Highest Bidder Collection - Lauren Landish Page 0,32

looks like such a tall glass of champagne. It doesn’t seem possible that I’m now going to be his property for an entire month.

All that is going to be mine later, I tell myself. Holy fucking shit.

“Jesus,” Carla breathes, her eyes widening at all the eye candy of Lucian. “He’s fucking hot!”

“You’re telling me,” I whisper, clicking through several sexy pictures of him on the beach, my pussy clenching at the thought of having this man all to myself.

After admiring a score of pictures of Lucian, I scroll down the page and my eyes settle on a bold headline.

Man becomes youngest CEO to make eight figures.

I click on the article and begin reading. Carla is as well, and I can hear the faint wispy sounds of her lips moving as she follows along. It's one of her quirks, but it's slightly distracting as I read about how he dropped out of college and started his own company. It wasn't long before he rose to the top of the corporate world and made a name for himself.

The article continues listing Lucian’s accomplishments, which I find quite impressive. There’s nothing in the list that gives me cause for concern. My anxiety ebbing a little, I move on from the article and skim through the next few search results. All of them are about the same thing, talking about how impressive Lucian’s rise to power is and how he’s the next big thing in the corporate world.

Holy fuck, he’s accomplished so much.

Insecurity stirs in the pit of my stomach, replacing the dread. Next to him, I feel like a complete underachiever. It’s going to be hard not to focus on his status when I’m with him. I can only hope that he makes me forget who he is when we have our sessions, otherwise they won’t be pleasant.

I scroll through a few more of the same types of articles spanning the last few years and take deep breaths, my anxiety ebbing slowly.

Satisfied there’s nothing else to see, I’m about to close out the search page, when I notice another eye-catching headline that makes my heart jump in my chest.

Young CEO headed for tumultuous divorce.

Married for less than a year, CEO and sole proprietor of Stone Enterprises, Lucian Stone is headed for a vicious split with Tricia Stone, formerly Morgan. The couple has filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences although there are several rumors of an affair. And not what you’d expect. It appears Mrs. Stone has fled their home and is staying with an unknown “former friend.” Tricia has been quoted as saying, “The last few months of our marriage have been difficult, and I simply can’t continue in this manner. This marriage and divorce have certainly harmed my image, and I have no doubt that it will affect me for the rest of my life. This isn’t what I thought we were committed to when we exchanged vows, and I am deeply heartbroken by the turn of events.” Mr. Stone has failed to comment.

I close out the page, feeling slightly uncomfortable and wincing with a twinge of guilt. I shouldn’t have dug past his company’s history, let alone gotten into his personal history. Shit.

“Feel better now?” Carla is looking at me with relief in her eyes. I wish I felt the same. It seems she’s just as happy as I am that nothing dastardly has shown up on Lucian. I probably would’ve driven her crazy had I not done this. “You found out that he wasn’t a serial killer... and I found out that I missed out by getting stuck with Bruce.”

“Carla!” I protest.

Carla gives me a playful smirk. “Just joking. But seriously, you okay now?”

No, I’m not. But I’m going to suck it up and deal with this until tonight. I nod my head. “You’re right. I didn’t find out anything that makes me want to back out of my contract, thank God.”

Carla smiles with relief. “Good.”

The rest of my day is much more productive, and I’m even able to come up with a kick ass costume theme for Debra’s after party; Subs and Doms. Carla thinks it’s an absolute hoot. She’s just worried about how Debra is going to take it.

By the time six rolls around, the exhaustion I was experiencing earlier is gone. Like I predicted earlier, I’m wide awake and I can’t stop trembling with excitement.

“I’m going to go freshen up and then wait downstairs for my ride,” I announce to Carla, my hands trembling with nervousness and