Auctioned to the Sheikh - Holly Rayner Page 0,1
exactly jumping at the chance to be sold off like cattle at an auction to spend some fake forced date with a stranger. Or worse, somebody she knew from the office.
“Oh, why not? You’re a catch!”
Emily’s face flushed. She didn’t think of herself as a catch; not by her standards, anyway. She could certainly rock a pencil skirt at the office, but her unruly chocolate brown hair was an explosion of curls and she never knew what she was doing with her makeup.
“Don’t make me pull out the big guns, Em.” Lindsey grew quiet and Emily raised her brows with suspense. “Didn’t your aunt have cancer?”
“Yes.” Emily’s forehead creased; she’d only been about five when it happened.
Lindsey nodded sadly. “And if there were more funds going to cancer research like I’m trying to do with this fundraiser, maybe you would have gotten the chance.”
“She’s still alive!” Emily shouted with laughter. “We grab lunch once a month!”
“Even more reason to be a part of the event!” Lindsey shrugged. “Think of where you’d be without your aunt in your life.”
Emily went to speak and then paused, thinking better of it. She smiled awkwardly and pressed her eyes shut. “Linds, please, don’t make me do this. I’m way too shy for this kind of stuff. It’s a great cause, really, and I’m sure it’s going to be beautiful. But the night can go on without one more date for sale, can’t it?”
“Nope! This one’s all you, Em. You’re going to do amazing! Besides, you’re always saying how you haven’t been on a date in forever and how you need to put yourself out there more often. Why not rip that Band-Aid off nice and quick at my benefit?” she asked while enthusiastically miming along with her words. “Raise some money and do some good at the same time. You’ll be a world-class multi-tasker!”
“Can I say no again?”
Lindsey shook her head. “No.”
“Why don’t you do it?” Emily teased, taking a seat across from her friend. “You’re used to blind-dates, and it’ll be the perfect way to get over Tom!”
“I’ve given up on love, remember? But you, Emily Michaels, are still a young and enthusiastic optimist. Perfect for starry-eyed rich guys looking to buy a date.”
Before Emily had a chance to protest, she and Lindsey were interrupted by a network of beeps ricocheting through the office around them.
Emily furrowed her brows at the noise and the sudden hush of silence that ensued. She opened Lindsey’s office door and looked around curiously. Everyone was transfixed by their computer screens, even more than usual.
“Come here,” Lindsey said quickly.
Emily walked over to her friend and peered over her shoulder, at the mass email that had just been forwarded to everyone in the office. The subject read ‘URGENT’.
Scanning down the text on Lindsey’s computer screen, Emily’s stomach started to churn. The email was from one of the company presidents and detailed how reports of embezzlement had reached the higher-ups’ attention. Someone had been stealing money from the company and they were now launching an investigation into the matter, and would be conducting in-depth interviews with most of the staff.
“Wow,” Lindsey said under her breath. “Somebody’s in trouble.”
Emily nodded but said nothing. She slowly made her way toward the door and nodded her exit to Lindsey. “I should get back to work,” she said in a small voice.
“’Kay,” Lindsey said dismissively. “Hey, Em!”
Emily peered back into the office and cocked her brows curiously.
“You think about that fundraiser!”
She breathed shakily and politely left the room, making her way back to her cubicle. She sat at her desk and looked up at her computer screen to see the same email displayed on the screen in front of her. Her stomach began to twist as she clicked the box closed and quickly left her desk.
It was all Emily could do not to run full steam ahead to the restroom. Instead, she made slow strides, trying to come off cool and collected, before storming into the bathroom. She put all the subtlety she’d ever learned from awkward family dinners and relationships gone by to good use and checked all the stalls as casually as she could. Once she found that she was alone in the bathroom she could finally relent to the meltdown she was having within.
She walked to the bathroom door and locked it; heaving cold breaths in and out in sheer panic. Her stomach knotted over and over with a sick, white pain as she replayed the email in her mind, full