Hashwini was half-hoping that Teddy would ask her about her blog. But the man merely grinned and indicated that he would like to start the game of blackjack. She suppressed her disappointment and removed the glass cover over her chip tray. When she looked up, Teddy had whipped out his mobile phone and was punching the keyboard with his thumb. She recalled what the pit supervisor had said and kept her mouth shut. The use of mobile phones would never be tolerated in the Mass Gaming Area.

What happened next left Hashwini stunned. As she dealt the cards, Teddy communicated over the phone the hand on display, then waited for instructions before he made his move. This was in blatant contempt of the casino rules and regulations! But the pit supervisor watched nonchalantly from the side. Hashwini had to bite her tongue and suppress her curiosity until Teddy left the blackjack table to use the toilet one hour into the game.

“Are you serious?” Hashwini hissed at the pit supervisor. “Can we actually allow that?”

“Like I said, rules do not apply to the high rollers,” the pit supervisor whispered back. “They bring in more casino revenue in a week than what the average customer at the MGA does in a year.”

“I wouldn’t call him a high roller, though.” Gao Jingxuan decided to join in the gossip. “He is just a toy boy. It’s his sugar mommy on the other end of the line who is really playing the game.”

“Why doesn’t she come down and play herself?” Hashwini wondered aloud in a low voice.

“She could be a public figure. Or her husband could be,” the pit supervisor conjectured.

“Or she could be old and ugly,” Jingxuan guessed viciously. “She may feel awkward gambling at the casino with a toy boy half her age hovering at her side.”

The trio halted their gossip the moment Teddy Toy Boy re-entered the Emerald Room. As the game progressed, Hashwini found herself conjuring a mental image of the sugar mommy at the other end of the line. She pictured someone elegant, with Botoxed and moisturised skin that hid the aged veins running underneath. Her hair could be dyed black or styled pearly white. The woman would wear expensive jewellery and tailored attire cut from choice fabric, a reflection of her exquisite taste for the finer things in life. Teddy was such a delightful man that Hashwini could not bear to ascribe him a fat and ugly sugar mommy in her mind.