Read Online Black Pearl by Tiffany Patterson - Free Book Online Page A

with a few of them. Just as she was leaving the dance floor, she spotted Iris.
    “Devyn.” Iris waved. “You look beautiful, dear,” she said as she embraced Devyn, placing a kiss on her cheek.
    “Thank you, Mrs. Collins. You look great yourself.” Devyn took in Iris’ dark blue Carolina Herrera gown. The dress was strapless, and form fitting at the top, flowering out at the bottom, with shimmering beading around the front. Iris Collins was beautiful.
    “Thank you, dear. Are you enjoying yourself?” Iris asked.
    “Yes, of course.”
    “Have you seen the silent auction is doing so well? Come let me show you.” She wrapped her arm around Devyn’s pulling her towards the other side of the room towards the silent auction set up. There was a large range of items from art pieces and one-of-a-kind jewelry to tickets for a weekend getaway. Devyn had helped to organize and sort all the items. She knew the cost of each of the items and silently tallied their expected donations so far. This year’s gala was looking to be a big success.
    “This is great. Looks like we may meet our goal of exceeding last year’s donations.” Devyn told Iris. Iris looked as if this news pleased her.
    “Look who decided to show up,” Iris said and Devyn turned. Her body went rigid at the sight of Nikola in his Brioni tuxedo, perfectly tailored for his body. The tuxedo jacket was dark blue with black lapels, paired with black pants, a white button down shirt, and a black bow tie. He looked like walking sin.
    “Hello, Mama. Hello, Devyn.” He smiled a dazzling smile and Devyn’s heart pounded as he pressed a kiss to Iris’ cheek and then hers.
    Iris eyed the move but remained silent. “Nicky, Devyn and I were just looking at the silent auction. She was saying we look like we may do even better than last year.”
    “Is that right? Well, we couldn’t have done it without her help.” Nikola turned his gaze to Devyn. Before Devyn could respond another man joined them. He was obviously of Latin heritage, with his golden colored skin, dark black hair, and big brown eyes that sparkled with mischief. He was about the same height as Nikola, and dressed just as impeccably. 
    “Oh Raul! I’m so glad you could make it!”
    “Hello, Mama Collins. How are you?” The man named Raul kissed her cheek and embraced her. He looked at Devyn.
    “Raul, this is Devyn Williams. She works for Andre and helped arrange all of this tonight.” Iris made the introductions.
    “Devyn, this is Raul Santiago, Nicky’s best friend and my third son,” Iris said smiling.
    Smiling, Raul stepped closer to Devyn taking her hand and pressing a kiss to the back of her palm. “I thought I knew all the beautiful women that worked for Excel. I see you’ve been keeping secrets. Some friend you are.” Raul said looking over at Nikola, teasing his best friend.
    “It’s a pleasure to meet you Ms. Williams.”
    “Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Santiago.”
    Raul snorted. “Please, my father is Mr. Santiago. Call me Raul.”
    “Only if you call me Devyn.” She retorted, smiling at his flirtation.
    “Then it’s a deal.”
    “You can let go of her hand now.” Nikola interrupted tightly, making Raul’s smile grow even wider.
    “Such a spoilsport. Been like that since college,” he teased.
    “I wasn’t sure if you were going to make it in, Raul,” Iris intervened.
    “Yes, well, I almost had to cancel but business went smoothly, so here I am.” Raul’s family had been one of the original founders of one of Brazil’s largest banks. After getting out of the military he went into the family business, just like Nikola. The two men remained best friends despite the distance, often having their companies do business together. Raul also worked in security and had connections to a number of private security firms around the world.
    “Isn’t that great, Nikola?” Iris asked.
    Nikola grunted at the way, Raul continued to eye Devyn. “Yeah, great.”
    “Devyn, would