427 Silhouette 4

Before the auction started, there was a short fashion show of Wallace's works. And like Matthew said earlier, he was one of the models. Wallace White and Samuel West collaborated on this project—Katherine knew that the latter also had pieces in the auction but she only just found out that the two had worked together. Samuel provided plain colored dresses and dress shirts that ranged from casual, semi-formal, and formal, while Wallace handpainted the designs on the blank canvas. With two geniuses working together, the result was fantastic. 

There were twelve pieces that were up for auction. Each uniquely designed and very pleasing to the eyes. Katherine didn't plan on joining the auction but everyone was given a paddle—as if everyone was expected to join. After all, everyone in the room had deep pockets. 

She stood by herself but she didn't mind. And since everyone was focused on the program, she used the time to survey her surroundings, observing and taking mental notes of the personalities in the room that she was more familiar with—their jobs, their body language, whom they were talking to. She was doing it blindly but it was better than doing nothing at the moment. However, she focused on the more important people that were present—the politicians. There weren't many that night, moreover the ones present were unknown to Katherine. 

Occasionally, she would meet Damien's eyes and she would give him a flirty smile. From across the room, she would look at him through her eyelashes, and raise her glass at him as though she was giving him 'cheers'. He'd slightly crease his brows, and just awhile ago, he mouthed, 'Stop drinking.' She chuckled at his overprotectiveness because she had only been nursing one glass of champagne since earlier. She had barely even drunk more than two sips—and the one Wallace gave her earlier, she only took a small sip. But then again, she couldn't blame him after what happened last night.

When she shifted her gaze back at the stage and watched the scene unfold, a dress caught her attention and though she didn't plan on joining the auction, she raised her paddle and chimed in her bids. She liked the dress and could imagine herself actually wearing it but when the amount went over fifty thousand dollars, she stopped. These people around her were high rollers and she didn't think she could spend more than that for a dress, even if it was for charity. Or maybe she was just stingy. Someone else won the dress later, an old man several feet away from her.

"Oh, well," she mumbled to herself, then let out a sigh and just enjoyed the rest of the auction. When it was finally over, Damien came back to her side. "You okay?"

"Yeah, congrats on your award," she said as she gave him a hug, her arms went around his neck and she pressed her lips on his cheek. He smelled delicious—like always—only tonight, his parfum was more sensual and audacious that she couldn't help but inhale more of it. He smelled fresh, with hints of bergamot and apple—he smelled luxurious and heavenly, she was ready to die. 

Her eyes took notice of several women behind him who had sticky gazes, and she tightened her hug just to annoy the hell out of them. She saw them roll their eyes at her, and they did not even bother hiding it. So like the child that she was, she gave them a bright and beautiful smile.

Damien's hand was on the small of her back, his large, warm hand pressing against her skin and it made her tingle. "Thanks. Dance with me—"

"Chairman Park," a woman in her forties interrupted.

They turned to face the woman and she began to introduce herself. She was an investor but he wasn't familiar with her. At first, she congratulated him on the award, and then she started talking about a project that Crown Resort Group was planning. The project hadn't even been announced to the public yet, but people talk, and a lot of wealthy people want to dip their fingers in it—if not their whole body. Partnering with CRG only meant that the project would be a success—which equates to millions of gains. Since one of objectives of being in The Platinum Club was to network, Damien had been receiving dozens of proposals since he arrived. It was inevitable.

But Damien wasn't in the mood to talk about business at the moment, and this woman just interrupted his time with Katherine when he was finally able to give her his attention. The woman was still going on and on with her thoughts about the project when Damien stopped her, "My apologies, Madame. But I'm afraid I can't talk about it at the moment." He swiftly handed her his business card and added, "You can contact my assistant for appointments. There are some very important matters I need to discuss with my family. Excuse me." Holding Katherine's hand, he then walked out of the conversation.

Katherine was brought to the corner of the room away from the crowd. The next part of the program had just started and it was the nomination of next year's club officers. However, Damien couldn't care less about it. He faced her and fixed his eyes at hers, "I'm giving you a chance to come clean. Why did you lie?"

This was it. She liked that he didn't skirt around the issue and went head-on. But before that, she just had to ask to know how to explain things to him. "How much do you know?"

"Everything."

"Everything?"

"I saw the videos from Styles and Felix told me what happened. Yes, Katherine. Everything."

She swallowed. Now that they were talking about it, she actually didn't know where to start. And just as she was about to open her mouth, he added, "We were on a call when she left. Why didn't you tell me?"

"That happened after the call... I didn't know I was going after Amelia until I was already on my way out. I didn't think... I just... moved. After knowing what she was doing, I couldn't let her go there alone."

Damien crossed his arms in front of him, his tall figure hovered over her frame but with her high heels and already tall height, she didn't feel intimidated. "So why didn't you tell me then? You could have called back—after that, or the next day. Even leaving a message would have been okay, but you didn't. I thought you weren't going to lie to me anymore. I know you're a good liar Katherine. People might not see it when you do but I could. And I don't like being lied to. Especially by you."

"I know... I was wrong. I was going to tell you right away but..."

"Did she ask you not to tell me?" He waited for her to answer but she took her time and bit her lip. "Katherine."

"Only until you come back from France. I know it's still a lie of omission and I really feel bad. She didn't want to worry you while you were away. But then you came home and then..."

"Then you two got drunk and got your asses arrested for stealing."

"You make it sound so bad..."

"Because it is bad. Do you know what would have happened if it wasn't Detective Donovan?"

She bit her lip. Her heart was racing because he was scolding her but at the same time, she also felt warm. No one scolded her like Damien. He was the only one who did and she liked it. It was fûcked up, yes. It didn't mean that she would deliberately make trouble. It wasn't her kink—not that she had one.

However, this man in front of her looked so manly at the moment, she just couldn't help but fall for him even more. Why did he have to be so… Damien?

Katherine looked up to tell him she was sorry but a cry from the other side of the room made their heads turn. Someone had fainted in the middle of the program and people gathered around an area. And then she saw a familiar silhouette from a distance.

"Chris," she muttered.

"What?"

"Chris. He's here." 

She jolted to the right but Damien caught her wrist and stopped her. "What are you going to do?"

"Damien, he's here! He could be on a mission! Do you know what that means? He could be here to kill someone. I have to stop him!" Katherine was once part of Shadow and knowing the chances that Chris was here on a mission—possibly assassination mission—even if she didn't know the reason behind it, she just couldn't let it happen.

"I'm going with you," he punctuated their conversation.

The two maneuvered their way through the sea of people and exited the side entrance where Chris disappeared.