CASINO SHUFFLE (38 page)

Antonio took a sip of his double-espresso.
 
“Let us see what the day brings.”

“Trixie’s birthday!
 
What time is she coming again?”

Antonio consulted his wristwatch which was, luckily, waterproof.
 
“It is now 9am.
 
She is expected to arrive by town car at 2pm, assuming her flight is on time.”

“The tickets for the show are in my tuxedo jacket!
 
Where’d it go?”

“To the dry cleaners,” said Antonio.
 
“You’ll find the envelope with the tickets in the inside pocket of the jacket hanging in the closet.”

They both started at a loud banging on the office door.
 
Still holding his cup and saucer, Antonio stepped over, turned the latch and opened the door.
 
“Good morning, Sonny.”

Sonny Wu stared at him wide-eyed.
 
“Why aren’t you answering your BlackBerry?”

“It became water-logged last night.”

“That rumor about the shark is
true?
 
Forget it, listen, Max Allen is having an emergency in his suite.
 
I just opened the door for the EMTs but wanted to tell you…”
 
He was staring over Antonio’s shoulder.
 
“Is that Max back there in his underwear?”

Antonio sat down his espresso.
 
“Why were EMTs called to Max’s suite?”

“Someone in there dialed 911.”

“
Shannon
!”
 
Max pushed past them, and Antonio and Sonny ran in his wake.

Outside the suite were a gurney and a crash cart with a concerned looking security guard which they rushed past.
 
Inside the suite there was a group of kneeling EMTs.
 
In the center, lying prone on the floor with an oxygen mask over her mouth was Shannon Moon.
 
Face swollen and red, sweating, but breathing.

Antonio asked, “What happened?”

A female EMT answered without looking up.
 
“She had an allergic reaction to something.
 
When we arrived she was asphyxiated and unresponsive.
 
We gave her a shot with an EpiPen and got her breathing.
 
She’s stable.”

On the nightstand Sonny picked up a gold foil wrapper.
 
“Belgian chocolate with almonds.”

“My god,” said Max, nearly breathless himself.
 
“Is she allergic to nuts?”

“Yes, and it’s odd that she would be so careless,” said Antonio.

“She took a couple sleeping pills last night.”

“Perhaps the aftereffects clouded her judgment.
 
Luckily she was cognizant enough to dial 911 when she realized what had happened.”
 
Antonio turned to Sonny.
 
“Call Marty Kline and inform him of her condition.”

They had the collapsed gurney in the suite and the EMTs transferred
Shannon
from the floor to the sheeted gurney, one of them holding the oxygen tank connected via tube to her breathing mask.
 
“We’ll be taking her to
Backus
Hospital
in an ambulance.”

Max put a blanket over her before the EMTs connected the straps over her body.
 
He said, “Antonio get me some pants, I’m going with her.”

Antonio held the door open while one EMT used the foot pedal to raise the gurney and the three of them pushed her through the door and into the hall.
 
Antonio held out a hand to stop Max from following.
 
“I assume
Brandon
will be joining her.”

“Oh,” said Max, stopping in his tracks.
 
“But it’s my fault.
 
I thought I got out all the food, but I left that behind.”

“You weren’t aware of her allergy.
 
It was an accident.”

Max wavered slightly on his feet.
 
“What do I do now?”

“Shower, shave, and get dressed for Trixie’s arrival,” said Max.
 
“You have a second beautiful lady to attend to, and as any good butler, you must learn to serve more than one at a time.”

Chapter Thirty-Two

Mark Ford met up with Antonio around noontime in the butler pantry.
 
He was wearing his blue pinstripe suit.
 
“I got about five hours of sleep.
 
Did I remember to shave?”

“Considering the circumstances of last evening, you pass inspection.”

“I almost called out sick, but I was afraid I’d miss something.”
 
He gestured towards Antonio’s shoes.
 
“What are those, shark skin?”

“Ostrich.”

“I brought you a new BlackBerry.
 
You have fourteen missed calls and a bunch of text messages from Liz.
 
The one that feeds on fresh meat, not the one in the tank.”
 
Mark walked over to the Electra espresso machine.
 
“Come here baby, Daddy needs a pick-me-up.”

Antonio reviewed the screen on his BlackBerry.
 
He browsed through the texts, each one providing more detail of the wrath he was about to face.
 
He braced himself and dialed her number.

She answered, “Good morning Antonio.”

He was taken aback at her pleasant tone of voice.
 
“Good morning, Liz.”

“Did you get some sleep last night?
 
I know you had a big day.”

“I slept adequately.”

“You
did?
 
That’s wonderful.”

There was a long pause.

Antonio cleared his throat.
 
“Is there anything I can do for you?”

“Are you in the butler pantry?”

“Yes.”

“Would you be so kind as to select a knife from the silver cutlery and plunge it into your goddamn chest?”

Mark turned around and sipped his espresso.
 
“Mmm.
 
Hot.”
 
He raised his eyebrows.
 
“Is she pissed off?”

Antonio said, “She is requesting that I stab myself with a knife.”

“Who are you speaking with, Antonio?”
 
Her voice was still sweet and very calm.

“I’m here with Mark Ford.”

“Oh splendid,” she said.
 
“Could you ask him to also find a knife and cut off your balls?
 
Then have one of your butlers deliver them to my office on a silver platter.
 
If you would be so kind.”

Mark asked, “What’s she saying?”

Antonio waved him off.
 
“Liz, would you like me to explain the events of last night?”

“Oh I am tingling with curiosity, Antonio.
 
But first may I tell
you
about an event that occurred last night?”

“Of course.”

“Why thank you, kind sir.
 
The President of the casino drove in last night and entered his office.
 
He logged onto his computer and entered a website address where he held a Skype conference call with an investment banker in
Macau
.
 
Do you know where
Macau
is, Antonio?”

“It is in the People’s Republic of
China
.
 
The time difference is exactly opposite from our own.”

“Why yes it is.
 
So this investment banker represents a contingency of wealthy individuals who would like to invest in an expansion of the Native Sun Casino.
 
That’s the casino where you and I are employed.”

Antonio waited, but a quiet dread was looming.

“So when our President was in the middle of his very well thought out, meticulously researched presentation to said investment banker on the other side of the world, his computer screen went blank.”

“I can explain that.”

“No need, no need.
 
He called me right away, and I in turn called an individual from IS at his home, where he was surprisingly already awake.
 
He was kind enough to inform me that I had instructed you to have him to turn off the Internet for the entire casino complex.”

“Liz, if you might pause for a moment…”

“So I told him that was fine, and he asked me if I wanted it turned back on and I declined.
 
Instead, I called back the President and told him that you had completely lost your mind.
 
I would describe his reaction as somewhat upset.”

“There is a rational explanation for my actions…”

“He wasn’t upset about the Internet, Antonio.
 
He was upset because he had left his office to walk over to the business center so that he might use the computers in there, thinking perhaps it was just the Executive Offices that had lost Internet capability.
 
Would you venture to guess what he saw as he crossed the hotel lobby?”

The rising dread broke across his person like a storm front.
 
“He may have encountered me in a somewhat precarious position.”

“He did not.
 
What he encountered was a fucking psychopath in a tuxedo fighting a shark in the showcase tank behind the front desk.
 
Thus, my explanation of how you had lost your mind was completely validated.”

Antonio rubbed one temple with the tip of his finger.
 
“Has my employment been severed, Liz?”

“I would never dream of doing that over the phone, Antonio.
 
I will call you to arrange a face-to-face meeting.”

“Very well.”

“Enjoy the rest of your afternoon,” she said pleasantly, and ended the call.

Mark finished off his espresso.
 
“Can you put in a good word for me?
 
I think I could do your job.”

“I’m not convinced that my recommendation would be to your advantage.”

“She won’t fire you once she has the whole story.”

“We shall see.”
 
Antonio brushed a bit of lint from his sleeve.
 
“It appears that we have another interesting day on our agenda, Mark.”

“I heard
Shannon
was taken out in an ambulance.
 
She okay?”

“I was just about to call and inquire about her status.
 
Did you hear any gossip regarding last night’s festivities?”

“It’s all over the casino.
 
Some high roller lost all his money on the craps table and tried to commit suicide by jumping into the shark tank.”

“Interesting.”

“You jumped in to save him and stabbed the shark in the head with a knife you had in an ankle sheath.”

“Indeed?”

“Word is you used to be a Navy Seal.
 
Are you sure those shoes aren’t shark?”

“Would you like to include that as part of the storyline you’ve been telling everyone?”