I called you here because of my curiosity. As they say, curiosity can be a really bad thing," Gander replied as he opened a notebook that was placed before him.
He also picked up a pen and started writing something. As he finished, he moved the book towards Ryder.
Gazing down at the pages of the book, Ryder understood what he was implying.
The only thing which was written on the page was 37-2.
"37-2. That's your record. You've bet in total thirty-nine times here and lost only twice. And looking at the pattern, it's not difficult to guess that you Intentionally lost the two times you did," Gander said as he gazed at Ryder, amused. He couldn't help but wonder how Ryder would react.
"I'm glad you think I'm a god that can never lose, but those two times was an actual loss," Ryder replied, openly lying.
"Even if we agree that you lost twice, that's still over ninety percent victory rate. Even the best of the best isn't over thirty percent victory rate. So, what's your secret, Mr. Ryder?" Gander asked.
"Does there really need to be a secret? Can't my luck just be good? Because I'm honestly a noob when it comes to such things. I come here, test my luck, and I win. Isn't that betting all about? Because it depends on luck?" Ryder inquired.
"That's the thing. But you're different. You are twisting the luck in your favor, and I think I know how," Gander said as he smiled.
