Highest Bidder

“Well, you didn’t say that when I was sixteen.”

“You were a brat, and I’m not taking that back.”

Suddenly, my phone rang. I knew it was one of the girls so I gave my mother a quick kiss on the cheek and hurried to my bedroom. I ran the shower and in the lowest tone I could drop my voice to, I gave Maddie a quick update on what had gone on with Brent. There was of course no mention of his proposal but it was not difficult for her to put two and two together.

“So he is responsible for this?” she asked.

“Yup.”

“What’s the catch this time?”

I hesitated about whether I should tell her about Brent’s proposition, as I knew what her reaction would be, but I really needed to talk it out with someone or I would go insane. “A one month relationship with him, purely physical.”

“Over my dead body,” she said.

I smiled. That is exactly the kind of over-the-top thing I expected from her.

“What the hell does he take you for? Chattel?”

“That’s a fancy word,” I commented lightly.

She ignored my attempt at jest. “This is not funny. What is wrong with him? Is this legal? Can’t he be reported or something? I mean, I used to wonder what kind of guy you’d get involved with when you finally started dating, but never in a million years would I have thought this? How the hell did you find a maniac right off the bat, but he looks so gorgeous and so damn sane—”

“I have an incoming call, Maddie,” I said. “I’ll call you back.”

“I’ll be waiting,” she warned.

I immediately accepted the waiting call without giving the unknown number a second look. Whoever it was would be better than listening to Maddie continue ranting. I had a feeling she was going to go on for a while.

“Hello,” I answered.

“Is this Freya Anderson?” a sultry woman’s voice responded.

It could very well be a response from the bank, but this late? “Yeah, who’s this?”

“It’s Judi Mirren. Uh, do you mind if we speak? I’ll be very brief.”

“When?”

“Now. I’m outside your apartment.”

I frowned. This would be interesting. “Okay.” I held the phone as I headed out.

“Where are you going?” my mother called out.

“Uh, I just want to check the mail, I’m expecting something,” I answered putting on my Parka. I shook my head at how easily the lies were flowing out of me these days. It just seemed so wrong, but what choice did I really have?

Freya

A few minutes later, I was in front of the hedge of our small apartment with my phone to my ear.

“Where are you?” I asked.

“Just a bit further down. Oh, I see you. I’m in the white Mercedes.”

She flashed her headlights at me and I knew where to go. I disconnected our call and soon, I was sitting beside Judi Mirren in an overheated car.

When she greeted me, I smiled but couldn’t meet her eyes. There was something too disturbingly unreal about the moment for me to accept. I didn’t know where to look so I just stared straight ahead.

“I’ve heard a lot about you, Freya,” she began.

Her voice ... There was something about it. Breathless, calculated, intended to manipulate. I had never seen her in real life before, or known her beyond her status as an actress, and of course, Brent Lucan’s rumored girlfriend. I summoned up the courage and turned to look into her ocean blue eyes. They were mesmerizing. She was eight years older than me, and supremely confident. I didn’t understand why I was sitting in her car.

“It would have been lovely for us to meet at a café, but it would have caused quite the stir if I were to be spotted.”

“Yeah, it would,” I responded, clasping my hands in the dark of the car, impatient for her to get to the real reason why I was here.

“I heard about how you and Brent met,” she drawled.

My defenses instantly went up. My hands tightened with nerves as a chilling calm came over me. I wondered who exactly was telling everyone about how I met Brent.

“And I’ve also heard that you’ve been spending quite a lot of time with him,” she continued.

I turned to her, the smile gone from my face. “That’s actually not true and even if it was, why would it matter to you?”

She looked away from me and smiled into the dark. “Because I’m his girlfriend. I’ve been with him for years and I don’t intend to walk away because of a little infatuation with a kid. What are you? Nineteen? You have no idea how to keep a man like him.” She turned to face me again, the blue of her eyes almost violet with emotion. “He’s taken. He’s my man. Do you understand that? I need you to stay away from him. He’s not someone to be toyed with.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I was being warned off Brent.

“I propose Brighton,” she said with a dazzling smile. “It’s a lovely bohemian city. Full of people your age. It’ll have all that you’ll both need. There's not much going for either of you here anyways, well except your university, but I’m sure a transfer can be arranged. I know people who can do that for you.”