by SJ McCoy
It wasn’t Oscar who made him stay put, though. It was a call of, “Three thousand one hundred.” Was it her? He looked back out at the room. All he could see was a sea of tables whose occupants mostly had their backs to him—since they’d turned to look at Dani sitting near the back. He went from having to force a smile to trying to hide one.
“Four thousand.” Kendra arched an eyebrow at Dani. It seemed the gauntlet was down.
TJ realized that his hands were balled into fists at his sides. Would she bid more? He’d gladly give her the money back if she’d save him—maybe she’d even go on the date with him.
“There. I told you he was mine.” Kendra looked so smug. TJ’s heart sank.
Dani looked up at him and smiled, then she turned back to Kendra. She was going to do it! “Sorry, but I don’t think so. Five thousand.”
Kendra’s smile was gone. TJ didn’t think this was even about him anymore. She was just the kind of person who didn’t like to lose. “Ten thousand dollars.”
A gasp went around the room, and all heads turned back to look at Dani. From his vantage point, it was like watching a crowd watching a tennis match.
Dani looked uncertain. He couldn’t blame her. She couldn’t have that kind of money, and even if she did, she couldn’t give it away. He wanted to call out, to tell her it was okay. He’d put up with Kendra for an evening if it would make Dani smile again.
The silence buzzed with tension until a voice rang out. “Go for it, girlfriend.”
TJ scanned the room, as did everyone else, but he couldn’t see who’d spoken. If he didn’t know any better, he might have thought it was Grace’s voice. He didn’t have time to wonder as Dani got to her feet and smiled at Kendra. “You’re right. We should end this now.” She held up the palm of her hand and looked down into it, then she smiled again and spoke loudly and clearly. “Fifteen thousand dollars.”
There was no collective gasp this time. Only stunned silence. TJ unclenched his fists and wiped his sweaty palms on his pants.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I think we have—” began the emcee.
“Twenty thousand.”
For fuck’s sake! TJ—along with everyone else in the room—stared at Kendra. She smiled up at him. “Don’t worry, TJ. I’ve got this.” She turned a smug smile on Dani. “Haven’t I?”
Dani looked rattled. She looked down at the palm of her hand again. Was she going to concede? He hoped she would. This was crazy money. She looked up with a small smile, but none of the confidence she’d had before.
“Go for it, girlfriend.”
He scanned the room again but couldn’t figure out who the mystery woman might be.
Dani shook her head.
“Go for it!” Who the hell was shouting their encouragement like that?
Whoever it was, he wanted to hug them when Dani turned and smiled pleasantly at Kendra. “No. You don’t have this. Forty thousand.”
No one spoke. No one moved for what felt like minutes. Eventually, Kendra gave Dani a curt nod and sat back down.
“I have to ask,” said the emcee. “Do we have any more bids?” He was met with resounding silence.
“Very well. Going once, going twice, going three times, and sold. To the very generous young lady in silver. Please come on up.”
TJ watched Louise hug Dani who then made her way up to the front, weaving her way between the tables. She met his gaze when she reached the bottom of the stairs and smiled uncertainly. Did she think he might not be happy that she’d won?
He had to set her straight about that. As soon as she was on stage, he went to her and wrapped her in a hug. He would have liked to kiss her, but he didn’t know how she’d react to that, and he had a good idea of how the crowd would react. As her arms slid around his waist and she hugged him back, that warmth spread through his chest again. Was it gratitude? He didn’t know, but he did know that he wanted to kiss her—somewhere away from all the watching eyes.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I give you TJ Davenport and the lovely Dani Walsh.”
The photographers had them pose and smile. TJ went along with it, but all he wanted to do was get her in a quiet corner and thank her—and ask her what was going on.
One of the photographers seemed to want to know what was going on, too. He kept looking at Dani, and he seemed to have the same question TJ did—what the fuck?
When it was over, and the emcee finally announced they were done, he took hold of her hand to walk her down the steps. Her hand fit perfectly inside his. It was small and soft, like something he wanted to protect. A shudder ran down his spine at the thought. She didn’t need protecting. This was LA.
She smiled up at him when they reached the bottom of the steps. Her hazel eyes sparkled, but she looked uncertain.
“Thank you.” If nothing else, he needed her to know he was grateful for the rescue.
She leaned her head back and blew a sigh up at the ceiling. “Phew. I thought you were going to be pissed.”
“Not at all. I’m thrilled. I mean … I’m grateful.” Why had he changed it? He should have been honest. He was thrilled.
She nodded. “You’re welcome. I’m glad I could help.”
He’d thought maybe there was something between them—that she’d bid on him because she wanted to. But no, he needed to stop thinking like that. She’d been helping him out. That was all.
When they made it to the back of the room, Oscar and Grace were waiting for them with Louise. They were all grinning.
“See, didn’t I tell you it’d all work out okay?” asked Oscar.
He nodded. “You did.”
“I think it’s awesome,” said Grace with a smile. “The two of you will have a great time next weekend.”
TJ nodded. He hoped Dani thought so, but now he was starting to wonder if the bid had been some kind of stunt. Was it for her magazine? Was she planning to get more of a story by spending an evening with a Davenport?
“What is the date? Where are you going?” asked Louise eagerly.
TJ looked at Oscar. “I don’t know yet. My brother is in charge of the date details for all the bachelors.”
Oscar waggled his eyebrows at him. “I’ll let you know.”
He looked at Dani. “Are you okay with that?”
“Sure.” She didn’t look so sure.
“So, do you want to get a drink, and you can tell me what possessed you to bid forty thousand dollars?”
Her eyes widened. She looked like he’d asked her if she wanted to go play in traffic with him. She checked her watch and then looked at Grace. “I’m really sorry. I can’t. I have to go.” She let go of his hand, which made him realize that he’d still been holding it.
“Wait. You can’t go. What about the date? We need to set something up. I don’t have your number. Stay and have a drink?”
She shook her head rapidly. “I can’t. I’m sorry. Grace has my number. I have to leave.” She turned and practically ran away.
TJ threw his hands in the air. “For what must be the tenth time tonight, I have to ask—what the fuck?”
Oscar smiled and put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay. It’ll work out. Maybe she just doesn’t want to talk about it right now. She might be embarrassed. Forty grand’s a lot of money.”
“Don’t I know it!”
Grace reached out and rubbed his arm. “Don’t worry. It’ll be fine. I’ll give you her number and Oscar will set everything up for next weekend.”
“Can I have her number now?”
Grace’s eyes widened. “Umm …”
“You only have it at the office, right?” asked Oscar.
“Yeah. Yeah, that’s right.”
If he didn’t know better, he’d think that they didn’t want to give him the number, but why would that be? He shrugged. He didn’t know what to say or do.
“Oh, no.” Grace was looking up at the stage where the emcee was talking to the photographers, and the other
bachelors and the women who had won them were starting to gather.
“What’s up?” asked Louise.
“We’re supposed to get all the couples together for a big photo shoot. And they’re going to want TJ and Dani front and center.”
“Well, that’s not going to be possible, is it? Since she just ran out on me.”
“What are we going to tell them?” asked Grace. “I don’t want them thinking it was a fake bid, or that she can’t cover it.”
Oscar ran a hand through his hair.
“That’s okay.” TJ knew the perfect solution. “You can tell them we left. They’ll think we sneaked off together—they don’t need to know that she ran out and I slunk home.”
Oscar nodded. “Perfect. You’d better get your ass out of here before anyone sees you.”
“I’ll be happy to. See ya.”
Chapter Six
Dani didn’t know what to expect when she walked into work on Monday morning. She was supposed to cover the dinner and bachelor auction—not to become part of it. Especially not to have become the biggest headline of the night. Of course, there had been other reporters there—newspaper journalists who covered celebrity events for their social columns. The auction should have been worth a few lines buried deep in the paper somewhere. It would have been, too. If some crazy woman hadn’t gotten into a bidding war and shelled out forty thousand dollars for TJ Davenport! What had she been thinking? She should never have agreed to do it. She hadn’t been thinking at all—at least, not about the repercussions for herself. All she’d been thinking about was helping out. Helping Grace and Oscar and the center. Who was she kidding? She’d wanted to help TJ, wanted to rescue him from the clutches of some man-eater.
She managed to make it to her office and closed the door behind her. Alan was going to haul her over the coals. He might even fire her. She wouldn’t blame him if he did. It might be a good thing. She obviously wasn’t cut out to be a reporter. She shook her head. She’d known that before she ever met TJ—it had nothing to do with his opinion of journalists. Why would what he thought matter? She barely knew the guy. She fired up her computer. She needed to get to work. She’d spent the weekend working on the story. She’d covered the center and weaved in a very positive take on Grace and Oscar and their relationship. She’d given Terry a heartwarming mention. It was going to be a good story—other than that detail about the girl who bid forty grand and then disappeared into the night. She felt bad about running out, but she hadn’t known what to tell TJ. She didn’t know if Oscar and Grace wanted to keep it secret that they were the ones footing the bill. And she didn’t want to lie to TJ. She’d landed herself in a bad place—with Alan and her job; with TJ and what she should tell him; with everyone. She folded her arms on her desk and rested her forehead on top of them.
The door swung open, and Alan stood there. Hands on hips. “Good morning, Dani.”
She lifted her head. “Good? I don’t think so. We both know there’s nothing good about it. If you’re going to fire me, get it over with, would you?”
He stepped inside and closed the door behind him.
“Fire you? Why would I want to do that?”
She sat up and stared at him. “Because I screwed up! Big time. I acted on impulse. I didn’t think how it would work out for the magazine, or the story. I just …” she shook her head. “I screwed up.”
He smiled and pulled up the chair on the other side of her desk. “You might have, but it ain’t necessarily so, kiddo.”
She raised her eyebrows. “I’m not following.”
“It all depends on what you do from here. Granted, it’s not best practice to go from covering a story to starring in it, but it can be done. And it can be done very successfully if you work it right.”
She frowned at him. What was he saying?
“Think about it. You now get to spend an evening with TJ. Friday night isn’t it?”
She nodded.
“So, you can get to know him better, and you can include that in the story.”
Dani shook her head at him. “He’d hate that. You know yourself he can’t stand journalists, to begin with.”
“From the photos I’ve seen, he might make an exception for you.”
“What do you mean?”
Alan chuckled. “He’s besotted with you. You can’t hide it.”
She stared at him as though he’d gone crazy. “You have to be kidding me!”
“No. And don’t think you can fool me. Whatever’s going on between the two of you, there’s no hiding it. Anyone who looks at the pictures will see it.”
She shook her head. “I don’t understand. What’s with the photos?”
“You haven’t seen them?”
“No. I haven’t even logged in yet.”
Alan nodded. “Okay. Take a look and then come to my office. When you see them, you’ll see there’s no point trying to pull the wool over my eyes. There’s something going on between the two of you. There’s no hiding it.”
She shrugged. She didn’t know what to say.
He got up and opened the door and then stopped. “How much would he have let you bid?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I’m guessing you were spending his money—that he’d asked you to outbid Kendra Parsons. Had he set you a spending limit? Or was it just whatever it took to make sure you got to take him home?”
“No! He didn’t. I didn’t …” She knew she couldn’t tell him it was Oscar’s money. He’d make damned sure that made it into the story if she did. She shook her head. “I’ll come see you after I look at the pictures.” That would buy her some time. She needed to figure out what to tell him.
“Don’t take too long. I’ll be waiting.”
She logged into her computer and went to the shared files where the photographers uploaded their pictures. She clicked on a folder labeled Davenport Bachelor Auction. There were hundreds of pictures. Kevin, the photographer who’d been with her, hadn’t done any selection or editing yet. He’d just gone ahead and uploaded everything. Great.
She clicked through several dozen pictures of the event. She couldn’t help smiling. It had been a beautiful evening. The hotel and the attendees had all been decked out in their finest. She hurried up, scrolling down to the pictures of the winning bidders with their bachelors. She smiled again at the ones of Terry and Mrs. Holmes. They both looked so happy. “Aww.” The one of them at the bottom of the stairs, when he’d kissed her hand! It was perfect. She clicked to download it. She had to give Terry a copy of that. They weren’t supposed to download any of the pictures without permission, but she had no qualms about it. She knew Terry would love that picture. It was special. She could see herself being out of a job by the end of the week anyway. She had no intention of going along with Alan’s plans to get a story on TJ—so what would one little picture hurt when added to her other transgressions?
She kept clicking until she came to the ones of her and TJ. “Oh!” Wow. She’d thought Alan was playing it up when he told her that the photos gave her and TJ away. She peered closer. They were amazing! TJ had his arm around her shoulders, and she was smiling up at him. They looked like a couple—a real couple. She bit her lip. They looked like a couple in love, the way he was looking down at her. They looked so happy together.
She blew out a breath and carried on clicking. There were far more photos of the two of them than there were of any of the other couples. Kevin wasn’t stupid. He knew they were the story of the night. How was she going to make Alan believe there was nothing going on between her and TJ now? There was no way he’d believe it. She clicked through them all and went back to the beginning and started again. She smiled. If these were pictures of her and her boyfriend, she’d be thrilled! More than thrilled, and not just about the pictures. If TJ were her boyfriend? She let out a short laugh. As if. He’d probably never speak to her again. There was no need for him to. Well, other than the date on Friday. But it
’d be best if she didn’t go on that. Then she wouldn’t have to include him in the story. She wouldn’t have to face his questions about how and why she’d bid so much money on him. She nodded to herself. That was the way to go.
She got up and stepped out of her office. When Alan said not to keep him waiting, he meant it. She walked down the corridor and knocked on his office door.
“Come in.”
She stepped inside.
Alan smiled and gestured for her to take a seat. “Are you prepared to tell me the truth now?” She nodded slowly, and he smiled. “Humor me and let me guess?”
She nodded again. She’d be glad to let him guess. Whatever he came up with might give her some idea of what to say. She sure as hell wasn’t going to tell him the truth.
“I’d say, you read up about him when I told you to and what you learned made you contact him again. The two of you spent that weekend together, and you’ve been seeing each other every night since. You’re so caught up in each other that he told you to bid whatever it took to win him at the auction since he wants to spend all his time with you and not get landed having to spend next Friday night with one of the matriarchs of the social scene.” He grinned at her. “Am I right?”
She stared back at him. It was as good an explanation as any.
“Go on. Admit it.”
She nodded slowly, still trying to figure out how she’d be tripping herself up if she claimed that was what had been going on between her and TJ.
“And what, you were in such a hurry to get back in the sack that the pair of you ran out of there before the night was even over?”
There it was! There was her out. She shook her head. “No. You were doing well up to that point, but we ran out of there separately, not together.”
“Why?”
“We had a fight. We broke up. I haven’t spoken to him since.” At least that last part was true. She didn’t like lying, but it wasn’t for her own gain. It was to protect TJ. That was all.
