"Checkmate!"
Maxine smiled as her chess piece landed on its winning spot.
The Duke hugged Maxine while his face directed towards the Marquess. He broke the hug and praised the intelligence of his ally.
Wren clapped his hands. "I admit, your fighting spirit was commendable,"
In actuality, he let Maxine win. Who wanted to mess up with the only lady of the most influential family in the Empire?
"I appreciate it, My Lord. However, that was not the thing I wanted to hear."
"May I ask why you wanted to hire her? I could hire other artists."
Maxine stopped gathering the chess pieces. The divergence fueled her to squeeze more information from her target.
"We were both entrepreneurs. You understand that when an opportunity knocked on your door, you must let it in."
The Marquess calle
