heard her on the microphone, announcing the beginning of the event. That’s when I felt every set of eyes in the crowded dressing room on me. I looked up to find each woman glaring at me, and I widened my eyes in surprise.
“So, Emily,” A voice began, and I immediately recognised it as Anna’s. “What’s the deal between you and Adrian?” she asked, raising a perfectly penciled eyebrow at me.
“Uh…” I swallowed nervously as the girls broke formation and circled around me. “Mr. Kingston? There is no deal.” I looked at the faces around me in confusion. What on earth were they talking about? There was no deal between Adrian and me.
Anna rolled her eyes and scowled. “We know you’re sleeping with him. So what are you doing that’s making him pay more attention to you than us?” She took a step closer.
“What on earth – I haven’t slept with him, he’s my boss!” I exclaimed incredulously, frowning in annoyance.
“You-” Anna was cut off as Suzie called out her name, and she threw one more venomous glare in my direction before sauntering off in the short green dress she was wearing, swaying her hips in the process.
I stared at her retreating figure in disbelief before turning back and glaring at the rest of the group around me. I wasn’t going to go through this shit again. I already went through it in high school.
“Does anyone else want to falsely accuse me of sleeping around while we’re still in our little support group circle?” I asked sarcastically.
The girls gave me surprised looks, before glaring and going back to their proper places. I rolled my eyes at their sudden lack of participation in picking on me as I settled down on my spot.
Jessica, the next girl on the list, was announced. She vacated her spot and we all shuffled up one more seat, moving forward in line. Suzie listed Jessica’s ‘qualities’ before the bidding began, and I decided to tune out then, texting Amy to tell her what just happened. Slowly, the girls in front of me decreased in number, and I tuned back in as soon as I heard number six, a girl named Sally, being called up.
My breath hitched in my throat as I felt my heart beat against my chest rapidly, and I slowly put my phone back into my small bag, trying to distract myself from the feeling of my stomach exploding inside my body, just as the biddings on Sally began. What if Adrian didn’t ‘take care of it’ and I had to go home with a complete stranger? What if no one bid on me at all?
People gasped as Suzie banged the wooden gravel and called out, “SOLD! FOR $38,500! Sally has had the most generous contribution so far!” People clapped and the dreaded moment finally came. “I’d like to call up our 7th volunteer for the night, Ms. Emily Johnson!”
I knew it was coming yet I still froze at the mention of my name. I stayed glued to my position until I received a light push from someone behind me. “Go!” she hissed, bringing me back to reality.
I stumbled out from behind the curtain and instantly began blushing as I clumsily attempted to straighten myself. Once I was standing up straight, I looked up, and my eyes widened in shock. There had to be at least 300 people here!
“Emily is new to the staff list as Mr. Kingston’s new assistant,” said Suzie in a playful tone, “I’m sure some of you may have heard of her. This girl is not only beautiful, but smart, caring, funny and feisty.” I gave her a look of horror, receiving a small smile in return. “Shall we start the bid at $10,000?” she asked, glancing around the large venue.
My eyes scanned the room and instantly found Adrian. He was staring at me with the same expression he had on when I wore the black dress. When I looked around, I found that most of the men in the room also had the same look on their faces, adding to my grief.
Someone cleared their throat, breaking the silence and the trance the room was in.
“$10,000.” My eyes flew over to find the man who had spoken. He had a bald spot on the top of his head, making his skin shine in the light. I tried to keep my disgust hidden as he smirked in my direction, and I went to look over at Adrian again. He was still staring.