Four hours later, Chloe stepped out of a black town car in front of an unmarked townhouse in the Upper East Side. There was no sign, no velvet rope. Only a heavy oak door and a flickering gas lamp.
She was wearing a vintage black gown that clung to her like a second skin, her hair pulled back into a lethal, sleek ponytail. No jewelry. She didn't need diamonds to scream her worth; her presence was the only currency that mattered tonight.
The door opened before she could knock. A steward in a tuxedo bowed slightly. "Ms. Lane. They are expecting you in the Library."
The Library was a cavernous room filled with the scent of ancient paper and peat-heavy scotch. Five men sat in leather armchairs around a fireplace that looked like it belonged in a castle.
At the center sat a man who looked like he had been carved out of granite. Julian Vesper. The man whose family had owned the land Manhattan was built on before the skyscrapers even existed.
"The Barista Queen," Julian said, his voice a low rumble. He didn't stand up. None of them did. "We were discussing whether to congratulate you or to crush you before you got too comfortable in Silas's chair."
Chloe walked to the center of the rug, standing directly in the heat of the fire. She didn't look intimidated. She looked bored.
"If you could have crushed me, Mr. Vesper, you wouldn't have sent the invitation," Chloe said, her voice echoing with authority. "You would have just let the banks pull my credit lines at 9:00 AM."
Julian stood up now, his shadow looming over her. "Silas Vane owed this club a debt. A debt of three billion dollars in 'untraceable' liquidity that disappeared when you froze his offshore accounts. Without it, certain... projects... will stall. People will look for someone to blame."
Chloe took a step forward, her eyes burning with a dark, triumphant fire.
"I have a proposal. I return your three billion, plus ten percent interest. In exchange, Lane Strategic gets a permanent seat at this table. And the Centurion Club stays out of my way while I finish what I started with the Sterling family."
Julian stared at her for a long, agonizing minute. Then, he burst into a sudden, booming laugh.
"Sit down, Ms. Lane. Let's talk about the price of your soul."