at myself in.

Now, though, I look somebody else entirely. I look more like the kind of woman I’d be stealing from, rather than the girl who’d rob her.

No, that’s not quite true. While I look deliciously elegant, it’s not in that snobby, Sector 1 way. It’s as though I’ve been polished up instead – a diamond made to gleam, rather than glass molded into the shape of a jewel.

I just wish I’d asked Sarah to help me with my makeup for tonight… but maybe, just maybe, the Aurelians won’t care about that.

There’s such a strange, unknown longing inside me, urging me to stay with them. I might not get along with all the women in their harem, but staying here isn’t just about the luxury. I enjoy spending time with the Aurelians – even when they keep me on my toes and make me question everything I thought I knew about myself.

So, they want me to be their little submissive servant, serving drinks at their important business meeting tonight…

…and that sounds just peachy to me.

If this is all just a dream, at least I can live it before it dissipates into the ether. At least I can get a glimpse of what the world could have been like for me, if I hadn’t been born an orphan in the most squalid sector of a segmented planet.

10

Gallus

“Welcome to our home.”

I give a slight, polite smile – which, from a traditionally unemotional Aurelian, must seem like a huge and welcoming grin to those I share it with.

The Seer brothers step in through the towering doorway.

They’re the patriarchs of one of the richest families on Deemak. They control the second highest acreage of arable land on this world, which is virtually priceless on a planet where most of the surface is dry and barren.

More importantly, the land we want to purchase from them has access to the one commodity most essential to life on Deemak – water.

The two brothers wear the traditional aquamarine of their family colors – so chosen generations ago to represent the great stores of water their noble family have acquired.

I am clad in my signature Aurelian-style toga, made from luxurious fabric with fine threads interwoven throughout it; each one containing a rare diamond filament that glitters beneath the lights. It’s flashy, but the people of Deemak have an obsession with all that glitters and I’ve learned from the words of Sun Tzu that you can often conquer a rival through the perception they have of you more easily than the reality.

“You’ve done well for yourself. You have a beautiful home.” The voice is that of Paul Seer, the oldest brother of the family.

We’ve done business with the Seer family for generations, and our intel on Paul reveals that he is a proud man, but a fair one. There’s nothing to suggest he’s here for anything except honest negotiation – and certainly no evidence to support Varian’s wild theory that he hired Mia to infiltrate our home and keep us off balance.

Still, as leader of my triad, you can never be too careful.

“A home built on fair deals,” I reply, shaking Paul’s hand.

The anticipation of a profitable business negotiation wells up inside of me. I live for this. Greed may be a sin, but if so, I’ve built my Empire on sin. You can’t accumulate the trillions we have without a deep, aching desire for more, more, and more.

And yet, suddenly, I crave only one thing… One woman…

Mia.

I know she’ll be in my thoughts throughout this meeting. It doesn’t bother me, though. The distraction will make it difficult to concentrate, but all three of us have experienced the same thing ever since she arrived here; and we might as well bring it front and center rather than pretend it doesn’t exist.

The truth is – we’re greater with Mia around.

I don’t know what it is about her, but I’ve never felt so strong, so smart, or so capable as I do in her presence. Mia’s deliciously sensuous body makes my heart pound like it never has before, but she also sharpens my mind to a razor’s edge.

I step forward, extending my hand. Paul takes it. He’s got a firm shake for a human, and though my hand dwarfs his, I don’t try to dominate the handshake or pull him close to my body. Those are amateur moves I did back when I was starting out in business – trying to prove myself the alpha of the negotiations. Now, I let my success do the talking.

“Harry,” I turn, greeting the younger Seer brother with a similar smile. They might only have fifty years of age each – a laughable amount of time spent in this universe – but they’re shrewd businessmen who deserve respect. I shake his hand, and Cyrus and Varian greet them too with firm handshakes and polite nods.

“Come. We’ll have drinks in the lounge. Then, a very nice dinner has been prepared for us.”

Paul grunts in approval. He’s a heavy-set man who likes the Deemak way of doing business. Slow and steady to start, shared over drinks and food, to ensure a contract of character as well as business.

My triad leads the two businessmen into one of our many lounges. Normally, there’d be four or five women to attend to their every need – gorgeous beauties from our harem, serving them not just drinks and snacks, but also a feast for their eyes.

Tonight, though, the lounge is empty except for cushions, tables, and long chairs that even an Aurelian can stretch out in.

The hookah is fired up and primed in the center of the room. Before we do anything else, we sit around it in the classic ritual of business that is unique to the culture of Deemak.

I offer Paul the hose first. He politely declines – which isn’t an insult, since he still joins us in the circle. Then, I offer Harry the pipe. He shakes his head, too.

My face remains expressionless, but I offer each

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