Valentine’s Billionaire Auction

Chapter 7

7

KAIRA

I woke up to the smell of coffee and the sound of Carla singing an off-key rendition of some pop song in the kitchen. Carla was probably in the category of one of the older Swifties. I had never personally cared for the music, but Carla loved Taylor. Which meant our Alexa playlist was filled with her music. It grew on you after a while.

Dragging myself out of bed, I shuffled into the small but cozy kitchen of our two-bedroom condo. Carla was flipping pancakes with one hand and scrolling her phone with the other, her oversized sweatshirt hanging off one shoulder.

“Morning, sunshine,” she said, flashing me a grin.

I groaned in response, heading straight for the coffee pot. “I need caffeine before I can deal with people.”

I grabbed a mug and filled it up.

“How was your night at the ball, Cinderella?” she asked.

“It was an auction—and you wouldn’t believe it if I told you.”

She slid a pancake onto a plate. “Wait, is this a real story or an idea for a story you want to write?”

“All this happened, more or less.”

Carla leaned against the counter, her interest piqued. “Spill.”

I took a sip of my coffee, the bitterness waking me up before the caffeine did. “I went on a date with a billionaire.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “A billionaire, huh?”

“Yep.”

“How big was his dick?”

“I don’t know, but he was a pretty big dick.”

She frowned at me. “Wait, you’re serious?”

“He was one of the rich guys at the auction I worked last night. I was standing and very innocently watching a bunch of rich ladies frothing over the billionaires, bidding insane amounts of money.”

“Wait, we can buy one? How much do they cost?”

“Well, the one I bought cost about a hundred thousand dollars.”

“Damn, I better start saving up my pennies.”

“No, listen. I was watching the auction and some woman walked by me wearing half a dead bird on her dress.”

She cocked an eyebrow and flipped another pancake. “Is this one of those faerie books you like?”

I rolled my eyes. “No, I’m being serious. Feather Lady, who was just a regular human lady with poor fashion sense, walked by me and the feathers tickled my nose. I sneezed and the auctioneer counted it as a bid, which I won. So I bought a billionaire.”

She stared at me. “Then I hope you’ve been saving up your pennies.”

“It happened, Carla. It was very real.”

“So is he in your bedroom?” she asked nonchalantly. “Can I borrow him when you’re done? Anoint him in oils and send him to my room.”

“This isn’t funny.”

“It’s a little funny.” She sipped her coffee. “You’re broker than me and I’m really fucking broke. So I know you didn’t buy any billionaires.”

“No, I actually bought the guy for a hundred and ten thousand.”

“Come on.”

“Yep. I’m serious.”

“Where the hell did you get that kind of money? Did you rob a bank? Without asking me?” She looked hurt.

“No, obviously I don’t have a hundred thousand dollars to piss away.” I sighed. “Are you seeing the problem?”

Carla shook her head, trying to process what I’d just told her. “So, what happened next?” she asked.

“I was going to explain the mistake, even though I’d probably get fired, but the billionaire I bid on grabbed me and pulled me out the door to go on our date .”

“How are you going to get that money?” She smiled and wagged her brows at me.

“We’re not robbing a bank,” I said, appreciating that she still had a sense of humor. I was having trouble finding mine. “He said he’s going to cover the bid. I tried to get him to let me straighten everything out but he wasn’t having it. The guy is insufferable. Like, peak billionaire jerk. He made me sit through an entire dinner listening to him brag about himself. And don’t even get me started on the nightclub fiasco.”

Carla’s eyes lit up. “Oh, please, do get started. Someone had quite the adventure last night.”

I sighed, pulling out eggs and bacon from the fridge. “He rented out an entire restaurant. Like a really, really nice place. Just the two of us.”

“Sounds like a romantic date.”

“Well, it wasn’t actually a date,” I protested.

“It sounds like a date. And you called it a date. I mean, it still counts even if you have to pay for it.”

“Hey!”

“What did you eat?” she asked.

“All these fancy dishes. Like seven courses. I have no idea what any of it was but it was good. So then he takes me to this super exclusive club, right? Only, he dragged me out of work. I was in my uniform, which did not meet their dress code. He didn’t even think about that ahead of time! Anyway, we ended up at a diner eating pie. Pie, Carla!”

“Pie sounds nice,” she said, grinning.

“Not when it’s with Roman Kelly,” I muttered, cracking eggs into a bowl.

Carla froze, the spatula in danger of melting against the pan. “Wait a second. Roman Kelly? Hold on.” She flipped the pancake and furiously typed something into her phone, then spun it around to show me.

There he was, shirtless on some beach, his abs looking like they’d been carved from marble.

“This guy?” Carla asked, her voice dripping with incredulity. “You spent an entire night with this guy?”

I rolled my eyes and whisked the eggs. “Not the whole night. And let me tell you, those abs? Completely negated by his personality.”

Carla was zooming in on the photo. “I’m sorry, Kaira, but I don’t feel bad for you in this moment. Look at that smile. I’m not entirely convinced this isn’t some sort of AI. Is it? Does he really look like this?”

“He kept his shirt on.”

“But he was hot, right?”

“I need more than a handsome smile, Carla!” I protested.

She looked up at me, smirking. “So you admit he’s got a nice smile? No further questions, your honor.”

I groaned and moved to refill my coffee. “He’s as good-looking as he is a total douche bag.”

Carla raised an eyebrow. “Bet he’d make a fun lay, though.”

My mouth fell open. “Stop it!”

“What?” Carla said, all innocence. “I’m just saying. Can you imagine his core control? I bet he can fuck like a jackhammer.”

“Carla!”

She burst out laughing, nearly spilling her coffee. “I’m just saying, Kaira. You missed an opportunity! I would drop my panties in a heartbeat for a man like that.”

I shook my head, trying not to laugh with her. “Yeah, but you’re kind of a ho.”

Carla posed prettily, chuckling. “Guilty as charged when it comes to a man like that,” she admitted, leaning back against the counter. “You can’t tell me you don’t think he’s hot.”

“The second he opens his mouth, his physical appearance fades. He’s an ogre.”

“Plug your ears and ride him off into the sunset.”

“No thanks. I would never sleep with a guy like him. And he’d never sleep with a sloppy nobody like me.”

Carla’s smile vanished, and she turned to face me, hands on her hips. “What did we talk about?”

I looked away, embarrassed. “Carla, I didn’t mean?—”

“Nope,” she interrupted. “You be nice to my friend Kaira. She deserves the fucking world, you hear me?”

I couldn’t help but smile. “Sorry.”

“That’s better.” She grinned, taking a big bite of her pancake.

I pulled out another pan and stood next to her to make the eggs. It was a routine for us. Cooking together while dissecting the absurdities of my disastrous night, hashing out life’s dramas over spatula and stove.

Living with Carla for the past three years had been the best decision of my life. When I couldn’t afford the rent on my condo, I’d put out an ad for a roommate. Carla had been the first to respond, and from the moment she walked in the door with her infectious energy and bright smile, I knew I had hit the jackpot. She wasn’t just a roommate—she was my best friend.

I finished the eggs while she nuked the bacon. We chatted as we ate, talking about our plans for the day.

“I’m heading into the office,” I said, sipping my coffee. “Debriefing from the event and starting on the next one.”

“Hot yoga for me,” Carla said, stretching dramatically. “Then a quick shower before my shift tonight. Tips better be good—rent’s coming up.”

Carla worked as a bartender. Her beauty and bubbly personality were a win-win combination. She was the kind of woman a guy like Roman would typically date. Carla was tall, slender, and had immaculate skin. Her blonde hair and blue eyes just added to the total package.

We finished breakfast and got ready for work. I grabbed my purse and headed out, opting to take the bus. I chose not to drive as often as I could. I hated LA traffic.

The office was buzzing with the usual post-event chatter when I arrived. I didn’t even get the chance to get some of the cheap coffee and check the job assignment board when my manager appeared in front of me.

“Kaira, can I see you in my office?”

His tone made my stomach drop. I knew I was probably in trouble after abandoning them without telling them I was leaving. Technically, I was done with my job, but my shift hadn’t been over.

I followed him into the office. He closed the door behind me and gestured for me to take a seat.

He sat down and looked at me. I saw pity on his face, which was my second clue this was not going to go well for me.

“Sorry about running out last night,” I said.

“Kaira, I’m sorry to do this, but we have to let you go.”

My heart sank. “What? Why?”

He sighed, rubbing his temples. “The auction. Your false bid—it’s a bad look for the company. Roman Kelly had to cover it, and we can’t afford that kind of scandal. We’ll start losing gigs.”

“It was a mistake,” I said, my voice shaking. “I sneezed. I didn’t bid!”

“Be that as it may,” he said, sliding a check across the desk, “this is your final paycheck. We wish you the best.”

I stared at the check, my mind racing. “That’s it? No severance?”

“We’re a small company, Kaira. We don’t have the budget for that. You were hired on a trial basis. It didn’t work out.”

I was stunned, my hands trembling as I took the check.

“But Mr. Kelly insisted on covering the bid. I told him I wanted to fix it, but he wouldn’t let me go back. He dragged me out of there!”

My manager’s face softened slightly, but there was a finality in his eyes that told me the decision was already made. “I understand it was a complex situation, but we have to consider the company’s reputation. We can’t be associated with unpredictability or accidents like this. There were a lot of complaints. One woman in particular was very upset that she did not win the bid.”

I felt defeated. It seemed so unfair—punished for something I hadn’t even intended to do. Suddenly, the office felt incredibly small, the air stiff and suffocating.

“Thank you for the opportunity,” I managed to say, my voice hollow. I stood up, clutching the check like a lifeline, but feeling it was just another reminder of yet another failed job.

He practically shooed me out of the office. I didn’t bother looking at any of my former coworkers. Stepping outside, the bright Los Angeles sun did little to lift my spirits. I felt small surrounded by people indifferent to my plight, each person absorbed in their own routines and dramas.

I walked aimlessly for a while, letting the noise of traffic and snippets of overheard conversations wash over me. My thoughts kept circling back to the unfairness of the situation. I hadn’t meant to bid at the auction, and yet here I was, jobless because of a simple mistake. If anyone should get fired, it was the damn auctioneer who couldn’t tell a bid from a sneeze.

The thought of going home and facing Carla with this news was daunting. She had her own worries about money; adding mine would only burden her further.

“Shit, shit, shit!”

Why couldn’t I get a job and just keep it?