A house of cards is fragile enough. At least make sure the foundation's solid.

Amy and Joey were walking outside getting some fresh air after the long lesson.

"You're a good pupil," Amy said.

"Umm.....thanks," Joey replied, uncertain about how long she would maintain this professor facade.

"So...when's my trial run?" Joey attempted to change the subject.

"We've got a game tonight. I'm sure Angelo will want you there. There are always at least 3 dealers on hand at any time."

"Why's that?"

"Mainly, it's because some of the players think that when they're getting bad cards, it's the dealer's fault. So every 30 minutes, a new dealer comes in. That way, the players who have been running bad or who don't like a particular dealer, can get a change."

"Hmm...alright...How long have you been working as a dealer for Angelo anyways?"

"I guess...almost a year now."

Joey commented, "you know, at first I was very surprised that Angelo wanted me to do this, but I was even more surprised to see a girl like you there. Don't you get uncomfortable working with mobsters like that?"

"Angelo and Johnny? They're not so bad once you get to know them."

Joey shook his head. "If you say so...how'd you get this job anyway. Did they make you an offer you can't refuse?"

"...Linkedin." Amy replied, dead serious.

Joey had to stop his stumble as he almost crashed head-on into a telephone pole.

Once he found his footing, Joey followed up, "Angelo was looking for dealers on Linkedin?"

"No, he found me because in my skills, I wrote 'expert in email.'"

The world spun 90 degrees sideways as Joey suddenly found himself somehow attempting to balance on one leg.

"He said he also liked that I wrote that I was a 'people person.'"

ANNNDDD now the earth was full-on inverted. It was the debut of an involuntary handstand.

Joey coughed several times and caught his bearings. "Why....email?"

"It turns out mobsters are computer illiterate. They spend the majority of their time in bars and smokey rooms."

Joey stared into space for a brief moment before saying, "That makes sense actually." By this time, they had circled back to Angelo's cardroom. "The others must be here by now, let's go up," Amy said as she led the way up the stairs. When they returned inside, there were two new people lounging around at the poker tables.

"Come on, I'll introduce you," Amy said as she brought him over. "Joey, this is Andrew. Andrew, meet Joey." Amy had brought Joey over to a young Asian man. He was skinny, but relatively tall, with spiky black hair and casual dress. He was playing some game on his phone. "Sup," Andrew greeted as he briefly looked up from the screen. "Hey," Joey responded.

Next, Amy walked Joey over to the other guy sitting in a dealer's chair. He was a short, overweight, Latino middle-aged man with a bald head and goatee. He held his arms crossed, with oval sunglasses dangling low on his nose. He sat unmoving like a statue, staring at the entrance door as if he was a guard dog. Most unusual was the contradiction between his posture and his Hawaiian dress shirt.

"Joey, this is Pedro," Amy introduced. Pedro gave the slightest of nods in Joey's direction, without breaking eye contact with the door, before returning to his previous posture.

"Don't worry about him. He's harmless. He just likes to act like a badass ever since he was dealing at a poker game that got robbed six months back. Two guys came in with guns and robbed all the money and belongings. When they got to Pedro, they wanted his Rolex watch but he refused to hand it over. One of them ended up shooting him in the leg before taking it," Amy explained. Pedro's head lifted slightly higher when hearing this story.

"Yea, too bad the Rolex was fake, and they got it in the end anyway," Andrew chimed in, his eyes never leaving his phone screen. Pedro's goatee started to twitch involuntarily, seemingly alive...as if trying to escape its shameful host.

"Not really sure who took a loss on that one," Amy added.

The room entered a state of quiet contemplation.

...

Minutes later, "Alright, everyone's here, good. Players are going to start showing up soon so get this place ready," Angelo shouted as he stepped out of the office. Just at that time, a buzzing sound emanated from the door. Angelo went back to his office, scrutinized a small monitor to the side of his desk, and pressed a button.

"What was that?" Joey asked.

"A player just arrived. The doors are hooked up to an electronic system with video security for safety. Angelo just let him up," Amy replied.

"Then why is Pedro staring at the door like that?" Joey asked aloud.

The room reentered quiet contemplation.