Lena's smile didn't waver. It sat on her face like a crown.
"I want you," she said, her voice carrying to every corner of the cabin, "to kneel down and lick the bottom of Carter's shoe."
Someone laughed. A high, nervous sound that cut off fast.
I looked at Carter Mills. He sat frozen, his scotch glass halfway to his mouth. His eyes darted to Damon, then back to me. He didn't move his foot. He didn't pull it away.
I looked at Damon.
He was watching the window. The ice in his glass shifted as he brought it to his lips. He took a slow sip. His throat moved as he swallowed. He set the glass down on the armrest with a soft clink.
He said nothing.
The cabin held its breath.
I could hear the engines. The low, steady hum that had been there all along but that I was only hearing now. I could hear someone's breathing behind me. I could hear the faint rustle of Lena's silk skirt as she shifted her weight.
I stood up.
My heels made no sound on the carpet. I stepped around the low table. Carter's eyes went wide. He started to pull his foot back.
"Don't," Lena said softly. She wasn't looking at him. She was looking at me. "Carter, stay still."
He froze.
I stopped in front of him. His shoe was a Berluti. Oxblood leather, polished to a mirror shine. I had been with Damon when he bought the same pair last year. I remembered the store. The smell of the leather. The way Damon had barely glanced at the price.
I lowered myself to my knees.
The carpet was soft. Expensive. I felt it through my stockings. My skirt bunched around my thighs. I heard the whisper of fabric. I heard someone inhale sharply. I heard the click of a phone camera.
I bent forward.
Carter's shoe smelled like polish and something else. Something chemical. The sole was clean. Almost new. There was a faint scuff on the edge near the heel.
I closed my eyes.
I pressed my lips to the leather.
It was cold. Smooth. It tasted like nothing. Like the air in a room no one has entered for a long time.
I held it for three seconds. I counted them. One. Two. Three.
Then I lifted my head.
I opened my eyes.
I stood up.
No one was laughing now.
Lena's smile had gone tight at the edges. She was watching me the way you watch a dog you've just kicked, waiting to see if it will bite or run.
I smoothed my skirt. I walked back to my seat. I sat down.
I reached into my bag.
My hands were steady. They had been steady the whole time. I pulled out the leather portfolio I kept in the inner pocket. The one I had brought because I always brought it. Because I was always prepared. Because I had spent ten years being the woman who anticipated every need before it was spoken.
I set it on the table.
The champagne flutes rattled softly as the portfolio hit the surface. I opened the cover. Inside were eleven documents. Deeds. Property records. Signed. Notarized. Each one represented a building I owned in Manhattan. SoHo. Tribeca. The Upper East Side. Collectively, they were worth one point two billion dollars.
I placed my hand flat on top of them.
"One more round," I said.
My voice was quiet. I didn't need to raise it. Everyone was already listening.
"Winner takes all."
The cabin went silent.
Carter's mouth opened. No sound came out.
Simone leaned forward, her eyes on the documents. "Sera," she said slowly. "That's—"
"I know what it is."
I looked at Damon.
He was looking at me now. Finally. His glass was still in his hand. His eyes were the color of slate in winter. Cold. Unreadable.
"You're serious," he said.
It wasn't a question.
"Match it," I said. "Or fold."
Lena's hand moved to his arm. Her fingers curled around his wrist. "Damon," she said softly. "She's bluffing."
I didn't look at her. I kept my eyes on him.
"Match it," I said again.
For five seconds, he didn't move. Then he reached into his jacket. He pulled out his phone. Three taps. He turned the screen toward me.
It was a portfolio summary. His personal accounts. Liquid assets. Stock positions. The Coleman Group shares held in his name.
The number at the bottom was two point three billion.
"All of it," he said. His voice was flat. "One round."
He set the phone on the table next to my deeds.
Lena's smile came back. Slower this time. She looked at me with something that might have been pity.
"Shuffle the deck," I said.
Carter's hands shook as he reached for the cards.
