Pearl Wolf studies the cards laid out on the blackjack table. She taps the table and the dealer turns another card over. Everyone at the table erupts into cheers as Pearl wins another huge pile of chips.
Tao's is part of the a complex in Vegas, 10,000 feet of nightclub located in the Venetian Casino Hotel and Resort. After playing they plan to dine and hold a release party at Tao's, an exceptional Asian Bistro located there. Pearl leads the three hostesses into the Gambling area. Luck is with her tonight!
Radiant in white silk pants suit that glows in the ambient light, Pearl is way up and a crowd gathers to watch her play.
She is on a roll and every hand goes her way. She has bankrolled Mary. God knows what she was thinking.
Mary is dressed in a green low cut dress with an empire waist. Sharon in a long, sexy maroon gown that accents her bubble butt. And Lyn in a black cocktail dress, that makes her skin glow. She is barefoot and Mary shakes her head. "Where the heck are your shoes Lyn?"
Lyn wiggles her pink toes and chuckles, they didn't have pair to fit me! They only had two sizes. Small and extremely small. I didn't like either pair."
"Yeah I know, your dainty size 14s are hard to find shoes to fit." Sharon laughs at them and swirls in her beautiful Versace designer dress.
Lyn stares diggers at Mary who smiles and blows her a kiss."Just keep those hooters inside the dress where they belong sweetie, you're getting a reputation ya know." Lyn snickers.Mary sticks her tongue out at Lyn and Sharon holds them apart. "Come on girls, be nice. We are professionals aren't we?"
Oliver, dashing in his tux, smiles at his friends' antics, as they tease one another.He knows they are as close as sisters. But, they can get outta hand at times.
They are ready to party and Pearl has promised to teach Mary how to play Blackjack!
Mary finds a seat next to Pearl and gazes down at $25 - in chips. It doesn't look like much, but Mary wasn't going to lose a penny of it. Sharon and Lyn watch over their shoulders as the game progresses.
Mary places a $5.- bet and Pearl nods. Every time she take a card it's Pearl playing for whole the table! Up $10.- down $10.- Mary starts to sweat. She hates to lose money, and when she has won $15.- she quits, pays Pearl back and smiles. Beginners luck.
Before she has a chance to blink.Lyn takes her seat. Lyn whips out a gambling visor that matches her dress, plops it on her head, and with an unlit cigarette hanging at the corner of her mouth she starts to play. Mary and Sharon look at each other shocked. Is Lyn a gambler? Lyn and Pearl are on winning streak. Working together they rake in enough to pay for the party!
"Dinner for everyone is on me!" Lyn is on a roll! She pops up, grabs Pearl and they cash in their chips. "We'll be back." Pearl advises the cashier.
Dinner at Tao's is an event! The place has been closed for Pearl's private celebration. Her book, Too Hot For A Spy is headed for the best seller list! Packed to capacity the guests line up to buy their copy of Pearl's new book on their way into the restaurant.
This "Asian City's" décor includes lush velvets and silks, waterfalls and century old woods and stones, and a hand-carved 20-foot-tall Buddha floating peacefully above an infinity pool complete with Japanese carp. The hostesses of the AR&T are thrilled!
They serve everything from dumplings,sushi, soup and spring rolls to Peking Duck. The menu has the girls mouths watering. Kobe beef,
lobster, scallops, you name it, they serve it.
Pearl raises her glass of red wine and bellows. "Drinks are on me.Vodka Martinis all around!"
Passing around lobster sushi and pot stickers, waiters serve tempting hors d'eourves
while the party begins to go ballistic!
Save room for the wonderful cake Oliver baked for the occasion. The desert table is full of everything from sherbets and Asian rice pudding to a fancy fortune cookie creation!
After dinner Lyn follows Pearl back to the blackjack tables. Mary and Sharon wonder if Lyn has a gambling problem. "So that's what she did with her shoes, she's gambled them away." Sharon mutters. We'd better keep an eye on her. Lyn is throwing money down like she's got it to spare!
Sharon claps for attention and after a time the cacophony abates. "Let's all welcome Pearl Wolf, we're here to celebrate her new release! We hope you enjoy Pearl's party, we know you are gonna enjoy her book!."
TOO HOT FOR A RAKE
2010 KENSINGTON:
EXCERPT: “You have no choice in the matter, love,” Helena said. “It is I who mean to seduce you. You cannot be so boorish as to refuse a lady’s request, can you?”
He took his hand away. “I’m a rake, my dear. I promised not to ruin your reputation. I gave your brother-in-law my word on it. You are an innocent, Helena. Don’t force me into taking advantage of your innocence.”
She shoved his hand away when he attempted to refasten her bodice. “Reputation be damned, Waverley. I want you. Doesn’t that count for anything? I thought you felt the same for me.”
His mocking words cut like a knife. “I have feelings of lust for every pretty lass who comes my way. I have a reputation to uphold, you see.”
“Is that all I am to you? Just another pretty lass? Don’t you want me?”
“Want you? Don’t tempt me any further, love, lest the consequences destroy us both. . . .”
BIO:Pearl Wolf published her first work of fiction--a short anecdote for THE READER’S DIGEST—when she was fourteen years old. For this effort, she received the grand sum of $5.00. That was enough to start her on her writing career. She lives in Manhattan. She has two sons and three grandsons. Pearl is active in several writers organizations including New Jersey Romance Writers, Florida Romance Writers, NYC Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime, NY-Tristate Chapter (past president). When she isn’t writing, she loves to play duplicate bridge and is a life master.
TOO HOT FOR A RAKE 2010
TOO HOT FOR A SPY 2009
DYING TO TEACH 2005
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