Highest Bidder Collection - Lauren Landish Page 0,101

electronic device, along with a stylus. “If you could just sign for me here, please?”

I take both and quickly scribble my name and hand it back over to him.

He smiles at me again as he hands me the box. “Thank you Miss Herrington, have a wonderful day.”

“Thank you,” I reply absently, my eyes still on the box in my hands. “You, too.”

With the box tucked under my arm, I open the door and kick it shut behind me. I turn it in my hands, the keys jingling as I toss them onto the kitchen table and look for the address label. There’s no return address listed, but I recognize the sender's name. Kiersten. A smile graces my lips as I plop down into my seat. She’s such a freaking sweetheart. She knows this past week has been rough, and it’s not unusual that we give each other a little gift here and there when we’re going through something hard.

I instinctively look past my kitchen and into the cozy living room at the wooden owl on the bottom of my end table. It was a gift from Kiersten. She knows I love owls. I think it’s a door stopper, but it looks just right where I put it.

My place is a nice, one-bedroom apartment with a spacious, open floor plan. It’s not cheap, but it’s not too expensive either, considering it’s in the city. The kitchen and living room join seamlessly with one another. There’s a large sliding glass door at the end of the living room that leads to a small patio. There are two windows with sheer curtains on either side of the couch. I always keep the curtains open because I like the sunlight. It helps keep the darkness away. I went a long time without sunshine, and I’ll never take such a simple thing for granted again.

There’s not much to the rest of my apartment, just a small hallway and then my bedroom and an adjoining bathroom. But I love it. It has a cozy vibe, and I’ve surrounded myself with little things that help keep my mood upbeat, like the stone bunny bookends on the shelf next to the couch, owl pillows, and beautiful glazed ceramic planters by the large windows filled with succulents. I forget to water the plants often, so they have to be succulents. And I filled this place with warm yellows that seem to pop out at you. I use yellow because I’ve always heard that it helps with depression. Just seeing the color stimulates endorphins that make you happy. And I want to be happy. More than anything; it’s all I want.

My eyes stray back to the box and I wonder again what it is. Deep down, I know this is something different. Something… special.

There’s only one way to find out.

I walk over to the cabinet and retrieve a letter opener and then come back to the box. My heart racing in my chest, I pry it open.

My breath catches in my throat when I see what’s inside. A fancy golden envelope sits on a bed of purple plush velvet fabric. Holy shit, this is fancy. I pick it up, marveling at the soft feel of the parchment. It’s unlike any paper I’ve ever felt before. It's thick and luxurious. After a moment of staring at it, I carefully open it to reveal a golden card with tassels on the side. There’s a simple message inscribed inside.

You’ve been invited to Club X.

Madam Lynn

Club X. The words run over and over in my mind. I can’t for the life of me figure out what it is. It sounds like some sort of secret underground club, yet I can’t make any sense of it. Why send me an invitation without any information about what I would be joining? And who the hell is Madam Lynn? It’s just strange. I check the box again, and there’s Kiersten’s name. I can’t get the scrunched expression off my face.

I turn the invitation over in my hand, examining it several times, looking for any clues of what this club is about. There aren't any.

Shrugging off my coat, I walk over to my desk in the corner of my living room, thrumming with excitement, sit down and open my laptop. When the screen lights up, I quickly type in my password and bring up the web browser. I type in Club X in the search bar and then hit enter. Kiersten won’t be on till tonight. And I’m