by Ashlee Price
“Come on, guys. I think we can do better than this. Mariah, do a little spin for them in that tight-ass dress. Do you see the ass on her, men? That ass has never been touched. I think we can do better than this.”
The auction went on with Elie egging everyone on. It was starting to slow down, the increments jumping up in smaller amounts. When it got over a hundred thousand, I started to realize that I wasn’t alone in the idea of having her at any cost. Travis Marcum had been the first to bid and he just kept raising it like it didn’t matter. He had almost as much money as I did.
I kept watching the girl on the stage, but she didn’t seem to care. A tall, broad-shouldered man was holding her. I’d seen him at the club in his capacity as a bouncer. Why would she have to be held up like that if she wanted to be there?
The bidding was slowing down, and Travis was all smiles because he was sure he was going to win. When the man he’d been going back and forth with was bowing out and victory was upon him, I stood up and called out, “Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars!” It was quite a bit higher than Travis’s last bid, but I didn’t want to dick around with him. I was laying down the gauntlet, and I wanted him to know that I wasn’t playing. Mariah was going home with me tonight, and that was the end of it. She was mine, and after all of this, she was going to be mine for good.
He looked behind him to see who had dared to go over him. When his eyes met mine, I saw a flicker of emotions run through him. I could tell that he was not happy with my intrusion.
Mariah also looked up finally, like my voice had pulled her from whatever funk she was in. Her smile was big, and I knew then that she’d been waiting for me. The smile was a little off, as was the look in her blue eyes, but it didn’t matter. Nothing else mattered except that she was going to be in my arms and in my bed in a little while.
“Do you really want to do this, Scott? That’s a lot of money for one night.”
Travis was taunting me, but I didn’t care. I’d worked with him in the past, and he didn’t get any more pleasant than he was right now.
“Then let it go and don’t raise again.”
It was a challenge, one that I shouldn’t have thrown down. If he upped the price, the only one of us who was going to be out of pocket was me. I was going to pay whatever the price was in the end, so I don’t even know what I was thinking when I said that. By the look on his face, he wasn’t quite sure either.
He did raise, though. The challenge was accepted, and it got to a point where if it wasn’t Mariah I was bidding on, I would have given in. No amount of commenting from him would have goaded me higher. But it was Mariah, and I couldn’t imagine her in his arms. Glancing up at the stage and the prize barely able to stand up, I went a little higher, preparing myself for a price that I hadn’t even imagined before I got there. The hard number in my mind had already been passed long ago.
When he finally backed down, no one else would even touch the highest bid. I could hear whispers around me, and even though I’d started out trying to stay out of the light, everyone had seen what happened and how much I paid. This was going to get around, and even as I told myself that I didn’t care, I knew that I did. How could I not? I was going to have to answer for this very soon, but not tonight.
Moving towards the stage, I handed a smiling Elie the check in my hand and took Mariah’s. It was limp feeling and there was nothing behind her eyes. Something was wrong and I wanted to know what. Before I got off the stage, cradling her under my arm, I turned to Elie and covered up the mic with my free hand.
“What the hell did you do to her?”
“Got her ready for you, Scott. You should be happy that she’ll be nice and compliant for you. You paid enough to be able to do whatever you want.” He winked at me and took the microphone out of my hand.
“Well, that’s it for tonight, folks…”
I blocked him out. I blocked out everyone that I passed on the way to the car. Mariah hadn’t really even acknowledged what had happened, the price, nothing. She was three sheets to the wind, and all of the expectations that I’d had were gone. This was not at all what was supposed to be. Mariah was acting out of sorts. Even a kiss seemed wrong with her in this state.
“I was going to take you out, see if you were hungry, but I think you look like you need sleep more than anything.”
“I didn’t think you were going to come, Scott…”
Her words fell off and I looked over to see her eyes closed. Had she just passed out? Compliant indeed.
The drive back home was short and I didn’t have time to wrap my mind around the circumstances that I was currently in. I had the woman that I wanted right next to me, but she wasn’t present enough to finally have her. It felt like I was no closer to getting what I wanted as I carried her into the house and laid her on the bed.
I watched her sleep for a little while, her breath so shallow that there were a few times I was afraid she wasn’t breathing at all. I had to know what he’d given her, so I called up the club to talk to Elie.
“What did you give her, Elie? She might be overdosing.”
“She’s fine. Why are you calling me? Don’t you have something that you should be doing?”
He was taunting me for some reason, and it came to me that this was done on purpose. She could have been unwilling to participate, but maybe this was Elie making it so it was impossible for anything to happen. Was this his plan, so she’d still be untouched when she left?
“I can’t like this.”
“Sorry, Scott, but there are no refunds.”
My second suspicion sounded a little more viable as he talked. There were no refunds, but I wasn’t going to give her back. Mariah didn’t need to work with a man like that. I was going to save her, as she’d saved me from the humdrum that had turned into my life.
“We’ll see about that, Elie. That’s mostly her money, not yours. Have you paid her yet?”
“She’ll get her share of it when I see her. Let her know that I want her back by noon. I’ve got another idea in mind that I think will be perfect for her career.”
He hung up on me. I thought I was going to shatter one of my back teeth I was grinding them so hard. He had no idea what I was capable of. I wasn’t going to let this stand. I wasn’t going to let her make the same mistake that I had and give in to men like him. I’d done it early on in my own career, and it was something that would have even more dire consequences for her. I wasn’t going to let her go back to him. Not ever.
Getting up from the side of the bed, I took a long, cold shower to get myself back from the brink. All of the excitement and need that I’d tried to push down was coming forward, and it was hard for me to get it out of my head. I had no idea what tomorrow was going to bring. All I knew was that Mariah wasn’t going anywhere and we had to figure something out. I didn’t want to live without her any longer.
Chapter 25 – Mariah
I woke up with the biggest headache that I’d ever had in my life. It was almost like a hangover, but there was a blast in my head that was new to me. I sat there for a time with my eyes closed before I even tried to open them up. The light coming in from the window was too much to take, and I immediately shut them again and groaned.
There was a warm body and movement next to me. It wasn’t until that moment that I remembered the night before, the auction. It all came back in a wave, although I didn’t remember much after I got on stage and saw all of the people and the bright lights. I had to open my eyes, no matter how much it hurt. I had to see who had won me.
“I was wondering when you were going to get up.”
Scott’s voice pushed through my foggy brain and I saw him next to me in the bed. I assumed we were in his room and the bed I was lying in was his.
“I feel like I need to sleep for a week.”
“Elie spiked your drink with something and drugged you. I don’t know what he gave you, but you seem to be doing a lot better now.”
I had to question whether he knew how I
felt. If he did, I was sure that he wouldn’t suggest that I was better now. I didn’t remember before, so how could that be any worse than I felt right now?
“I don’t feel like I’m doing better.”
“Do you want me to take you to the hospital? They’ll be able to test and see what he gave you. I tried to get him to tell me, but he wouldn’t.”
“No, I don’t want to go and get poked and prodded. I feel bad, but I’m sure it will pass. I just feel like I drank too much. Did we drink after I got back here?”
“You were stumbling on the stage and you passed out before we ever got here. I don’t think you quite get how messed up you were, Mariah. I had to carry you in.”
I didn’t like to hear that. It was bad enough that I’d been drugged, but I could only imagine what had happened after that. I didn’t remember any of it, though, so I was going to have to take his word for it. That might have been the worst part of it all.
“I’m sorry, Scott. Did you at least get what you paid for?”
He sat up and gave me a weird look. “What do you mean?”
“Well, I mean you paid for a night… I guess I was just wondering if you got what you wanted out of it.”
“Did you hear me when I said you were passed out before we even got here?”
I’d heard that, but I didn’t know what that had to do with anything. Just because I was immobile didn’t mean much. I was still mad at him for the call and his refusal to come. Now I was even happier that it was him I’d woken up next to, but I wasn’t in the mood for games.
“I did. I also know that you said you weren’t coming.”
“Are you mad that I did?”
I wasn’t mad that I was here. Here was where I wanted to be, but I couldn’t think with the light in my eyes and the pounding in my head.
“No, I just don’t feel good and I really want to go home.”
It was not what he expected, and if I’d really thought about it I would have known how wrong I was for saying it, but I couldn’t deal with everything that was going on.
“I’ll take you home if you want, or you can just stay here. Elie wants you there in a couple of hours. I would suggest that you not go. If he’ll drug you and sell you off, Mariah, I don’t think that there’s any way that you should trust him. He’s not a trustworthy guy.”
I knew that about Elie, had known it for a while, but I didn’t want Scott bringing it up. “Don’t worry about me, Scott. I know that I’m no good for your reputation.”
He sighed, sat up and put his legs over the edge of the bed. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just didn’t want to lose my company, but it’s too late now. As much as I paid, it’s bound to become a story. I haven’t heard from the board, but I’m sure that I will soon.”
I wanted to ask him how much, but then again I didn’t. How mad was he to have spent so much money on me and gotten nothing in return? It didn’t seem fair, but what was I supposed to do?
“You shouldn’t have come there, Scott.”
“How could I not?”
I knew that he was just worried about getting me in bed. It wasn’t enough. No matter how much he’d paid, he’d shown me what he truly thought. I was an embarrassment to him. That was all there was to it. There was no love, just lust and shame.
“Can you just take me home, Scott, please?”
“If that’s what you really want, Mariah.”
What I really wanted wasn’t going to happen. I wanted him to love me and be proud to be with me, but that was not going to happen. I’d spent too much time at the club, and if I stayed here in New Orleans, I would never get away from it. That’s why I had to leave, no matter how hard it was going to be. Scott winning me hadn’t changed anything. I was still stuck and in love with a man who just wanted to own me, not love me.
“It’s what I want. I just want to go home and lie down until all of this goes away.”
***
I woke up later that day. Much later; it was dark outside when I looked out. I was feeling a lot better, and now I felt like a jerk for how I had acted with Scott. I knew that what I was and where I worked weren’t exactly the most respectable things in the world, and I could understand why he wouldn’t want to be publically linked with me. It made sense, even if it hurt to hear it said out loud.
I wanted to call him, but something was holding me back. I don’t know if it was my pride or what, but I couldn’t do it. I didn’t know what to say, and all I could really think to do to make it up to him was to actually go and see him. There were no words to get it all out. I was just going to have to show him how sorry I was how everything had turned out. My feelings for him hadn’t changed. He’d come for me, even though it would hurt him in the end. I had to love him more than ever for that. It was impossible not to. I finally picked up the phone and dialed his number.
“Scott, I was hoping that I would get a hold of you. Are you still at work?”
“Yeah, I went in, although everything is a little crazy around here. Did you need something?”
His voice and tone were abrupt. I deserved it for everything that had happened and the way I’d reacted this morning. I’d been feeling horrible, though. I mean really bad. It had felt like I was about to lose myself, and even now I wasn’t sure what tomorrow was going to bring.
“I was hoping that we could have a redo, daddy. I know that I was naughty this morning. Don’t you want to punish me?”
There was silence that stretched for several heartbeats.
“Mariah, I… yes, I want a redo. You don’t need a punishment, though.”
I made a pouting sound. Punishment was what got me off. He knew that, and I hoped that he wouldn’t withhold it from me because I’d withheld myself from him.
“Can I come see you later then?”
“Yes.”
“When, daddy?”
“God, I love when you say it like that.”
I giggled and told him that I just wanted to make him happy. I did. There was always a draw to him, and a need in me to make sure that everything was good. I wanted him to be as happy as I was with him those few hours a week that I got to see him.
“So what time do you want me to come by?”
“I’ll be home around seven.”
“I’ll be there.”
“What about work and Elie?”
“I just woke up and I don’t know about any of that. I guess I’ll see him tomorrow.”
“Good, then I’ll have you for the whole night.”
“That’s what you paid for, Scott.”
“Mariah…”
“What?”
“It’s not like that. I bid on you because I didn’t want you to have to be with someone else.”
“So you don’t want me, daddy?”
I gave him the voice that had I noticed bothered him so well, and I got the growl that I was looking for. It was sweet music to my ears, and there was nothing more I wanted to do then but be there. Seven wasn’t that long to wait, but suddenly it felt like an eternity.
“You know damn well I do, Mariah.”
“Then I’ll see you soon.”
His answer was more sounds than words, and I hung up with a smile on my face. I must have had some kind of dream, because I’d woken up thinking of Scott. Now I was feeling like the day was not a total waste. I had a lot to deal with, but one more day wasn’t really going to matter that much. I still had too much going on to pretend like it was all going to be okay, but just for tonight I was going to pretend like it wasn’t all coming down around me. Elie and the club could wait. Tonight was going to be about me and Scott, as it should be.
Chapter 26 – Sasha
“Where is she, Sasha? I’ve been calling the house all day and I’m just now getting you answering. Where is Mariah at?”
I’d just gotten back a few minutes before. I didn’t know where she was, and I certainly wasn’t going to go look.
“I don’t know, Elie. I was out late last night and most of the day. The auct
ion was for the day, twenty-four hours.”
“Don’t get smart with me. I know what I signed you up for, Sasha. I’ve got your check, as well as Mariah’s. If she doesn’t show up soon, she’s not going to get a dime. Maybe I’ll start charging her five percent for every day that she doesn’t come in.”
“That’s between the two of you.” I had learned my lesson about arguing with him. He was going to do what he wanted, and even though he wanted to make it seem like I could change that, I knew that wasn’t true. Nothing I did was going to affect or influence Elie. He didn’t care what I thought about anything, so there was really no point in arguing with him.
I started to walk through the house as he told me how everything was chaotic at work because so many girls hadn’t come in for their shifts. I could have reminded him that he was the one who’d planned it all. Maybe he should have done a better job. But of course I wasn’t going to tell him that. Let him figure it out on his own, as far as I was concerned.
“You’re involved, Sasha, whether you want to be or not. I would have never hired her if it wasn’t for you. You told me that she would do well here.”
“And she has. I heard about how much you made off of her. The percentage that you’re getting is rather high as it is.”
I closed my eyes and shook my head. I wasn’t even sure what had possessed me to say that, but I wasn’t going to apologize. I just didn’t want to, and the longer I was on the phone with Elie, the happier I was that I wasn’t ever going to have to go back there to work. I was going to pick up my check and then tell him that I was leaving. I wanted to see the look on his face when I told him I’d had enough.
“She agreed to it.”
“Well, you’ll have to talk to her. I just got back and I haven’t seen her since last night.”
Elie wasn’t ready to get off the phone, and even though I felt like I was going to pass out where I stood, I couldn’t hang up. I wasn’t that brave, and I still needed Elie on my side until I got paid for the auction.