CHAPTER TWELVE
“If you’re just another happy-go-lucky girl, trying to get me to introduce you to my brother, you can just leave now.” She said coldly, about to walk away.
“I certainly am not.” The firmness in my voice must have surprised her because she turned around and stared at me. “Why did you force Charles to buy out my financier? Why were you so adamant about personally destroying my company? First Date Boutique was all I had. My hopes and dreams and all it took was a snap of your witch fingers to end it all. Why?”
Vanessa was silent for a moment before a sly grin spread across her face.
“Ah. I know exactly who you are now.” She stepped forward. “The day Charles came home and started rambling about you, I knew he had fallen for you. He had those love-sick eyes. That disgusting, smitten look on his face. I knew it would never do.” Her smirk deepened. “I knew I had to end it. So, I orchestrated the whole buyout to keep you two apart. Brilliant, wasn’t it?” Her words were cold and heartless.
She walked away, leaving me there, in utter shock.
***
I was glad to be back in my room. I leaned against the door, feeling like the weight of the world was on my shoulders. My thoughts bounced around my mind, making me lightheaded. I stumbled toward my bed and sat down.
“Why did this have to happen to me?” I grumbled to myself. Why couldn’t she just let her brother be with whoever he wants…
I sighed and stared at the ceiling, feeling a burning in my eyes. I wanted to cry, but I wasn’t going to. I tightened my hands into fists and bit the inside of my lip to hold back my emotions.
“There was definitely something between us and she just had to go and ruin it. I knew I wasn’t crazy. I knew there was a spark.” I ground my teeth together. “I’m such a fool.” I shook my head, running my fingers through my hair, ruining the curls Emanuel had worked so hard to create. I didn’t care at this point. “Why do I always make the worst decisions?” I stopped in front of the mirror and groaned. Somehow, I had managed to mess up my makeup. My lipstick was all but gone. My eyeshadow was faded and one of my fake eyelashes had fallen off. “Great… now I look like shit too.”
I stepped away and took a deep, calming breath. I couldn’t let this get to my head. I just had to let this all go and move on with my life. I took another deep breath, finally calming down a bit. “I’m here anyway, might as well just go through with it.” I tried to convince myself.
As I walked around the room, trying to blow off some steam, I noticed there were some books on the bookshelf. I grabbed the first one and turned it over to look at the cover. A Girl’s Guide to the Breslyn Auction Club. “Finally, something that might actually help me.” I sat down on the bed and opened the book. Maybe now I would finally get the answers I had been looking for all along. Deep down, I had a hunch that this wasn’t a friendly little auction, but I wanted to make sure.
Breslyn’s Auction Club has been in business for the past fifty years. Established by Mr. Breslyn himself, it’s a place where rich entrepreneurs can spend their money on a night worth their while. As a Girl, you’ll find yourself on stage, auctioned off to the highest bidder. You will receive 50% of the money raised. So, the more you flaunt your stuff between various men (and women), the more tension you create and therefore, more money. Your goal is to go home with the man with the most cash in his pocket and give him a night he’ll never forget. This doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll engage in sexual intercourse with every man you go home with, but an attendee can request it while they are with you. Whether you oblige them, however, is entirely up to you.
As a Girl, you aren’t expected to do anything specific, per say. The only requirement is that you make a baseline of $10,000 a month to pay for your living expenses. Even if you do not meet this baseline, you can continue your stay at Breslyn’s as long as you pay said monthly fee.
The book continued explaining the basics, but I couldn’t read any further. So Breslyn really was a private escort service. I had no idea how all of this was legal, but I wasn’t about to argue with it. If I wanted to make it on my own I needed the money and $50,000 was simply too much to ignore.
Still, the thought of being auctioned off to the highest bidder did seem a little degrading. What if someone disgusting bought me for the night? What if Branlon placed a bid on me and won? Would that mean I would have to go home with him and face everything that happened between us? I shuddered at the thought.
Maybe, if I was lucky, Michael would be the one to win the night with me. I definitely wouldn’t mind showing him a good time. I grinned at the thought, wondering what kind of a lover he was. I had the feeling he was only cute and innocent on the surface. I bet in bed, he was nothing short of an animal.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. I jolted out of bed, the guidebook still in my hand. I quickly shoved it back on the bookcase and straightened myself out as best I could. I tried to smooth out a wrinkle in my dress, but at this point, it was hopeless. I would just have to face whoever was at the door, looking like a second-rate escort.
“M-Michael?” I wasn’t expecting him. I blushed darkly, remembering the naughty thoughts I had just had about him. “What are you doing up here?” I didn’t know if the attendees were even allowed in the West Wing.
“I just wanted to check on you and see how you were doing. Victoria told me that this is your first auction and I thought you might be nervous.”
“It’s…”
“I don’t know if anyone has told you, but I just want to let you know that you aren’t a slave or anything.” He smiled warmly. “You’re free to do whatever you want. So, if you don’t feel like being a part of the auction today, you don’t have to.” He held out his hand. “What do you say we go for a walk? As friends.”
I stared at him for a moment, wondering what I should do. “Are you sure that’s such a good idea? I mean… isn’t it against the rules or something?” Part of me wished I had read more of the guidebook.
“No. There are no rules. Like I said, you can do anything you want. Of course, if you don’t want to go on a walk with me, that’s fine too. I understand.”
“No, no. I do.” I nodded and stepped out of my room. He casually wrapped his arm around my waist and guided me toward the back entrance. “You seem to know your way around this place.”
“I’ve been here quite a few times.” He admitted.
“Oh?” I frowned slightly, realizing that he had probably slept with a lot of women.
“I know what you’re thinking. It’s not like that. I usually just treat a girl to dinner. Sometimes we do go to the bedroom, but for the most part, I just like to talk to them.” He smiled, squeezing my side. “I’m not trying to take advantage of anyone.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Hmm?”
“You’re a charming young man. Rich. You have a gorgeous smile. Why do you have to come out to an escort service to talk to or even meet women?” I asked him.
“Heh.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “That’s a little more complicated.” As we stepped outside, the breeze whipped my hair behind me. “And I’d rather not get into it right now.”
I nodded. Even billionaires had their secrets, it seemed. “Okay. What do you want to talk about then?” I asked. We started holding hands as we walked the estate together. My heart was beating faster than usual. Michael squeezed my hand before he stopped and looked at me.
“You.”