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?”

a knowing twinkle in her eye. “Master Hector said

gemstone gambling, men would go bankrupt for a stone with the just–right

gambler,

moment for Palmer to realize she

and handed him a sleek men’s watch.

it! Anything from

their way back from Emerald

“Thanks, my fiancée.”

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

his name.

and helped him put on the watch.

of nowhere. “Noella, darling, I’ve found us the perfect

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

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

movie–goer, Malvina couldn’t quite place the face of Yasbel, who

for guests, most drawn by the

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

the best view. If you see

come from the Gruber

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

are a

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

10:55

the sort that wouldn’t fetch much on

dainty wipe of her mouth, Yasbel spoke with earnest. “Malvina, your cheesecakes are divine. Might I take

taste! I’ll have some

“You know about

Just guessing. I’ve been lucky,

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

“Yasbel and that person

who assisted Noella back at Fortress Hospital, one of whom

calm. “Nolan and

Yasbel must have belonged to

the Gruber family’s eldest, stood in his impeccable

and the