Auctioned to Him 7: The Contract

by Charlotte Byrd

  “Hey,” I said to the bartender. “You see that guy over there in the brown button up?” The bartender nodded. “What is he doing?”

  “Well, he is looking around. Okay, he is looking at you. He is staring at you. He is starting to walk over here.”

  “Shit.” I raised my glass to him. “Good luck to both of us, then.” I downed the drink and felt a hand on my left shoulder.

  “Hey, buddy.”

  “Oh, hey Tom. How are things going today?”

  His eyes were bloodshot and heavy with baggage. “Great.”

  “Ready for today’s adventures?”

  “As ready as I’ll ever be.” He ordered a rum and coke. I decided he might have had a worse start to this morning than I had. “How does a man like yourself get away with a weekend from work?”

  “Great employees.”

  Tom smiled weakly back at me. “What do you do, if you don’t mind me asking?”

  “I own a hedge fund.”

  He let out a soft whistle. “How did you get that gig? Help from your parents?” I could see doubt in his eyes. I took out my wallet, fishing for a business card.

  “I started as a day trader and worked my way up. I am pretty good with it, and so I figured I would let other people get a chance to practice their own skills.” I handed the card to it, and he held it from the corners like a photograph or item for a museum. I wondered if I should have waited for him to put gloves on first.

  He slid the card into his pocket. “So you’re good with finances then?”

  “It’s my job.” That part was true.

  “I have to be honest, I’m not having the best luck.” I looked around at the lavish hotel. This wedding was a huge expense. His parents must have been paying for it. I could imagine them both happily writing out a big check for their turd of a son for getting married. “I don’t actually know how I am going to get a house after all this.” He swirled his finger in the air. A man like him, I would have assumed he already had a house.

  “I just thought that anyone who worked for Google would be given a crown and a thrown in a palace somewhere.” I kid back.

  He chuckled and took a drink. “You would think so. Google is actually…” he stopped talking. He shook his head and took several large gulps.

  “Are they suffering?”

  “Far from it. I just might be. They don’t seem to be too thrilled with me.” He shrugged. “I don’t know why I’m telling you all of this. He looked up at me and then back down at his drink. He picked at his fingers. He and April had the same nervous habit.

  “I have a trustworthy face.”

  “That must be it.”

  “Sorry to hear about your situation.”

  He waved his hand as he finished the last of his drink. “Don’t worry about it. Let’s not talk about it. How are things with April?”

  “Oh, fantastic. I was actually looking at the wedding packages here.” I wasn’t the type of person who normally kicked someone when he was down, but I wanted to do this for her. It would be a nice way of saying I’m sorry and for him to feel miserable for giving up a great girl. He cringed a little when I said the word wedding. I wasn’t sure if they were harsh feelings towards marriage or towards me being with his ex. “She is doing really well. She has had several articles published and she is working on a series right now for the Huffington Post.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “I wish. Then I would have more time with her.” He nodded at me, eyes wide with surprise.

  “Yeah, they still have to see whether they want to finish this project or move on to a new one. This one might be losing its edge, according to April, but I wouldn’t know. It’s top secret so I haven’t read it. She always wants my opinions on writing, too, so this is a little hard for me.”

  His jaw was clenching and unclenching. He ordered another drink. This one was without the mixer.

  “The strangest part is how humble she is about it. I am so proud of her. I want to carry her through every room like a prize that I’ve won. I can’t believe she likes someone as boring as a day trader.”

  “Sounds like it’s going well, then.”

  “It’s going better than ever. You’re going to have to keep this between you and me, but she could be the one. I don’t think this wedding place is for us, but when I find the right one, that’s when I’ll have to pop the question.”

  “Relationship is going well, then?”

  “I have never met anyone that I am more in sync with than April. She is so kind and gentle and has this adorable quirky way of doing everything. She is funny and sweet and has this energy about her.” The bartender asked me if I would like another drink. I declined. I shouldn’t have yelled at her. Maybe I wouldn’t have if I wasn’t nursing a small headache. I didn’t need anymore to drink. “Her skin is so soft and her smile. Her smile is the brightest thing in the room.” I looked over at Tom and he looked back, blank expression on his face. “Sorry. I forgot who I was talking to.”

  “It’s fine. She really is something.”

  I could tell by the way he said it he was conflicted. This was April’s dream, to get Tom back. I didn’t want to get in the way of making her happy. I didn’t want him to get in the way of me being happy, either. All the things I had said about April were true, and I did really feel that way. I wasn’t ready to get married, by any means, but she is the type of person that I imagined a wedding with as soon as I met her. I was crushing hard. If the bartender wanted me to have a good time, I was going to have a good time. I nodded back at him. “How about this girl of yours? Wife material, apparently.”

  He finished his second drink and looked at me. “Very much so. She’s something else.”

  “She is beautiful.” I didn’t feel bad for rubbing it in his face, but I could tell that he was starting to. “You two seemed really happy together last night.”

  “I wish it was like that every night.” He seemed tired still. I wondered if they had fought too.

  “Weddings can be stressful. I’m sure you two will spring back when this is all over.” I ordered a drink of water. It was cool and soothed my throat. I had been doing an awful lot of drinking and not a lot of hydrating. It’s what my body had needed. I felt relief as soon as I took a drink. My hangover began to subside and I felt much better.

  Tom ordered another drink. He had time until the party tonight, so hopefully he would sober up by then. He swayed in his chair. I could see what he and April had in common, but I could also see how different they were.

  “What was April like when you guys were in college?”

  He laughed.

  “Between you and me, high strung. Type A personality. She had everything figured out and would finish her projects weeks in advance. She didn’t really have too many friends, at least not after a while. We kind of became hermits and hung out mostly with each other.”

  “Ah. Did you know Travis?”

  His eyes perked up. “I love Travis.”

  “Travis is the reason why we met. I’m actually from Las Vegas.”

  “I wondered why your card said that.”

  “Yeah. April and I sort of bumped heads at first, but the more I see her the more I love her.” I couldn’t believe I said those words. It had been too little of time to tell if I actually loved her, or so I thought. I didn’t know much about love. I had never been in love before. What I felt for April, though, was a stronger crush than any I have had on any other woman.

  “Well, I’m glad she found someone as great as you. Now maybe my parents will stop making puppy dog eyes at me and bringing her up in front of Chelsea. It’s getting obnoxious. They really liked her and never really let her go.”

  April peered into the room, two empty glasses in her hands. She was swaying a little as she walked, in a very cat like manner. She walked over to us and fixed her hair countless times before she reached the bar. She looked like her heart had dropped. When she noticed me looking at her she raised her nose in the air. She stuck the t
wo drinks down on the counter.

  “Hey, you.” I said, grabbing her waist and pulling her towards me. She smelled like coconut. I could see her swim suit straps underneath the dress she was wearing. She smiled and looked less tense when I grabbed her, so I kissed her on the cheek too. She blushed and straightened her dress.

  “Hello, Tom.”

  “You look nice today, April.” She had had her hair up in a messy bun and was makeup less but I agreed with him whole-heartedly. She had a natural beauty about her.

  “Thank you, Tom.” She kissed me back and I could smell the pina coladas on her breath. I ordered her a glass of water, making sure that she had the same relief I did. I put the little card the manager had given me back in my pocket. I’m sure we could make use of it later tonight.

  “I was just telling Tom here about your work with the Huffington Post.” Her eyebrows raised up. I knew she was a bad actress, so I did the talking. “I told him about how it was secret, though. Seriously, Tom, I haven’t even read any of it.”

  “I’m sure it will be great.” Tom looked between me and April. Instead of anger or jealously I saw something else in his eyes. He looked relieved. It seemed that he no longer actually wanted April. I wondered if there was something about her that made him call off the wedding, something that I hadn’t noticed yet. In my eyes she was perfect.

  After seeing April, I no longer felt mad at her. I don’t know if she still only thought of me as an escort, but I saw that she had felt bad for it before and would stop treating me like one. That was all I asked. If she didn’t want to be with me, that was fine, but I didn’t want to be led around and led on. It would hurt much worse with her than the others. I didn’t mind being a toy to the others, but with her I wanted to be a person.

  I wanted her to know that I wasn’t mad anymore. I didn’t have harsh feelings about this morning towards her, but it did sting. I couldn’t tell if she thought I was acting or not. I liked it that way. That way she made the choice for how our relationship was going to continue forward.

  “I should probably be going.” I could tell Tom had felt uncomfortable around April, and April felt the same way back. It would be strange to go to your ex’s wedding. Especially when they weren’t on mutual terms. Tom put a tip on the counter for the bar keeper. “Thanks for talking to me, Grant. I’ll be seeing you, April.”

  “Bye, Tom.” When he left he did look over his shoulder at her, twice. Both times he had been struck with a confused expression. I could see him teetering back and forth between wanting her and wanting nothing to do with her. I didn’t mind. The more envious he was, the more my job was completed.

  April sat where he was sitting at the bar. She was silent and not making eye contact with me. I couldn’t read her right now.

  “Is that a swim suit I see?”

  “Yeah.” She picked at her nails.

  “That’s a great idea. Mind if I join you?”

  “You have your swim suit on?”

  “No, but it wouldn’t be hard to put it on.”

  “I guess that’s fine.” She was being a little cold, but I could now see it was a front. She had felt bad about the fight too. It was obvious to me. I knew this was a stressful and confusing situation. Maybe swimming would be the relief we needed.

  “How about I meet you out there then?”

  “That would be fine.” She picked up her towel and put her glasses down on her face, beginning to walk outside.

  When I got out there, I had a hard time finding her. She was about shoulder deep in the waves, bobbing up and down as they crashed over and against her. They would push her towards shore, and she would swim back out, fighting against them. I joined her, showing her how to be caught in a wave, riding the top of it. She laughed a lot. She was becoming more and more relaxed and I was too.

  The bridges of our noses began to burn red and she walked on the beach as I swam against the current for a while. The exercise helped take my mind off the morning. It made me feel strong, and although I was accomplishing nothing by beating against the waves, it made me feel like I had more energy than I had used. I felt powerful. I loved to test my strength, especially in nature.

  Eventually there wasn’t enough time left for us to enjoy the water. Though we were quiet, we walked back to the room together. I felt like lacing my fingers into hers, or like brushing her sandy hair behind her ears. I felt like singing a song and carrying her to our room, but I wasn’t sure about that. I didn’t know how she felt. I knew one thing was certain, if I found out she wasn’t sold on me, and she didn’t want me back, I was going to have to make her. A challenge that gave me more pleasure than discomfort, I was no stranger to wooing people over.

  19

  April

  I watched the sand and salt water wash down the drain. It trailed down my leg, in between my toes, and was swallowed by the hole in the tub. After rinsing down, it was time to get dressed for the party. I still wasn’t sure what to wear, what to do with my hair or make up. Looking in the mirror, I saw my burn was already turning into a tan and my hair was half a shade lighter from being in the sun.

  I had had a good time on the beach with Grant. It felt like we just went back into the natural swing of things, but I still had my reservations. I didn’t know exactly what to say to him, and we hadn’t talked about the fight since it had happened. My woman’s intuition was in bad shape, and so I was stuck performing a routine for my apology in the mirror.

  I didn’t want him to be mad. I didn’t know that he felt the same way towards me. I had never done anything like this, so I had no idea when to tell it was genuine or not. I was curious how tonight was going to go, after this morning went pretty well.

  I started to think of a possible future with us. My parents already knew him, and he had the perfect story for his career. I wondered if he would quit his escort job for me. If he wasn’t doing it for the money, what was he doing it for? I decided not to think about it. It was probably every man’s dream to be paid heaping piles of cash for having sex with women.

  I brushed the thoughts out of my head. I didn’t want to get carried away with this. I wanted to be a few steps ahead. At the very least, I could maybe ask for a job as a secretary at his hedge fund. Then we could keep in contact and see how that goes.

  I knew I was being silly. We had only known each other for a few days. He had sold me, though. I liked him a lot. How could someone resist? He was handsome, intelligent, dreamy, and pleasant. I could tell my parents were already impressed and Tom was envious. I liked that even more. The best revenge is being successful. This was me going to the top.

  It was fun to have a little secret, doing a charade for these people. This was a stage, and this was my love scene. I felt weightless compared to the rest of the year. I was floating on a cloud, worry free. If all this went well, I would be better off than when I came here.

  I wondered what his parents were like. He had told me something about them earlier, but they didn’t talk much. He didn’t seem close to them at all. I had the opposite experience. Is that what drove him to be an escort in the first place? Issues with his parents? I stopped drawing conclusions about him. I am sure there was a valid reason for his life. It could have even just been the thrill of adventure.

  I went through my clothes, trying to figure out what would be the best thing to wear tonight. I buried the envelope that sat on top of my things deeper in the bag. I didn’t mind keeping it at all. I decided to go with the nude and black maxi dress. I felt the most comfortable in it, and I wouldn’t have to shave my legs, which I didn’t have time for. I put my hair up in a bun and did a cat eye with red lips.

  I rehearsed my apology once more before leaving the bathroom. I slipped on my heels and walked in the room. “You look lovely.” I looked up from my feet. He was wearing a perfectly tailored suit with a dashing bow tie.

  “You look… wow.” He smiled when I said it. His perfectly white teeth glistened. He could be on a commercial or TV show. His hair was perfectly
gelled back. My heart jumped. I could tell I was falling more and more for him. I could tell he felt the same by how he looked at me. We were going to give the bride and groom a run for their money with how great we would look together. “Listen, about last night,” I started the apology “I am really sorry, I didn’t – “

  “Apology accepted.” That was quick. I waited a bit for him to apologize too, but he stayed silent. I waited for a bit for him to say something. He straightened his tie and kept quiet. “What?”

  “Aren’t you going to say sorry too?”

  “I don’t see why I should.”

  “Really? After you threw that fit this morning?” I was surprised. I didn’t want to fight again, but I thought I deserved some form of an apology.

  “Nope. Besides, I’ve seen you throw a fit, too.” He said, kidding. He lightly pushed me back twice until I fell onto the bed.

  “Travis told me your real price. I can’t believe… That’s more money than I’ve made this year.”

  “Then you should appreciate what I’ve been doing for free.” He smiled and kissed my cheek. I felt warm, and I had to fight to keep my hands from rushing up to touch the spot he kissed. He saw the shock in my face. He loved it. It fed him more and more. He kissed me again on the other cheek.

  “We don’t have a ton of time.” I said. I wanted to make out, and I knew that was where he was leading, but if that led to sex we would be late for the party and I would have to redo my hair and makeup which would just take more time. It wasn’t worth it.

  “No, we don’t.” He said before kissing me on the mouth. He kissed me slowly, leaning over me. As he kissed me he pushed me back into the bed and crawled onto the bed himself, hovering over me. He put his hands on my waist and I wrapped my hands around his head, trying hard not to damage his perfectly done hair.