Auctioned Mates Revenge
Chapter 32

I walked towards Glenda, barely registering the young women floating around the room in cocktail dresses. How many of them were party favors? Where had they come from? Were they all like Grace and Renda or had they chosen to be party favors?

As I neared her, she looked at me and my heart started to race. My palms grew sweaty like I was an awkward teen again.

I felt a little ridiculous being so nervous, but as I reached my hand out to her, I felt like we'd been dropped into some f****d-up fairytale.

Renda looked up at me then down at my hand with a curious lift of her eyebrow.

"May I have this dance?"

I half expected her to reject me since Andrew was around, but she placed her hand in mine and nodded, allowing me to pull her onto the dance floor. It was a bit ironic that they were playing a waltz at a poker party, but as she followed me through the dance, I was grateful. She was relaxed and graceful.

There was a bit of happiness in her eyes as we waltzed around the room. It had been a while since I had danced the waltz, but with her, it felt as though we had been dancing together for years.

The thought made me smile. Maybe, sometime in the future, dancing like this would be normal for us.

"I told Andrew that I'm working for you," she said, "Well, I hinted at it at least."

Lucas growled, pissed off about being considered an employer when Andrew clearly had an interest in her, but I pushed that aside. Glenda wouldn't see me as a man, let alone a potential lover until she was sure she could trust me.

This plot against those who had forced her into prostitution was the

"Have you found out anything?" I asked.

Her lips twitched, "Andrew was invited by someone named Justin Ashbrook."

That was strange. What would a brothel owner of Midnight want with Andrew? Expansion was the first thing on my mind or needing some extra funds, but there was also the possibility that Skyfall was linked to the trafficking ring up north somehow and Andrew was simply here to help facilitate a few deals.

I wished I could focus on dancing with Renda and relish the feel of her pressed so close to me, but my mind wouldn't settle. This party felt like we were swimming in the ocean and sharks were circling us.

I saw Grace shift to the side of the dance floor and nod back towards the tables. The poker game was about to start.

"I think it's time for the second act," I whispered into Renda's ear. "Be my lady luck?"

She nodded and followed me towards Grace. She gestured ahead of us towards a panel of curtains that led out of the main room. The room was dark. Familiar faces sat around the tables spread throughout the room. Grace slipped from my side as we neared the table where Caleb was seated.

He grinned, "Matt! Glad you found us. Take a seat."

I sunk into a seat and pulled Renda into my lap. She flushed as I grinned at her.

"I prefer my Lady Luck to hold my cards."

It was mostly true and an easy distraction tactic. They wanted me at this table for a reason.

Grace returned with a stack of chips and stacked them beside me. I was surprised by the number of chips. I would have cashed in at least a hundred thousand in chips for a game like this.

It seemed that Grace knew something I didn't to only bring me twenty thousand.

"Not much of a gambler, are you?" Caleb asked, chuckling. "Or maybe you aren't too familiar with the way of Midnight."

I smirked, "Pleasure. Luxury... I admit my understanding of Midnight is a bit limited."

The woman who was dealing wore a mask over her face and a mockery of a tuxedo shirt and vest. It barely covered her breasts and it was obvious that she was only wearing a pair of lace panties and fishnets.

Another man at the table laughed, "That's a pretty good understanding of our pack. What brought you all the way here? I didn't think with Larry's in your territory you'd want Club Heaven."

I watched the dealer carefully. She didn't have sleeves, so there was no worry of her slipping in extra cards, but she was cutting and shuffling the deck with familiar movements.

This woman wasn't neutral. She was supposed to be on one of their sides, but I had a feeling that she could be swayed with the right incentive.

"Larry's has its place, but I have a different vision," I said easily, pulling my cards towards me and placing them in Renda's hand. "A bit grander than a strip show veiled as a pageant."

"I don't know how to play poker," Renda whispered in my ear.

I shivered a bit as her breath ghosted down my neck.

"It's okay," I told her. "I do."

This game wasn't about the game itself. They wanted information. The best thing I could do was extract as much information from them as possible and as much cash. My reputation for making money would help me a bit if I could win the game. "The auction?" One of the men said, "But isn't that the most lucrative thing Larry's does?"

"I heard you purchased a woman from Larry's recently."

"As I said, Larry's has its place, but I think we can all agree that exclusivity has its own charm." I met the dealer's eyes, "There's security in exclusivity. Larry's might make a lot of money auctioning off seven days with no rules, but they end up barely breaking even with the way the women return... If they return."

The woman looked down.

"I prefer longevity," Matt said, "I didn't take over the Warhammer industry by making hasty and wasteful decisions."

The game began and my words rang through the space like a warning. Some of the men looked nervous as the game progressed. We had raised three times before I was out of chips and two men had already folded out. I won and rolled my winning into the pot as the next round began.

Caleb folded out in the next round with a nervous chuckle, leaving me and one other man playing.

The pile of chips in the center was nearly too tall to see over. Alongside the chips were deeds to pieces of property in the area and the tidbits of information I could glean from the conversation and the reactions of the dealer.

By now, I figured out that the man who was sitting across from me was her patron meaning her was Justin Ashbrook. He looked as sleazy as I imagined he would as he looked at his cards.

"So how long is the club going to be closed?" Caleb asked, "Everyone is dying to know."

"Long enough to tear down all that tacky red and gold," I said lightly. "Update the security and a few other things. I'll also be refreshing the roster."

That got them interested. I could see the curiosity in their eyes when Justin spoke.

"Last raise? I think a bit of goodwill will be worth more than a few thousand dollars."

I smirked, "Goodwill from a rival, Ashbrook? Sounds like poison."

He laughed, "Nonsense. Having a tie to Warhammer here in Midnight is worth its weight in gold. When old Felix was running Club Heaven, there was plenty of space in Midnight for the both of us. That shouldn't change." Matt hummed, "True."

It was a lie, of course. Sinner's Haven and Club Heaven had been in a terrible rivalry, but Club Heaven tended to do a bit better financially. Felix was just crap at managing his money.

He produced a card and placed it face down on top of the chips. I saw a flash of silver on the face of the card before he set it down. The dealer shifted a little as she shuffled the deck and changed her rhythm.

It was a signal, but of what I wasn't sure what it meant.

"Contact information for someone who can help with your roster refresh," his lips smirked. "Consider it a formal welcome to the city if you win."

I nodded, "Fair. I'll raise you advice on your portfolio and how to make Sinner's more than just profitable."

He laughed, "You just took over Club Heaven! How are you going to give me advice?"

"I was making more money in a minute than you've made all year before I bought Club Heaven," I smirked as he seemed flustered.

Our gazes met and I saw the realization in his eyes that I knew a lot more than he thought I did.

"Fair," he said after a minute and turned over his cards. He had a four-of-a-kind of kings. "I look forward to hearing your advice."

I looked at Renda who looked at me quizzically, "Well, Lady Luck?"

She set the cards down, revealing the royal flush of spades. Justin's eyes widened in horror. The dealer seemed shocked.

"But you said, goodwill, right?" I asked, as the dealer pushed my winning towards me and I plucked the card off the top of the stack. "Here's a piece of free advice." Justin blinked.

"Look after your staff as if they were precious bottles of your favorite whiskey. They'll last longer."