I bit off a piece of bread. “Maybe they’re not really challenges. Maybe it’s just stuff like when they blindfold you and you trust strangers enough to fall and let them catch you.”
Poppy nodded. “I went to a rehab group once, and that’s what we did.”
“Let’s lay bets,” Richard quipped.
“You’ll be banished to toil in the monk fields for that blasphemy. Laying bets is gambling.” Poppy shot him a fleeting saccharine smile.
Our table fell into a silence. I guessed the other three, like me, were desperate to be able to complete the challenges and get the money. But so far, we were completely in the dark.
“You mentioned Las Vegas before?” I asked Richard, trying to redirect the conversation. “Do I guess that you’re a gambler? Like me?”
“Oh yeah,” Richard said. “I’m a high-roller cowboy, baby.” He shrugged. “I have to admit, it’s pretty bad when the dealers all know you by name. But I just can’t get that kind of high anywhere else. The nights where I win big I end up buying the whole damned place drinks. It’s a party when Richard’s in town.”
A twinge of jealousy pinched me between the shoulder blades. “Okay, well, you’re nothing like me. I didn’t ever win that kind of big. And I wasn’t gambling for the high either. It was for the money.”
I wasn’t sure if that was totally true. My wins had made me walk on air. They were addictive.
Richard raised condescending eyebrows at me. “People who go all in to make money never make it. They’re too desperate. They either play too safe or take stupid risks. You gotta be a hustler. I get off on the hustle. This is what I do. All day long. I find business opportunities for the rich. I fly between my base in Vegas to London and Dubai.”
A girl wearing a hooded top a couple of tables across leaned back and glanced at Richard. When she noticed me looking her way, she quickly turned her head.
Cormack rapped the edge of the table, suddenly agitated, his eyes set on Richard. “Then what in the bastarding fuck are you even doing here, man? You’d have the money to just keep on bloody gambling. It’s not a problem if you can afford it, right?”
“It’s a sickness.” Richard sobered. “I don’t want to be sick anymore.”
I could see from Cormack’s darkened expression that he wasn’t buying that. “Yeah, but you can afford to pay for treatment. You’re a fat cat who’s taking someone else’s place in being here.”
“Leave him alone,” Poppy protested. “Richard needs as much help as any of us.”
Richard raised his chin, looking past Poppy. “Speaking of help, the cavalry has arrived. Thank fug.”
I twisted around in my chair. Brother Vito and three other mentors were stepping up to us together—two men and two women, all dressed in loose, white clothing. Brother Vito seemed so different from the man I’d met in his expensive sportswear days ago.
The four mentors together had a presence that made everyone’s conversation instantly fall away.
“Welcome, welcome,” started one of the men, his accent English upper crust and very educated. He seemed to be in his fifties, but I couldn’t tell for sure. His hair was silver streaked, but his face was almost unlined, as if he spent each day in a peaceful serenity, not bothered by anger or worry. He held out his arms to us. “Kaliméra! Kalos mas írthes! You may call me Brother Sage. The monastery has been a second home for us for many years. We come here every year to run the program. We trust it will become like a home while you’re here, too. Did you all enjoy your breakfast?”
Murmurs of assent echoed among the group. It was immediately obvious that he was the senior mentor from the assured way he spoke and the way the other three mentors looked to him.
“Good.” A smile tumbled onto Brother Sage’s lips, generous and broad. “We want you well fed for the tasks ahead. The rules of the monastery are simple. We are your mentors. You are our students. We expect that you’ll follow direction and do your best. Beside me are Sisters Rose and Dawn, and Brother Vito. Now, I need you to know that we are mentors, not your agony aunts. We are not here to listen to all your ills. We are here to help you heal yourselves.”
“What if some of us need agony aunts?” said Poppy to me in a stage whisper. She raised her hand above her head and called out, “What are the challenges?”
Brother Sage nodded at Poppy. “Well, I can’t tell you exactly what the challenges are, because that would destroy the element of surprise. But I will tell you that you must use teamwork to meet those challenges and win them. We’ll be dividing you into four teams. With each challenge, the four bottom-performing people will unfortunately be eliminated and will be escorted by boat back to Athens. Until we are left with eight people after the final challenge. We’ll then decide on the final six, with the two runners-up being given a bonus. The final six, as you are all aware, will not only be the recipients of the full sixty thousand dollars but will have their debts completely paid.”