Even during the lulls, I was enjoying being a fly on the wall. It was fascinating watching Sebastian with his colleagues. Seeing him laugh and joke along with the rest of the guys made him seem more human, somehow. He still had that steely intensity, but the camaraderie tempered it a little. It was a side of him I hadn't seen before.
Every so often he glanced back at me and smiled, making sure I wasn't bored. It was nice that just because he was with his friends he hadn't forgotten about me.
Ewan continued to drink and get more raucous, drawing more than a few uncomfortable looks from the other players.
"Why don't you guys just kick him out?" I asked Sebastian quietly.
He sighed. "You know that annoying uncle you don't really like, but are obligated to keep inviting? That's Ewan."
"My mum kicked my uncle out at Christmas last year for making a scene."
He laughed. "Somehow that doesn't surprise me. But be that as it may, we don't do things that way here. Our office is like a big family, and people don't get excluded."
A few hands later Sebastian got involved in a pot with a quiet, dark skinned man that everyone called Jav.
"Two fifty," Jav said, throwing some chips into the middle. It was a big bet. Big enough to be scary.
Sebastian sighed and checked his cards once more. His hand was weak. He'd been going for a flush and had missed, so he effectively had nothing at all.
I could tell he was about to throw his cards away, but I reached out and tapped his arm. "He's full of shit," I whispered. While the others had been chatting, I'd been paying close attention to the game, and had a pretty good feel for how everyone was playing.
"What?" Sebastian said.
I hesitated. I realised Sebastian might not appreciate me giving him advice. Also there was a chance I was wrong and would cost him a bunch of money. But my gut told me he was making a mistake, so I decided to bite the bullet. "Jav, he's full of shit. Remember a few hands ago when he bet small at the end with the straight? He likes to sucker you into a call when he's strong. He wouldn't bet this big if he had it. His hand missed as well. You should raise. He'll fold and you'll win the pot."
Sebastian studied me for a few seconds, a curious smile playing on his lips. "You're sure?"
I nodded slowly.
"Okay." He reached for a stack of chips. "Raise to five hundred," he announced.
Jav instantly threw his hand away. "All yours," he said.
"You know 'a little about poker' hey?" Sebastian said to me, as he raked in his winnings.
I grinned. "A little." It felt good to know I wasn't outclassed by these world-conquering men.
"I'll keep that in mind."
The game continued, and Sebastian gradually increased his stack. Soon, it was almost as big as Ewan's, with two towers of the green chips I'd worked out were fifties. It was an intimidating sum of money to be gambling with. Several more times during big hands Sebastian turned to me, seeking my advice about a particular decision. I don't know if he was just indulging me, or genuinely wanted my help, but it was nice to be included.
A few minutes later, one of the players left and was replaced by Trey.
"Gentlemen," he said.
"Well well well, if it isn't my favourite ATM," said one of the other men. "Time for your weekly donation, is it?"
"Not tonight my friend," replied Trey, "tonight is going to be my night. I can feel it."
The amused expressions that sprung up around the table said nobody really believed that.
"What's all that about?" I whispered to Sebastian.
He gave a little shake of his head. "Trey is just terrible at poker, that's all. And everybody knows it but him. At this point it's become a matter of pride more than logic, I think."
It only took a couple of hands for me to see that Sebastian was right. Trey was nothing short of awful, bluffing when he had no business bluffing and calling when presented with a clear fold. Mostly due to good luck he managed to win a little, but luck inevitably runs out in the end.
As one hand ended, a man who had been lingering by the door approached. "Sebastian, I hear you've been looking for me."
Sebastian nodded a greeting. "Will. About time you showed up. Can we go and talk for a few minutes?"
"Sure."
He turned to me. "Want to hold down the fort while I'm gone?" he asked, gesturing to the table.
The huge wall of chips loomed up at me. "Oh I can't play with that kind of money."
"Sure you can. You've been doing just fine from back there. Why not take a turn in the hot seat?"
I waved him off. "Really, I wouldn't want to ruin all your hard work."
"If I thought you were likely to do that, I wouldn't ask. Look, either you play, or we lose our spot. It'll just be a few minutes, I promise."
I eyed the men around the table. As intimidating as the prospect of playing with them directly was, it was also kind of exciting. You don't get into law unless you have a healthy competitive streak. "Well, if it's just for a few hands..."
"Excellent." He got to his feet. "Everyone, Sophia here will take my place until I get back. Play nice with her." He winked at me. "Back in a few."
I slid into his seat.
"Not sure we've ever had a girl at this table," said Ewan, clearly not happy about the fact.
"It's kind of nice," said one of the other men. "Gives us something prettier to look at than your ugly mug." Laughter rippled through the room and Ewan scowled at me, although he kept silent.
Play resumed, and soon enough Trey found himself in a tight spot. All the cards had been dealt, and he was facing a massive final bet. I knew straight away his opponent had something strong. He had shown no propensity to bluff in spots like that. But Trey appeared oblivious. Rather than folding as he should, he seemed to be considering making a heroic call. Sure it would look amazing if he was right, but the chances of that seemed impossibly low.
Sure enough, after about thirty seconds, he pushed his chips into the middle. "Call." He wore a rather triumphant look, but it quickly dissipated as his opponent flipped over his cards.
"Full house," he said with a smirk.
Trey stared for a few seconds, before smashing a fist down on the table and throwing his hand away.