the other gentlemen attending the auction sign an agreement not to bid”
“Done.”
“Always a pleasure working with you, Mr. Townsend.”
Before she can hang up, I stop her. “Samantha, where is she?”
“Oh, Charles, you should know by now, every girl needs her secrets.”
The line goes dead, and I’m left standing there with my phone in my hand, and no way of finding her. One week and she’ll be mine.
It’s been absolute hell waiting until now to have her. And having to see her like this, displayed for everyone, is tearing me to pieces. Hearing me yell out my last bid of three million has Mandy turning around and looking at me with hard eyes. She’s not willing to concede yet, and she struts along the front of the stage, arms spread wide.
“Gentlemen, gentlemen, let’s be reasonable. Are you going to let him have me all to himself? I’m willing to spend the next thirty days on my knees, thanking you for spending your hard-earned dollars on me.”
That last sentence spins me into a rage I’ve never felt before. I stand up so fast, my chair topples over.
“Five million. Call the auction. Now!” I slam my fist down on the table, sending the drinks crashing to the floor. I’m the only one for whom she’ll ever be on her knees. The idea of her at someone else's feet nearly sends me over the edge.
“Once, twice, sold!” The auctioneer slams down the gavel and the curtains close, sealing Mandy behind them.
“Can we look now?”
I look down at the table and see that Aaron and Justin have their hands covering their eyes. They look ridiculous, but if it’s two fewer people seeing Mandy naked then I’m all for it. “She’s gone.”
Aaron breathes a sigh of relief at my words. “Thank God. We need to call and tell Lucky what happened before she finds out and stabs us to death.”
I see Justin pull out his phone. “Let me do it. You’ll just mess it up.”
“Maybe we should go home and tell her while we’re fucking her so she can’t get mad. God, this didn’t go anything like Lucky’s did. Why was Mandy naked? Gross.”
Justin smirks as me. “Hey, at least he had to pay what we did. Five million each was a steal for Stella.”
While Justin and Aaron are arguing, I look around the room and see the door I need to go through to claim Mandy. I start to walk away, and I feel a hand on my arm. I turn back to see the brothers standing there looking at me.
“Don’t hurt her.”
My first reaction is to tell them to fuck off, but I understand she’s like family to them, so I try to make it as polite as possible.
“I would never hurt her. Ever.”
Aaron lets go of my arm, and I walk toward the door. When I reach the security guard, he scans my pass and talks into his headset, triple checking that I’m clear for entry.
“Your mistress is in room fifteen, sir.”
Once past the guard, I walk down a long hall lined with bright red doors. At the end of the hall is room fifteen. I open it and step inside.
The room is basic, with blues and creams covering everything. I think it’s meant to soothe anxiety, but that seems to be impossible for me at this moment. A hidden door on the far wall opens silently, and out walks my angel. Immediately I see the room’s color palate has done nothing to soothe her mood as she walks toward me. ‘Walk’ might not be the right word. She stomps across the room, clearly in a fit of rage.
“You!” She points at me accusingly, and then pokes my chest. She’s taken off her wings, and a white robe covers her. I feel somewhat at ease now that she’s no longer naked for everyone to see.
“Thank you for your generous bid, Mr. Townsend.” It’s then I notice Samantha behind Mandy, contracts in hand. “If we can just settle this last bit of paperwork, you will both be free to leave the property.”
She pauses, giving Mandy a hard look, and I see something pass between the two of them. Mandy shakes her head and Samantha nods, looking back at me.
“Very well, Mr. Townsend. Your signature please.”
I take her pen and sign the wire transfer agreements.
“As discussed, half of the money will be wired to Mandy now, and the remainder of the funds will deposit at the time the contract expires.”
Once I finish signing all the