“Something that would help me in the long run, but right now I would rather be talking to you.”
Oh shit. I couldn’t breathe. I just wanted him, and now.
“Do you like it here?” I asked as I felt a blush creeping up my skin.
“Not really. It’s a little overwhelming.”
“Yeah. Then why are you still here?” I had to figure out if he was going to be participating in the auction or not.
“Do you want me to stay?” he said.
Yes. But I couldn’t bring myself to say it.
He grinned. I took notice of his lips, pink and full. I thought he was probably amazing in bed. I wanted to test that theory.
But then I saw Isabell across the room, waving at me, calling me to come over. She was heading for the curtained-off area where we had first met. I saw Ava and other girls were already there.
This was the worst time. What if I didn’t go? Maybe I could just stay with Owen and maybe even leave with him?
But I was only biding my time. I was on a mission.
“Is everything okay? You look distracted.”
“Yeah, um, it’s just that my friend is taking her time at the restroom. I’m worried she might be in trouble. I better go check.”
He was immediately concerned. His posture changed. He was ready to spring into action. “Do you want me to come with you? I know most of these guys, if they’re out of line, I can take care of them.”
I was impressed, but couldn’t say yes as much as I wanted to.
“No, thanks. I’ll be fine. Can you wait here?”
“If you’re sure. I hope your friend is okay.”
I smiled and hopped off the stool and headed towards the crowd of girls, ready to tell Ava and Isabell that I’d changed my mind.
Owen was my new goal.
Chapter 6
Owen
I watched as Sydney left the bar, and it was as if somebody was sucking the air out of the room. Suddenly I felt empty and useless sitting there, drinking whiskey on my own. I should have followed her, dealt with whatever prick was picking on her friend. And then I could have taken her home.
I began hearing all the sounds in the room again, and they pissed me off: there was a couple of drunk guys to my left, sharing tales of their sexual conquests – each sounded more like bullshit than the previous one – and to my right was a group of young girls taking selfies with their colorful cocktails, giggling like a bunch of idiots. The music was awful, the bass too deep, reverberating in my chest and making me uncomfortable.
I looked toward the bathrooms but Sydney had disappeared.
I couldn’t stop thinking about Sydney. Her laughter, her light blue eyes, so lively and real. So, unlike anything I saw around me. And her freckles! And those lips! I could just imagine them wet, wrapped around my cock. I was giving her five more minutes and then I was going to bust into the ladies’ room myself and take her home.
There was something special about that girl, and it made me want to spend every minute with her. The word love never occurred to me – I didn’t believe in bullshit like that – but the attraction, the chemistry was there, like a force field around us that had cut off the rest of the world. I couldn’t shake that feeling, I didn’t want to.
What I wanted was to bend her over my Porsche and fuck her.
Hard.
She hadn’t asked what I did for a living, or what brand my suit was, or how much I made.
She didn’t care about any of that.
She was real. And I was real with her. I had forgotten how that felt, not to be fake, not to wear a mask for other people. But with Sydney, I didn’t seem to have to hide. And I would give anything to experience that again.
I knew a nice restaurant not far from the club. Maybe I would be decent enough to take her out to dinner first. Learn her last name before she would be screaming mine.
I ordered another drink, looking at myself in the mirror wall of the bar. I looked good. People liked when you looked a certain way. And I was in the business of talking to a lot of people.
One of them, I saw, was quickly making his way to the bar.
“So, I believe the District Attorney just walked in.” Lawson was at my side, still drunk. I guessed there was more than alcohol involved.
Idiot.
“That’s great,” I replied, just to say something. Sydney was on my mind.
“Didn’t you want to talk to him?”
I turned to him, realizing what he said. This was my chance. “Yes, I’ll head over there in a few minutes.”
“Well I wouldn’t wait too long. I’m not sure how long he is planning to stay.”
I ran my hand through my hair, slightly frustrated. While I knew I needed to go speak to the DA, I also wanted to stay here and wait for Sydney.
“I’ll head over there in a minute, just let me enjoy myself for a bit,” I responded with a slightly harsh tone.
Lawson raised his hands. “I’m only trying to look out for you man.”
Fuck him. When had he ever actually looked out for me.
The friendliness in my tone was steadily draining. I didn’t want to get into it with Lawson in the middle of the club. I had been pissed at him for months when he knew I was having some troubles with the business. He knows people that could have easily gotten me out of it, but he never felt the need to share those contacts.
“Lawson, I appreciate the invite tonight. But stay the hell out of my business.”
Lawson shut his eyes tight, like a math teacher explaining a problem a tenth time with no result.
“Fine, Owen. I get that you don’t actually want my help.”
I closed my eyes and tried to breathe in a calming breath. Maybe Lawson was just trying to help, however, I could handle my business by myself.
“I’ll take care of the District Attorney on my own, Lawson,” I said.
I held my tongue, letting Lawson catch a breath, and calming my own nerves. I had been snatched out of my recently discovered happy place, and it was absolute torture.
I took a sip of whiskey and walked away from Lawson further down the bar. If the District Attorney was here, then I needed to do what I came here to do, even if I couldn’t seem to take my mind off Sydney.
I looked out among the crowd trying to spot the District Attorney amongst all the people that had suddenly arrived. He wouldn’t be out in the middle with everyone, instead he would be keeping a very low profile. I looked over to the side of the room where all of the secluded VIP tables were located.
They were covered by curtains and darkness but they still had a clear view of the stage. I smiled as I headed towards the area.
I walked past the woman in the red suit from earlier and sat back down at a table. I took another sip of whiskey as I looked at the other tables around me. A slow smile spread across my face when I looked at the table directly diagonal from mine, where the District Attorney sat. He was almost covered by the darkness of the club, but I could make out his features easily. I pulled out my phone and waited for him to move himself more into the light. A girl was draped over his lap. When the music changed to a smooth jazz, I saw him lean forward in his seat, and I quickly snapped a picture.
I finished my drink, happy to be to have found my way back to the VIP area. I turned my gaze from the District Attorney towards the stage, curious. I wasn’t going to take part, but since I was going to be here, I would enjoy the show.
The woman in the red suit was the first on stage, followed by exaggerated applause.
“Ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Chicago Buyer’s Club!” This was met with another wave of applause. “We are glad you could make it to our special event today! Everyone is welcome to participate! Remember! The highest bidder takes the prize!” After some more cheers, she said, “And now welcome our MC for the event, Lawson West!”
The audience erupted in a literal standing ovation. Bright lights danced around the room, and the music played louder. Even I contributed a few claps.
Laws
on burst out onto the stage, jumping around like a fool, cheering with the crowd. Some rock star.
“Are you ready, ladies and gentlemen? Are you ready to find love and companionship?” The crowd screamed in response. “That’s what I like to hear! I trust most of you have been given your auction pads?” Several dozen people were waving their voting pads above their heads, as Lawson nodded. “Good, good! Looks like we are all set!” He looked left, then right. “Is something missing? Oh, yes, of course! Please, give it up for our beautiful ladies!”
He stepped to a side, welcoming the girls on stage. They walked in a line, like pageant contestants, waving and blowing kisses. They were all in the same dark red body con dress. Pretty but boring.
Nothing I hadn’t seen before.
Until I saw Sydney.
What the hell was she doing up there?!?
I forgot how to breathe. I squinted, but I didn’t have to. It was her.
Waving and smiling with the rest of the girls.
But she wasn’t like the rest of them. Sydney was above them.
Besides she wasn’t available to be bought, I had already claimed her.
These assholes were about to know what it was like to lose to Owen Hayes.
Chapter 7
Sydney
I was petrified.
We had all been given instructions on how to behave – smile and wave, and I was doing exactly that. At first, I felt stupid, but seeing as how everyone was doing it, I thought I’d fit right in. Isabell was standing next to me, she seemed a little more animated and enthused about the whole thing.
I was kind of surprised quite honestly, since she seemed to only be here for the money.
The dancing lights were blinding, so I couldn’t really see the crowd. The music was deafening, so at least I didn’t feel any stage fright. It almost felt like it was just us on the stage, rehearsing a play.
Keep it together, you’re doing great, I thought to myself.
I kept repeating it like a mantra in my head, trying to relax. When the applause had died down, Ava stepped back onto the stage.
“Aren’t they just gorgeous?” More applause. “Brilliant! Look at them! I wish I was allowed to bid!” This got a decent laugh from the crowd, but a rather weak one from the girls. We clearly didn’t find it as hilarious.
I glanced in the general direction of the bar, which stood like a colorful neon island in the back of the room. It was hard to tell for sure, but there was nobody on the stools, at least not on the ones Owen and I had occupied. Had he left? I refused to believe that. He must have felt the same connection I had. There was something between us, something electric that we had shared, and I couldn’t stand the thought of him abandoning it.
But yet I had.
As soon as I was away from him and back with the girls Ava insisted I put on my dress and get in line. There was no time to even tell her that I had changed my mind.
So here I was.
Being sold.
I tried looking for Owen in the crowd, but I could only make out the faces in the first few rows, and none of them were him. People were cheering and clapping, their numbered pads ready to shoot up into the air.
It was bizarre, but at the same time kind of fun. Nobody was taking it seriously, I discovered. It really did feel more like a game for rich boys, and I could live with that.
As long as Owen was the rich boy who won me.
Ava began introducing the first contestant, but I didn’t take much notice. I would be one of the last girls to be auctioned, so instead I kept searching for Mr. Blue.
My eyes scanned the crowd and I sucked in a breath when they landed on a familiar frame. He was in the very back, making his way through the crowd, gently squeezing between people to get closer to the stage.
Thank God.
I lost my focus for a moment, and then my attention was drawn to one of the girls being auctioned.
“Five thousand!” Ava announced. “Do I see six thousand? Six thousand, number 106, thank you. Seven thousand, anyone? Would you look at her? What a stunner! A Bachelor of Psychology from Stanford, no less! Ten thousand, thank you…”
Ten thousand dollars! Ava had promised them fifty percent of the final bid. This could save Declan and I.
Change our lives.
“Final bid is fifteen thousand! Gentleman on my right! Congratulations, sir! Enjoy your prize.”
The auction continued in a similar manner, but with each girl the starting bid was lower and lower. I felt hurt for a moment, but it made sense. I was a newcomer, and while I was great in every aspect, there were girls who looked like Victoria’s Secret models.
Isabell’s starting bid was four thousand, and that made me nervous. I started to convince myself that my starting bid would only be two or three thousand, which wasn’t that much, if the bidders really were billionaires. What if some jerk snatched me for a few thousand? I felt nauseous again, and tried to find Owen in the crowd, but couldn’t.
The bidding commenced, and Isabell kept her composure, sending kisses and smiles to the men who bid on her.
“Eleven thousand! Twelve! Fourteen!” Ava leapt back and forth on the stage, keeping track of the rising and falling pads. “We have twenty thousand, everybody!” The crowd roared. “Do I hear twenty-one thousand! Anyone!”
Isabell’s final bid ended up being twenty-six thousand, which meant a huge payday for her. There was some sense of achievement in this, or at least I felt that way in the moment.
But now it was my time to shine. Ava introduced me and said a couple of words into the microphone. At first there was silence, but as I started to walk forward into the light cheers started to erupt throughout the crowd.
Ava continued on with my sales pitch: “Not only is she beautiful, but she is teacher. We have a civil servant up here, ladies and gentlemen!”
Ava tapped her temple with a finger, which was either meant to say she’s smart or she’s nuts. Probably a little of both, because the crowd laughed.
The bidding began. The starting bid was two thousand, as I’d expected, but it progressed very quickly.
“Three thou– Five thousand! Seven thousand!”
But I barely heard it. I searched the crowd again until I found him. He was in the third row now, staring at me and trying to get a look at the bidders. At first, bids were coming from all over the place, forcing Ava to move around.
“Ten thousand! I hear twelve thousand!”
But as it went on, there were just five distinct bidders left, then four, and then three.
Finally Owen entered the bidding.
“Twenty thousand!”
But a few other men wouldn’t let it go.
“Twenty-five! Twenty-six!”
The bidders were going back and forth, and the crowd was turning their heads left and right, as if they were watching a tennis match.
“Twenty-eight!”
My heart was racing. I found him and stared at him, but he was only smiling. Owen waited for the right time to make a move, I could see it. It wasn’t an evil smile, but rather a cocky one. I couldn’t blame him. There was that playfulness between us again. He was teasing me.
Bastard.
Two bidders got a little too into the farce, upping each other by $500, just to see the crowd react. It was becoming less and less funny.
“Thirty-two thousand five hundred!”
Owen raised his hand again, calmly like this was all an easy game to win.
“Fifty thousand.”
And older man kept his paddle in the air. “I’ll match whatever you say.”
I was beginning to sweat under the lights. The fun game had turned into torture. What if that old geezer won me? Owen must have seen my distress, because the next time our eyes met, he gave me a nod.
Even Ava couldn’t take it anymore. “Gentlemen, perhaps you should stop bidding and go home together?”
The crowd cheered, but not for long. I saw Owen make his way to the stage.
“Sir, woul
d you like to say something?”
He reached out his hand, and Ava obediently handed him the microphone. He cleared my throat and said, “Two hundred and fifty thousand! Match that.”
Everyone in the room, including myself, inhaled in a collective breath. The silence hung for what felt like several minutes, with people exchanging both puzzled and amazed looks. For a minute I thought that I had misheard him.
When he returned the microphone, Ava said, “Sir, could you confirm the number for me, please? Was it two hundred and fifty thousand dollars?”
He gave her a confident nod, and looked at me with a cocky smirk on his face.
It took a moment for me to get back in touch with reality, and when I did, I found myself next to Ava, still alone on the stage.
“Sir, would you like to counter?”
The older man dropped his paddle and shook his head.
“Excellent. Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars! Sold!” Ava lifted my hand in the air, as if I’d won a boxing match. “Please, Miss Mercer, you may join your date!”
Chapter 8
Owen
I had to have her, to save her.
Two hundred and fifty thousand was nothing. I got my picture, and the girl.
As I walked towards the corner of the stage where I would retrieve Sydney, I nodded to the darkest booth, knowing the District Attorney saw the trick I just pulled.
It screamed, I have money damn’t, don’t mess with me.
Just let him try to come after my business now.
I gave Sydney my hand and helped her off the stage.
“I don’t know what to say,” she said into my ear. “Thank you doesn’t sound like nearly enough. You have no idea what you have done for me! How can I ever repay you? What can I do?”
In truth, it was enough for me to see her this happy. But that’s not how the Club worked, or business for that matter.
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