Surprise Bidder

I’ve already lost so many chances- my chance at becoming an Olympic gymnast, my chance at finishing college, my chance at a bright future. Why not take this one?

As for the rules, to hell with them. I’m not an athlete anymore. I’m a survivor, and I have to do everything I can to survive.

I set the glass, now thoroughly dry, down on the counter and let out a deep breath. I guess I just made my mind up.

~

I thought I did, but now that I’m standing in front of the mirrored wall of the sitting room that has been converted into a changing room for the additional staff, second thoughts keep barging in.

Am I really doing this?

The nerves started setting in as soon as I arrived at the house. Huge doesn’t even begin to describe it. The more I saw of it, the more it sank in- I really am going to be a waitress at an extravagant party. Even this room, which isn’t even going to be open to the guests, looks amazing, color coordinated in shades of green and filled with Oriental objets d’art. I spot a celadon teapot, and a jade lion that must cost more than I make in a month.

Now, here I am in my uniform, or at least my outfit for tonight. It’s not the usual gray dress with black apron. Instead, I’m wearing a black silk cheongsam embroidered with white and gold flowers, one that stops an inch above the knee and has a slit on the right side that goes even higher. And that’s with no stockings underneath. That’s fine. I wore leotards on the mat for so long that I don’t mind bare legs. What I do mind is that the dress seems too tight. I’ve never worn a cheongsam before, so I didn’t realize how fitted it would be. The silk clings to my neck and wraps around my breasts. It feels more like a sheath than a dress, and I fear I might pop out of it at any minute. The fact that it’s fastened with braided knots at the side doesn’t help. Well, maybe it will when I go to the restroom, but not when I’m walking around.

Can I really move around in this?

Mandy interrupts my thoughts with a whistle as she circles around me. “Look at you. I knew there was a bombshell hiding in there.”

Me? A bombshell?

I study my reflection. Sapphire blue eyes gaze back at me from the glass, peering out from an oval face. My sandy blonde hair is held back in a tight bun like always with just a few loose wisps brushing against my forehead and cheeks. A button nose. A thin upper lip shaped like a bow paired with a thicker, rounded lower one. A pretty face. I’ve been called that often, though I’ve never considered it a compliment, always a challenge. When someone calls you pretty, they assume that’s all you are. And then you get the urge to prove them wrong.

But a bombshell? That’s something new. Maybe it’s just the dress, though. I may be struggling to breathe, but it does seem to do wonders for my figure.

“There’s just one thing missing.”

Mandy stands in front of me and takes her lipstick out of her pocket. Before I can say a word, she grasps my chin and starts painting my lips. When I look in the mirror again, I find them coated ruby red.

“Go on. Give them a smack,” Mandy tells me.

I smack my lips together.

“Perfect.” She places a hand on my shoulder. “Now we’re both ready for service.”

I narrow my eyes at her. “You’re not still going after the men, are you?”

“Of course I am. Aren’t you?” She applies a fresh layer of lipstick and smacks her lips. “Though I seriously think they’ll be the ones coming after us.”

I frown. “I’d rather they don’t.”

I’ve already decided I’m rejecting any advances tonight. I’m here to work, nothing more.

Mandy lets out a sigh. “Fine. I won’t waste my breath trying to convince you. You know what? It may be even better for me if you decide not to play. That way, I’ll have more men to toy around with. Your loss. My gain.”

I shrug. Whatever.

“I’m just here to do my job.”

“Fine. Be all work and no party. But me?” Mandy points to herself and winks. “I’m going to have fun.”

“Fine.”

I don’t care how much fun she has, or even if she dumps all the work on me, which I’m beginning to think is why she brought me. I’m just grateful she did.

“Girls!” Clarissa, the woman who ushered us in earlier, claps her hands as she walks into the room. “You have five minutes to finish getting ready. Then come outside so I can give you some reminders. I can’t stress enough how perfect everything needs to be tonight.”