The Virtue of Patience

Chapter 1: Win Some, Lose Some

Patience stomped her foot again as she fumed. She had been waiting in the hotel room for over an hour and, despite her given name, she had very little patience. She never had and many times she had silently cursed her parents for giving her this label.

Patience Sudbury was the daughter of wealthy New England parents. Apparently, there was a Patience Sudbury in the family tree in the 1700s and her parents decided to name their daughter after some great, great, great, great aunt, although Patience knew that there were probably a few more "greats" in the title. "Why couldn't they have picked Anne or Jane or Mary?" she often wondered. Those names showed up in the family history also.

To her friends, she was Pat. When she was younger, she was known as Patty. But once she moved out of the third grade in an exclusive Boston private school, she made it clear that she was Pat and not Patty. Now she was twenty one and a Junior at a prestigious college in North Carolina. For the past three years, the only time she had heard her full first name was on the first day of each semester when an occasional professor would read roll call. She would always correct the offending teacher who would quickly scribble "Pat" next to her name on the roster.

Patience had long since lost her patience this evening. She had agreed to come to Las Vegas with Luke, her high school sweetheart. Even though she was going to college in North Carolina and he was in a college in Pennsylvania, they had remained close. And during the Summer and most breaks, they had resumed their romance. During this Spring break, Luke had invited her to join him in Las Vegas and she envisioned a week of steamy sex and lively entertainment. She even went on a shopping spree to make sure that her suitcase was filled with sexy lingerie and skimpy swimsuits.

But now, she was standing alone in their hotel room. She and Luke were supposed to leave an hour earlier for dinner and then they were going to go to Cirque. She vowed that this would be the end of their relationship.

It wasn't as if she didn't have options. The tall willowy blonde turned heads wherever she went. She had the combination of a beautiful, angelic face and a body that was designed to be in swimsuits. She received many invitations when she was at college and occasionally even accepted some of them. A lucky few even got to sample her wares, leading to two marriage proposals and a proposition to become a mistress. That last offer had been from a professor who wanted to buy her a house and pay her expenses as long as he could continue to enjoy her charms and as long as she promised to keep the affair a secret from his wife.

Until this week, she had rejected any offers that involved permanency. She had her Luke. This week, however, had been straining. They argued frequently. He was inattentive. Their lovemaking was half-hearted. And now, she was being stood up! After this week, Luke would be history.

Meanwhile, Luke was involved in a hot streak at the poker tables. All day long, he had won hand after hand and continuously upgraded to higher-stakes tables to make the most of his lucky day. As, unbeknownst to him, Patience stomped and fumed in their hotel room, Luke was being escorted into the high-roller suite where he could really strut his stuff.

By the time she decided to act, it was too late for dinner and a show with her boyfriend. But, she decided, it's not too late for show and a dinner by herself. She angrily swept up the pair of tickets and headed for Cirque.

The show had a calming effect on Patience. She was awed by what the performers could do and the dazzling props and costumes. After the show started, she didn't think once of Luke. Even after the show as she ate dinner by herself, she found it easy to brush him out of her mind whenever he crept into it.

She made up her mind as she was finishing her coffee. She would pack her things, find Luke in the casino, say goodbye and then catch the first flight back to North Carolina. It was time to start a new chapter in her life. Once back at her room, she changed out of her evening attire and into more comfortable travel clothes. They may have been more comfortable, but they were no less flattering. Patience had one of those bodies that looked stunning in everything. People had commented that she would even look sexy in a burlap sack. It was probably because of what would be under the burlap sack, thought Patience.

Between outfits, she paused to admire herself in front of the mirror. The image before her was as near to perfection as Patience could imagine. Her full breasts were her prides and joys. They were the desire of every male she knew and were the envy of every female she knew. Well, almost every female. There were some women who also desired her breasts, but Patience wasn't interested in that kind of relationship.

She had beautiful, sparkling, deep blue eyes that were displayed like gemstones on her soft, angled, aristocratic face. A long, swanlike neck, slender arms and beautiful legs all accented her form. She had heard one of her art teachers describe her figure as luscious and svelte once when she was posing nude for her classmates for one of their projects. Each student had taken his or her turn as a nude model during the term but Patience seemed to be the only one who was totally at ease with the assignment. She was beautiful and she knew it.

Dressed in stylish jeans, a white silk blouse, and a blue blazer, she toted her suitcase to the lobby and parked it with the concierge. Then she headed into the casino. She walked the entire floor twice before spotting him through a window to a private room off the main casino. Two men were just getting up from the table, leaving Luke alone with a woman as the cards were dealt again.

She had been stood up for a deck of cards! She was starting to fume again as she barged in on the game to the surprise of both gamblers. Patience threw her room key across the table, watching it glide to a halt on top of Luke's hand. "Enjoy the rest of your week!"

Luke kept his eyes down and placed his hand over the key, dragging it to the side of the table and slipping it into his pocket. Patience simply shook her head in disgust and turned to walk back out of the room.

"Wait," said the female voice calmly but with a definite tone of authority. Patience turned back around to see the woman looking at her.

"Is this your stake?" the woman asked as she turned toward Luke. Patience nodded as her boyfriend slowly nodded and saw his cheeks start to flush. Just then, however, her thoughts were interrupted as two large men rushed through the door.

"We're sorry, Miss Cartwright," apologized one of the men. "I'm not sure how she got through. We'll escort her out now, though."

"Let her stay," responded the authoritative woman.

"Yes Ma'am," replied the self-appointed spokesman of the pair of large men. "Just ring for us if you need us again. We'll be more prompt next time." They turned to leave but were stopped in their tracks.

"Stay," she commanded in a calm but determined voice. "I may need you."

Patience was thoroughly irate at this point. She had been both delayed by this woman and ignored at the same time. It was time to catch a plane. She moved again toward the door but found her way blocked by the two recent arrivals.

"It's impolite to leave while a hand is being played," said the spokesman.

"And bad luck, too," said the second one who Patience had already written off as a mute. She reached for the doorknob but found a strong hand on each wrist as she was turned back to face the playing table.

"Last card," said the woman as she flipped a card across the table to Luke. "Judgment time."

"Oh god," cried Luke as he buried his head in his hands without even looking at his card. He sobbed openly, much to Pat's surprise, since she had never seen so much as the hint of a tear in her boyfriend's eyes before.

"Double or nothing?" asked the woman.

"What do you mean?" he asked in a pitiful voice.

"Just what I said," explained the woman. If my hand wins, I get two. If your hand wins, I get none and you get all of your losings back."

As the meaning of her words sank in, he started to shake his head. "No," he said as he slowly turned his cards over.

Patience was both confused and irritated at this point. She thought she knew her boyfriend well and this shriveling behavior was not only unbecoming of someone who would be worthy of her, it was also unlike Luke. She was irritated for four reasons. First, Luke was behaving unlike Luke. Second, every minute that she spent here delayed the termination of her relationship with Luke. And she very much wanted to end that relationship. Third, the two goons at the door would not let her leave. And fourth, the woman across the table from Luke seemed to believe she could decide when she could leave. "It must be the mob atmosphere that gets to everyone around here," she thought.

Patience looked at Luke's cards and thought that the hand must be good. She did not gamble but she knew enough about poker to know that high cards were good. Luke had a lot of face cards in his hand.

She turned to see what the woman had but her hand was still face down. What she saw instead was the woman's eyes roaming up and down her body as if appraising her. The eyes stopped at Pat's chest and the woman tilted her head as if she would be able to discern what lay beneath the jacket and blouse if she got a better angle.

The eyes moved slowly lower and Patience instinctively drew her jacket closed with her hands to protect herself from the prying eyes of the woman.

Finally, the woman turned back to Luke. "Foolish boy," she said as she flipped her cards over. "Full house," she declared. Luke started sobbing again. Once, he glanced up at Patience and then buried his face in his hands again, never to look up at her again during this encounter.

"What's going on?" asked Patience impatiently. God, how she hated her name!

"Your boyfriend has been foolish," replied the woman as she stood up from the table. She crossed the room to stand before Patience. "He thought he could win forever."

"Well I could have told you he was a loser," scoffed Patience. "I didn't need a silly game to prove that."

"But apparently, he did," replied the woman as she reached up to stroke Patience's cheek. Patience swung her arm to swat the hand away from her face but it was caught by one of the goons.

"Let go of me this instant!" she commanded. But the hand held her wrist tightly. The woman picked up a remote control device on the table and pressed a button. Patience heard a whirring sound and turned her head to see a blind being lowered over the windows, sealing off the room from prying eyes.

"Your boyfriend was on a roll," the woman continued. "He thought this was his lucky day." Patience heard Luke whimpering in the background. "Get him out of here!" barked the woman. "He disgusts me!"

"Yes Ma'am," replied the previous mute as he manhandled the former boyfriend out a back door. There was no resistance. There was no scuffle. There was no attempt on her boyfriend's part to rescue her from the grip of the goon. Luke simply let the other man grab his jacket and lift him out of his seat to toss him through the door. The man followed him and the door slammed shut behind him. Patience was left with the menacing woman and one very large man.

"He was doing very well," the woman went on. "But then he got in over his head. He lost all of his money but continued to gamble. He threw a picture of his girlfriend into the pot, hoping it would work. I looked at the picture and covered his bet. But he lost again. The last hand was for you." She paused and Patience felt a chill snake down her spine. "I win."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It means I own you," smiled the woman.