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?”

glanced at him, a knowing twinkle in her eye. “Master Hector said it, didn’t he?

of gemstone gambling, men would go bankrupt for a

were a gambler,

a moment for Palmer to realize she was

her purse and handed him a sleek men’s watch. “I’ve adjusted it. If your don’t

love it! Anything from you is

from Emerald County, a reciprocation of the watch he had

“Thanks, my fiancée.”

she had given him during their time at Fortress Hospital. To the uninitiated, it would seem as though the CEO of the Pollack Group

his name.

gaze and helped him put on the

popped up out of nowhere. “Noella, darling, I’ve

gestured toward Hector and Yasbel, now emerging from their latest table hideaway.

If they’re friends of my Noella, they’re welcome. Though, they do look vaguely familiar.”

the face of Yasbel, who was a far cry from her

was a magnet for guests, most drawn

since this was the Gruber family’s event, any quality

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

Hector snorted. “What good can come from the Gruber

cheesecake, agreed. “Haven’t spotted anything worthwhile.”

are

by the Gruber family, only a few

10:55

were of the sort that wouldn’t fetch much on the

mouth, Yasbel spoke with earnest. “Malvina, your cheesecakes are divine. Might

I’ll have some packed for

“You know about gemstone gambling?”

I’ve been

was a matter of chance, but Noella sat with Master Hector, the Gemstone Gambling King, and Yasbel, who called Hector ‘Master‘

that person with

faces of those who assisted Noella back at Fortress

was calm. “Nolan

must have belonged to Polaris Star too.

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

and the