Maxwell was the newest CEO of Sterling Enterprises and has given it new life. During his first quarter, he’d reached earnings his father never could even after thirty years in business.

He was one of the first people I’d reached out to when I had the idea for Black Silk Auction. With his vision and connections, I knew we’d make this into something to be proud of.

“They’d better, or I’d fire Dante,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. There was no room for error, and even though I was continuously impressed by everyone in the auction, my standards were high.

“Hey, what about Maxwell? Ares? I’m not the only one who looks at the girls,” Dante replied, coming up to my left and handing me a glass of whiskey.

I gave him an appreciative hum.

“You have the final say,” I reminded him. At first, I’d wanted to handpick every single one, but after a while I realized it was better to relinquish some control.

“A job well done, Dante,” Maxwell said, turning his focus to him. “New dresses?”

“I knew you had a good eye.” Dante puffed his chest at the compliment. “Sponsored by none other than our friend Kian Knight.”

That caught my attention.

“Will he attend?”

Kian Knight was a world-class designer. Getting him in the auction would help us reach an audience we wouldn’t be able to otherwise. People in his circle, the artistic type, often wouldn’t be caught dead in a place like this, and every time I tried to reach out, no matter my status, I’d been rebuffed.

If Dante managed to open this door, I would need to give him a raise.

“He’s out of the country, but when he comes back, he said he’d be here for sure.”

I nodded, satisfied with the answer.

“He even gave us his latest piece. Most expensive as well. I saved it for the best.”

Dante motioned to one of the girls lingering in the corner with a few men already circling her. They’d made their choice. I could tell by the way they looked at her and would immediately open the small phones we gave them to input their interest.

It wasn’t hard to understand why.

The dress hugged her body tightly, showing her perfectly toned body. Long legs, delicate hands that were currently wrapped around a champagne glass. I noticed her grip was tight. Nervous. Her blonde hair complemented the dress color perfectly. Crystals decorated her body, and she had a cat mask on.

She was drop-dead gorgeous, even if I couldn’t see her face.

But when I finally looked her in the eye, my heart stopped in my chest. Shock washed over me but was quickly replaced with anger.

Addison fucking Mercer. The woman who’d single-handedly almost ruined everything I’d worked so hard for and all because of her shit-for-brains father.