What If I Never (Necklace Trilogy 1)

His lips quirk ever so slightly before he says, “Mutually beneficial. I do like how that sounds.” I read what I think is a hint of suggestion in that comment, but I can’t be sure before he adds, “It’s Dash Black’s charity we’re covering this year.”

He’s studying me again, looking for a reaction, and I school my features and pray he doesn’t find one. “He told me,” I say. “And I’m frankly relieved the charity is not a cancer organization. As much as that subject touches my heart, I’d be fearful cancer has cut me too deeply and too recently for me to be professional right now.”

Seconds tick by that stretch eternally before he says, “Check in with me before you leave tonight.” He says nothing more. He just turns and, in a blink, he’s gone and gone before he gives me the go-ahead to call clients. Gone before I can ask him if he called Riptide. Did he even check my references?

Surely he did. Or he will.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

I’d like to think that love is priceless, but I’ve learned that when the very concept of love is subjective, so is the cost. In the case of an auction and a possession desired, which is to some the definition of love, value is created in dollars and usually an element of emotion. There is often an emotional component to bidding, but the monetary value supports the price tag. This is exactly why establishing a baseline starting bid as high as possible is critical. Sought after possessions are like sought after companions: the harder to get, the bigger the payoff in satisfaction, or at least that’s how we hope it turns out. To become sought after, a person, or an item, establishes value in some way, shape, or form. Maybe that is just in who they are as a person, or how they look, or who they know.

Or who their father is.

I grimace and shove aside that thought.

Bottom line, it’s lunchtime, and I’ve established a basic fact: the auction has no established value.

None.

Not a penny.

I’ve found an Excel spreadsheet that Allison created, listing out each donated item for the auction. The list is small, and while a few items appear alluring from an auction standpoint, nothing has been assessed. We can’t establish a starting bid if we don’t know where we need the bid to end. The good news is that there is an extensive prospect list with well-known sports and entertainment personalities, as well as an array of high-profile business people. It’s not a list I’m uncomfortable with. After working in publishing and at Riptide I’ve been exposed to money and power. The calls and contacts I can handle, but I can’t create time. And I need time or manpower, or really both, but I’ll settle for one or the other. I need to speak to Tyler about that and the Riptide sponsorship, though I’m not sure there is enough here yet to even entice Mark to align himself with the endgame.

I stand up and sit back down. I don’t even know where Tyler’s office is located. I grab my phone and punch the operator button. Katie answers immediately. “Hi, Allison. What can I help with?”

“How do I reach Tyler?”

“He just left for a meeting,” she says, “but he’s in the offices on the other side of the elevators. Those are his private offices. The partners are all on the upper level. He’s a bit of an isolationist.”

“And his parents?”

“His father is upset with the partners. His mother is rarely in the office anymore. She started another business, and don’t ask me what. I have no idea. That’s just the rumor I heard.”

Somehow Tyler being an isolationist doesn’t really surprise me.

“And just an FYI,” she adds, “he’s extension eleven on the panel. There should be a phone list somewhere in or on your desk.”

“Okay. I’ll find it. Thanks. Can you leave him a message to call me?”

“Of course. Can I help?”

“Not right now, but thank you. I do appreciate everything.”

“I’ll check in later,” she promises. “I really will. It’s been nuts today. Has HR been by?”

“Not yet.”

“I’ll nudge her. And I have a visitor. Gotta run.”

We disconnect, and I decide the best thing I can do right now is to get organized and fully acclimated to everything I can. For now, I start by putting a call into Millie Roberts, the head of the charity association, and setting up a meeting for the next day. After that, I call the event venue and set yet another meeting for the next day. From there, I start the tedious process of researching auction prices on the items we do have confirmed. A few things are potential hot ticket items and I email photos and notes to Casey Reid, our expert at Riptide. If the prices are high enough, I’m going to try to strike a bargain between Tyler and Mark.