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I can see him in my peripheral, and I notice the slight sag in his shoulders.
I know defeat when I see it. And there seems to be no one else jumping in.
“Ladies bid at three million, five hundred thousand dollars going once…” The adrenaline rush is similar to skating out onto the ice for a game, the power of the stadium, the noise of the fans, and the rumble circulating through the atmosphere.
The rush happens a lot quicker here than on the ice, but I’m not lost to the intensity and the excitement of it all, as well as the anticipation.
Phil Davies shakes his head on the second call.
“Third and final call at three million, five hundred thousand dollars…”
He bangs the gavel down, and I glance at Maddison. “Sold to bidder number 30.”
She squeezes her eyes shut for a moment as the crowd applauds. I clap the loudest, beaming down at her.
Tess is beside herself while Mads attempts to let her clients know they got the house.
I feel proud of her. And realistically, I have no right to feel that way. I still hardly know anything about her, nor is she mine. But it’s there all the same.
She hangs up the phone after a moment while Tess wraps an arm around her shoulders.
“Well done,” Tess tells her, beaming proudly.
I guess it’s good she has a boss that supports her. She doesn’t seem like a bad lady.
“Thanks.” Maddison smiles, taking it all in her stride.
She glances up at me, her eyes shining.
“Nice work.” I compliment her.
“I think you had a hand in it,” she muses. “Thank you for your input. It got quite scary there for a moment.”
“I don’t think you needed any input, though we got Phil wondering what the hell was going on.”
“And I won’t get fired by my clients,” she laughs.
“We couldn’t let that happen.” I can’t help the need to want to touch her. The relief on her face at the auction being over and that her clients would not be disappointed is more than apparent. She’s shining like a sunbeam.
“We need to celebrate,” I tell her.
“I would like that.”
“You kids have fun,” Tess says next to us, clearly able to hear our conversation as we stand. “You deserve it, Maddison. That was one hell of a strategy, jumping in there at the end.”
We glance at each other. Clearly, Tess didn’t hear our earlier strategy.
“I have to go and sort out the paperwork for a minute,” she tells me.
“I’ll hang.” I nod.
I’m selfish now, and I want her all to myself. But I know I have to wait.
Whatever it takes to spend some time with her, I will do it.
It clears out pretty fast. Even Phil doesn’t stop to give us any more pleasantries. He’s out the door before I can blink, making me chuckle.
When Maddison returns and Tess has said goodbye, we walk toward the exit.
