Page 26 of Auctioned To Be Mine

“Two hundred thousand going once,” the auctioneer said.

I looked at Victoria again. She was smiling now, a small, satisfied smile that made me want to both throttle her and kiss her at the same time. This was her victory, and she knew it.

I briefly considered jumping off the stage and making a run for it. Drew would understand. Dad might kill me, but Drew would understand.

“Two hundred thousand going twice,” the auctioneer said.

Even I was speechless. The crowd murmured. Everyone stared at Chantilly like she was crazy. She totally was, and they were just going to let her purchase me?

“Sold!” the auctioneer’s voice rang out. “To the woman in the peacock outfit for two hundred thousand dollars!”

The crowd erupted in applause. Chantilly was jumping up and down, waving her paddle like she’d just won the lottery.

My stomach sank.

I walked off stage to thunderous applause, but I barely heard it. All I could think about was the fact that I was going to have to sit through an entire dinner with Chantilly. She was going to film the whole thing. She was going to treat our dinner like it was the beginning of our epic love story.

And it was all Victoria’s fault.

10

VICTORIA

Isat in my tiny cubicle, surrounded by spreadsheets and donation receipts, trying to make sense of the numbers on my screen. The auction had been a massive success. We’d raised more than we’d ever dreamed possible. Betty had actually cried when she saw the final total. Happy tears, the kind that made all the stress and planning worth it.

My phone rang, interrupting my concentration. I glanced at the screen and saw a number I didn’t recognize.

“Victoria Cavendish.”

“Hi! It’s Chantilly!”

I inwardly groaned. The woman was a lot to handle. I hated to admit that I completely understood why there had been a fire alarm pulled to get away from her. I might have been inclined to commit a felony to escape her company as well. But she was a donor. Our biggest donor and that deserved my time and respect.

“Chantilly. Hi. How are you?”

“I’m amazing! So amazing. That’s actually why I’m calling.” She paused, and I could hear what sounded like wind in the background. And was that a boat horn? “I have some news. Bad news, I guess. Or good news for me, but maybe bad news for you?”

My stomach dropped. “What’s going on?”

“So, I can’t make it to the dinner with Callum this Saturday.”

Relief flooded through me so quickly I almost laughed. “Oh. That’s—I mean, that’s okay. We can reschedule. It doesn’t have to be this weekend.”

“Here’s the thing—I met someone. Like, the someone. We’re like, so in love. It’s crazy. We’ve only been together for a few days, but I just know, you know? And he would be so jealous if I went out with Callum. Like, so jealous. And I’m not actually in town. We’re on our way to Ibiza on his yacht!”

“That’s completely understandable,” I said, trying to keep my voice professional. “Really, it’s not a problem at all. You made your donation, and that’s what matters. The dinner was just a bonus. You don’t actually have to go to dinner.”

“I don’t want to feel like I paid for nothing.”

I hoped she wasn’t going to try and back out of her donation. There were forms signed. I knew we couldn’t force someone to give us money, but we did try and cover our asses. It had happened before. Someone gets buyer’s remorse and changes their mind. They get all the good press from promising to pay and none of the negative press when they back out.

I frowned at my computer screen. “You didn’t pay for nothing. You paid to support sick children and their families. That’s everything. And you are one of our gold donors. You’ll have a plaque and be featured in the press release.”

“I know, but still. I want someone to actually go out to the dinner. And I’ve already decided who.”

I didn’t think there was anything in the rules about that. And it would be funny. Callum had probably already worked out a new escape plan. I hoped she chose someone even more obnoxious than she was—if such a person existed.

“I would need her name,” I said.