Page 81 of Ideal Life

He hurried to his car, turned on his phone, and called the only other person he knew who might be able to make a difference, the one whom Talia would do anything for.

The phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Libby? It’s Sam. I need your help.”

Talia

On Sunday, Talia showed up again at the Magnolia Grand Hotel and Conference Center for the second and final day of the Summer Million tournament. The field was currently 471 players in level 11.

But even though prize money started at 200th place, the payouts didn’t get big until the final table of nine players—level 20—and a screen at the registration table showed what those amounts would be:

1st: $1,000,000

2nd: $615,000

3rd: $450,000

4th: $335,000

5th: $250,000

6th: $188,000

7th: $142,000

8th: $108,000

9th: $82,000

“Well, I know what my goal is,” Talia said.

The man behind her in line at registration chuckled. “I think it’s all of ours. Good luck.”

She nodded. “Good luck to you, too.”

Talia reported to her assigned seat at table 2 in ballroom A, where everyone would be today. Sam was supposed to be across the room at table 10.

But he wasn’t there.

When play began at noon, he still hadn’t arrived.

Talia frowned. Was he okay?

She couldn’t send him a message, though, because she’d left all her devices at registration.

Then her stomach sank. Sam hadn’t come back today because of her.

Play started, and Talia lost a lot of chips early. The pace of the second day was much faster than the first, and she was also getting antsy about being away from the office for so long since she usually worked weekends. Yes, she was here to save the company, but still, the rest of her team was buried in due diligence…

Screw the due diligence, she thought. If I can focus and win the money here, the merger stuff won’t matter.

Talia powered her way through levels 11, 12, and 13. All the playing yesterday had buffed off the rust on her game, and she felt like her old self at the Stanford physics department poker table.

But not the same. Because Sam and Libby weren’t here with her, like they had been back then.

Focus now, feelings later, Talia thought. Ideal Life was at stake.