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Jules smothered a laugh as Gord turned and shook his backside at the crowd. The audience ate it up, hooting and catcalling.
“See? I told you so.” Gord blew an air-kiss into the crowd towards the table his husband was sitting at. “What is so amazing about this package, you ask? Jules Roberts, come on out!”
This was her cue, and Jules forced her legs to carry her down the runway. She had dressed with purpose tonight, wanting the attention to be on the Dream Date package, not on her. She wore a simple black cocktail dress and comfortable black pumps. The last thing she wanted was to stumble as she walked out.
The room was set up with spotlights pointed directly at the stage, leaving her unable to see much of the crowd beyond the first row of tables. The anonymity was a relief.
“I’d like you all to meet Jules Roberts, CEO of our very own Coastal Casinos. Jules graciously stepped up when one of our original volunteers couldn’t be here, and she is offering a fantastic service to go along with the Sports Fan Spectacular package. Aside from being the CEO of Coastal, our Ms. Roberts is certified in business valuation and will provide a complete valuation package for tonight’s winner.”
Jules smiled and gave a little wave. There was a smattering of applause at this announcement, which didn’t surprise her. Business valuations weren’t fun or sexy. She held her breath as Gord continued.
“Now, the offer of a business valuation should be enough to get some of you excited, but let’s add to this package, am I right? Who here enjoys some Major League Baseball?”
Several people shouted from the crowd.
“What about a little NHL hockey?” The noise in the room grew to a low roar.
“Anybody a Seattle Seahawks fan?” At this, the crowd went wild, whistling, cheering, and clapping. All the cheering ratcheted up her anxiety, but this wasn’t about her. They were cheering for the football tickets, that was all. Jules took another deep breath through her nose and kept a smile plastered on her face.
“Folks, this package doesn’t make you choose. You get it all: baseball, hockey, football, travel and accommodations, five-star meals, you name it. If you have a sports fan in your life, or if you are a sports fan, you can’t do better than this.”
Gord paused and let the noise die down. “I’m not going to start this dream date low, people. We all know it’s worth more than anything else we’ve seen tonight. Yes, there are other fantastic packages still to come, but this one is special. So I’m starting this one with a minimum bid of fifteen thousand. Do I hear fifteen thousand?”
Fifteen thousand?Jules was stunned. She would have been happy if bidding had ended at ten thousand, and Gord was starting bidding at fifteen. She hoped he knew what he was doing.
“Fifteen thousand.” Jules let out a breath when she recognized Daniel’s voice coming from a table at the front, where he was sitting next to Meg. Meg had promised, and Daniel was coming through for her. The bid was far higher than she expected Daniel to go, but she appreciated the vote of confidence.
“All right, bidding is started at fifteen thousand. Do I hear sixteen?”
“Sixteen thousand.”
“Seventeen.”
“Eighteen!”
Bids were coming in faster than Gord could ask for them, and Jules’s head started to spin, trying to keep up with the bidding.
“Twenty-five thousand.” The crowd murmured, as this jumped the bid by $3,000.
Jules froze when she recognized the voice that made the bid. Michael. What was he doing here? Scratch that—this was exactly the type of event he liked to attend: high profile, good for his reputation. And by supporting the women’s shelter? People would be less likely to guess he was an abuser himself. Why was he doing this? Jules had managed to avoid him since their divorce was final nearly five years ago. Oh, he’d reached out more than once, but she had changed her number and blocked his calls. After Ava’s birth, he had sent her a card and gift at Harbourview, and she had returned it unopened. That had been the last time he had attempted to contact her, so why was he turning back up in her life now?
Her hands were clammy, and her heart raced. Heaviness settled in her chest, and the very act of breathing took Herculean effort. Jules dug her nails into her palms, struggling to remain in control and not surrender to the panic that being around Michael triggered. She could not fall apart on stage. She would not let Michael see that he was affecting her. Jules forced herself to continue breathing through her nose, counting each inhale and exhale. The need to pay attention to the bidding was another distraction she was fighting, but she clung to the hope that someone, anyone, would outbid Michael. She didn’t see how, though. He had deep pockets, and if he had decided this was how he would torture her, he wouldn’t give up.
“Thirty thousand dollars.”
Jules relaxed the tiniest bit when Daniel outbid Michael, and she resolved to split the cost with him if he won the auction. It would mean dipping into her savings, but she’d make it work. The bids were now into the realm of the ridiculous, and Meg must have told Daniel to boost his bid. Meg had met Michael once or twice before Jules divorced him, and she knew how bad things had been between them. Meg wouldn’t let Michael win if there was any way she could stop him.
“Thirty-five.” Michael wasn’t giving up yet.
“Forty.” Jules wanted to hyperventilate. Daniel and Meg had money, but they weren’t rich. Not “blow $40,000 on a charity auction” rich, anyway. The fact Daniel was still bidding meant Meg was the driving force behind this bid. Relief warred with guilt. She had the best friends, but this was too much to ask of them.
“Fifty thousand dollars.”
The bid echoed in her brain, creating an eerie internal silence even as the crowd went wild. Jules could feel herself starting to fall apart onstage. Why was this happening to her?
The babble of the crowd almost drowned out Michael’s most recent bid, and Gord jumped in to quiet them.
“We have a bid of fifty thousand dollars. Do we have another bid? Are there any online bids?”
