Business as Usual (Off The Subject) (36 page)

“Still…”

She laughs. “How about we get a few bids, and then I’ll bid some outrageous amount to end your torture?”

I release a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

“Let’s just hope it doesn’t go over ten thousand or we’re both screwed,” she teases.

“Lexi,” Sylvia calls. “There’s a problem with the credit card reader.”

“Coming,” she says then turns to me. “Duty calls. Listen, you’re up after the girl who’s out there right now, so why don’t you go stand at the edge of the stage and Chuck will let you know when it’s time to go on.”

“Okay.”

As she walks toward Sylvia, she looks over her shoulder. “And we’ll talk about what I expect from our date later.”

I want to laugh, but I’m still nervous. I barely have time to think about why when I hear the emcee bang his gavel. “Sold to the guy in the plaid shirt for eight hundred and seventy-five dollars.”

The girl who just pulled in the big bucks walks offstage, grinning ear to ear. “Good luck,” she says. As she passes me, she looks me up and down. “You should get at least five hundred.”

Five hundred dollars to go on a date with me?

Chuck puts a hand on my shoulder. “When he calls your name, you’re going to walk onto the stage and stand on the giant X taped next to him. Then when he starts to talk about you, you’ll walk down the short runway, turn around, and come back to the X. You’ll wait there for the bidding to end.” His voice lowers. “We’ve found the guys tend to get more money if they flirt with the girls as they walk.”

“You’re shitting me.”

“No.” He shrugs. “Pretty awesome, huh?”

Awesome is not the word I’d use and I hope they don’t expect me to follow suit. Surely, Alexa wouldn’t be happy if I did.

“Bachelor number twelve is Ben Masterson, a replacement for Seth Holkum.”

I find myself climbing the steps to the temporary stage and standing on the X. I look to the side, hoping Alexa is watching, but I don’t see any sign of her.

“Ben is a senior mechanical engineering major, which means he’s not only smart and good-looking, but most likely good with his hands.”

My eyes widen in terror as the girls in the audience shriek and catcall. I look back at the curtain behind me and see that Sylvia has popped around the edge, an ornery grin on her face. Now I know who wrote the copy. But I still don’t see Alexa and I try not to panic.

The emcee laughs. “Ben, start strutting your stuff down the catwalk.” When I take a few steps, he continues. “Ben’s six-foot-two and one-hundred and eighty pounds. He works out three days a week at the Southern gym and can bench press two of you beautiful girls at one time.”

Where the hell did Sylvia come up with this stuff?

“Ben’s a hometown boy, born and raised in Hillsdale. He loves long walks, lemon cream pie, and puppies.”

A collective ah ripples through the room.

I’m at the end of the stage, thank God. When I turn around, Sylvia is still peeking around the corner of the curtain, giggling behind her hand. I’m going to kill her, but I’m too freaked by the fact that Alexa is nowhere in sight to focus on being mad.

I mouth to Sylvia. “Where’s Lexi?”

Her eyes widen as her head swivels around. Panic floods her face when she apparently sees no sign of Lexi.

Oh shit.

“Ben’s ideal woman is a girl who’s confident in herself and her looks. Who has a strong sense of who she is, and keeps physically fit and thin.”

I can’t hold myself back when I finally end up back on the X. That last sentence makes me sound like an ass. “I didn’t say that last part.”

“What’s that?” the emcee asks, sticking the microphone in front of my face.

My palms are sweaty and the room is suddenly very warm. “I didn’t say that part about keeping physically fit.” He keeps the microphone in front of me. “Well…” I stammer. “If I want a woman who has a strong sense of who she is, why the hell would I say she has to be thin? That seems counterintuitive, doesn’t it?”

“So you’re saying you don’t care if your date isn’t thin.”

“I’m saying she should be happy with herself, inside and out, without letting society dictate who she is.”

The room fills with the women’s yells and I worry that I’ve pissed them off.

“Let’s start the bidding at fifty dollars,” the emcee says, staying next to me.

“Fifty!” a girl screams.

“One hundred!”

“Two hundred!”

“Two fifty!”

Oh shit, in my need to defend myself, I’ve made them actually want to date me.

The emcee lifts the hand that isn’t holding the microphone. “Whoa, whoa, slow down there, girls. I know he’s a hot commodity, but he’s not going anywhere yet.” He starts the bidding again and the figure soars up to a thousand dollars.

I turn to the side to get a look at Sylvia. She’s frantic. Still no Alexa.

“Five thousand dollars,” a voice calls out.

The crowd quiets and the emcee asks, “Who made the last bid?”

“I did.” The crowd parts as a girl makes her way to the stage.

Oh, fuck. It’s Tina.

She stops at the end of the stage, eyeing me like it’s Easter Sunday and she gave up men for Lent.

“Does anyone want to bid more than five thousand dollars?” the emcee asks.

The room is quiet.

“Going once, going twice—”

I’m about to have a stroke. There’s no way in hell I can go out with that bitch, but I can’t break the rules either. I’m screwed.

“Six thousand,” Lexi calls out, walking toward the stage.

I release my breath and my shoulders sink with relief.

Tina lifts an eyebrow. “Eight.”

Alexa is next to her now, pinning her with a deadly gaze. “Really, Tina? You actually have that much money?”

She holds out her hands. “Trust fund baby.
Surprise
,” she singsongs.

“Ten thousand,” Alexa says, her voice firm.

“That’s ten thousand dollars, ladies.
Ten. Thousand
. Anyone else want to jump in?”

Ten is Alexa’s limit. When she teased me about it minutes ago, I never dreamed it would become an issue.

The two girls engage in a staring contest, but Tina breaks her gaze and looks down at the stage before glancing up at me and licking her lower lip. “Twelve thousand.”

Alexa’s mouth drops open and she looks up at me in horror.

I’m fucked twice over.

“Twelve thousand going once… going twice…”

“Twenty thousand dollars,” Caroline shouts from the back of the room. She kisses Reed’s cheek and makes her way toward Alexa.

I’ve never passed out in my life, but the thought of someone paying twenty thousand dollars to go on a date with me—for anything, really—makes me lightheaded.

Tina shakes her head in disgust. “Go back to your man, Caroline. You need to learn to share.”

“You only want him because Lexi does.” Caroline steps closer, her eyes deadly. “But I’m warning you to back off, because while Lexi might not bite,
I will
.”

Tina turns back to me and narrows her eyes. “I had planned to make a man out of you, Virgin Ben, but Caroline steals all my fun. Again.” Then she turns around and walks away.

“Twenty thousand going once, going twice… Sold to the blonde in the black dress.”

“Thank you,” I mouth to Caroline before I make my way to the steps at the corner of the stage.

“The rest of the bachelors have a lot to live up to after that,” the emcee murmurs before he announces the name of the next bachelorette.

Alexa meets me at the bottom of the stairs. “Ben, I’m so, so sorry.”

I turn my gaze to Caroline, who’s standing behind her. “So, Caroline, when do you want to go out?” I joke. “And for twenty thousand dollars I’m sure you’re expecting a private jet
and
an island.”

She grins.

“Seriously, thank you.”

“Don’t thank me. It’s Reed’s money and his idea. He’s using his trust fund.”

Alexa and I both stare at her in amazement.

Caroline laughs. “You’re lucky it was Tina betting against you. If it had been anyone else, he probably would have stood back and let it happen.” Caroline lowers her voice as we move to the backstage area. “The truth is that you never should have put him in at all, Lexi. You took a huge risk.”

Alexa scowls. “How was I to know that the bidding would go over ten thousand?”

I hold my hands out at my sides. “Hello.”

“Shut up,” she says with a grin. “Ten minutes ago you were worried no one would bet on you at all.”

“Reed’s going to write the check—” She winks at me. “—so technically, you and Reed should be the ones who go on a long walk and cuddle puppies.”

“Sylvia wrote that,” I protest.

“
Sure
she did.”

I can’t believe Reed saved my ass. He still barely tolerates being in the same room with me. And yet he just forked out twenty thousand dollars to help me.

Reed walks up behind Caroline and wraps an arm around her waist as we walk to the backstage area.

I have to admit that I admire Lexi’s older brother, and not just because of what he did for us at the auction. Reed’s multilayered plan to shut down Todd Millhouse was impressive and then some. His ultimate goal was to get the guy arrested on multiple charges that would put him away for a very long time. Reed’s private investigator had been investigating other sexual assaults, most of which were never reported, at both the college Alexa had attended and Todd’s old high school. Once the list was ready, Reed flew to Boston to meet with the women—along with a female attorney he’d hired—promising them quality legal representation if they chose to press charges. Many of the girls were too scared and some had been paid to keep quiet, but Reed managed to convince three of them to cooperate. Alexa wanted to reopen her own case, but the agreement she’d signed made that impossible, although Todd was still facing assault charges for what he did in Hillsdale.

Ms. Pembry’s investigation had been going on for several months when Todd got wind of it. He threatened Alexa’s safety in an attempt to force Reed to stop. Which is when Reed began to withdraw and spend all his free time working on the second piece in his plan for revenge.

We’d been correct about Reed developing a plan to attack the corporation. It was his Doomsday plan. He still refuses to elaborate on what it involved. Thank God it never got that far.

I hang in the back until the auction’s over, not wanting any attention from Caroline’s outrageous bid. When Alexa finishes her duties, she wraps her arms around my neck, pressing her body against mine. “What can I do to make this up to you?”

An ornery grin spreads across my face. “I can think of a few things.” I pause. “But I think Reed is waiting to take our walk.”

She swats my chest. “Very funny. Take me home.”

“You’re awfully bossy for a woman who almost lost her boyfriend to a psycho nymphomaniac and
then
lost him to her brother.”

“You’re never going to let me forget that are you?”

“Not as long as we both live.”

We walk across campus to my car and Alexa tells me how much money she made for the charity tonight. “Without Reed’s bid, we made fifteen thousand dollars.”

“He doesn’t really have to pay that does he?”

She grimaces. “If he forfeits, the next highest bidder gets a date with you. And we both know who that was.”

“That’s a hell of a lot of money.”

She shrugs. “It is, but it’s a tax deduction, plus I plan to pay him back with my own trust fund money when I turn twenty-one and get access to it.”

“Good, God. How much money do you have?” I scrunch my eyes closed and shake my head. “Scratch that. I don’t want to know.”

Alexa stops and I nearly stumble to stop my forward momentum. “I have money, Ben. I can’t help that and I won’t apologize for it.”

“I know and I don’t want you to, but I’ll never make that kind of money, Lex. I’ll never measure up.”

She shakes her head. “I don’t care how much money you make. I want to be with you, not your money. Besides, I doubt I’ll make much money working for non-profits my whole life. The trust money won’t last forever.”

I’m momentarily stunned. “But I thought you were going to work for Monroe Industries after you got your MBA.

“I think I’ve changed my mind. Working with charities is what I love.”

I grin and pull her into my arms. “Then we’ll be middle-class together.”

“I can think of worse things.”

I kiss her long and slow for several seconds. “Let’s go,” I finally say.

The drive to her apartment complex is short, but it’s agony. All I can think about is stripping her naked.

When I park, she’s out of the car before I can get around to open her door. “Come on,” she says, excitement in her voice. “I have a surprise for you.” She grabs my hand and practically runs across the parking lot.

“Does it involve the removal of clothing?”

Her mouth twists to the side as she punches in her code at the door. “Let’s say it will most likely lead to the removal of clothing more often.”

“Then I’m definitely intrigued. Lead the way.”

We enter the lobby and I’m thankful there’s an available elevator. I press her against the wall and claim her mouth with mine. I need to slow down because Reed will probably be in their apartment and I can’t walk in with an obvious hard-on. It’s awkward enough spending the night there when I know that Reed and Caroline are only separated from us by a bathroom.

The elevator opens and I drag myself away from her and grab her hand. “Come on.”

We step into the hall, but instead of walking to the far end, Alexa pulls her keychain out of her purse and stops in front of another apartment.

I squint in confusion. “What are you doing?”

She inserts a key into the lock and opens the door. “Surprise. I got my own apartment.”

“
What
?”

She pulls me inside and I look around at the empty space, still feeling baffled.

“When…? How?”

“Caroline. She called the manager and found out that a one bedroom was available on the same floor as her place and Reed’s. She paid a deposit to hold it until I could sign the lease.”

“Can you afford this?”

She nods. “My parents have agreed to pay for it since I’m only going to be two doors down from Reed.”