Page 84 of Auctioned To Be Mine

I still hated it. “I know you can handle it,” I said. She was the most capable person I’d ever met. “I’m not saying you can’t.”

“But?”

“I just want you to know you can call me if you need an out. Any reason. I’ll answer.”

She flashed a smile. “Gonna pull a fire alarm?”

I winked. “That’s Drew’s thing but I think I can figure it out in a pinch.”

“Thank you.” She leaned in and kissed me. “I’ll be fine.”

“I know you will.”

She grabbed her bag. I walked her to the door. Dash and Krista were still asleep. I stood in the doorway and watched her get into her car and pull away.

I went back inside and started coffee. I sipped it once it was ready and mulled over the lunch thing. She was a grown woman. She’d told me about it voluntarily, which was exactly what I would have wanted her to do. She wasn’t hiding it. There was zero chance she was going to cheat on me with the guy.

I pulled out my phone and looked up the restaurant she’d mentioned. It was a nice place. I wasn’t worried about Victoria’s ability to handle Jeff Connors. She would eat him alive if he stepped out of line.

But the problem with men like Jeff Connors was they didn’t believe rules applied to them. I had to remind myself she knew how to play that game. She’d shut him down if he was a jerk. Victoria would walk out. I knew she would.

But she’d also told me she needed the sponsorship for the gala. Men like Jeff Connors counted on that kind of need. They understood leverage instinctively. It was how they operated and got shit done. Master manipulators.

I was not going to show up at that restaurant. That would be insane. That would be the kind of thing that would make Victoria furious and rightfully so. I had never been the jealous type. I respected her and trusted her judgment. But what if she needed me?

I was her boyfriend. Weren’t boyfriends supposed to make sure their girlfriends were safe? I doubted Jeff would do anything to hurt her, but he’d make her uncomfortable. I didn’t even want him doing that. I would prefer if she never had to see him at all.

Dash appeared in the kitchen doorway about twenty minutes after Victoria left. He looked at the coffeemaker like it was the most important thing he’d ever seen in his life.

“Please tell me that’s fresh,” he said.

“It is.”

He poured himself a mug, took a long sip, and then turned around and looked at me. He looked around. “Where’s Victoria?”

“She had to work.”

“What’s going on? You look stressed. Do you normally wake up stressed? That’s intense.”

“She has a lunch meeting today,” I said. “With Jeff Connors.”

Dash was quiet for a beat. “The Jeff Connors.”

“Is there another one?”

“God, I hope not.” He picked up his mug again. “Jeff is mega-rich and the guy is a mega-asshole. What’s the meeting about?”

“Potential sponsorship for the charity. Victoria is going to talk it over with him. She told me this morning.”

“Good.”

“I’m standing here thinking about driving to the restaurant to make sure she’s okay,” I said.

Dash looked at me. There was no judgment, which I appreciated. “Understandable.”

“But she needs the sponsorship.”

“And you’re trying to figure out what to do.”