AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My gut twists. The lies build up on top of each other, a weight that grows heavier with each passing moment. How can I continue to do this to Axel when his intentions seem so…pure? I went into this with one thing on my mind—revenge. Does Axel really deserve to get caught in the crossfire?
A pale, thin woman approaches and gently touches my shoulder. “They’re ready for you, Banks.”
“Promise me we’ll talk about this later?” Axel lets me go, his fingers holding on as our bodies are separated.
My heart aches for the doomed possibilities. Once he finds out the truth, he’ll hate me for what I’ve done. His feelings will turn to ash and all that will be left of us is betrayal. I knew the risks when I approached him that dreary night at a dive bar, hair sticking to my cheeks and my clothes soaked from the rain. It wasn’t how I planned our meet-cute to go, but I used my inopportune circumstances to bait him into feeling sorry for the stranded, lost girl who needed help. I knew exactly where I was, and what I was doing, only I hadn’t accounted for the random thunderstorm that sent me seeking shelter. I could have asked any of the other patrons for assistance, even gotten a ride-share and come up with another plan later, but I knew if I didn’t act, I would have backed out and never followed through with any of this. The thirst for revenge fueling me every step of the way.
“This way.” The event coordinator leads me up a few steps and motions for me to walk out onto the brightly lit stage.
I squint to avoid the excessive canned lighting and come to a stop beside a lady standing at the microphone in the center of the landing. I only manage to catch the very end of her spiel.
"…With a 4.0-grade point average from Stanford University, please welcome Banks Manor from Briar & Connor." The lady clears her throat. "Can we start the bidding at five hundred dollars?"
No freaking way someone is going to pay that much money for two hours of my legal time. I should have known this whole thing was stupid when my boss insisted I do it. I should have pushed, told him to do it himself, but I was too afraid he’d fire my ass just for talking back. Sometimes, and I mean very rarely, I know when to keep my mouth shut.
“Five hundred to the gentleman in the back. Do we have six? Six! Do we have seven?”
“Two thousand!” I hear Axel call out from his spot in the corner.
My heart does a flip as I try to make him out through the blaring lights blasting me in the face. Finally, my sights settle on him, a smug grin on his face.
I smile back and shake my head. I guess if I have to spend my time with any of these people, I’d rather it be him, even if I should probably spend those minutes telling him the truth.
“Ten!” another voice calls out.
“Sir, did I hear you correctly? Ten thousand dollars is your bid?”
I scan the crowd until I find the culprit.Lorenzo Savini. I’m not entirely sure why I’m surprised, and yet, I am.
He nods his approval, and I bite at the inside of my lip. There’s no way Axel will outbid him, and even if he did, I could never allow him to pay that much money just to win whatever pissing match they’re currently having.
"Twenty." Axel stands taller, not backing down from Savini's display of masculinity.
A collective gasp fills the room, followed by only the sound of the crackling from the speakers.
"Fifty thousand," Savini says like he's not bidding my entire salary for the year.
Instead of silence, the crowd cheers, applause overpowering the thunderous pulse of my heart.
Fifty. Thousand. Dollars.
Is he fucking insane?
I meet his gaze, both somehow wild and steady all the same time.
Yeah, he’s crazy, that much is true, but so am I.
CHAPTERFOUR
“You don’t have to go through with this,” Axel pleads with me over the phone. “I can contact the venue and see if I can buy out his bid.”
I sigh, shifting my cell from one side to the other, pinching it between my face and shoulder. “It’s a legally binding contract, Axel.”
“There has to be something I can do.” Axel’s voice is strained.
“It’s fine, really. You worry too much.”
“And you don’t worry enough.” He pauses and adds, “I wasn’t joking, Banks, he’s a bad man. You don’t know the things he’s done.”
