Nothing I hadn’t seen before.
Until I saw Sydney.
What the hell was she doing up there?!?
I forgot how to breathe. I squinted, but I didn’t have to. It was her.
Waving and smiling with the rest of the girls.
But she wasn’t like the rest of them. Sydney was above them.
Besides she wasn’t available to be bought, I had already claimed her.
These assholes were about to know what it was like to lose to Owen Hayes.
Chapter 7
Sydney
I was petrified.
All of us had been given instructions on how to behave – smile and wave, and I was doing exactly that. At first, I felt stupid, but seeing as how everyone was doing it, I thought I’d fit right in. Isabell was standing next to me, she seemed a little more animated and enthused about the whole thing.
I was kind of surprised quite honestly, since she seemed to only be here for the money.
The dancing lights were blinding, so I couldn’t really see the crowd. The music was deafening, so at least I didn’t feel any stage fright. It almost felt like it was just us on the stage, rehearsing a play.
Keep it together, you’re doing great, I thought to myself.
I kept repeating it like a mantra in my head, trying to relax. When the applause had died down, Ava stepped back onto the stage.
“Aren’t they just gorgeous?” More applause. “Brilliant! Look at them! I wish I was allowed to bid!” This got a decent laugh from the crowd, but a rather weak one from the girls. We clearly didn’t find it as hilarious.
I glanced in the general direction of the bar, which stood like a colorful neon island in the back of the room. It was hard to tell for sure, but there was nobody on the stools, at least not on the ones Owen and I had occupied. Had he left? I refused to believe that. He must have felt the same connection I had. There was something between us, something electric that we had shared, and I couldn’t stand the thought of him abandoning it.
But yet I had.
As soon as I was away from him and back with the girls Ava insisted I put on my dress and get in line. There was no time to even tell her that I had changed my mind.
So here I was.
Being sold.
I tried looking for Owen in the crowd, but I could only make out the faces in the first few rows, and none of them were him. People were cheering and clapping, their numbered pads ready to shoot up into the air.
It was bizarre, but at the same time kind of fun. Nobody was taking it seriously, I discovered. It really did feel more like a game for rich boys, and I could live with that.
As long as Owen was the rich boy who won me.
Ava began introducing the first contestant, but I didn’t take much notice. I would be one of the last girls to be auctioned, so instead I kept searching for Mr. Blue.
My eyes scanned the crowd and I sucked in a breath when they landed on a familiar frame. He was in the very back, making his way through the crowd, gently squeezing between people to get closer to the stage.
Thank God.
I lost my focus for a moment, and then my attention was drawn to one of the girls being auctioned.
“Five thousand!” Ava announced. “Do I see six thousand? Six thousand, number 106, thank you. Seven thousand, anyone? Would you look at her? What a stunner! A Bachelor of Psychology from Stanford, no less! Ten thousand, thank you…”