“Next time a hot professional athlete rescues you on the side of the road, make sure I’m with you,” Trissa whispered in her ear as they took their seats.
Never in her wildest dreams would she have ever thought that she, Jada Dalton, would be bidding on one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL.
“I swear I didn’t know who he was.” Jada groaned. Her two drinks had worn off, and her nervousness was increasing again. Her anxiety was high because she was bidding with someone else’s money. She’d never participated in an auction of this magnitude before. “I still don’t know why he wants me to do this.”
“Girl. What don’t you understand?” Trissa rolled her eyes as she turned to Jada and leaned in closer. “He is the hottest man to ever touch a football in NFL history, and he is the top paid, single player going up for auction. These women here will be transforming into vultures as soon as he hits the stage.”
Jada’s gaze wandered around the crowd that settled in the plush chairs. The energy was electric. Murmurs floated through the air, and she heard Reiner’s name more than once.
“What if the price gets up there?” she asked, turning to Trissa.
“Believe me, with the contract he signed last year, he can afford it.” Trissa patted her on her knee. “Now make sure you bid on your man.”
“He’s not my man. We’ve only met twice,” she mumbled. Her heart fluttered with the thought of how his body had felt pressed up against hers at the bar. She clenched her thighs together with the memory of him in that tuxedo. He was only asking her to do this favor to save him as he’d rescued her.
“Well, the way he was looking at you had me searching for a fan. He wants you, girlie. I doubt you’ll be leaving here without those digits.” Trissa threw a slick smile her way.
“Whatever.” Jada tucked her hair behind her ear, trying to keep a smile from spreading on her lips. She turned her attention to the stage.
There was a runway that the people being auctioned off could walk down. Jada and Trissa were in the second row located in front of the runway. The MC of the event strolled over to the podium and welcomed the audience.
And the auction begins.
She swallowed hard as she watched the first football player march out on the runway. The crowd clapped, and women whistled. Jada turned to look at some of the women.
This was for charity, right? Some of these women were acting as if they were in a strip club. If she didn’t know any better, they were deep in their cups and should have been cut off from the bar a while ago. If they were acting like this with the first guy, she was sure they would be crazy by the time Reiner came out.
“This is outrageous,” she whispered to Trissa.
“Tell me about it. These women are acting like they are going to get more than just a date.” Trissa chuckled, showing her the program. “Your boy is the main event. According to the program, he’s going last.”
“How many people are being auctioned off?” Jada asked, leaning over so that she could see the paper.
“Seven,” Trissa replied as they read it together.
She turned back and blew out a deep breath. Her heart slammed as time moved on. The price of the men was going high. The last player went for more than twenty grand.
A waiter walked around with the complimentary champagne for bidders. Jada waved him down and snagged a couple of flutes for her and Trissa. If she was going to partake in a fierce bidding war, she needed something to help her nerves.
Time seemed to creep by as she waited for Reiner to come out on the auction block. She watched the woman who’d won the auction for the man whose name was listed on the program before him rush the stage so she could claim her prize. He must have been someone big because he went for a hot thirty grand.
“This is getting up there,” Jada murmured, knocking back the last of her drink in the flute. She placed the empty glass on the floor next to her feet as the energy in the room grew.
“He’s up next.” Trissa danced in her chair with a wide grin. “Have fun. You’re getting to spend someone else’s money.”
“Ladies and gentlemen. I think you have patiently waited for the next player who decided at the last minute to enter the auction to raise money for our worthy cause. This is his first time ever entering the auction.”
Jada jumped from the screams that echoed around the room. She narrowed her eyes on the stage and tightened her grip on her bidding paddle.
She would win this.
Reiner would be leaving with her.
She sat on the edge of her seat and waited.
“Ladies, get your check books out. It’s an honor to introduce our very own league MVP three years in a row, three-time Super Bowl champ… Reiner ‘The General’ Strickland!”
Reiner blew out a deep breath hearing his name called. He had faced down the largest linebackers head-on, but that was nothing compared to the nerves he was experiencing at the moment. He walked from behind the curtain and gave the crowd his winning smile. He paused midway and posed as if he were throwing a football. The audience went wild. He continued to the mark at the end of the runway. Cameras flashed as the photographers fought to get the perfect picture of him.
He searched the crowd and finally found the object of his desire.
Jada.
His eyes locked with hers, and his mouth broke out into a large grin. He threw a wink her way before he walked over to Tom Churns, the local news anchor who was the MC for the event.
“Reiner,” Tom greeted him with an outstretched hand.
“Tom.” Reiner shook the anchorman’s hand.
“I hear you changed your mind at the last minute about being auctioned off. What changed your mind?” Tom asked, pointing his microphone at Reiner.
“Well, Tom, a few of my buddies informed me of the charity that the money was going to, and I felt that I could really help out by putting myself up for auction.”
“I love you, Reiner!” a female screamed.
He turned and smiled in the direction of the screamer.
“So what are you planning to do with the winner of the auction?”
Reiner glanced at the audience again. “Well, Tom, maybe dinner and then whatever the winner would like.”
“I know what we can do, General!” another woman hollered from the crowd.
He held back his cringe and sent up a prayer that God would ensure that Jada won the auction. He didn’t care how high the bid went for, he had to win himself.
He and the audience laughed at the screamers. He smiled one of his winning smiles in their direction.
“Well, I don’t want to hold up the auction. Good luck, man.” Tom held out his hand again.
“Thanks, Tom.” Reiner shook it again before turning to stand in the middle of the runway. The excitement in the room was deafening from all the chatter. He could see by the looks of the audience that they were ready to spend money.
He had instructed Jada to bid away to ensure that she won the auction. That was the only thing that calmed his nerves, knowing that Jada would be his backup bidder.
His gaze met the wide stare of Jada, and he nodded to her.
“All right. The auction you all have been waiting for. Let’s start the bid at one thousand dollars.”
“Five thousand dollars.” A woman waved the number eighty-five in the air.
He nodded.
Not bad.
“Six thousand,” a small, familiar voice announced, waving her bidding number sixty-nine.
He glanced over and held back a chuckle. Of course Jada’s paddle number would be sixty-nine. Just the number alone brought some interesting images of him and his Jada to his mind.
His Jada?
Christ, this was the second time he’d met her, and she’d already become his?
“Ten thousand—”
“Twenty thousand,” a voice yelled out, the woman waving paddle number thirty.
“That was fast! Twenty thousand dollars,” Tom’s voice came over the speaker.
“Twenty-five thousand dollars.” Jada’s voice grew a little stronger, the number sixty-nine waving in the air.
He kept a smile on his face as the bids grew. He didn’t care how much it cost him. This would be a tax write-off for him. The last woman who bid sounded awfully similar to the one who’d shouted out about what they could do before the bidding began.
“Forty thousand dollars.” Number Thirty waved her paddle.
He walked toward the edge of the runway so his eyes could meet those of the bidders. He let a small smile linger on his lips as he waited for Jada to bid. He could see that she was nervous with the amount of the money that was getting thrown around.
“Fifty thousand dollars.” Jada waved her paddle.
“Wow! This is definitely a record amount for a bid on any of our star players.” Tom’s laugh came through the speaker. “Any takers want to go higher than fifty thousand dollars?”
Murmurs grew around the room. Reiner was satisfied with fifty thousand dollars. He would write the check the minute he got off the stage.
“Going once.” Tom paused. “Going twice—”
“Seventy-five thousand dollars!”
Gasps echoed through the air at the bid. Reiner locked his eyes on Jada, and he nodded as he looked away. He didn’t want her to give up on him. Yes, it was a lot of money, but he refused to have to take out the obviously drunk Number Thirty.
“Oh, my goodness! The bidding is quiet serious tonight!” Tom’s excited voice broke through the silence.
Come on, Jada. Don’t let me down, he pleaded in his mind. If she didn’t know who he was, she wouldn’t know the type of money he made. His one-year contract for this upcoming season topped twenty-nine million dollars. He hoped her friend was educating her fast.
His heart skipped a beat when she stood from her chair. She tossed her long, dark hair over her shoulders, and he could see the confidence in her eyes.
“One hundred thousand dollars,” she announced, waving her paddle in the air.
He wanted to jump for joy at the crushed look on the face of Number Thirty.
“Holy— This has been record-breaking! This money will certainly go to a good use. One hundred thousand dollars. Going once…” Tom’s excited voice rang out over the speakers.
Reiner smiled at Jada as she stood there waiting. Her sassiness was breaking through her shy demeanor. He didn’t know how many drinks she’d had, but she’d certainly broken out of her shell.
“Going twice.” Tom paused for that dramatic effect.
Reiner glanced around the room to the guests who were in awe that the bidding had jumped up as high as it had. He placed his hands in his pockets, waiting to hear those magical words.
“Sold! Come claim your football player,” Tom excitedly announced.
The room cheered while Jada moved toward the stage. Reiner locked his eyes on the swell of her hips as she sashayed over to the stage. A security guard, who had been sitting in the front row, stood and helped her up the stairs.
Reiner took a few steps toward her and gripped her hand in his. He brought her body flush with his, laughing at the sound of the crowd cheering them on.
“Wow.” She pulled back, her wide eyes. “That gave me an amazing rush.”
“Really? Well, let me make sure you get your money’s worth.” Unable to resist, he tilted her chin up and covered her mouth with his.