THE VAST DRESSING ROOM was a beehive of activity. Adrenaline was high in the air.
Valenna stood in front of a floor length mirror as her make-up artist retouched her face and her stylist put some finishing touches to her costume. Her dancers were all over the room, stretching their muscles, practicing their moves.
Outside, she could hear the audience roar in excitement as her opening act, an Australian upcoming pop singer, strutted her stuff. The Rod Laver Arena was packed and the energy was pulse-pounding.
Oh yeah, she loved Oz!
“Vanna! Look!” Her bestfriend and personal assistant, the highest paid in her entourage, ran to her side carrying a tablet.
“What?” She couldn’t turn her head to look at her as Mejia, her Puerto Rican make-up artist was piling ten colors of eye-shadow on her lids.
“A new bid came in! You wouldn’t believe this!”
“How much?”
“50 fuckin’ million dollars!”
She managed to roll her eyes despite of it being closed. “Yeah, right!”
“So not kidding! Look!”
Mejia stopped doing her face. They both looked at the little tablet Anouska was holding.
Some guy named Damon Reed emailed her. He was representing a mysterious client who wanted to withhold his identity until the actual meeting tomorrow. The man was also asking how to close the bid and where to deposit the money. Damon said he would deposit 25 million dollars as his client’s surety bond if she will choose to meet him first over the other bidders.
“OH. MY. GOD. For real?!” she croaked.
50 million dollars for her cherry?! Even she was shocked senseless. Her ego, severely battered from years of ridicule from mean people all over the world who mocked her conservatism and from her exes who all called her names from prude to frigid, was fully restored.
A man was willing to pay that much for her virginity? Very flattering, alright. Very, very, flattering.
“Okay, that trumps all the other bidders. BUT! I need to see him first. He has to look the way I like or he can keep his 50 mil.”
“Are you crazy?!” Anouska protested. “Who cares how he looks like? For sure, a man who has that much money can afford to look nice.”
“No. He has to appeal to me. There must be a desire in me to fuck him. If I don’t feel that for any of the bidders, no deal.”
“You don’t sound like a virgin at all, Vanna,” Mejia chided her, shaking her head like a mother.
She shrugged. “I’m a straight-talking bitch. Always have been. I break bullshit, remember?”
Mejia rolled her eyes. “Breaking Bull. So clever. Your grandmother must be rolling in her grave now.”
“I don’t think so. I got my spunk from Gramps, you know?”
“The guy is asking if you can see his client before you see the others,” Anouska interjected.
“Of course. He’s the highest bidder. Unless someone trumps his bid.”
“I don’t think someone else can beat this. 50 million dollars! Cray-cray, this guy!”
“I can’t believe men would pay this much for a cherry,” Mejia commented as she continued painting her face.
“Well, this is no ordinary cherry, girl. This is the most famous cherry in the world.” She patted her crotch.
Mejia snorted. “What if they are all above 50?”
“Hmm. They say mature men know how to pop cherries better as they have more experience. My exes were all fumbling boys who blamed me for their sexual ineptness. Except for Kerion. That bastard knew how to kiss.”
“You know, until now, I’m still wondering how you’re going to choose the winner.”
“The make or break is the kiss. I will kiss all the top five bidders and decide from there.”
“A kiss? You’re gonna kiss a guy for the first time and you’re supposed to magically feel horny for him? What are you, Sleeping Beauty?” Mejia snickered.
“I heard a lot of people say they knew a person was THE one when the kiss made their toes curl.”
“But these guys are not out to romance you, Vanna. They just want to pop your cherry.”
“Mejia, I didn’t know you were this cynical.”
Mejia snorted. “After five heartbreaks and two divorces, I know when not to share my umbrella anymore and stop wishing from the stars for my California king. They’re all unfaithful anyway.”
She groaned. “I’m gonna write a song about you so you’d stop quoting Riri to my face.”
Mejia looked at her in mock horror. “Oh please! Do I have to listen to my shit on the radio, too? Knowing you, it’s gonna be played to a nauseating degree in all of America until it drives me to jump off a freakin’ bridge.”
She laughed. “You have a point there.”
“What if he has a small pee-pee?” asked Axel, her very talented gay stylist who’d been silent the whole time.
“All the better. I’m a virgin. I don’t want to be broken in by Apollo 11, ya know.”
Axel chuckled. “What if he’s hung like Peter North?”
“Who?”
“That famous nine-incher in the porn industry.”
“Nine inches?!” she spluttered. “Seriously?!”
“Uh-huh.”
She swallowed hard, digesting the possibility. Scary! “Well...I guess for 50 million dollars, I can take the pain. I’ve probably suffered more pain training how to pole dance than taking a nine-incher, anyway.”
Axel shook his head. “My gawd, Vanna, you’re something else.”
She grinned and kissed Axel’s chin. He was so tall she barely reached his shoulders. He was a prettier version of Dennis Rodman. “That’s why you love me.”
Sergio, the assistant concert director came in. He pointed to his watch.
She clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention. “Alright guys, show starts in two minutes! Time to thank the Creator!”
Two minutes later, dressed in a pristine white bridal gown that showed off her famous legs and her gossamer veil trailing behind her, she popped up on stage through a make-shift elevator propelling her some six feet high amid fireworks, before landing squarely on her 4-inch custom made above-the-knee black, gladiator boots.
“Valeneans of Oz!!!” she shouted.
The crowd of some 15-thousand Valeneans roared.
She was home.
It was past midnight. The bidding had closed.
For the freaking life of him, Gianfranco couldn’t sit still. He’d asked Damon to go to the Rod Laver Arena where Valenna was performing live. He had to make sure his bid came in before the bidding closed. He needed confirmation from Valenna’s camp. Online glitches could happen and he wanted to close the auction in his favor.
He’d been communicating with Damon on the phone. Valenna’s concert extended until 11 PM and it was almost midnight when Damon managed to talk to Valenna’s PA who assured Damon that the bid came through. But he didn’t know if he won. Damon called him to say that Valenna would decide tomorrow. That didn’t sit well with him. Tomorrow! That was too long a wait!
Damon came back to his suite at almost 1 AM.
“Why tomorrow?” he barked at Damon. “What’s so hard to decide between 30 and 50 million dollars?”
Damon sighed and poured himself a glass of wine. “Since you posted your bid in the nick of time, you weren’t able to read the rules of the auction first.”
“Rules?”
Damon whipped out a piece of paper from inside his jacket and unfolded it. “It’s actually in the bidding site but the nice PA gave me a printed copy.”
Rules. He hated rules. “Read it.”
“One, this auction is not about the money or the highest bidder. It’s about Valenna Jone’s choice. Posting the highest bid doesn’t mean the bidder has won. It only means he qualified in the top 5 highest bids from which Valenna will choose her first lover from.”
“Bullshit! Not about the money? This is a fucking auction! I’ve never joined any auction where I had to worry about anything else than how much money I’m gonna blow!”
“There’s always a first time, I guess.”
He grunted. “Go on.”
“Valenna’s virginity is important to her and she wants to surrender it to the man that she likes.”
Giane’s brows arched. “Likes?”
“Yes. It says here, the man has to appeal to her. If none of the top 5 bidders appeals to her, she will look from the lower 5 bidders. She will only choose from the top 10 bidders.”
“What kind of crazy rule is that? Why bother to bid high at all if you can’t win by bidding the highest? This chick is nuts.”
“Maybe not. She’s not after the money. She’s just simply looking to get rid of her cherry in a big way. It says here, in the event that Valenna fails to like any of the qualified bidders from the top ten, the auction is scrapped. It’s nothing personal but she does want to lose her virginity to the man she at least feels attracted to on a certain level, hence the need to meet in person before she decides.”
“Wait. Attracted to?” His lips formed a small smile. “Arrange a meeting for us tonight.”
“Tonight?”
“Yes.”
“But she has retired to her hotel.”
“Where is she billeted?”
“I don’t know. Her PA asked for my phone number. They’ll call tomorrow to inform you where you’ll be meeting Valenna. It will be a secret meeting, to ensure both of your privacy.”
“I want to meet her tonight.”
“But...”
“Go find out where she’s staying.”
Damon stared at him as if he’d truly gone mad. “When you called me about bidding 50 million dollars for a freaking cherry, I thought you’d gone nuts. But I figured you need some diversion. I know how hard it’s been for you these past months. However now, Giane, you’re really losing it!”
“How much am I paying you to follow my orders?”
Damon glowered at him.
“Two hundred thousand euros a month. I want to meet her. Now.” He snapped his fingers.
Damon whipped his cellphone and dialed.
“You know, you can call a number of your lady friends here if you’re so fucking horny.”
“I won’t waste my boner on them.” Oddly, that was true. He was horny as hell but his lust was directed at someone in particular.
“You seriously dig Valenna?”
“No.”
“Then why the rush? I’m sure you won the bid.”
“I want to make sure she chooses me.”
“Then you really dig her.”
“Just her cherry. Get to work already.”
Shaking his head, Damon started to talk to someone on his phone. After only a minute, he cut the call. “It seems to be your lucky night, Giane.”
He smirked. “Lucky? Got whipped today.”
“Well, maybe you’d score top cherry after that loss. It’s checkered lane of a different kind.” Damon wagged his eyebrows at him.
“Hardly. I’m paying for it. So, where’s she at?”
“Just a few floors down actually.”
“Here? In this hotel?”
“Yup. She rented the entire 34th floor for her entourage.”
“How come we didn’t hear about it?”
“The hotel is discreet about their guests. That’s why you like it here. Nobody bothers you.”
“She’s there right now?”
“Yes. She just arrived.”
“Ah...” His hands started to get clammy. Strange. His hands didn’t get clammy ever. He always had a good grip on the steering wheel with his dry hands.
“By the way...” Damon was reading the piece of paper again. “You have to comply with some important requirements here or she won’t sleep with you. If she chooses you, that is. Mandatory, it says here.”
“More rules?”
“Just practical safety precautions. I would do it, too.”
“What?”
“You must present to her a very recent clean bill of health. I can provide that. I have all your most recent drug tests and stuff. Another one, you must be willing to use a condom.”
“She has too many rules. I’m not even sure if her cherry is real.”
“Oh, it says here that she will present you with the latest medical exam administered to her by a reputed gynecologist in America, proving that she has never had sexual intercourse.”
“That doesn’t prove anything. But I will find out for myself.”
“I’m sure you have your ways of finding out, Giane. So, shall I go with you? As your chaperon?” Damon asked him in a sarcastic tone.
He threw Damon a sour look. “You go down there and arrange it. I want total privacy.”
“Okay, I’ll call you in a while. Bloody hell, this is so embarrassing. I’m going to bother a person’s sleep because someone is so horny he can’t wait till morning.”
“Not gonna pop her tonight. Just want to meet her.”
“A date worth 50 fuckin’ million dollars. People are very, very bored,” Damon grumbled and left the suite.
Giane smiled when Damon had left.
When he turned twenty-one, his entire inheritance from his dead grandfather was turned over to him. But he was busy racing and designing cars he didn’t have time to manage his finances.
Especially a fortune worth roughly 35 billion euros.
He needed an expert to manage his extensive portfolio on a close-contact basis. He had a dozen lawyers of various expertise at his disposal, but he needed a right-hand man, somebody he could really trust.
In his world, trust was a rare commodity but having that much fortune which everybody was after left him no choice but to look for trust he could buy.
He wanted someone who would accompany him everywhere he went, so he can monitor his money while racing in both the Pacific and Atlantic regions. Someone capable of being the caretaker of his vast fortune and at the same time be his confidante in some private matters of his life. In short, a gofer with a CEO capability.
Damon came highly qualified at just the right time. He was trained as a financial consultant at Lehman Brothers but suddenly without a job when the giant firm declared bankruptcy. Damon was a lawyer with a master’s degree in accountancy. The moment they met, he knew they’d work well together.
In his younger days, he was a hellraiser, but Damon wasn’t a bit intimidated by him. In fact, Damon was the only one in his employ who could tell him to his face that he was fucking up without fear of losing his high-paying job, which was exactly how he liked Damon.
They had a perfect working relationship, so far. Damon ended up marrying one of his distant cousins, Atia, so they were family, as well.
Valenna’s adrenaline was still up even at almost 2 AM. She was always like this after her energetic performances, alive even after a two-hour show full of stunts and acrobatics.
She took a shower and was reading a book in bed with a glass of wine to court sleep when she heard the soft knock at the door. “Vanna? You still awake?”
“Come in!”
Anouska came in. “The man representing the 50-million bid is here.”
Her brows knitted. “Why?”
“I don’t know. He’s requesting if you could see him, even for a bit. If you’re not too tired, that is.”
“I’ll decide tomorrow. He knows that, right?”
“Yeah. He seems nice though. British from his accent. What shall I tell him?”
She picked up her silk wrapper and slipped it on. “I’m not yet sleepy. His client is the highest bidder so I guess he deserves a bit of special treatment. Okay, I’ll see him.”
They went out of the bedroom. Damon Reed stood up from the sofa when he saw her. Anouska was right. He did have a pleasant aura.
Baba, his 250-pound, 6’4”, buffed up, black, ex-MMA warrior bodyguard stood nearby, eying Damon impassively. Baba had the disposition of a bored Rottweiler but he could move as swiftly as a feline when he wanted to. Deadly, her darling Baba. She winked at him. He winked back.
“Good evening, Ms. Jones,” Damon greeted her with a pleasant smile.
“Good evening, Mr. Reed. To what do I owe this late night visit?”
“I do apologize for the lateness of the hour, Ms. Jones. If it were up to me, I would never bother your rest...but...you see...” He began to stammer, his face flushing in embarrassment.
She took pity on the poor guy. “I see. Your client sent you here?”
“Yes! Yes. He...he wants to meet you.Tonight.”
She arched one brow. “He knows the rules, right?”
“Yes, I told him that. But...If you could just grant him a few minutes...He just wants to see you and he’ll leave right away.”
“Why doesn’t he just google me? I have tons of pictures on the internet.”
“I know. I’m sorry, Ms. Jones. I’ll tell my boss that he must abide by the rules. Thank you for your time.” Damon tipped his head in courtesy and walked to the door.
Baba opened the door for him.
She turned to Anouska when the man had left. “That was weird.”
“Yeah. His client couldn’t wait to see his prize. He does win the bid, right?”
“Not yet. I need to like him.”
“How will you base this “like” thing? On his looks? Personality?”
“Both.”
“I’m curious though. How many times will you do it with the winner?”
She paused. “I haven’t thought of that.”
“Fifty million is a lot of money, you know? He may demand ten rounds,” Anouska teased her.
She frowned. “He knows I’m a virgin. He won’t be such a savage.”
“Well, if you really like him, you can extend your association for a week so he’d get his fill. I mean, if he’s single, who knows, it will turn out into something more than just a very expensive one night stand.”
She made a face. “Nusha, you’ve been reading too much romance books again. When I decided to do this, I promised myself I would enjoy it. But to think beyond that is lunacy.”
“Come on, you’ve become so cynical after Kerion.”
There was knock at the door.
Baba opened it.
“Who are you, sir?” he asked the guest outside.
“I’m the winner,” came the baritone voice.
“Baba, who is it?” Valenna called out.
Baba stepped aside from the door.