Page 24 of Devious Corruption

“Maxine Hartman.” Glasses clink, and laughter bubbles from the background while she searches her tablet.

“Yes, here you are.” She smiles brilliantly, tapping the screen of an iPad.

If she’s unimpressed with me, she’s hiding it perfectly.

“They’re upstairs in the private room; follow me please.” The hostess leads me through the restaurant to an elevator.

Two men stand on opposite sides of the doors wearing fierce expressions, their hands clasped in front of them. They’re dressed in well-fitted suits that would probably empty my bank account, but they look more rugged than the rest of the guests in the restaurant.

“Maxine Hartman,” the hostess announces me to the man on the right.

He pulls out his phone and scrolls through a screen before giving her a curt nod. Only then does she hit the elevator button.

“Second floor. Have a good night.” Thehostess sweeps her arm toward the open elevator then waits for me to get inside before walking away.

I swallow several times, trying to wet my dry throat and run my hand over my dress making sure there aren’t weird wrinkles before I’m swept up to the second floor.

Another guard steps in front of the elevator when the doors slide open.

“Name?” He asks, his Russian accent thick.

“Maxine Hartman,” I say with some exasperation. This is the third time I’ve had to give it, and it’s not like I could have smuggled someone in under this dress with me.

He steps out of the way, and I step off.

“Max!” Vee grabs my arm as soon as the guard clears the way.

“Hey.” I smile, letting her pull me down the hall to the open doors where music is filtering out. “You look fantastic.”

She’s wearing a navy-blue dress that hugs every bit of her slender frame, accentuating her figure. A single diamond hangs from a slim gold chain around her neck.

“Thanks.” She touches the necklace. “I wasn’t sure about it, but Ivan picked it out and you know how he is.”

“Obsessed with you? Yes, I know.” I laugh; it’s so good to see her happy.

She’s had too much loss in her life, it’s her turn to have her happily ever after. As if by thought, Ivan steps out of the room into the hall, immediately finding us and stalking toward us.

“You were gone fora while.”

“I was gone for a minute. I ran into Max.” She links her arm through mine. “C’mon, let me introduce you to the rest of the girls.”

“I should say hi to Nicolette,” I say as we walk into the party room.

It’s beautiful. Crystal chandeliers glitter overhead, bathing soft light over designer dresses and men in perfectly fitted suits. Laughter floats through the air, smooth and rehearsed.

Wealth drips from every corner of the room. Servers glide through the crowd with silver trays of delicious appetizers and champagne. The air is thick with perfume and power.

“Max?” Vee squeezes my arm when I become frozen in place.

“Oh, wow.” I swallow again.

“I know. It’s a lot,” she says quietly. “Like a different planet, right?”

“Champagne?” A server stops in front of us with a tray half full of champagne flutes.

“Yes, please.” I grab the closest one to me.

“None for you,” Ivan whispers into Vee’s ear and waves off the server.