The Killer Queen by Noella Briony

Chapter 188

There they were, the last Gemstone Gambling King and Queen of Film, TV, Music, huddled beneath a small table, their mouths filled with creamy cheesecake, and each hand securely grasping a slice.

Yasbel chuckled. “Boss, you two just carry on. Don’t mind us.”

Noella pressed a hand to her temple. “What are you doing down there?”

Yasbel was quick with a defense. “I went to pick up Master, didn’t I? After hours on a plane, he was famished. But, you know, being a public figure, I can’t just pig out without it. hitting the gossip columns!”

She still seethed at the memory of a headline: [Heartbroken Starlet Devours Cheesecake. in Midnight Binge]. As if! Her cravings had nothing to do with a broken heart.

Master Hector and Yasbel shared a love for cheesecake that bordered on the religious.

With a stretch of his arm, Master Hector called out, “Noella, help me up, would you? My legs are numb from squatting.”

Noella helped them up, a smile tugging at her lips despite herself.

Master Hector shook out the pins–and–needles from his legs and glanced at Palmer. “Not bad. Where did you con this one from?”

Noella replied with dry humor, “Picked him up off the street.”

“Well done. He’s a gem. Better than the last one, for sure. I’m off to grab something else to

eat. Carry on, you two.”

Master Hector had a penchant for describing people with terms borrowed from his days of stone gambling. Noella was used to it by now.

To be described as a ‘gem‘ by him meant you were a cut above the rest, flawless and of the finest grade.

As Master Hector and Yasbel scurried off to the next table, Noella sighed softly.

Palmer leaned closer, his breath warm against her ear. “The last one?”

The idea that his fiancée might have once ‘picked up‘ another man was a sour note in his heart. The more he got to know Noella, the more she seemed like a treasure trove of surprises, an extraordinary woman whose past he had yet to explore.

“He’s talking about someone unimportant. Just a misunderstanding.”

“Do I count as important?”

at him, a knowing twinkle in her eye. “Master Hector said

the world of gemstone gambling, men would go bankrupt

content. If Noella were a gambler, then Palmer was the prize find.

a moment for Palmer to realize she

handed him a sleek men’s watch. “I’ve

love it! Anything from you is

tweaked his watch on their way back from Emerald County,

“Thanks, my fiancée.”

to ignore the fact that he consistently wore the cufflinks she had given him during their time at Fortress Hospital. To the uninitiated, it would seem as though the CEO of the Pollack Group had but a single pair of cufflinks to

his name.

his shining gaze and helped him

“Noella, darling, I’ve found us

me. Is that okay?” Noella gestured toward Hector

of my

the face of Yasbel, who was a far cry from her larger–than–life screen

was a magnet for guests, most

interest could be auctioned on the spot. But since this was the Gruber family’s event, any quality jade unearthed would likely end up

her chest. “This spot’s got the best view. If you see a stone you like, Noella, darling, I’ll

Hector snorted. “What good can come from the Gruber family’s

cheesecake, agreed. “Haven’t spotted anything

“There are

the multitude of rough stones displayed by the Gruber family, only a few caught

10:55

even those were of the sort that wouldn’t

mouth, Yasbel spoke with earnest.

have

Noella, whispered, “You know about

guessing. I’ve been lucky,

was a matter of chance, but Noella sat with Master Hector, the Gemstone

that person with you before, they look

those who assisted Noella back at Fortress Hospital,

voice was calm. “Nolan and Yasbel are twins.”

must have

family’s eldest, stood in his impeccable suit, his

and the game was just beginning.