CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Reynolds
I looked around the room, shocked to see many of the most prominent members of society on the second floor of Cinnamon for the auction.
The tables were full. I’d had no idea these men were using Cinnamon Girls as their mistresses.
I’d always wondered about some of the middle-aged guys who were divorced or widowed and seemed to have a new, young beautiful woman on their arms every few months. I knew how they were doing it now.
“Is it always this packed?” I asked. I was sitting at a table with Nico and Leo.
“No. This is easily the best attendance we’ve had.”
“It’s because of Nadine,” Leo said.
“Partly.” Nico was looking around and nodding at everyone. For a quiet, intense guy, he was fairly personable. “Carmen always works hard to get a variety of women for the men to choose from in the auction. It shows. Men who’ve never been here before are learning what it’s all about.”
I watched as several men flipped through the pages of the online pamphlet Nadine had made available on iPads for the last week in Sugar, Cayenne, and Cinnamon.
Now each table had at least two iPads for the men to peruse.
It listed every Cinnamon Girl, the terms of her contract, and provided a few pictures of her.
I glanced around. I could see who a few men were looking at from the surrounding tables.
It was Nadine.
Leo followed my eyes and smirked. I knew he was jealous. He was mad that Leo wouldn’t let him bid on Nadine. “You’re in for a fight for her tonight, Reynolds.”
“I know.”
There were some very wealthy men here. It made me a little nervous. I had a lot of money, but some of these guys had more. Was I going to win this auction?
I couldn’t believe I was doing this, much less being so invested that I would be devastated if I didn’t win Nadine.
I was really going to buy a mistress. It was crazy.
But I couldn’t ditch Whitney, take Nadine to society events where she might unintentionally make a scene, and still hope to get elected.
Publicly dating someone as hot, but unsophisticated, as Nadine would be a PR disaster.
Everyone would know I was with her just for the sex.
They’d go back to seeing me as a playboy—not someone serious enough to continue to run the city.
Especially not with the changing climate of West Bay.
Big city crime was here, and they needed to know their mayor was a steadfast, responsible citizen.
Even if all I had thought about since I’d walked down the stairs at Cayenne and seen Nadine for the first time was fucking her.
Well, if all went right tonight, I’d be able to do that for six entire months.
The thought would normally make my hands sweat.
But I’d kept my contract open. I’d marked off that I had a girlfriend and that I also intended to date.
I just wanted to know that I could have Nadine all to myself any time I wanted her.
And no one would get hurt. Whitney knew I was with other women and was fine with it as long as I didn’t make her look like a fool.
She’d been pretty upset when that picture of Nadine and me from the gala at Salazar Nights had hit the media.
I winced. I anticipated nothing else like that happening, that was for sure.
Nadine’s contract had indicated she was okay with me dating and having a girlfriend. She just hadn’t wanted me to be married. I respected the hell out of that. It made me like her even more than I already did.
I was going to have it all. A model ‘girlfriend’ who was the picture of propriety. A fucking sex goddess of a mistress that I couldn’t wait to get my hands on. And I could visit Cayenne and fuck whomever I wanted to when I felt the need for someone new.
Still, I had a little tickle of doubt somewhere in the recesses of my mind. The saying ‘too good to be true’ kept running through my head. I hoped that wasn’t the case.
The lights flickered and Carmen came onstage looking stunning in a gold dress that fit her perfectly. It was revealing but classy. She could easily be in the auction herself. I would bet every man in the room would like to bid on her.
But she wasn’t up for bids now and never would be. Carmen was a Salazar, and a millionaire many times over.
“Good evening, gentlemen,” she said, and I glanced around the room once more at my competition. I missed some of Carmen’s introductory remarks while I was looking around the room.
“So, without further ado,” she continued, “I’ll introduce the first Cinnamon Girl of the evening. Gentlemen, meet Bonnie. She’s a twenty-three-year-old nursing student at West Bay University. She hopes…”
I tuned out what Carmen was saying. My eyes flicked over the woman walking the catwalk-like stage that split most of the room.
Tables were on either side and in front of the runway the women would be walking on.
I was sitting at a front table, but it didn’t seem like anyone would have a bad view of the auction participants.
The woman out there now was wearing practically nothing and made up to look like a wet dream.
I wasn’t interested, though. I was waiting for Nadine.
“When is Nadine coming out?” I leaned over and asked Nico.
“She’s last.” He took a drink while he watched the woman on stage. “The last woman of the night is the one being showcased.”
Fuck. This was going to be a long night. I looked in the pamphlet to see how many were up for bid tonight. Fifteen. I guess it wouldn’t be that long if there weren’t bidding wars over every woman up for bid.
At least I’d understand the process by the time it was my turn to bid. Several men bid on Bonnie, but it was clear only two were serious. They went at it for a while, until one man folded, a disappointed look on his face.
The process went on, and my mind wandered. I wondered what Nadine was thinking right now. How did it feel to know that someone was going to buy you for sex? I shoved that thought out of my head. I couldn’t think that way or I’d feel sorry for her or something.
And this was supposed to be fun.
Carmen had drilled it into my head that these girls were in it for the money and the future it would give them. It made total sense to me. Especially Nadine. Carmen had told me a tiny portion of her history. She’d had no way out of a rough situation.
She was going to end up stripping, working minimum wage jobs the rest of her life, or being a rich man’s mistress, anyway.
This would be better because she’d have choices when our contract was up.
This auction Carmen had created put some control in the women’s hands.
They were doing this for their future, and I thought it was great.
Especially for me.
Plus, I was going to treat her like a queen.
Mostly. I regretted I wouldn’t be able to take her out to nice restaurants or anything like that.
Our relationship would be hidden and there would be plenty of nights that I would be out with Whitney instead of her.
It wasn’t ideal, but if I wanted to be with her, this was the only way.
I drank whiskey, talked to Leo and Nico, and mingled with colleagues and friends while I waited for Nadine to come out on stage.
Finally, Carmen came back up to the microphone.
“And now we have Nadine. She’s a twenty-two-year-old beauty.
She loves talking, dancing, and hanging out with friends.
Nadine is from a small town, and she’s looking for a powerful man who can help her find her way around the big city.
And, oh yeah. Nadine has a really high sex drive and loves to have daily orgasms.”
Fuck. None of the other women had put their sex drive in the spiel Carmen said while they strutted around looking hot on the stage and runway. I wondered if Nadine had written that or if Carmen had added it to drum up more interest.
Whichever it was, it had worked.
There were murmurs throughout the audience. If any man hadn’t been planning on bidding on her, he was now.
Then she came out on stage. She looked… breathtaking.
While the other women had gone for very revealing outfits, she had opted for elegance.
She wore a floor length evening gown in a deep raspberry red.
The dress was very low-cut, and her breasts were shown to perfection. She was a sexy angel up there.
Her hair was tamed. Instead of the wild riot of waves it normally was, it was sleek. It flowed more than halfway down her back when it was straight like that. I pictured wrapping it around my hand as I fucked her from behind. Damn. I shifted in my seat.
She looked elegant. Refined, even. I frowned.
She looked like someone I could have on my arm at galas and benefits.
Even though that’s not what I needed from her, I reminded myself.
Plus, as soon as she opened that beautiful mouth and said something shocking, everyone would know the truth. That she was just a pretty showpiece.
“My God.” Leo said, bringing me back to attention. He watched her move with his mouth open a bit. I didn’t like the way he was looking at her. I knew he was into her, and I was over it.
Nico leaned his elbows on the table while he watched her. “That is some woman up there,” he said. “She deserves to be loved by someone.”
My eyes shot to his. What was he doing? Had I ever heard Nico say something like that? Hell, no.
“Be good to her, man. Don’t ruin her for the next guy.”
I was offended. “Of course.”
“Yeah,” Leo said, not looking away from Nadine, “that next guy might just be me.”
Okay, it was official. I wanted to punch him in the face.
Also, I didn’t want to think about ‘the next guy.’ That pissed me off. I hadn’t even won her yet, and they were already thinking about when she’d move on to a genuine relationship.
Leo leaned in closer to me so he could lower his voice and Nico wouldn’t hear him. “Believe me, if it weren’t for Nico’s stupid rule about no Salazar bidding in the auction, Nadine would be mine.”