8. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

Tatum

The auction starts in two minutes and Dane still isn’t here.

Sucks to be him.

I don’t know if he left or got caught up for so long that they wouldn’t let him inside. Not that I want him to miss out on the auction, but it serves him right. I told him he needed to stop working so much and live a little. I specifically told him not to work tonight, but he didn’t listen. This isn’t my problem; it’s his.

I’m sat comfortably in my booth, my tablet on my lap.

My fingers are itching to browse the merchandise. Dane wasn’t wrong when he said I hate surprises. I prefer things planned out. I like knowing what to expect. That is easily blamed on my father being a fucking flight risk since the day I was born. Though, he did much better than my mother, who left before she was even cleared to be discharged from the hospital .

But I ignore the feeling, because I want to enjoy the show. And I’m sticking to my original plan of not peeking because I’m a control freak who has to control even my own compulsions.

The lights above us darken as the ones over the stage brighten. The hushed whispers in the crowd turn to silence.

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Club Lust.” I spot the man standing by the DJ with salt and pepper hair speaking into the microphone. “We are pleased to have sixteen lots of merchandise up for sale tonight. Please remember once the lights are fully off that no one is to move from their seats. This auction will be silent. As I announce the merchandise, a head shot will appear on your tablets. I will provide information on each lot. If you are interested, the starting bid is five hundred thousand and will go up in increments of fifty thousand until it reaches one million.”

It’s a good thing I set aside a couple million for the night. I should not be spending money on women, but it’s a once in a lifetime experience. Besides, with the way my company is blooming, I’ll have this back by the end of the year.

“At that time, each bid will raise by five hundred thousand. You can click the bid button as many times as you desire. Each auction will only be open for five minutes. At the end of that time, the tablets will announce the winning bid number only. A reminder we do not use names. If you are outbid, it will flash across your screen to bid again, and if you win, the tablet will flash you are the winner. Just a reminder, if you bid for two people and win tonight then your tablet is automatically locked, preventing you from any additional bidding for the night. Our first lot for the night is Virtue! ”

Virtue? What an ironic name for a place like this. Though I guess that’s the point, isn’t it?

Glancing down at my tablet, I watch her head shot pop up. She’s a pretty girl, but something about her isn’t quite what I want. When she walks onto the stage timidly, I realize that’s it. She’s too soft. Sensed it by her eyes.

The bidding goes on for a while, but I keep my fingers off the screen. There are fifteen others up for purchase. I can’t get trigger-happy this early in the game. And if at the end of the night I leave with nothing, I’m pretty sure I saw a strip club not too far from here that’ll do just fine.

Girl after girl gets called up on stage. Birdie. Darling. Precious. I bid on a few, but once they hit that million mark, I pull my finger away. They’re nice, but not that nice. There’s even a guy who gets called out. I bid on him, not because I want him, but because I’m trying to help him out by getting more money.

I’m ready to throw in the towel, say fuck this place and get up and storm out—despite their rules—when number fourteen is introduced.

“Next on stage, we have Kensi!”

The name, as common as it is, catches my attention. It’s the most normal name I’ve heard all night. And not only that, but it has memories I don’t want to remember pushing forward. I close my eyes, willing them away. Now isn’t the time for nostalgia, especially when it has to do with her . I refuse to let her ruin another one of my nights. But the memory is already there, the words echoing in my head.

“Why do you call me that, Tate?”

“Because you always hated having a boy’s name,” I say simply .

The smile I get in return knocks the wind right out of me…

I shake out of it, feeling like I can’t breathe.

“Kensi is twenty-three. Five foot four. Her thighs are thick, ass deliciously plump. Her eyes are greener than the fields of Ireland—”

It’s those words that have me forcing my eyes open, because I know someone who fits that description perfectly.

“No,” I breathe out, refusing to believe it.

I blink a million times, forcing my eyes to focus on the woman on stage.

It can’t be her.

But it is.

How the fuck is Devon standing on that stage? I blink more, shifting in my seat to get a better look, knowing this can’t be right.

The girl on the stage looks exactly like Devon, even from here. The body, the height, the smile… those sultry fucking lips.

But no way in hell did she get away with this. She’s sneaky, but she’s not this sneaky… is she?

The emcee is still talking, but none of the words he’s saying are processing because I still can’t believe that’s her.

Then I remember…

I click the side of the tablet with a trembling finger to wake it up. The air whooshes out of my lungs.

Fucking hell, there she is.

It’s really her.

Through my fog, I hear the emcee listing her selling points.

Certain words stick out to me. Words that don’t make any sense. Words that have me nearly choking .

Virgin. No limits. Eager. Adventurous.

Those words do not describe Devon. Not even close.

This lying little bitch…

I push past my shock, and in floods the anger.

How dare she ruin my night?

I click the bid button when it turns green. I’m quickly outbid, so I tap it again. We go back and forth, the emcee trying to keep up with the fast changing bids.

There is no way in hell I am letting that girl go home with someone else tonight. No way in fuck am I allowing her to get away with this. How the hell is she going to sell herself as a virgin when I know damn well she isn’t one?

My fingers are full on shaking when the bid hits the million mark, but I keep going.

1.5 million…

2 million…

2.5 million…

Fuck, I’m going to go bankrupt over this girl.

It’ll be worth it though.

God, will it be worth it. The amount of revenge I can get on Devon Kensington over an entire weekend has me salivating.

Every time my screen goes red, I make it green again.

If there ever was a way to get back at Devon for what she did to me, forcing her to spend the weekend with me is it. When she realizes who bought her, she’s going to lose her mind. That is enough to have me spending millions on her, never mind all the extra time I’ll have to make her suffer.

The emcee calls that there are only ten seconds left and I’m still in the green .

With only seconds to go, it switches to red.

“Fuck,” I curse under my breath and tap the button.

“And we have our winner!” the emcee announces.

My entire body is vibrating as I stare down at the tablet.

Congratulations. You placed the winning bid on lot fourteen. Please complete your payment for the merchandise.

Holy shit.

I did it.

3.5 million dollars later, and Devon Kensington is mine for the whole goddamn weekend. The best part is there isn’t a thing she can do about it.

A wave of satisfaction rolls over me and I lean back in my chair, smiling. I don’t care if the next people coming out are Megan Fox and Scarlett Johansson. I’m not interested. I have all I could ever want.