Skeeter finally sat back in his seat. “Does everyone understand their assignments for the next two weeks?” When no one answered, he nodded. “Good. Now I invite you all into the next room to celebrate a successful transition.”

The men stood and headed for the door, obviously knowing where they were going.

Skeeter offered me his hand, and I stood. Several of the men in the room watched us.

“I’m pleased with the progress of the transition, Mr. Malcolm.” I needed to act like I had a purpose for being here outside of Skeeter’s say-so.

His back was to the men and his eyes sparkled with playfulness. “Thank you, Lady. Your support has been instrumental. I know you have a drive ahead of you, but I insist you join us in the next room to celebrate.”

“Thank you.” I was glad he wasn’t upset that I’d broken the no-speaking rule, but was nervous about the next phase of the evening. Clearly, this was when my true purpose for being here would come into play.

Skeeter leaned into Jed and whispered in a growl, “You stay within inches of her until she leaves with you. If she goes to the restroom, you go in with her and hold the damn stall door closed. Got it?”

Jed nodded, his face solemn.

Skeeter moved back and motioned to the door. “After you.”

The men who were still in the room stepped back and watched me leave the room with Skeeter and Jed on my heels. We emerged into what appeared to be a large rec room with a small kitchen and bar at one end, sofas and chairs scattered around, and a pool table and air hockey table in the middle.

Skeeter led me to the bar, which was covered with an assortment of alcohol bottles. “Let me get you a drink, Lady.” He grabbed a bottle from under the counter and poured it in a glass full of ice before handing it to me.

I almost mentioned that I didn’t drink anything but wine, but it didn’t seem like a good time to bring it up. He poured himself a drink from the same bottle before returning it to the cabinet and shutting the door. Then he raised his glass toward me, his face serious. “To a profitable partnership.”

I clinked my glass with his, hoping our definition of profitable was the same thing. When I took a sip of the light brown liquid, I prepared myself for the dreaded burn, but it went down easily. It wasn’t alcohol. It was diluted tea.

Skeeter winked, then leaned toward my ear. “We need to keep our senses about us while the others lose theirs. If you need another drink, Jed will see to it that you get a refill. And never let your drink out of your sight.”

“Okay.”

“Do whatever you have to do to see what you need to see tonight. But remember that I have to keeping working with these men, and you will make future appearances.”

I had no idea what that meant. “Okay.” I tried to ignore his pronouncement about my continued presence in his life.

Skeeter held his hands out at his sides, his glass still in his hand. “Gentlemen, the bar is open.”

As he walked over to a small group of the men, I scanned the room in dismay. I had no idea what I was doing.

Jed, who had followed close behind me, whispered in my ear, “What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know. Give me a moment.”

The more I thought about Skeeter’s cryptic words, the more I realized what they meant. He thought I was going to lure these men with my exposed cleavage, lead them on, have a vision, and then send them away before anything could happen, using Jed to make them leave if necessary. Based on the outright leers and stares I was receiving, I knew it would work in the short term—if I could bring myself to pull it off. But in the end, I’d look like a slut, and I’d never gain their respect, which was what I’d tried to do from the moment I climbed out of Skeeter’s car at that auction.

“I need a quiet place to talk to them.”

“Okay,” Jed said without hesitation. “Here or somewhere else?”

If I took them somewhere else, it could be misconstrued, but I didn’t like the thought having multiple visions here, in full view of everyone. “I’d like to remain in public view, but with enough privacy for no one else to hear what’s being said.” I pointed to a seating area in the dim back corner of the room. “That would work if we can keep the others away.”

“We can arrange it.”

“I want to meet with them one by one, but I want to do it as the Lady in Black, Skeeter’s business partner. Maybe they can be introduced and I can talk to them for a minute or so and then have a vision. It’s how they’ll react after my visions that worries me.”

“If we wait another hour or so, we can start with the ones who are drunk already and work our way up from there. If they’re drunk, we can play it off somehow.”

I nodded. I hated to be here longer than need be, but it was a great idea. “Okay.”

Jed motioned to a guy who hurried toward us. “Tell Skeeter that Lady would like him to formally introduce her to the men in an hour or so, one by one, starting with the ones who are the most drunk. In the meantime, I’m going to keep them away from her.”

The man made his way through the crowd and leaned into Skeeter. Several seconds later, Skeeter turned his gaze to me with a slight smile before returning his attention to the man across from him.

“That was smart,” Jed said behind me.

I shrugged, wondering how in the world I was going to spend the next hour. “It gives me authority and Skeeter as well. I worry about looking like I’ve usurped him, though. I don’t want anyone to think I’m the one with the real power.”