The view was striking. Lips parted. Arms clasped behind her. Breasts pushed forward to accommodate the arching of her back. Eyes focused on the back wall and Audra beyond it. A tingling warmth crept up her spine and radiated out across her chest. Every single gaze was attuned to Natalie, no doubt in breathless appreciation of the beauty before them.
Who was Natalie Harlow?
She didn’t look like any of the Candidates that usually worked the auctions. She even seemed out of place as far as Quinn was concerned. Based on what little she knew about each woman, she was still surprised the two would even socialize. What was it about Natalie that convinced Quinn to send the inexperienced girl in her place? What was it about the auction that made Natalie agree to come? The questions piled up in Audra’s mind. She made a note to herself to look through Natalie’s file once she returned to her office. Who was the copper-haired Candidate Four, and how on earth did she end up in Audra’s world?
Natalie held the pose for a long moment before her hands were freed, then recomposed herself as she stood, her face brave in spite of what certainly must be an awkward experience for her.
“Gentlemen the viewing session has concluded. Please proceed with your bids.”
Every Gentleman in the room was on his tablet, bidding on the Candidates before them. Natalie cast glances at each of them but always returned her eyes to the back of the room, to Audra. She seemed to be saying a silent prayer. Though, for what, Audra had no idea.
“Let the first round begin,” Morris continued once he looked up from his screen. “Gentlemen when your winning Candidate is formally announced please collect her and allow a Concierge to escort you to your designated room. Candidates are free to leave when you give them permission in the form of their payment envelope, but we ask you to keep them no longer than noon tomorrow.”
Natalie would have multiple bids. Of that much Audra was certain. She was tempted to check, to glance down at the tablet in Morris’ hand and take a look for herself. She could only make out half the list but did not spy Natalie’s number on it. Not that it mattered. She would be the one to draw up the checks, slip them into their envelopes and distribute them to the Gentleman for delivery.
“First the unchallenged bids.”
The girl next to Natalie, Candidate Five, was escorted away with her winning bidder, a Concierge leading them from the room. Six more Candidates followed along with six more Gentleman. Natalie remained. As did James.
There was no way James Fitzgerald didn’t bid on Natalie.
“Gentlemen, if you please.” Morris started reading the multiple bids. Audra saw the bids lined up in singular columns beside the Candidate’s names, and sucked in an impressed breath when she saw Natalie’s bids.
“Candidate Number Two has two bids. Candidate Number Four has three bids. Candidate Number Seven has two bids. Candidate Number Eight has two bids. Candidate Number Ten has two bids.”
Audra paced back and forth across the room as Morris instructed each Gentlemen make their second and final bids. James worked his way across the tablet, making his final request. He had placed a bid on Natalie, and from her vantage point she could see that he had outbid the other two Gentleman by more than a paltry amount. On the other side of the room, opposite James, Natalie was visibly brimming with anticipation.
“Thank you for your bids, Gentlemen. you’ve outdone yourselves tonight, and we wish you a good evening with your winnings.” Audra had already turned her back to the proceedings by the time he started announcing the winning bids, heading for the door that would take her back to her office. Just as she crossed the threshold she heard Morris announce, “Candidate Number Four has a high bid from Gentleman Twelve.”
MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN
A s Audra returned to her desk, she forced her attention back to the pile of work waiting to be completed. The winning bids were already waiting for her in a spreadsheet automated by the software on Morris’ tablet in the Control Room. Each Gentleman had an account on file with the club, and checks were drafted by Audra to each of the Candidates. Once drafted, they were secured in white envelopes and discreetly distributed to the Gentleman. Only when they given to their Candidates were the women free to leave, having fulfilled their role in the auction.
Every Friday night. Rinse and repeat. The same as it had been for years.
She started on the checks in order. It wasn’t uncommon for Gentlemen to place bids in the five digits, but James Fitzgerald had truly outdone himself. As he didn’t already have an account on file, Audra would have to bill him for an annual fee plus the cost of his bid. The annual fee alone was in the six-digit territory, and by the time she calculated in the fee, the club’s cut, and Natalie’s bid, James Fitzgerald was a quarter of a million dollars poorer.
It was the single largest bid ever made on a Candidate. A cool $125,000. More than six times what Natalie’s friend Quinn ever made. Audra didn’t know if James was just showing off, or if he really didn’t care about dropping that kind of money in a single night. It wasn’t like buying a rare car or a ridiculous piece of art. It was one night with a stranger.
Unless he believed she was worth it.
Stop thinking about it, Audra ordered herself. She resumed drafting checks before moving on to processing each transaction in the individual accounts belonging to each Gentlemen. Pristine records were kept about each and every auction, down to which room the Gentleman and his winning Candidate stayed in for the night. She had to create a whole new file for James, noting with barely disguised interest that he and Candidate Four - Natalie - were in the penthouse.
She wondered what they were doing at that very moment. No doubt James was regaling her with his typical charm and good looks.
Audra’s phone vibrated from its place atop her desk, startling her from her thoughts and back into the present moment. Who would be calling so late? Hopefully not Celine.
Alas, it was not her sister, but rather-
Victoria.
Her hand hovered in the air inches above the vibrating device, unsure of if she should take the call or let it go to voicemail. Things with Victoria, or Vic as Audra had often referred to her with warmth and affection, had been on thin ice lately. While James made quips about engagements, Audra knew they were actually closer to ending their relationship altogether. Between Audra’s commitment to work and Vic’s booming career in cable news there was hardly a relationship worth saving. If either one of them had any interest in saving it. Which it seemed neither of them did.
Before the start of the fourth ring, Audra retracted her hand and tore her eyes away from the woman’s name on the screen. Two rings later the vibrating ceased, and after a moment the device went dark.
It lit up for another few seconds, just long enough to announce the waiting voicemail before falling back into sleep again.
Audra sighed and refocused her thoughts to the work in front of her. There were still things to be done before she could call it a night. And none of what happened mattered anyway. Not the fact that Natalie was the first woman to catch her eye in what felt like forever. Not since Victoria. Plenty of women came in and out of the Golden Palm, many of them beautiful and sensual. She didn’t know anything about Natalie. Nothing except she was now $125,000 richer thanks to Audra’s closest friend and business partner. An invisible line had been drawn, negating any possibility of anything happening.
Not that anything could happen. The girl was, after all, ensconced in the penthouse with a rich handsome man who would no doubt give her the night of her life.
Just as well.
It was after midnight when Audra finished the last of her work. After slipping the closed laptop back in her bag, she reached for the power switch on the first of the two monitors and froze. She leaned forward, brows crinkled as she examined the live feed in the lower left corner of the screen. The display showed the foyer, quiet and lit with the ambient candlelight of crystal chandeliers suspended from the ceiling. There, in the center of the room, was a Candidate, tell-tale
copper red hair cascading in curls down the back of her black lace dress. Natalie.
Audra watched, fascinated as Natalie opened a small black clutch and pulled out her phone. She tapped the screen before holding the device up to her ear, only to bring it back down again less than a minute later. She turned to the set of French doors that led out to the garden and pushed her way through.
What was she doing away from the penthouse? And by herself? It had only been a few hours since she went upstairs with James. Had he already given her the envelope and sent her on her way?
Audra switched off the monitors and closed up her office before making her way to the lounge adjacent to the foyer. It, too, had a set of doors leading to the garden. With only a moment’s thought, she followed in Natalie’s direction and stepped out into the garden.
Her attention was immediately stolen in the direction of the pergola, where a Gentleman and a Candidate were in the middle of a rather vigorous lovemaking session. It almost looked romantic, seeing the two of them fucking the night away amid the fairy-light covered marble columns and lush greenery. Audra followed a stone-lined pathway in the direction Natalie had taken, careful not to let her presence be detected by either the Gentleman or the Candidate. The last thing she wanted was to intrude on a paying customer’s time. She turned the corner of a hedge and found Natalie crouched behind a marble statue of Venus, watching the couple.
The Candidate was spread eagle atop a stone table enclosed in the pergola, arms restrained above her head as the Gentleman thrust in and out of her. Unmoved, Audra turned her attention back to Natalie. Watching a man and woman in the throes of sexual passion did nothing for Audra, but watching Natalie as she watched the lovemaking on full display in front of her? That intrigued her.
Maybe she likes to watch.
She considered how best to approach her. No one ever wandered the grounds without a reason. She couldn’t see the payment envelope in her possession, but something told her that the phone call Natalie made in the foyer was for a ride to take her home. Which meant that the evening with James had not gone as planned. Or maybe it had and it was already over? She couldn’t decide which outcome she preferred.
Just as Audra stepped forward to politely ask Natalie if she needed assistance, she spotted James, freshly showered and dressed down in jeans from the suit he wore earlier. He snuck up behind Natalie, startling her when he made his presence known.
“Why are you hiding?”
“Shhh!” she admonished him.
“He doesn’t care if you hear him, Natalie. Why do you think he’s outside?”
“That doesn’t mean I want them to know I’m watching!”
Audra stepped back into the shadows and continued watching the pair in secret. Neither James nor Natalie had seen her, and like Natalie didn’t want the couple knowing she had been watching them, Audra likewise didn’t want her presence known. Natalie pulled him back through the garden towards the foyer until they were both out of sight.
Audra cursed under her breath. She could either weave her way through the grounds to a back entrance far away from where she’d parked her car, or she could wait them out in the lounge next to the foyer. It was late, and she was too tired to make a long trek to her car. She opted instead to wait it out and walk the shorter distance, listening to the two carry on a conversation in hushed tones inside the large foyer. She only needed a moment to cross unseen to the exit and then she would finally be on her way home.
“There’s a view of the garden from the bathroom in the penthouse. I saw you watching that couple. You were clutching that Venus’ hips rather tightly.”
“I… I came downstairs expecting someone to escort me home, but no one was around. I saw the door to the garden, got curious, and went outside.”
“I should have known there would be no Concierge available at this time,” he sighed. “Usually no one leaves this early.”
“Yeah, well…” she trailed off.
So, Natalie was leaving early. What had happened up in the penthouse after the auction? Audra felt only mildly guilty about wondering, for basically spying on them, but her curiosity was getting the best of her. And it was the most interesting thing to happen at the Golden Palm in far too long.
“I’m guessing not too many of the other Gentleman are as actually gentlemanly as you.”
Audra rolled her eyes at the sentiment. Oh, James was a gentleman, all right. Just ask him. A charming, arrogant bastard with a smile that melted women’s hearts. Even her own sometimes.
“You may not be wrong about that. Though I would disagree with you anyway,” he responded.
“Would you?”
“Yes. There’s nothing remotely gentlemanly about what I’m thinking about right now, Natalie.”
Audra had seen and heard enough. She and James rarely ever discussed their love lives, mostly on account of the fact that they were technically in-laws, and Audra had absolutely zero desire to hear even a whisper about her sister in that way. More than that, she didn't want to think of James that way. They had the rare kind of friendship between a man and a woman that was completely absent of sexual anything. Apart from the fact that they occasionally exhibited the same taste in women, they didn’t discuss such personal aspects of their life. And their relationship was all the better for it.
She may have been watching Natalie out of curiosity for the red-headed beauty, but spying on James was taking it too far.
“What are you doing?” James asked Natalie after a protracted silence.
“Picking up where we left off,” she replied.
Audra turned and looked through the slight opening of the doors, hoping she could make her way through the foyer and out to her car unseen sooner rather than later. She sucked in a breath when she saw that Natalie was undressed and standing by the elevator doors in nothing but her underthings.
“I told you, a man like me will ruin a girl like you.”
“I know. So ruin me.”
She let out a held breath the moment the elevator doors closed on Natalie and James and they were whisked back upstairs. Apparently, whatever had happened to make Natalie leave early was now resolved.
Sure that no one else was present in the room, Audra stepped through the doors and crossed the expanse of the foyer, making every conscious effort possible not to let her eyes drift to the elevator doors and up in the direction the two new lovers were heading. It had been a long day and she was exhausted. As she got into her car and started the engine she accepted the probability that she would likely never see or hear from Natalie Harlow again. Not that it mattered anyway.
There were some lines Audra didn’t cross. And James was one of them.
The drive home only took half as long in middle-of-the-night traffic, and by the time Audra pulled up to her Beverly Hills driveway she was bone tired…
Until she saw a familiar silver Audi A7 parked just outside the front door. Victoria.
Audra found her in the office, her attention split between the open laptop in front of her seat at the desk and the enormous television that was bathing the room in the color of late-night cable news.
Victoria Conrad was on her way to becoming the face of political news on cable thanks to steadily inclining ratings week after week and a social media presence that would make a reality star jealous. Night after night viewers tuned in for Vic’s no-nonsense take on the revolving doors of Washington politics. She was the sensible voice of reason in a sea of sensationalist journalists towing their political party line. When she wasn’t entrenched with her producers in her D.C.-based offices she was glued to her phone or laptop in Los Angeles, filming at the cable news giant’s west coast offices.
Audra’s home had always been Vic’s west coast mainstay, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t surprised to see her girlfriend sitting at her desk as if the last two weeks of not seeing each other never happened.
When she saw Audra, Victoria smiled and practically jumped up from behind the desk to embrace her. “Mmm, I f
orgot how nice this is. I missed you, babe.”
Audra breathed in the faint scent of Vic’s perfume and relaxed into her arms. Her brunette locks still smelled faintly of shampoo. “Missed you, too. How long are you in town for this time?” she asked as she pulled away and set her bag in its proper place next to the desk.
“Just long enough to convince you to move to New York with me.”
Audra did a double-take. “You want to move to New York?”
“No, I am moving to New York and I want you to come with me. My executive producer informed me tonight the network wants to set me up in a brand new studio and move my show to nine on weekdays. Can you believe it?” Victoria laughed through her smile, looking as though she felt incredulous about her own luck. “It’s everything I have been working towards, Audra. The chance of a lifetime.”
Vic grabbed for Audra’s hand and led her to the plush white couch situated in front of the muted television. As she sat she crooked one leg underneath her and held Audra’s hands in her own right inside her open lap.
“Congratulations, Vic. You deserve it. I’m glad your producers are finally realizing the contributions you’ve made.”
“I couldn’t have done any of it without you, babe.” Vic stopped and considered her words, smiling as she clarified, “Okay I would have definitely done it without you. But the journey is always much sweeter with you by my side.” She leaned in and kissed Audra’s lips. Audra kissed her back on instinct or habit, and it was all too short, too routine. “I’m meeting with a real estate agent in the morning to list my condo. I’m sure she’d just love to get her hands on this place.”
There was no way Audra was going to have a conversation in the middle of the night about moving across the country. Nor would she even entertain the idea of selling her house.
“Let’s go to bed, Vic. We can talk about everything in the morning.” Audra made to stand but was left crouching awkwardly above her seat when Victoria made no move to follow.
“I’ll join you soon. I need to go through my inbox and check in on a few things. Wait up for me?” She was already palming her cell phone. Victoria never really turned off. On air, in her Balmain blazers, she was informed and tenacious. Off-air she stuck to a uniform of tee shirts and jeans like some Silicon Valley tech guru but was still informed and tenacious, never unplugged. Always checking her inbox or texting her producer when she was away from the studio. Audra had a reputation for being a workaholic, but Victoria Conrad put her to shame.
The Other Woman: A Steamy Contemporary Romance (The Bidden Series Book 6) Page 2
