Chapter 301 Leave It to Fate
Grace was like, "It's just a pic. What does that even prove? If I hugged Mr. Wallace right now, would that mean we're a thing?"
Grace never judged by looks. She trusted Xavier way more than that.
Sterling chuckled, "Ms. Lewis, you're quite amusing. You trust Xavier so much, but don't put all your eggs in one basket. He's not exactly a saint."
He thought, 'Xavier's one lucky dude to have someone believe in him this much.'
Grace shot back, "Whether he's good or bad isn't for you to decide for me. I'm not doing what Mr. Wallace suggests."
Sterling was just trying to figure out what kind of person Grace was. Stephanie wanted her gone, but Sterling believed everyone should control their own fate.
Sterling smirked, "Ms. Lewis, don't be so quick to shut me down. Think about what I said. You could be with me, and I can offer you way more than Xavier ever could."
He kept pushing, "Name your price—money, houses, cars, shares, or if you want the Montgomery family gone, I can make it happen."
Grace replied, "Thanks for the offer, Mr. Wallace, but I'm not interested."
"Well, then there's nothing more to talk about, Ms. Lewis." Sterling put down his glass and leaned back.
"Ms. Lewis, you can go. As for your friend, we still have some business to settle." His voice was ice-cold.
Angela got it—Sterling was Xavier's nemesis, and he was gunning for her and Grace while Xavier was out of the picture.
Angela laughed, "You act all tough, but why don't you make a move when Xavier's around? Only when he's gone? That's pretty cowardly!"
Sterling's eyes darkened. "Ms. Lewis, you've seen your friend's attitude. Even if I wanted to let her go, my guys wouldn't agree."
"Ms. Lewis, take care." Sterling's face was stone-cold.
Grace knew Sterling was gunning for her, and with Angela being her bestie, there was no way she could bail.
If anything happened to Angela, Grace would never forgive herself. She had to keep Angela safe.
Grace glanced at the stuff on the coffee table, trying to stay calm. "Mr. Wallace, is there really no other way?"
Sterling said, "I've laid it all out. It's Ms. Lewis who disagrees."
Grace suggested, "Mr. Wallace, how about we make a deal?"
Sterling looked intrigued. "What kind of deal?" Few dared to propose deals with him.
Grace eyed the cards on the table. "Mr. Wallace, you like to gamble, right? How about a game? If I win, you let my friend go."
Sterling's smile widened. "Ms. Lewis, you're confident. What if you lose?"
Grace said, "If I lose, you can stab me." Her face showed no fear.
There was something undeniable about her. Sterling rarely admired anyone, but Grace's guts were impressive.
"Alright. When I first met Ms. Lewis, I didn't get to give you a gift. So this time, win just one out of three rounds, and I'll let your friend go. Consider it a belated token of my regards to Ms. Lewis."
"Grace!" Angela was super worried.
She could see Sterling wasn't easy to beat, and he seemed very sure of himself. It looked like Grace was in for a tough time.
Angela didn't want to see Grace get hurt. This mess was her fault, so why should Grace gamble for her?
Angela blurted out, "Grace, let me gamble with him. If I lose, he can stab me!"
"Angela," Grace pulled her aside and whispered, "Chill. Even if I lose, I'll figure something out. We need at least one of us to get out of here. We can't both be stuck."
Angela protested, "But how can I just watch you get hurt? This guy won't let us go easily."
Grace reassured her, "Don't worry. If things go south, there's still Mr. Montgomery. If he harms me, Mr. Montgomery will never let him off the hook. He won't dare take that risk."
Grace mentioned Xavier just to calm Angela down.
Since she had already made the bet, if she lost, she'd deal with the fallout.
Angela finally felt a bit better. "You're right; we still have Mr. Montgomery."
Sterling interrupted, "What are you two whispering about? Are you done?"
"Then you wait outside for me. If you're here, I'll be worried, and it will mess with my game." Grace wanted Angela to leave first. No matter what happened next, she didn't want Angela to see it.
Angela nodded, "Alright, I'll wait outside. Make sure you come out safely."
Grace nodded back.
Sterling was clearly a card shark. Grace rarely played cards, so winning or losing was a total gamble. She wasn't sure if luck would be on her side today.
Grace thought, 'Winning one out of three rounds should still be doable.'
After Angela left, Grace walked over and sat across from Sterling.
Despite her sweaty palms, Grace looked calm.
Grace asked, "Mr. Wallace, what are the rules of the game?"
Sterling said, "I'm easy. How do you want to play?"
"Can I pick the game?" Grace asked, a bit unsure.
"Sure." Sterling didn't mind letting Grace choose. He enjoyed watching his opponents squirm. At least Grace had guts, which deserved some respect.
"Let's play High Card." Grace picked the game straight up.
High Card was a simple poker game where each player drew three cards, and the one with the highest total won.
This game was all about luck. Grace didn't trust her skills, and she knew she couldn't beat Sterling in more complex games.
Keeping it simple was her best bet. If luck wasn't on her side, she'd deal with it.
Sterling was surprised. He thought, 'This game is too basic, like something kids play.'
Sterling had been to countless casinos and played all kinds of cards. He was practically a gambling god. Now, he was being asked to play such a basic game.
He thought Grace had a game she was good at, which was why she set the rules.
Grace said, "Mr. Wallace, you said I could choose the game. Are you backing out now?"
Sterling smirked, "You think I can't handle it?"
Grace replied, "I didn't mean that. Let's get started then."
Someone came over to shuffle the cards, but Grace stopped them. "Mr. Wallace's guys are undoubtedly skilled. If you trusts me, let me deal the cards."
Grace was worried Sterling might rig the deck, so she felt safer shuffling them herself.
Sterling stared at Grace, wondering if she had a trick up her sleeve and planned to switch cards while shuffling.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
