Page 38 of Auctioned to the Billionaire Surgeon

“Thanks.”

I hung up and stood outside the cafeteria, thinking. What in the world was I going to do? I thought again about Carmen putting a little pressure on me to do the Cinnamon Auction lately. Maybe that was the best thing I could do. I closed my eyes and leaned against the wall, trying not to cry. I knew it had worked out well for Nadine and Daisy. I wasn’t looking to marry some rich guy from the auction like they did. Of course, they actually fell in love. I knew the chances of that were slim to none.

That kind of thing just didn’t happen for me.

I wished there was some way I could control who ‘won’ me in the auction. I didn’t want to end up having to fuck some old guy for six months. Or an asshole.

“Jelly?”

My eyes shot open to see Paolo standing in front of me looking very concerned.

“You okay? I’m sorry if I upset you. I shouldn’t have said a word.”

I wiped a tear from my face quickly, hoping he hadn’t seen it.“No, it’s not that. It’s… something else.”

“Is it anything I can help with?”

“No.” I remembered that he wanted to do the auction. He just didn’t want anybody like me as his Cinnamon Girl, though. He was the whole reason for Carmen trying to get the Vanilla Auction off the ground. That had pissed so many of us off.“No, you can’t help me at all,” I said, with an edge to my voice.

He frowned, and I could feel his eyes on me as I walked over to join the cafeteria line.

***

Still thinking about the conversation I’d had with the lady from the internship program, I trudged up the stairs of Cinnamon House. Most days I still couldn’t approach the mansion in the exclusive Estates at South neighborhood without feeling awe that I was actually living here. It was one of the most beautiful homes in the entire neighborhood, and I lived here rent free. Utilities were paid for, as well as groceries. There was a gym in the finished basement. It was… amazing.

But today, I didn’t think about any of that. Thoughts of the internship and the auction weighed heavily on my mind. I opened the door, walked through the house and into the family room. Then I threw myself dramatically on one of the overstuffed couches I loved so much. “What the fuck am I going to do?” I mumbled into the cushions.

“Uh… Jelly? Sorry to disturb you, but what the hell?” Glory sounded pissed.

I shot straight up. “Oh, shit. Sorry!” I hadn’tnoticed her and had almost flopped down right on top of her.

She rolled her eyes, but she had half a grin on her face. She wasn’t really mad. “What the hell is wrong with you?” She tossed her beautiful, glossy curls over her shoulder. She had headphones on and was painting her nails. I swear, Glory changed nail colors every other day.

It suddenly sounded like a herd of elephants was coming down the stairs.

“What’s wrong?” Nia asked. Madeline, Bethany, Abbi, Nora, and Carly were behind her.

Glory and I exchanged glances. “Iwaspeacefully listening to my new mafia romance, so thanks a lot for that,” she grumbled, gesturing to our roommates.

I chose to ignore her. There was nothing I could do about it now anyway. “I just found out my internship isunpaid.”

Madeline blinked at me.

“It’s six months long, and I don’t think there’s any way I can still work at Sugar, too,” I explained.

Bethany walked in and sat down beside Glory, putting her hands flat on the table in the way she always did when she wanted Glory to do her nails.

Glory sighed and started.

“What’s the big deal?” Bethany asked. “Just do the auction. Isn’t that why you’re living here? I mean, we’re all going to do it one of these days, right?” She looked around the room.

Neither Nora nor Abbi looked happy about that, but the rest of the girls seemed either excited or resigned to it.

“Girl,” Madeline said, hands on her hips, “you’re going to get paid a ton of money, get a house, car, whatever you want,andget your school paid for. All you have to do is have a bunch of sex with the same guy for a few months. Easy peasy.” She plopped down next to me on the couch.

Nora, usually the quietest in the house, spoke up. “I get it. I’m not exactly thrilled at the idea of the auction. But I’m going to have to do it,” she shrugged. None of us knew Nora’s backstory, not even Abbi, who was her best friend in the house. “Ihave a plan, though.”

Everyone turned and listened.