Selene’s POV

I was in a stunning red dress that clung to my body like a second skin. It had a low plunge at the back that stopped right on my waist and a high-slit. It was very provocative, accentuated by my hair, put atop my head with ringlets framing my face.

Cassian, my boss, got there first because he had to do a couple of things before guests started arriving. When the company’s limousine dropped me off, I met him waiting outside, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“Damn!” he muttered, hooking my arm in his. “You sure know how to make an entrance. That dress is killer on you.”

"Thank you, Mr. Draycott," I replied, allowing me to lead me inside. Things between us were very professional. It was the reason I was surprised when he asked me to come with him to New York for a business move that would last one year.

I used to work in the Los Angeles branch, where I moved to after the scandal here. Everyone seemed to have moved on from it, but not me.

Never me.

“I heard how the bidding went,” he murmured as we got above the stairs and posed for a few pictures. “Great work, Miss Quill. I am so proud of you for putting that idiot in his place.”

Idiot? They knew each other?

"Mr. Stravos?" I asked, following his lead into the hall. The theme was dark and dangerous, and it reflected in every corner of the space, with dark drapes and tablecloths, fire hanging from the ceilings, and an eerie sound playing from the band.

“Yeah,” Cassian nodded. We moved to the left side of the room, where a table had his name on it. “We have always been rivals since I started my business here in New York. He was the reason I had to get another branch started in Los Angeles. The idiot kept frustrating me.”

Hearing that made me so pleased in an unexplainable way. It was like the consent I never knew I needed.

“It’s a great thing then, that I put him in his place,” I said, shrugging. “The next bidding is in a couple of days.”

“The company doesn’t mind spending every cent to acquire that property. Do all that you can, Miss Quill, but don’t forget to have fun while doing it.”

Sometimes, I wonder where Draycott Empire got its money from. They were a popular company, but the way Cassian spent so much money and still had a lot left made it strange.

But then again, it was none of my business.

The gala night started, and Cassian and I barely had the time to talk as he was whisked away by prospective investors I doubted he needed. He was charismatic, smiling when he ought to smile and giving the right reaction to everything.

It never reached his eyes, but I seemed to be the only one who noticed that.

“You work for Draycott Empire.”

I looked up to see Adrian standing in front of me. He looked even more handsome than I remembered, with his hair tousled like he'd just rolled out of bed. His tuxedo was tailored to fit, and he'd ditched a tie; the first few buttons of his silk shirt popped open.

“I never knew you were such a stalker.”

“I never knew it was right to have a crush on your boss.”

“What?”

“Just now, you were watching him laugh. That’s creepy.”

I got on my feet, rolling my eyes. “You wouldn’t know creepy even though it is smacked in your face.”

I made to walk away from him, but suddenly, his fingers wrapped around my arm as he brought me to the dance floor.

“Mr. Stravos…”

He pulled me flush against him, and his cologne hit me. It teased me slowly, gently, and my eyes fluttered closed unconsciously as I took a long whiff.

“Are you sure we haven’t met before?”

I ignored him just like I did the last time.

I felt him lean in, the heat from his lips caressing my ears. “I’ll double whatever Cassian is paying you. Come work for me.”

My eyes snapped open, and I was about to walk away when the music hit a crescendo. Adrian spun me in his arms, so fast, so smooth that it got everyone staring.

Including Cassian.

"You think you can buy everyone with money, don't you?" I sneered, hate mirroring in my eyes. But it was more anger towards myself, for my heart was fluttering and my pulse racing. "Just fling a couple of dollars and get the whole world on your side."

“It always works.” Adrian didn’t even bother denying it. His eyes dipped as he splayed his fingers on my waist.

“You can take your money and shove it up your ass. I am not interested in working for someone as obnoxious as you.”

I pulled away from him, and this time, Adrian didn't stop me. Cassian kept watching as I returned to the table, grabbed my purse, and walked out into the night. A message came up on my phone.

“I have sent the limo to get you home. Wait out front.”

I was grateful that Cassian wasn't asking questions, because I wouldn't have known what to say. I stood out on the curb, with my hands folded across my chest, waiting.

My phone rang.

“Any information,” I muttered, placing it against my ears.

“The access to the warehouse has been reduced. It has been that way for the last five years.”

Since the death of my brother.

“Does that mean we can still find evidence in there, since it is no longer freely accessible?”

I could imagine my Private Investigator shaking his head. “I doubt it. People like Stravos don’t like leaving any stone unturned. They would have scrubbed the entire place clean.”

“So why is access still limited?”

“Someone wants it hidden, not erased. I’d have to get you the answers to that.”

“And the reason my brother had to die.”

The line clicked dead just as the limo stopped in front of me. I got in and leaned into the comfortable leather seats.

But if I had not been so focused on my phone, I might have noticed the nondescript car tailing me.