After leaving the casino, Calliope and Portia set out for a night of karaoke.


    Several of Calliope''s friends from the auction had invited her to join them-sing a little, catch up, maybe talk some business on the side. Without hesitation, she brought Portia along.


    By the time they arrived at the private lounge, the ce was already buzzing withughter and chatter.


    The room was packed with some very familiar faces: celebrities from home and abroad.


    Nearly everyone there owed Calliope a favor or two.


    "Callie''s here!"


    They all rose from their seats to greet her.


    Portia nearly stumbled in surprise. She''d always known that Calliope''s social circle was impressive, but she had never imagined it was this morous—or this intimidating. Nearly every guest in the room was someone she''d seen gracing the covers of magazines and newspapers: movie stars, chart-topping singers, ambitious young financiers, heirs and heiresses of world-famous names.


    Everyst one of them carried serious weight.


    "Do you know all these people?" Portia whispered, gripping Calliope''s arm, her confidence faltering for the first time.


    "Of course. These are all my friends. Everyone''s so busy, it''s rare for us to gather like this. Thanks to the auction, we made it happen. Don''t worry-they''re all kind."


    "These people are legends!" Portia hissed beneath her breath.


    The Sutton family was famous, butpared to these global icons, they barely ranked. Portia felt utterly out of ce.


    "Legends are the same withmon people," Calliope teased. “Besides, you''re not afraid of Ss, are you?"


    "That''s different!" Portia protested, flustered. “I''ve spent so much time around him, and besides, he''s your husband. Why would I be afraid?"


    Calliopeughed. "Exactly. These are my friends, so no need to be nervous."


    She drew Portia forward and introduced her to the group. "Everyone, let me introduce someone special-Portia, my dear friend. Please, take good care of her tonight."


    "Ms. Sutton, nice to meet you. I''m Andrew."


    "Hello, Ms. Sutton, I''m Caleb."


    "It''s wonderful to meet you, Ms. Sutton. I''m Lena.”


    One by one, each person offered Portia a warm greeting, courteous and respectful.


    For a moment, she could hardly believe it.


    She leaned toward Calliope, whispering incredulously, "You''re really that close with all of them?"


    Before Calliope could answer, one of


    the men grinned and spoke up:


    "Close doesn''t even begin to


    describe it. We all owe Callie in ways you can''t imagine. Any friend of hers is a friend of ours. If you eveneed anything, just let us know.


    "I see..." Portia nodded, staring at her best friend in awestruck admiration.


    She''d always known Calliope was remarkable, but she had never understood just how far her


    influence reached-these moveret


    and shakers were literally in her debt, and from the sound of it, would do anything she asked.


    Soon enough, Portia found herself settling in among the group.


    Meanwhile, Calliope slipped away with a few friends to a smaller game room off to the side. Once they''d settled around the card table, someone quietly shut the door behind them.


    In the cozy private room, it was just Calliope and a handful of her close associates, dealing cards and sparking easy conversation.


    As they chatted about work and traded tidbits from theirtest ventures, one of the


    women- Nadine fixed Calliope with a thoughtful look. "Callie, there''s something I''ve been meaning to tell you. I just don''t know if I should bring it up."


    Calliope''s eyes sparkled with curiosity. “Come on. You might just tell me.”


    The othersughed. "Don''t be coy, Nadine. If it''s on your mind, spit it out. You know


    Callie''s not the type to shy away from anything.”