“They were so upset with me this morning,” she told me. “I felt so shit for lying, but I have to. There’s no way they would accept it. Not in a million years.”
I agreed with that, so kept quiet, biting down my own urges to claim so much more.
“We’ll be careful,” I said finally, and she nodded.
“Good job I’m so sore, it’d take a while for me to be ready for another go anyway,” she said with a grin.
I grinned right back along with her. “Let’s hope you are ready and waiting so we can enjoy ourselves as soon as we next get a shot.”
I gave her ass a cheeky little slap on her way out and she left with a giggle that stopped dead in her throat as Erica walked on through.
The scowl I shot across at that bitch spoke volumes, and she forced out a smile at Faith as she passed on by.
Good fucking job she did.
She struggled to keep her cool as I calmly told her that Faith would be leading Friday’s auction. She played at being reasonable about it, but her jaw was clenched tight under her smile and I knew full well she was hating every second.
“Are you sure you want to trust the business’s prime weekly income to a girl who is still learning the absolute basics?” she asked, with a little more than a hint of a sneer.
I was pleased to smile right over at her with a very strong nod.
“Yes, Erica. I’m certain I want to trust my business’s prime weekly income to Faith. I’m sure she’ll do me very proud. Us all very proud.”
“How lovely for little princess perfect,” she said. “I’ll be looking forward to seeing how marvellously she does.”
I laughed to myself as she dropped her paperwork and left me to my work. There was no way Faith wasn’t going to do me proud. She’d truly succeed to the best of her ability and thoroughly enjoy herself doing so, and I couldn’t wait to fully appreciate her in action at that podium.
But, in the meantime, I had plenty of training and support to give her to ensure she could truly let her talent shine.
No time like the present.
I picked up my phone and called her right back on through.Chapter Twenty-NineFaithIt was a slow week, but a good one. My ass and pussy may have been sore as hell – which was a nice reminder of where Miles had been – and my parents might have been acting constantly like I was a bad teenager who should be grounded, and Erica may have been scowling at me every chance she could get while burying it under the worst false smile imaginable, but yeah, it was a good week.
I may not have been able to dash over to Miles at his place every night of the week, but I was using the time super well. I was doing my research to back up everything he was teaching me through the days about auctioneering, and how to lead one of my own for the first time. I was watching educational videos, and studying the ever-growing item listings, and being sure to know what the estimates were by heart.
I did everything I could, and Miles did everything he could to help me. He was a great teacher, enthusiastic and patient, and I like to think I was a great student, enthusiastic and committed.
And so it came.
Friday.
My very first attempt at the role of my dreams, in front of the man of my dreams along with it.
I was so nervous as the afternoon auction crept closer. My palms were clammy and my heart was giving an erratic little beat, and my face felt weird with the edgy smile I had plastered on me all through the morning, but I was good. Scared but good. And excited. Very excited.
“Not long now!” Rachel said, holding crossed fingers up for good luck as she walked on by from the warehouse. I held my crossed fingers right back up in response.
But this wasn’t about luck. Not even close. This was about showing that I could really do this. Really feel the flow of the auction room. Really capture people and get those bids coming strong.
I could do this. Sure I could.
My last-minute trip to the bathroom saw me staring at myself pretty hard in the mirror. I took deep breaths and gave myself a solid mantra of you got this, and promised myself this day had been a long time coming but would be everything I ever thought it would be.
That still didn’t stop me feeling like a quivering wreck as the clients started pouring in to the auction room and Miles appeared in the office doorway.
He had the most encouraging smile on his face, which was great and was just what I needed.