Take It Slow

by Scarlett Brooks

  And when Lucas flopped down into the seat in front of me, my suspicions were confirmed.

  “Okay. Spit it out. What’s going on?” I asked.

  I sipped my beer and watched as Lucas downed his without a second thought.

  “Can I get another one of these?” he asked.

  “Hey! Two more? Please!? Thanks,” I called out.

  And Lucas didn’t start talking until he had his second beer in his hand.

  “This isn’t work-related at all, is it?” I asked.

  He shook his head, “No.”

  “Then what is it?”

  “You’re going to kill me. Well first Lauren was going to kill me, but now you’re going to kill me, and either way I’m fucking dead.”

  “You need to tell me what's going on, right now.” I set my beer bottle down on the high top table and stared at him.

  “So you know that rescue that Lauren volunteers at sometimes? Well apparently they lost one of their biggest donors and they need to hold a fundraiser.”

  I rolled my eyes. Lucas knew as well as anyone that I was tight on my purse strings. If people wanted donations for certain charities, then they would get it at the end of the year as part of my tax write-off. And that was just how it was. Until then I used my profit for one thing, and one thing only. Me. I'd worked my ass off to build my company, starting from hardly anything creating a multimillion-dollar empire. No one else did that work, and no one else deserved the fruits of my labor. So if Lucas was coming to me expecting some big check, he was barking up the wrong tree. And he knew it.

  “Lucas... I…”

  He covered his face with his hands, “No it gets worse.”

  “How in the hell could it get worse? Aren't you about to ask me for money?”

  “No see that's the problem. Lauren needed help with the fundraiser…”

  I interrupted him, “I am not giving away free labor.”

  He grabbed the beer that the bartender had just dropped off and took a few long chugs before he set it back down and looked straight into my eyes.

  “They're hosting an auction. A people auction, where a bunch of people are offering something at the auction,” he stammered out.

  “What the hell does that even mean?”

  “She needs you to auction off a date. With you. And I told her that you would do it. Because otherwise man I was going to be sleeping on the couch for a month! I already called that other realtor group, the one that we get drinks with sometimes. Two of their realtors are going to auction themselves, and their realty services. Their cut of the profit on whatever house they sell is going to the rescue. Now I know you really couldn't do something like that with your business, but she came up with the idea that a date with you would go for really big money. I mean you're one Austin's most eligible bachelors.”

  “That's because I'm completely focused on my business, I don't have time to date,” I replied gruffly. I hated talking about my love life, something else Lucas knew about me.

  “No, you and I both know it's because you have a playboy reputation per all the gossip rags, and now women won't talk to you. At least women in our circle.”

  “Our circle? Lucas you're a firefighter, all women love you.”

  “Fine, your circle, you know all the debutantes of the South. But still, Lauren thought that it would be a great idea, and come on man it's for charity. Just this once won't you help me out?”

  “No. I will not help you out. Just for bringing me out here and asking me this means you pay for the beers!” I pushed away from the table and got up throwing him a hard stare over my shoulder before I left. “You and your little fiance are crazy. And once this is all over and you figure it out, call me. Until then, I'll see you later.”

  Sure maybe I was being rough on the guy, but I couldn't believe what he was asking me. I wasn't a piece of meat! Sure I sold it for a living, but that didn’t mean I was willing to sell myself.

  3

  Emily

  “Okay, in terms of venues, we’ve got the cathedral on the other side of town. Which I’m honestly not a fan of. We’ve got Mr. Graves’ beautiful horse stables that would make a good venue for--.”

  “Not those,” I said, shaking my head.

  “Why not? I mean, this is technically for--.”

  “Not Mr. Graves stables,” I said curtly. “Gwen had a rough case there not too long ago, I think it would make her feel weird.”

  Lauren held up her hand. “Fine, fine. Crossing that off the list, too.”

  “I didn’t realize I’d be helping plan this as well.” It wasn't that I particularly minded, I just wasn't a very good party planner. Not to mention being vegetarian, meant that I was super weird about menus in most people's opinion.

  “Oh, I’m just bouncing ideas off you. That’s all. I have the final say in everything.” That made me feel a little bit better.

  “Okay. What other venues are there?”

  “There’s that massive dance hall in the middle of Austin. But, it’s also the most expensive option. Beautiful hardwood floors, though. And they have a built-in caterer and bar we can choose to open up if we want.”

  “Sounds like the easiest option.”

  “Yeah, but easy isn’t always fun,” she said, grinning.

  “Well, if you do want my input, I say stick with easy. If it’s got enough room for people and there’s dancing and drinks and food, I’m sure people will willingly open their pockets. Especially if the place is air-conditioned in this Austin heat.”

  “Yes. It will be blasting,” she said.

  “What do you want to serve in terms of food?”

  “Oh, I want there to be a formal dinner service. Steak is one of the items on the menu.”

  “Is that smart for a rescue that helps neglected cows as well?” I asked.

  Lauren’s lips pursed. “Maybe not. But, we have to serve some sort of meat. The people of Austin will not get down with salads only. Or tofu. Sorry.”

  “What about fish?” I asked.

  “Does the rescue not do anything with neglected fish?” Lauren asked coyly.

  “Crack jokes all you want, but I know of a free-range fish farm not too far outside of town.”

  “A free-range fish farm?”

  “Are you going to question everything I say? Because if you are, I won’t give my opinion and you can talk at me as if I’m a cement wall.”

  “Aren’t you always stoic like a cement wall anyway?”

  “I think you’re referring to Gwen, but thanks. Anyway there are multiple ways to serve meat without touching beef or chicken. Or any other sort of exotic meat. You could do a nice salmon. Maybe a seared duck. I know of a free-range duck farm as well that doesn’t neglect their animals. You can advertise both of those farms and their practices and values in exchange for meat,” I said.

  “Can you set that up?” Lauren asked.

  “If you want me to, I could give them a call. They might want to come and support as well, even if they can’t donate.”

  “Okay, then you make those two phone calls and that’s all you’ll do. Promise.”

  I grinned. Lauren was never good at keeping her promises. I knew she’d have me doing more by the time this meeting was done, but it wasn’t the biggest pain in the ass. I was more concerned with what I was going to wear to this thing. Also I needed to call Gwen and remind her to dress nice, she was never in anything but scrubs.

  “So, salmon and seared duck for the menu that evening. What about sides?” Lauren asked.

  “You’re going to need my help on this, aren’t you?” I asked.

  “No, I’m just spit--.”

  I shot her a look and she sighed. “Okay. Maybe a little bit of help. But not much. Promise.”

  I giggled and shook my head. “Asparagus is always a nice pairing with salmon.”

  “That’s good. That’s really good. I didn’t know you were a foodie.”

  “I’m not. I just don’t eat shitty food.”

  “Fa
ir enough. What should go with the duck?”

  “If it’s a duck confit, something light. Like a nice grilled vegetable medley. If it’s seared duck or grilled duck, then you can do something heavier. Like beans and rice.”

  “Everyone here gets down with beans and rice.”

  “Then make the duck grilled or seared,” I said.

  “Should we have a starch side as well?”

  “Cheesy potato au gratin always goes over well. Or mashed garlic potatoes.”

  “With cheese.”

  “Always,” I said, grinning.

  “Lots of sweet tea and lemonade. As well as an open bar. What about dessert?”

  “We should have two options. And soup options as well.”

  “Appetizers?”

  “Mmm, let’s do salads. A caesar and a house wedge salad. And give people the option to put duck on the caesar salad and make that their full meal.”

  “Are you sure you haven’t done this before?” Lauren asked, grinning.

  I rolled my eyes. “You said you wanted help.”

  “I said a little help.”

  “Which we all know means a lot of help.”

  Lauren giggled before she started writing everything down.

  “Okay. But, we still need desserts,” she said.

  “You can never go wrong with a good peach cobbler. But a good one. Not a gross one,” I said.

  “Okay. Peach cobbler and banana pudding?”

  “Should we do something chocolatey?”

  “So, three desserts?”

  I grinned. “More desserts never hurt anyone.”

  By the time we were done, we had the venue called, the menu solidified, and the bar opened up for the date we had chosen. All we had to do was figure out what to do with music. Did we want a D.J.? Just some loud speakers? A live band? The possibilities were endless, and each came with their own hassles. Did the D.J. have his own equipment? Would the live band have enough space and know enough songs? Would someone know how to hook up the sound system if we went that route?

  “If we go the duck and salmon route for something like this, we can’t have loud speakers as our music. That’s tacky,” Lauren said.

  “So, do we want a D.J. or a live band?” I asked.

  “I always lean towards a live band, but that’s because most of the venues are outside. I mean, this place has windows to open, but it’s an inside thing. A live band might get too loud.”

  “Unless we get a group and not a full-fledged band.”

  “But that also means auditioning. And we’ve only got a couple of weeks to throw this together.”

  “Then, it sounds like a D.J. is the route to go. If we advertise right now, we have a chance to sift through some of them and find a decent one with knowledge of all decades worth of music,” I said.

  “Do you know what you’re going to wear?” she asked, smiling.

  I shook my head. “Not yet. I haven’t had the time to go shopping or anything. Probably just a simple dress. Or maybe a pant suit.”

  “Oh. No. Don’t you dare show up to something like this with a man auction and wear a damn pant suit.”

  “A what now?” I asked.

  Lauren smiled cheekily. “A man auction. You know, where handsome, eligible men from around the area get up in front of a room full of hungry women to be bid on? You need something sexy for something like that.”

  “You’ve set up an auction for this fundraiser?”

  “I had to do something to get the rich women of this town out here. Food and drinks snag the men, but not the women,” she said.

  “When were you going to tell me this? My name is on this, Lauren. Also Gwen is going to freak. You think I”m the mean sister, I mean have you freaking met her?!?”

  “What? You said you were only helping a little bit.”

  “And with you, that means a lot a bit!” I exclaimed.

  “Yeesh. Calm down, Emily. What’s the big deal?”

  “The big deal is I don’t want to be associated with selling men off for their bodies to women willing to throw thousands of dollars at them. That’s the big deal.”

  “All of the proceeds will go to the rescue,” she said flatly.

  I swallowed my tongue. “All?”

  “Mhm. Which means with the ten men I’ve got so far, if they each go for three thousand, that’s thirty thousand right there for the rescue without even blinking.”

  I did the calculations in my head. “That could get the mission with the horse program along for--.”

  “Five entire months,” Lauren said, smiling.

  I heaved a heavy sigh. “Okay. I’ll… tolerate the auction. But, I’m not bidding. I don’t like that idea.”

  “You don’t have to. Like I said, you’re just here to help me. Not to give of your own money. Though you can, if you want to.”

  “I use money out of my own pocket more than I probably should.”

  “Do you write it down in the books at the rescue?” she asked.

  I shrugged. “If I can remember.”

  “Emily! The director is going to get pissed off with you again if he knows you’re using your own funds and not recording it.”

  “Can we get back to planning this fundraiser now, please?” I asked.

  Lauren sighed. “Fine. But start recording the funds you use so you can write them off on your taxes. At least make it beneficial for you, too.”

  “It’s not about me. It’s about the animals, Lauren.”

  “How can you be so cool and calm with animals, but so distraught and upset with humans?”

  I shrugged. “Because humans suck.”

  “Well, don’t say it so plainly,” she said, grinning.

  I giggled. “Okay. Come on. Let’s wrap this up so I can get going. I guess I need to shop for a dress.”

  “Then we better get going on our checklist.”

  4

  Levi

  “Levi you made it!”

  I strutted into the venue in a black tux. If I was going to be a part of this ridiculous auction, I was going to look damn good doing it. As I was instructed to do by Lauren when she called me crying that I was going to ruin the auction and her wedding by not showing up.

  “You knew I would. I just want to know that I am still not okay with any of this. But if this is what you need me to do…”

  “You know it is! You are one of the hottest tickets on the auction block tonight. Women are going to fawn all over you.” That was exactly what I didn’t want to happen.

  Lucas walked up behind her, “Babe you're not helping.” He extended a hand for me to shake.

  “I can't believe that she convinced me to do this,” I said as I took his hand in mine.

  “Yeah me neither. I mean hell, I'm marrying the woman and I don't think that I've heard her beg as much as she begged you. But I'm really glad that you caved, man. I need you here, plus a couple guys from the firehouse came too, so you know some people.”

  I smiled and tried to pretend I knew what guys he meant, they were probably groomsmen with me, but to be honest, I couldn’t even name them. “Well where do I go?”

  Lauren smiled at me brightly and took my hand leading me toward an area where they had set up a small stage. There was a DJ behind it and out in the audience probably fifty high top tables were placed around with beautiful navy tablecloths hanging over them and a small vase of blush roses in the middle. I had to admit, Lauren knew how to plan a party. I knew her and Lucas's wedding would be the talk of the town for weeks. And it was just a couple weeks away. But here she was planning a massive auction, at least that's how she had described it when she called me crying after I left Lucas at the bar. I got in a hell of a lot of trouble for that, and she said that I was ruining her life. It seemed a little bit dramatic at the time, but seeing what a large-scale party she was putting on here and knowing that her wedding was going to be no smaller, I realized that maybe she was just a little bit stressed out and I could take one for the team.

 
; She led me to a small group of guys standing around, I recognized one of them. A local realtor who I had purchased some property from for my cows. I shook his hand and we made some small talk before Lauren started describing the ground rules.

  “Listen up! This is for the animals which is a very important cause to all of us.” I tried not to roll my eyes. “So what you're going to do is go out on stage and give the audience a little bit of a show. I know some of you are offering a date while others are offering your services. The date is no contact, and to be honest most of the people that are going to be spending money here, they have a lot of money, they don't need a date with you. So a couple spins around on the dance floor and either offer to meet them for lunch, and create a great networking opportunity, or maybe if they're older take them out to a movie or something else you think that they would enjoy. This doesn't have to be a long time commitment and it's all for charity! Doesn't that sound fun?” She was mostly met with grumbles from the rest of the guys, which made me feel better that I wasn't the only one who had been tricked into coming here.

  “Alright well we're going to get started in just a few minutes.”

  I stood with my hands in my pockets. I didn’t know how much I was supposed to go for or raise or whatever, Lauren hadn’t given many details during her tearful ragey phone call. Just that she was over my Scrooge McDuck routine and if I didn’t show, I was uninvited to the wedding. I did hear Lucas protest that, but she said something to him that made him shut up real quick. That woman was obviously a force to be reckoned with.

  I was about to ask a couple of the other guys what they thought as I noticed the space begin to fill, people clearly had been waiting to get in. I wondered how much we should expect to go for, what they were going to do with their dates when suddenly the music started and I heard Lauren on the microphone. Whoever had given that woman more amplification to her voice clearly didn't know her at all.

  One of the realty guys went out first, and he was offering his services plus whatever profit he made on the sale of the house would go towards the rescue. It all sounded very charitable and sweet, not really my thing. He went for a few thousand dollars and then one of the firefighters was pulled out. I did actually recognize him from the bachelor party we had a couple weeks ago. I didn't stay the whole time because I had a big meeting the next morning, and a brand new grocery store that had just opened up and was looking for organic beef. They pretty much only wanted to work with us which meant that I could get higher price points and as a result more profit. It wasn't a meeting I was willing to miss, especially for some crazy drunkfest out in the woods.