I’m not losing my father’s company and I’m not ending up dead courtesy of the Ivanov bratva. I don’t give a damn who you have to sleep with. It’s one fucking night. Get over it.”
I started to walk past him when he again grabbed my wrist and spun me toward him. “What will it be, Briana? Dignity or hog-tied? Either one will work to inflate your price.”
The images of what he said went through my head.
“Dignity,” I said with an eerie calm. “When this is over, if Ivanov doesn’t kill you, I will.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Cameron
I make a phone call to the private helicopter company. “Mr. Kidwell?”
“Yes. Please have the chopper brought to the island. I’m leaving early.”
“Of course, sir.”
“No, wait.”
She holds her tongue over the line, probably rolling her eyes at the foibles of the rich. I’m not usually indecisive. Only one person has ever made me that way.
There were many reasons I left Detroit. A floundering economy and the bitter cold. Our father built a tiny empire of appliance stores. He left it to Curtis and me. Two brothers. A lifetime of rivalry. I could say I left when Curtis tried to force me out, but the truth is I could have fought him. He was already unethical then. I had enough to put him in jail if I wanted to. The real reason why I left Detroit wasn’t the recession or the weather. It wasn’t even my brother. The reason why I left was Briana.
For whatever reason, she chose Curtis. She wanted him. She put his goddamn pawn shop ring on her finger, and I didn’t want her heartbroken. So I walked away from my small inheritance, one-half of the appliance shops. I walked away from her because it hurt too much to watch her with him.
“Leave the schedule,” I say over the phone. “I’ll stay the night.”
It would be better to leave now, not to see her on that pedestal. Not to see men bidding on her sweet body. Not to be tempted to bid myself. She wanted Curtis. She chose him. She chose this.
Except no woman really would, would they?
Even if she’s head over heels in love with my brother, does she really understand what she’s giving up for him? There’s a stain that can never be fully removed, being sold in a room full of strangers. Having sex with someone who paid for the use of her.
I find myself putting on my tux, donning that costume of the businessman, the billionaire. It doesn’t matter if I actually am that person according to my investment portfolio. I’ll always be the scrawny kid from the shitty part of Detroit. This is always a part that I play.
Across the white sand and the carefully manicured strip of jungle, the mansion glitters.
Mr. Knapp made it clear that he expected me to purchase her.
I’d have the right to touch her, to fuck her. To do anything I want, even if what I most want is simply to hold her. Unrequited love is a fuck you from the universe. And then what? Give her back to Curtis? I’m not sure I could. I’m not sure I should if this is how he treats her.
Maybe she’s better off with me even if I have to buy her.
A massive staircase leads to the mansion. An upscale Alpine lift brings people from their huts to the top of the mountain because heels aren’t made for stone steps. I prefer to walk. I want the burn in my thighs to distract me from what’s about to happen.
I might be coming back down the island in possession of a woman.
Half a mile of steps. I’m almost late. Everyone’s already crowded into the ballroom, the men hungry with lust, the women glittering with avarice. They don’t mind watching a woman get sold as long as it’s not them. The pedestal is still empty.
Mr. Knapp stands at a podium. His eyes narrow when he sees me. He’s pleased.
At least someone’s happy.
Mrs. Changueng and Mr. Shah are here in the room, ready for me to make a deal with them. Gabriel Miller is expecting me to come back with sizable property and shares. I don’t give a fuck about that right now.
I only have eyes on the marble wall at the back and the little black rectangle in the center. That’s where Briana’s waiting.
Is she nervous? Scared? Excited?
“Now that we’re all here,” Mr. Knapp says, his eyes meeting mine, “we can begin the auction. I know you’re excited to see