by T. N. King
“Is everyone here beautiful?” Megan asked quietly.
“Anyone can look good if they have enough money.”
She pressed her lips together and looked around at all of the beautiful women in the room. Even with the dress Tristan bought her, she still felt under dressed and demure.
After a few paintings and a porcelain, hand painted vase were auctioned off successfully, the auctioneer introduced a picture of a full sized yacht. “This baby was donated by Dr. Angela Spano from right here in Paris. This yacht is in perfect condition, approximately four years old and has set sea in beautiful waters such as off the Coast of Cocos Island in Costa Rica, Curacao and even Marsa Matrough, Egypt. It retails for 150,000 pounds. Who will start the bidding at 10,000?”
Tristan raised his marker and Megan looked at him with wide eyes.
“We have 10,000. Do we have twenty?” The man looked around. “We have twenty. Do we have thirty?” He looked toward Tristan as he raised his marker. “Thirty. Forty?” The man pointed toward the other gentleman. A woman in the back of the room raised her marker. “Forty. Fifty?” The bidding war went on until the price went well over 100,000. Tristan stopped bidding at that point and let the bid go to a gentleman in the front for 135,000 pounds.
“Did that just happen?” Megan asked, leaning into him.
“Yes. See? He got that yacht for a steal.”
Megan did not think that was a steal. In fact, she was sure she had never even seen that much money at one time. A few more items went quickly, and when the auctioneer introduced a weekend getaway at a holiday cabin in Geneva, Tristan looked at Megan, smiled and held his marker up until he won the trip for 5,000 pounds.
“So, how does this all work?” she asked.
“Well, the auctioneer introduces an item, explains what it is and what it is worth. The highest bidder wins the item and the money goes toward the charity. It is all non-profit and 100% tax deductible.”
“Wow, fascinating.”
“Yes. Quite.” He smiled at her, amused at how innocent she was. “Let me get us a refill on our drinks.” He stood up and took their glasses to the champagne fountain.
Megan enjoyed listening to the next auction and wondered if she could possibly get away with bidding for the fun of it. She toyed with the idea when she heard a very familiar voice behind her. She turned around and looked to see Jensen standing at a table a couple of rows from her, shaking a gentleman’s hand and smiling. Her heart jumped up into her throat and she froze. Of all places to run into Jensen Dean, it had to be in Paris at a charity ball? She looked at him with curiosity then noticed a blond haired woman standing next to him. She couldn’t see the woman’s face but she did see Jensen’s hand on her lower back.
“Kristina?” she whispered. Tears immediately sprung to her eyes. She felt an ill feeling in her stomach and looked down into her lap as she tried to control her emotions.
“I am not with him anymore. I am not with him….”
“What?” Tristan asked as he handed her drink to her. She looked up with a quivering lip as the tears spilled from her eyes. “Megan?” he asked with more sincerity.
She choked back a sob and grabbed her champagne, drinking it down quickly. She slammed the glass on the table, causing a bit of a scene. A few people turned to look as she wiped a stream of liquid that escaped from her mouth and ran down her chin.
Tristan quickly sat down and put his arm around her, trying to cloak her from the onlookers. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”
“Excuse me,” she blurted out.
She quickly stood up and pushed past him. She walked quickly out toward the ladies room with her hand on her mouth, trying to hold back any more tears from falling. She leaned against the wall and took a breath before opening the door. As she reached down a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
“Give me a minute!” she barked, turning around quickly. Her breath caught when she realized it wasn’t Tristan who went after her. Jensen stood there with a sick and worried look on his face.
“Megan? What are you doing here?”
“What do you care?” she spat. A few people nearby stopped and looked.
“What do you mean?” He put his hands on her arms, trying to calm her down but it only made matters worse.
“Don’t… touch me!” More onlookers joined the perplexing battle between them.
“Damn you, woman!” He opened the ladies room door and pushed her inside. He looked under the stalls to be sure they were alone before locking the door and imprisoning her in the corner with his arms. “What is wrong? Talk to me! Please!” His tone was desperate. “I have been trying to contact you all week, texts, calls, I have sent flowers…. I don’t understand what I did.”
She reached up and slapped his face. “I’m tired of this!”
He bowed his head, rubbing his cheek. “Of what? Why are you so upset?” he asked grabbing her wrists.
“Of your lies! And your infidelity! And you bring her here? To what? To taunt me? To ruin my night? My life? Do you think I am stupid?” she spat.
“Who!” he roared, completely confused.
“Kristina,” she whispered. “I saw her out there… with you.” She choked out a sob and covered her face.
He let her go and turned around, walking away from her. He pushed his hand through his hair and lowered his head. “I didn’t bring Kristina. The woman you saw is my sister, Stella.” He turned back around and looked at her. “If you recall, I wanted to bring you but you said you had to work all weekend.”
Megan looked at him, barely blinking. “What?”
He nodded. “I told you, I threw Kristina out of my life a long time ago.”
Megan calmed herself down a little embarrassed that she jumped to conclusions.
“Kristina was busy this weekend huh?” she asked sarcastically.
Jensen shook his head. He knew he wasn’t going to convince her that he was through with his ex. His forehead creased as he looked at her.
“What about you, Megan? What are you doing here? Are you working?”
“Yeah… yes. It’s a business trip.” She didn’t want to give out too much information.
“Why didn’t you return any of my calls? You had me worried to death.”
She scowled at him and went to the mirror. “Why are you so worried about me? You should worry about the way you conduct your business meetings.” She wiped her face and cleaned up her make up. “Keep your fiancée on a leash. Don’t you know it’s very unprofessional to mix business with pleasure?”
She grabbed the door, unlocked it and flung it open. Jensen’s face went pale. He knew what she was talking about but didn’t have a clue how she knew about Kristina’s little escapade when she walked in to his meeting and bombarded him with a kiss.
“Wait.” He rushed out of the bathroom. “Megan!” He looked around but she had disappeared into the crowd.
“There you are,” said Tristan. He came up behind her just as she reached the bar. She waited for the bartender and felt Tristan’s hand on her back. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she said forcing a smile. “I just need to get a drink. Do you want anything?”
“I’ll take a beer, Kronenbourg.”
When the bartender pointed at her she gave him her order. “I’ll have a vodka with lemonade and a Kronenbourg 1664 please?”
“Megan? Are you sure you are okay?”
“Never better,” she lied. He shifted his weight and crossed his arms.
“I saw… Jensen in the crowd.” His eyes were focused on her face. When she looked away, they stayed silent. The bartender served their drinks and she handed the beer to him. She stirred hers, took a drink and stirred it again. She looked out into the crowd, pretending to be interested in the people passing by.
“We can leave if you want to,” he said, breaking the silence.
“No. Tristan, you bought me this amazing dress for this evening. You have been nothing but sweet and a complete gentleman
to me. I am not about to let some jerk from my past ruin this night. We came here to have a good time and that is what we are going to do.” She took his hand and led him back toward their table.
The auctioneer finished up the bidding war on a set of wedding rings from a royal family as Megan nonchalantly looked around the room for Jensen. She didn’t know where he had gone to and wanted to avoid him at all costs.
“Okay, ladies and gentlemen. I would like to announce that the dating auction will soon begin. Would all of you who signed up for this event please make your way up to the stage? I would love to announce that we have nine participants in our dating auction this year. The crowd applauded as Megan leaned toward Tristan.
“Wish me luck,” she said.
He kissed her cheek and smirked at her as she made her way to the front. The auctioneer had them all stand up on the stage so the crowd could get a good look at each one before ushering them off the stage. They formed a line as the first woman went up and waited for the auction to begin.
“Introducing Abigale Admonte. She is originally from Versailles and resides here in Paris. She is 28 years old and a veteran at our charity balls for the past five years. Can we start the bidding at 5,000 pounds?”
Megan felt her nerves starting to get the best of her as thoughts of no one bidding on her went through her mind. She didn’t know why she was always so insecure, but she did know how embarrassing it was going to be if Tristan was the only one who bid on her. Then another thought hit her as she looked around for Jensen. Would he dare bid on her? Her stomach started to hurt.
The woman in front of her turned around and looked at her. “Hello. You are Megan, right?”
“Yes. How… did you know that?”
“I am Stella. Stella Dean,” she said smiling. She put her hand out and Megan reluctantly shook it. “Jensen’s sister.”
“Oh! I… um… hello. I’m surprised to see you here. It’s nice to meet you.”
“You also. My brother was right.”
“About what?”
“You are a pretty little thing.”
“He… talks about me?”
“All the time, yes. I briefly saw you talking to him earlier. It’s so nice to see you back together. He really loves you.”
Megan forced a smile as the auctioneer wrapped up the bidding for the seventh woman in line. She didn’t have the heart to correct Stella, nor did she have the opportunity.
“I guess it is my turn,” Stella smiled. “Good luck.”
“You too.”
Jensen’s sister took the stage and the bidding began.
He loves me?
Megan looked out over the crowd, rubbing her arms and trying to calm her nerves.
Why did I sign up for this, she thought.
“7,000 going once, going twice. Sold to number 584. Congratulations. And our last auction of the night, Miss Megan Jenkins.” The crowd lightly applauded. “Miss Jenkins grew up in London England and loves long walks on the beach.”
Megan caught Tristan’s stare and he winked at her, giving her the confidence she needed to make it through. She smiled and took a deep breath. She scanned the room and saw Jensen in the middle of the crowd, his eyes dead set on hers. He looked furious and when he glanced over toward Tristan then back at Megan, she knew why.
“Oh, God,” she whispered. She lost her smile and found the sick feeling she had in her stomach she previously got rid of. Jensen turned and walked away, out of the crowd.
“She is an avid reader and likes her quiet time, but does like the occasional night out on the town. Who will start the bidding at 2,000 pounds?”
Tristan held up his marker.
“We have 2,000. Do we have 3,000?” Another gentleman in the back raised his marker. Megan was pleasantly surprised. “3,000. Do we have four?” Someone else put their marker up, making Megan giggle to herself. When the auction bid got up to 9,000 pounds, she looked at Tristan and shook her finger at him to remind him of his little side wager.
“We have nine. Do we have ten?” The gentleman in the back acknowledged. “Ten. Fifteen?” The auctioneer pointed toward the back. “Fifteen. Do we have twenty?” He pointed again. “Twenty. Thirty?” Megan started blushing at the amount of the bid. She found it hard to believe that so many were interested in a single date with her.
“Forty. Do we have fifty?” Tristan raised his marker. “Fifty. Sixty?” The auctioneer looked at the man in the back. “Sixty to you, sir?” The man smiled and shook his head no. “Fifty going once…fifty going twice.”
Megan smiled at Tristan, thrilled at the outcome.
“Sixty,” yelled a voice in the crowd. Megan gasped and looked quickly in the direction of the voice. Jensen stood on the other side of the room with his marker up. Megan covered her mouth, shocked and upset. She looked at Tristan with wide eyes. His smile faded and he scowled, raising his marker up.
“70,000!” Tristan yelled. He wasn’t about to let his arch enemy win Megan over.
"80,000,” said Jensen calmly.
Tristan clenched his jaw together. “90,000.”
“100,000.”
The crowd started murmuring amongst themselves and looking from Tristan to Jensen to Megan. They were all curious as to why this woman on the stage was so spectacular that two wealthy men would have such a bidding war against each other for one date with her.
“110,000,” said Tristan.
Megan’s embarrassment was growing and she wanted to run off the stage and end this charade. The auctioneer had stopped trying to control it and stood to the side with his hands behind his back, smiling from ear to ear.
“Five… hundred… thousand,” said Jensen slowly, staring at her. She looked at Tristan with wide eyes, shocked at the huge jump in Jensen’s offer. When Tristan didn’t counter offer, Megan begged him with her eyes.
The auctioneer stepped forward and looked at both men. “500,000 going once. 500,000 going twice.” He looked at Tristan.
“Tristan, please?” Megan whispered but he looked away.
“500,000 pounds, ladies and gentlemen!” The crowd erupted in a loud applause as Tristan looked over at Jensen. Jensen looked back with a smirk on his face as he lowered his marker.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Back in London, Megan paced back and forth in her office, nervous at how Tristan was going to react when he got there. She kept looking at the clock on the wall, wondering where he was. He hadn’t talked to her at all since the charity ball and she was worried that he was angry with himself that he failed to win her in the auction.
She sat in her office chair and recalled the events of the night. Jensen’s sister’s words still haunted her. It’s so nice to see you back together. He really loves you. How could she not have known about Kristina? She was Jensen’s sister. She couldn’t understand that.
She couldn’t understand why Jensen bid a half a million pounds for a single date with her either. After the auction was over, and the crowd started to dissipate, the auctioneer introduced her to Jensen as if they were meeting for the first time.
“Let’s schedule something within the week, if that is possible,” said the auctioneer.
“I would rather take her out to this lovely little restaurant in London if that is okay.”
“Oh, are you from London also?” asked the auctioneer.
“I am,” he said, smiling at Megan. She stood there with her arms crossed, scowling at him.
“Well, then I don’t see any harm in that.”
“I will contact her soon, if she is willing to give me a good working phone number.”
She knew what he was doing and she hated him for it. She rattled off the number he already had and after his confirmation, she stormed off the stage. She had gone back to the hotel alone after that and didn’t hear from Jensen or Tristan the whole night. The next morning, the train ride back to London was long and quiet and a separate car picked her up at the train station and dropped her off at her apartment.
She dec
ided to drown herself in her work until she saw Tristan instead of letting it bother her. About an hour later, he knocked on her door and hesitated before entering.
“Good morning, Megan.”
“Morning,” she said, waiting for him to break the ice.
“I… I wanted to apologise.”
“Apologise… for what?”
“For not winning the auction like I promised you I would. Dean blindsided me and came out of nowhere.”
“It’s okay, really. I didn’t expect you to overbid his ridiculous amount.” She still had a very hard time believing he paid half a million to a charity just to see her.
He sat on the corner of her desk, facing her. “I want you to be super careful when you go on this date with him. Keep everything in public and don’t let him out of your sight. I don’t want to see him hurt you again.” He caressed the side of her face with the back of his hand. “I want you to contact me if anything goes wrong. Do you understand?”
She nodded.
“I am very concerned, Megan.”
“I’ll be fine. I know how to handle Jensen Dean.”
“I’ll be out of the office during lunch but there will be a two o’clock meeting this afternoon. I put some notes in the schedule online.”
“I saw them. I’ll work on it before I go to lunch.”
He stood up and hesitated, looking at her. “Are you sure you are okay with everything?”
“Absolutely.”
“Okay then.” He walked out of her office and she immediately went to work, working through her morning. Just before lunch, a knock on her door interrupted her progress. She looked up and saw Black standing in the doorway.
“Mr. Black, hello,” she said, standing up. “Please, come in.”
“I’ll only be a minute.”
“What can I do for you?”
“I wanted to apologise for stalking you last week.”
“It seems as though there is a lot of that going around today.”
“It is out of my character and I am somewhat embarrassed over the whole thing. I was only following orders.”
“Jensen’s I’m sure?”
