Page 1 of Highest Bid

Chapter One

Galan Black stalked through the Black Pearl Nightclub doing his best to ignore the throbbing, frenetic beat that filled the room like a raging beast. He hid a grimace. If the famous guest DJ didn’t also fill the room with Friday night patrons, Galan would never hire the man again.

Luckily, Galan’s fascination with making money hadn’t waned. Tonight his biggest concern was keeping the Black Pearl at capacity while the once-yearly auction held in one of the two function rooms went off without a hitch.

He stepped past a trio of blonde women, their stares open with invitation as they stood between the long bar and the mass of writhing bodies on the dance floor. His mouth curled into a sardonic grin. Who would ever have imagined he’d become more immune to the ogling, come-hither stares from beautiful women than to the cacophony of sound piercing his skull?

Yeah, but then you’ve been a little distracted lately, haven’t you?

He dragged his mind away from the one woman who irritated and turned him on in equal measure, and instead focused back on the business at hand.

No one could have foreseen that the charity auction, held for the first time five years ago, would turn into the biggest drawcard for Galan and his brothers, Aiden and Liam, who were the sole owners of the nightclub. VIP guests from sheikhs to billionaire real estate moguls and famous celebrities paid months in advance for the exorbitant tickets.

Galan and his brothers had learned the more costly and exclusive the price of admission, the bigger the fish that were reeled in. And the more women the auction attracted.

It was Aiden who vetted the ladies who came from all over Australia and further afield to support their favorite charity and potentially be seen with someone rich or famous for a night. Galan snorted. It was also probably the Cinderella fantasy of every one of those girls to have the highest bidder fall in love with her.

Stranger things had probably happened.

Yeah, like you no longer being the cynical bastard you’ve become.

“That’s not about to change any time soon,” he muttered, before he acknowledged the pair of muscled bouncers standing guard outside the doors leading to the function room.

He and his brothers had beefed up the security tonight. Big-time.

Few men could afford the event, but it didn’t stop them all from trying to gain entry into the exclusive auction and seeing for themselves the bevy of gorgeous, half-naked women available for the night.

The bouncers nodded back respectfully before they opened the doors. It wasn’t until Galan stepped through and the doors closed behind him that he released an audible sigh. Silence. He never took it for granted. It was something to be prized, valued. Hence the double-soundproofed insulation and glazed windows throughout the building.

Striding through the now-empty secondary foyer and past another guarded set of doors, he stilled for a moment to take in the luxurious function room. With pure New Zealand wool carpet underfoot, and a huge glittering chandelier overhead, along with a sprinkling of ruby Chesterfield chairs and sofas near the walls for those guests needing to get off their feet, the design was perfection.

Because, tonight, it was standing room only for the men in their tailored Armani and Savile Row suits and their deep, deep pockets.

His nostrils flared as he drew in a deep breath. He could damn well smell the prestige and money presently swelling the room. He and his brothers were exceptional at making a profit, and it was even better when it was for a worthy cause.

Galan spotted Liam moving through the crowd toward him. No hard feat considering his youngest sibling towered easily a head over most of the other men in the room. All three Black brothers had scored their height from their NBA athlete father. But, while Galan and Aiden had also inherited their dad’s dark hair and eyes, Liam had inherited his blond hair and blue eyes from their mom.

Galan closed his eyes for a moment, shutting out the world. If only their parents were alive today to see the successes their sons had become. All three siblings had taken the rundown, three-storey warehouse their parents had put their life savings into and converted it into a nightclub with two function rooms, the Garden Café and top-level living quarters.

But, instead of celebrating the feat together as a family, with their parents supporting their dream of owning and running their own nightclub, a drunk driver had plowed into their parents’ car and instantly killed them.

That it’d also killed their parents’ secret, one Galan had been forced to endure alone, was something he’d had to live with every day since that horrifying event eighteen years ago. But he’d made a promise to keep the confidence, and it was one he didn’t intend to break.

He was glad the once-yearly auction brought him and his two brothers closer together. Particularly when the entry fee from the exorbitantly priced tickets went to those families who’d also suffered loss or hardship at the hands of a drunk driver.

“You okay, Gal?”

Galan opened his eyes and forced a smile, pushing aside his inner turmoil. “Never better.” He’d become adept at shielding his bleakest thoughts from his brothers.

Liam eyed him speculatively before he turned to survey the room. “The auction is about to start. Care to put a wager on the highest bid?”

Galan shook his head. Liam didn’t gamble often, but when he did, he rarely lost. “I’m here to see charities make a profit, not lose money from my own pocket on a whim to my little brother.”

Liam exhaled on a laugh. “When did you get to be so predictable?”

When I started seeing money pour into our accounts and knew our futures were secure.

Liam sighed. “But then I guess it’s nearly always been work and sex with you.” He cocked his head to the side. “You know, there was a time you liked to take risks outside of the bedroom.”

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