I stood at the counter triumphantly, barely holding onto a weary smile. The attendant looked back at me with a dour look.

The back door opened up to another woman in the same uniform as the attendant, a well-ironed black dress and green vest. But unlike the previous attendant, this one was actually smiling at me. “Please follow me, sir.”

I nodded and followed the lady through the door behind the counter. She led me to a corridor decorated similarly to the rest of the casino, with the exception of several paintings lining the walls. They were a bit tacky, even compared to the wallpaper, but it was a nice change from the whitewashed hallways of the other casinos. The uniformed lady pointed me towards a large door and motioned me to enter. I nodded once more and did just that.

Inside was a spacious office, featuring more simplistic wallpaper and several pictures of various people. At the very end of the room was a mahogany desk and plush leather chair that was presently empty.

“You must be the man who caught that cheater!” exclaimed a rich, masculine voice to my left. “Please, take a seat.”

I turned to see a trio seated on a large couch, a portly man in a bright white suit flanked on either side by a gorgeous woman, each wearing a sparkling red and blue dress with plunging necklines. The ladies languidly leaned on the man, their heads resting on either one of his shoulders.

“What are you waiting for? You’ve already gotten an invitation!” laughed the man, pointing to another couch across from him.

I settled down into the other three-seater sofa, and carefully regarded my host. He had relatively dark skin, the formations of a pot belly, and a severe case of male pattern baldness. His facial features were puffed up and his overall appearance greatly resembled, to be perfectly honest, that of a pig.

I felt bad for judging him based on his looks, especially since so far, he was miles better than the other casino owners. Thus I simply sat still and listened.

“I’m Damian Goldshanks, owner of this fine establishment. I’d get up to seat you myself, but I’m a little… preoccupied, as you can see.” He looked over to either woman with a sheepish smile, who looked like they had little desire to leave their comfortable positions. “They’re not used to the casino’s night hours yet.”

“Uh, don’t worry about it.” I waved it away with an equally awkward smile. “I’m Mike Smith, by the way.”

“Well Mr. Smith, I must agree. It truly is a pleasure to meet you too.” He extended a hand towards me, shifting his arm out from under the weight of the woman on his right.

I took the hand and exchanged a firm handshake, trying my best not to flinch at his vice-like grip. It took even more willpower not to shake my hand as I brought it back to my side. I’d better get a point in Constitution for this.

“I’ll get right to the point, Mr. Goldshanks,” I took a breath and exhaled, warily channeling my Charisma. “Finding cheaters is something I happen to be very good at. If you have an entire wall dedicated to the people plaguing you, then you could use someone like me to suss them out. Lucky for you, I happen to be available for hire. So what do you say? Can we talk about my potential career here?”

Damian Goldshanks regarded me with careful eyes for several seconds, bordering on half a minute. The two women at his side let out a yawn and regarded him curiously, and then me as if they were also part of the interview panel. Who knew, maybe they were? Eventually he exhaled and began to chortle.

“Haha! I like you! You know what you’re about, and you jump straight to the point! So let me do the same.” He had a mischievous glint in his eye.

I kept up my smile, though I was ready to sigh. I knew exactly what he was about to say next.

“You’ll need an assistant to cover the whole casino floor, so which of these two lovely women you choose?” Goldshanks pointed to the two girls by his side. They gave him a groggy look before turning to me with bright smiles.

I blinked. “Wait, what?”

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“That’s right, an assistant! They’d follow you around and you’d have full authority to have them do whatever you want! All to catch cheaters, of course.”

My mouth snapped shut as my eyes began to study the man.

One of the women looked back at the white-suited man and loudly whispered to him. “Daddy, maybe he likes boys?”

“Oh, of course! Mr. Smith here could have one of the bouncers instead, if he’d like.”

He clapped his hand, and a pair of burly men in suits entered the room. They strolled over to the side of the couch, making a show of their biceps beneath the tight silk.

“So what do you say?” asked Goldshanks.

“Well…” I began.

The girl on the left gave me a wink.

“What are their qualifications?” I finally said. “I mean, besides the bouncers being big and intimidating.”

“The ladies are still learning about the casino, so not much. Same with the bouncers, but they sure know what to do after they’ve found a cheater!”

The three men began to laugh. The bouncers kept snickering well after their boss had finished until he gave them each an annoyed look.

“Excuse me, Mr. Smith,” said the woman on the right. Her eyes were opened wide and lips puckered into a pout. “We might not know much, but we’re willing to learn everything we can from you. I’m sure you have… plenty to teach.”

I sat for several seconds, considering Damien Goldshanks’ offer. Eventually, I came to a decision. “I’m going to be honest, Mr. Goldshanks, I don’t really need an assistant. I’m more of a solo-act when it comes to finding cheaters. But if you really insist, I wouldn’t mind having someone to bounce ideas off of, so anyone who’s open to talking with me would be fine in that case.”

Everyone by the other couch stared at me slack-jawed. One of the bouncers had to use his hands to close his gaping mouth shut.

“Did I say something wrong? If so, then I’m sorry,” I quickly said, cursing out the System and its Charisma. I didn’t want to get literally thrown out again.

“Holy shit,” the other bouncer whispered. “First guy in a while who doesn’t think with his dick.”

My eyes opened wide and then narrowed into a leer. “You can’t be fucking serious. You want me to fuck someone as part of my interview? Again?!”

“Hold on, again?” asked one of the women, sitting up.

“Yeah, Ivy at Zane’s casino. Every place I’ve interviewed at has made me go through this shit, and I’m sick of it!” I stood up. “If that’s the case, then I’m sorry, but I don’t think this will be a good fit for me. Thank you for taking the time to talk to me.” I turned towards the door and began walking.

“Hold it!” shouted Goldshanks. The weight he somehow put into his voice made me freeze, though his next words were less harsh. “You’ve got the wrong idea, Mr. Smith. All I wanted to do was confirm that you aren’t a spy working with one of my business rivals.”

“Say what now?” I turned back around to face Mr. Goldshanks. The gears in my head started spinning as I put the pieces together. I remembered the man I followed here, the sex addict, and the comment the bouncer made.

“The kinds of people they send my way aren’t the best at… prioritizing, so they stand out like sore thumbs.”

“Wait, so I pass?”

“Indeed you do!” Damian Goldshanks let out a guffaw. There was a twinkle in his eye. “I think this place might just be what you’re looking for.”

“That’s great! So when can I start?”

“Well, here’s the thing.” The air in the room went cold. “You’ve proven you’re not a spy, but I don’t know just how good you really are yet. From what I’ve heard, the man you caught wasn’t even doing that good a job, like he was hoping to get caught. So I want to give you a real test. One that will push you or anyone else to their limits, so I can truly see your skill and strength of character.”

I slowly nodded.

“Come back here on Sunday at eleven in the morning for your real interview. Then we’ll see if you really have what it takes.”

That was two days from today, and I’d be off from my other job. I was planning on getting cable and phone lines installed at my place then, but that would have to wait. I steeled my nerves and nodded once more. “I’ll be there, Mr. Goldshanks.”

The owner held out his hand and I shook it once more. “Good, don’t disappoint me, Mike!”

I left the casino and headed straight home to get a good night’s sleep. I had [Detect Cheating] to help me, but I knew deep down that whatever Damian Goldshanks was going to cook up would still give me a challenge. And I’d be ready.

[Level Up! (6)]

[Str: +0 | Con: +2 | End: +1 | Cha: +1 | Atr: +0 | Dex: +0 | Int: +1]

[Str: 13 | Con: 16 | End: 14 | Cha: 18 | Atr: 10 | Dex: 13 | Int: 16]