CHAPTER FIFTEEN #2
“I think I’ve managed to pick up on that Leo. You haven’t exactly been subtle. But there is the rule,” I grinned at him. I wanted to rub it in his face now. “And she won’t be yours. She’ll be mine.”
Leo winked at me. “For now. I’ll be waiting in the wings, Reynolds.”
I stared him down, but he didn’t blink. I’d be keeping my eye on this asshole.
I turned back to watch Nadine. She mesmerized me. She owned the stage. Her big personality and incredible looks seemed to force all eyes on her. She had a magnetic quality about her. A quick glance around the room assured me that I was not the only man to think that.
“I’ll start the bidding for Nadine at half a million dollars,” Carmen said.
Damn. The next highest starting bid had been half of that.
But lots of paddles went up, including mine.
The night sped up after the bidding on Nadine started.
It got wild. When the bids got up to two million, I started to sweat.
Two million fucking dollars? And that didn’t even include all of her requests.
They were expensive, too. Carmen had acted like it was great that I wouldn’t have to pay for college or graduate school for Nadine, but then she’d asked for two fucking houses. I’d rather pay for college.
Fuck. This was a lot of money. I could easily afford it, but so could many others in the room.
I looked at the two men I considered my major competition. There were still five of us in the bidding, but those two were incredibly wealthy. They might even outbid me. I was getting nervous.
“Two million, two hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars,” Carmen said. She’d been going up by a quarter of a million dollars each bid cycle.
Two paddles went down.
It was just me and my two main competitors.
One of them was a thirty-something handsome dude that would be good to her.
The other was Thaddeus Clammett. I couldn’t imagine his hands on Nadine.
He was too old for her, for one thing. But, way worse, he also wasn’t known for being nice.
I saw the gleam in his eyes as he looked at her.
I frowned. There was no way I’d let him get her.
“Alright, Nadine, just keep walking out there, honey,” Carmen said. Nadine gave her a little wave and a smile. She looked slightly nervous. “Two million five hundred thousand.”
Carmen’s voice penetrated the fog around my brain. I didn’t even know Nadine. I’d had very limited contact with her. But I found myself worried about her. I didn’t like thinking she was nervous.
Clammett raised his paddle, as did I. But the other man, tossed his down on the table. He was clearly upset.
“Alright, gentlemen, it’s just between the two of you now.” Her eyes flicked to Clammett, and I didn’t think I was imagining the look of displeasure that crossed her pretty features. “Can I get a bid for two million, seven hundred and fifty thousand?”
I raised my paddle. So did Clammett, dammit.
“You might as well drop out, mayor. I’ve got deeper pockets according to rumors.” He gave me an evil grin.
“Really? You do remember that besides my success in stocks and Taylor Spice, my great-great-grandfather on my mom’s side struck oil on his ranch in Texas, right? Because that money is nowhere near gone, Thad.”
The smirk fell off his face.
It was my turn to grin.
“Let’s keep things nice, boys,” Carmen said. “Okay, this is a big number everyone—three million dollars?”
I raised my paddle.
Thaddeus sat there. It was clear he was having an internal debate over what to do. He kept looking back and forth between his paddle and Nadine.
I knew Thaddeus was one of the wealthier citizens of West Bay.
But he also had three ex-wives, all of whom had gotten very generous alimony settlements.
Plus, between the three women and an ex-girlfriend, he had seven children.
He’d put three through very expensive private colleges and graduate schools, but he still had four to go.
It’s not that I thought he was stretched thin, but I knew he had a hell of a lot more financial obligations than I did.
Finally, he tossed his paddle on the table and shook his head. “We’ll meet again, sugar,” he hollered to Nadine. She gave him a sweet smile, but I saw the look of relief on her face.
“Alright then!” Carmen practically shouted into the microphone. “Nadine goes to our great city’s mayor for three million dollars! Congratulations, Reynolds.”
I nodded at her as I leaned back in my chair and sipped at my whiskey. Damn. I was elated to have won her. And I couldn’t wait to get her alone.
“That’s this month’s auction, gentlemen.
Please mark your calendars for our next one.
Remember, we do this on the first Friday of every month.
I’m always on the lookout for new, beautiful girls to participate.
I’ve already got someone wonderful lined up as next month’s headliner.
” She grinned as everyone got quiet. “She’s someone y’all have all been asking for since she started working here two years ago.
I never thought I’d do it, but I talked her into the auction. ”
Men were leaning forward hanging on her every word.
She gave them a big smile. “But you’ll just have to be here next time to see who I’m talking about. Believe me, you won’t be sorry.”
And with that, the stage lights shut off, the sound system started playing louder music, and hostesses descended on tables with fresh drinks while some of the city’s highest rollers mingled, talking and laughing.
But I had one thought on my mind.
Nadine.
When did I get her?
***
I felt the heavy tap on my shoulder as I walked down the hall to meet Carmen and Nadine after the auction. Nico was leading the way.
I turned to see Thaddeus Clammett right behind me, face red, breathing heavily.
Shit. He was pissed. “Hold up, Nico,” I called to my friend. He hadn’t realized that I’d stopped following him and was halfway down the hall. He turned and saw me with Clammett. He walked back towards us.
“You knew I wanted her, Reynolds. What the hell were you thinking?”
I tried to remain calm. Part of me wanted to punch him, but the other part wanted to make sure he didn’t take his considerable wealth and back my choir boy opponent for mayor. I put my hands in my pockets and leaned against the wall. I feigned an unconcerned smile.
“It’s not personal, Thaddeus. I wanted her, too,” I said simply.
“Fuck that,” he spat. “It’s personal to me.” He poked my chest. “You bid on her just because I wanted her.”
“That’s not true. I saw Nadine a couple of weeks ago, and I haven’t been able to get her out of my head ever since.”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “You already have a pretty girlfriend. And you belong to Cayenne. What do you need a Cinnamon Girl for?”
“I could ask you the same thing. You have three ex-wives, countless ex-girlfriends, and a current girlfriend. Why do you frequent the VIP rooms at Sugar?”
“Fuck off, Mayor Taylor. Have you seen my girlfriend? She’s a decade older than these women.”
God. What an asshole. His girlfriend was barely thirty and was way better looking than he was. I hoped she was fucking around on him, too. It would serve him right.
He started to poke my chest again, but I grabbed his finger and held it away from me. Thaddeus was strong, but I was a lot stronger. I saw Nico take a couple of steps towards us. Clammett’s eyes darted to Nico. He knew if Nico was going to jump into a fight he wouldn’t be helping Thaddeus.
“I’m putting all my money and support behind your opponent for mayor, Reynolds. In fact, I think Jasper Hill will be the next mayor of West Bay. I’m going to get all my friends to contribute to his campaign, too.” He gave me an evil grin.
I wanted to tell him to take his money and shove it, but I knew I had to fix this. “I’d hate for you to do anything rash like that, Clammett. You know I’m good for West Bay. What can I do to change your mind?”
“Give me Nadine.” He stepped back and smoothed his suit jacket. “One night a week should suffice. For the entire six months.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. There was no way in hell I was letting him put one finger on Nadine, much less fuck her one night a week for six months. This man was insane.
Clammett’s face hardened again. “I’ll pay you.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so, Thaddeus.”
“Then my money and my support are going to Hill,” he said through clenched teeth.
I pretended to be unconcerned and shrugged. “Do what you have to do.”
“Oh, I will, Reynolds. I fucking will.” With that, he turned on his heel and stomped down the hall.
Nico and I watched him go.
“Well, you sure made a friend there, huh?”
I tried to chuckle, but I was worried. Jasper Hill was a suitable candidate even though he had little money. Now? He was a suitable candidate with perhaps unlimited funds. This was a potential problem.
I rubbed my jaw.
Nico frowned. “You’re not actually scared, are you?”
I cocked my head. “Not scared, exactly. Concerned, though. Jasper Hill’s no joke. He’s not like the lady on the square who sells crystals and says she’s a witch or Old Man Dinardo. They both always run for mayor and each get about fifty votes total.”
Nico nodded. “Don’t worry. There’s no way Hill will sway all of your supporters. And Clammett? He’s not well-liked in West Bay.”
“No, but he’s rich and a bully. And I just took away the toy he wanted to play with.”
Nico rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, and he’s not friendless. The friends he does have are wealthy.” He thought for a bit. “But you’re backed by the Salazar family. We have a decent amount of pull,” he joked. “Come on. Sex cures everything, and you have a gorgeous woman waiting on you.”
He was right. I couldn’t wait to make Nadine mine.
I’d just have to push all the worries over the mayoral race from my mind for the time being.