The back of my neck prickles with irritation. "Of course she is. You saw what I did for her clout and reputation, and now that her father’s been locked up, he’s out of sight and out of mind. She's going to have a nice, profitable auction, don’t you worry."
It's true. We had more client interest in today's auction than I ever anticipated. Usually Sebastian selects a handful of potential matches and reaches out to arrange meetings, but in Piper’s case, the meetings weren’t necessary since everybody already knows who she is. We expected a few matches to back out once they heard her name, but not a single suitor turned down the opportunity to bid on her. Which means we have even more interested parties today than we usually do.
Piper has nine bidders. The usual amount is three to five. She has nine.Nine. Every one of them wealthy and more than qualified to win her hand in marriage. I guess I did my job a little too well. It just goes to show how desirable she is.
Truthfully, I secretly hate every one of them. In the next couple of hours, one of them is going to walk away with her.
Sebastian begins setting up our laptops so we can log in to the auction server. It's something I should have done myself already. Maybe I'm dragging my feet. Sebastian usually runs the auctions, but I insisted on being in charge today. It felt wrong to pass this particular auction off to someone else.
I didn't sleep well the past three nights knowing that this day was coming. Hell, I haven't slept well since Piper moved out of my bedroom. I should have demanded thatshe continue sharing a room with me, but I couldn’t bring myself to force her. I did enough damage by insisting—no, threatening—that she remain in my home and continue meeting the terms of her contract. That light in her eyes when she used to look at me has gone. I did that. I ruined her feelings for me, just as I set out to do.
Mission fucking accomplished.
So why am I so pissed off that her auction is about to begin?
Theo hands me an espresso and takes one for himself before settling into the chair across the table from me. He grabs his laptop with one hand and pulls it closer, a grin spreading across his face. "Alright, let’s make it rain up in this bitch!"
“A little respect, please,” Becker says warningly, causing Theo to nod and duck his head.
Clamping my jaw, I take my seat, pull in a hard, quiet breath, and steel myself for what's about to happen.
The energy in the conference room is different than it normally is on an auction day. Sometimes we have auctions back-to-back and the excitement and nervous energy remains high the entire time. The vibe in here right now, though, is much more quiet and subdued.
Theo, Sebastian, and Becker are all stealing glances at me while pretending not to, as if trying to suss out how I feel about this. I don't know why they'd wonder or even care. I made it clear to my partners when I took on Piper as a client that this was a purely professional arrangement. That I was grooming her to become a successful socialite wife, nothing more.
Narrowing my eyes at Sebastian, I spear him with alook. Not all of us need to fall in love with a client the way he did. Hell, The Quattuor Group has served countless exceptionally beautiful, intelligent, well-bred women and none of them have captured our interests. That’s not how this game works. At least, not until Sebastian and Blair Tisdale. He gave in. He faltered. He fell.
Not that I blame him. Blair was an exceptional catch, and she obviously loves him. As he does her, surprisingly. After the death of Sebastian’s first fiancée, I never imagined another woman would pin him down. He was a confirmed bachelor. But Blair made a new man of him, and now they’ll live happily ever after.
That’s not how my story is going to go, however. I won’t be sucker number two to go down the same way. So, no, they don't need to look at me with a mixture of sympathy and curiosity and even a little amusement, as if I might crack at any moment and shut the whole auction down.
This is what we do. We auction off attractive, wealthy women to even wealthier men. We make matches born in financial heaven. At the end of the day, Piper will have the means to support her grandmother for the rest of her life. She’s so close to getting what she wants. This is a good thing.
A chime sounds from each of our computers, indicating the action is one minute away from beginning. Shifting into work mode, I double and triple check that the men who will be bidding have logged in and are prepared to start the show. Once everything is confirmed, I glue my eyes to the timer in the left-hand corner of my screen. Ten, nine, eight, seven. Just a few more seconds and she's going to slip through my fingers. Unless shedecided…but no.
I shake my head to dislodge the thought. She and I are over. It’s too late to stop this thing.
"It's go time!" Theo whoops.
I have half a mind to throw my espresso at him just to shut him up. I focus on him instead, staring at him blankly because it's easier to glare at him than to watch my screen. But his face contorts as the auction begins.
"Holy shit," Becker exclaims, leaning over Theo’s shoulder. "This is…unexpected."
Sebastian looks at me. "Nate, are you seeing this?"
No. I'm not seeing what's happening, but I hear the nonstop string of dings as bids roll in one after another, the price for Piper-Lily's hand going up with each one. My chest grows tight as my pulse races along with each ping of the bids until I feel like I might pass out. Gripping the edge of my desk, I rip my gaze away from Theo and look at my computer.
The bids are already in the millions.
I'm not overly surprised. She's worth it. It makes sense that this gorgeous, focused, unspoiled woman who has asked for nothing and given me everything is generating these kinds of bids. Who wouldn’t want a woman like her? She takes joy in ballet and in teaching children how to follow in her footsteps. She sacrificed herself for the care and comfort of her grandmother. She stood solidly by her mother's side during her father's scandal and bravely faced the paparazzi even at the risk of her own safety. Through it all, she quietly accepted donated items from her wealthy friend, never asking for resources to purchase things for herself, and settled into a lifestyle completely foreign to her.
She's going to be an incredible wife to someone very lucky, and as the bid reaches eleven million, I realize how much I've lost.
"Who is this Archie Montgomery guy?" Becker says, looking over at Sebastian.
But before our head matchmaker can answer, I do. I know the personal and professional details of Piper’s bidders like the back of my hand.
"Tech developer," I say lifelessly. "His father hit it big in Silicon Valley in the 2000s and he followed in his daddy’s footsteps. Now they develop tech for the military."