Chapter Seven
GAbrIELLA-ROSE
I HAD BEEN SITTING in my dressing room for nearly thirty minutes trying to calm my nerves. No matter what I did, though, it didn’t help. So many thoughts ran through my head about what everyone would think of me parading myself across the stage. Would they see me as some fat woman who wasn’t worth any money whatsoever? On the other hand, could Mr. Right actually be out in the crowd?
A knock at the door suddenly pulled me from my thoughts.
“Come in.”
The door opened, and the young man who had guided me down here was standing in the doorway.
“If you’re ready, Angel, it’s time to take you to the stage. You can keep your robe on until we reach the back of the stage.”
I took a deep breath and got up from my chair, grabbing the robe and placing it around myself as I walked toward the door. I followed my guide back up the corridor, but instead of going through the end door, we turned right up a set of steps, and I found myself standing backstage with the set of gray curtains in front of me.
“The curtain will open when you are announced, and you just need to walk onto the stage and do your thing. You will knock ‘em dead, Angel. You look absolutely fabulous.”
He quickly walked away, leaving me alone, waiting to be called forward. I placed my robe on the chair that had been left to one side of the stage and stood back in the center. Pulling myself to my full height, I watched as the curtains started to open.
“Next is lot four, Angel. Her statistics are 36-24-36.”
I walked out onto the stage and toward the catwalk, carefully placing one foot in front of the other. Inside, I was a bundle of nerves, worried about misstepping and falling over like the infamous Naomi Campbell catwalk. Outside, though, you wouldn’t have known it. I was the picture of composure as I strutted to the end of the catwalk and posed for my prospective buyers.
I continued to walk around as I listened to Edward going through all of my questionnaire and interview answers. I hoped I had given enough information at least for someone to be interested in purchasing me for the weekend. After that, I would just have to wait and see. I tried to look out at the crowd in front of me, but as had already been explained, the whole floor was in darkness, just the odd glow from the tablets I assumed were being used to do the bidding. I came to the front of the stage and stood there for a moment.
“Okay, who will start the bidding at five hundred thousand dollars?”
I was shocked that the bidding started at the exact amount that I was earning from the weekend, but then again, I guessed that they would want to cover at least the money they would be giving me. I continued to walk up and down the catwalk listening as the bids continued to climb. My heart was beating frantically in my chest, and I was sure that everyone watching would see me shaking like a leaf. However, I continued to walk along, making the most of what God had given me.
“I have five-fifty, six hundred, six-fifty, and seven hundred.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. There were people actually bidding on me, and it wasn’t just a one-off thing. The bids were going higher and higher.
“Nine hundred. One million dollars. Thank you. Do we have any progression on one million? One-point-five million.”
I had to stop myself from collapsing on the stage as I turned to head back toward the main area. Hearing that someone thought I was worth one and a half million dollars was more than I could ever have expected, even from Master Orlov, if he was here. However, it didn’t stop there. It continued to climb. The seconds were counting down as I looked up at the clock. There were only ten seconds to go.
“I have two-point-five million going once, twice…and a late bidder of three million dollars wins the auction!”
I heard a few gasps around the hall that someone had paid three million. I wasn’t sure if that was because of the amount paid, or just because it had been paid for me. Whatever it was, there was one thing I knew: whoever had bought me had money. Although, thinking about it, didn’t everyone who came to these auctions? After all, Club Lust did cater to the extremely wealthy. I carefully walked toward the back of the stage and through the curtain. As I stepped behind, I felt my legs start to give way underneath me as the enormity of what had just happened hit me.
I hadn’t noticed that there was someone here, as I felt two arms come around me stopping my fall. It had been the same young man who had been with me since I entered the club. At last, I had an opportunity to ask his name as he steadied me back on my legs.
“What’s your name?”
He gave me a smile. “It’s Graham.”
“Thank you, Graham. And I don’t just mean to stop me from falling down. Thank you for everything today.”
He just gave me a slight nod before he spoke again. “Let’s get you back to the dressing room before the next person comes along.”
Graham passed me my robe to put on and helped me back to my room. He opened the door, helped me into the room, and sat me down on the chair. He closed the door behind him and then came over and knelt in front of me.
“How are you feeling now, Angel?”
“I am still a little shocked by it all, to be fair. Why on earth would someone pay three million dollars for someone like me?”
He laughed slightly before he answered me. “Because they can, Angel, and because you are a gorgeous woman. Honestly, I’m surprised it was only three million. You should have gotten a lot more than that. Or you would have if I had the money to buy you. Anyway, I have to leave you now and continue the rest of my jobs for this evening. I hope you have a lovely weekend, and whoever has paid for you looks after you. If they don’t, then let me know and I will take care of them.”
I chuckled slightly. The chances that Graham would do that for me were slim, and even if he did, he would probably lose his job here at the club. I couldn’t ask him to do that for me.
“That’s really sweet of you, Graham, but I wouldn’t want you to lose your job. But thank you for thinking of me and looking out for me today. I don’t want to keep you from your job, so you’d better head off.”
I leaned across and pressed a kiss to his cheek, causing him to blush. It was the first time I had seen a man blush.
He smiled awkwardly and stood up from the floor. “Thank you. You take care of yourself, and don’t worry. I’m sure everything will be fine.”
He walked toward the door, opened it, and let himself out of the room. I was left alone again. What did I do now? I knew there was at least another hour before the auction finished and I knew that my buyer wouldn’t be allowed down to the room before the whole auction had finished. That had been explained in the information they had sent with the invite. It also said that if the buyer purchased two lots, they would be placed in the same room, so I could be joined by someone else before the end of the evening.
I sat there looking at myself in the dressing table mirror. This was it. This was my chance to escape the life that I had made for myself. The one I’d thought was going to be forever with the man I loved, but had turned into a living nightmare. All I had to do now was hope that whoever bought me would help me to escape. Only time would tell.