That piece of shit father of hers never wanted to treat her right, so now she can’t seem to wrap her head around the idea that she’s worthy of anything. I wish I could face that fucker right now. I’d like to knock his ass out for what he did to Charlotte and Sophie.
“What do you want to do about tonight’s lineup?” Garrett asks, while I’m standing in the office, going over the contracts.
“How many do we have?” I ask.
“Seven.”
Damn. It’s our first auction, the most highly anticipated event at the club, according to the PR firm. They’ve been raving about this since the club opening was announced, which is great, but also has that fucking criminal investigator breathing down our necks. The girls are auctioning off their time, not sex. At least not publicly. What they do during their date is up to them.
Seven feels a bit dismal for our first auction.
“Talk to the girls we have. Maybe they have some friends. Up their cut to sixty percent, and let’s aim for at least a dozen,” I say, hoping it’s enough.
“You know…” Garrett replies, leaning against the doorframe. The hairs on my neck stand up as if I already know the bad fucking idea he’s about to vocalize. “I meant what I said about Charlotte.”
“No.”
He waits a beat before adding, “You sound awfully protective…”
I raise my eyes and glare at him. I don’t normally hide things from Garrett. We’ve been friends for years, but I’ve never really had a secret to keep before. I’m not even sure I’m keeping this one very well. And I’m not even sure why I still am.
“She’s only twenty-one.”
“They’re all practically twenty-one.”
I busy myself by pretending I’m actually reading these contracts in my hands, sifting through the papers methodically.
“Emerson Grant…are you getting attached?”
“Knock it off,” I mutter.
He holds his hands up in surrender. “Fine. You don’t have to tell me. Just let me put her up on the stage…auction off an hour of her time tonight. If she agrees, of course. You and I both know she’ll rake in a good crowd, not to mention a lot of money.”
It’s not about the money. But something about what he just said makes me pause.
Charlotte would get a lot of attention tonight. Perhaps then she’d finally see what I see. But I obviously can’t let anyone win an hour with her. And I instantly think of our wealthiest member…
“Is Ronan Kade going to be here tonight?”
“You can count on it,” Garrett replies.
Fuck. This is going to cost me a fortune.
“Sign her up,” I reply quickly.
“Don’t you think I should ask her first?”
“I’ll talk to her,” I bark as I storm out of the office.
Charlotte is helping Maggie stuff envelopes for the event. The girls are chitchatting about something, and I notice the way Charlotte’s smile fades and she sits up a little taller as I approach.
“A word, please?” I say, gesturing for her to follow me to a private room where we can talk. The minute I shut us in, I realize my mistake. Her eyes light up, gazing slack-jawed at the black silk bed with handcuffs, silk ties, and ropes hanging from the wall.
“I thought you were too busy today…” she says, turning back to me and running her hands up my chest.
Fuck, I am too busy, but the way she’s responding to this room right now has me thinking I could just blow off work, the event, my entire fucking job at this point. I’d love to see her pretty pale skin on that black silk, tied to this bed, letting me do ungodly fucking things to her.
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “I brought you in here because I really do need to talk to you.”
“Oh,” she replies, pulling away, but I don’t let her take her hands off me. We may need to talk, but I still need to touch her. Grabbing her by the elbows, I pull her against me.
“You’re going to be in the auction tonight,” I say, like ripping off a bandage.
She tenses, glaring up at me with wide eyes. “I can’t—”
Walking her back until her legs hit the bed, I gently push her until she’s lying down, and I drape my body over hers. I can’t fuck her now, no matter how much I want to, but there will be time later to have a little fun in here.
“Emerson, I really can’t be in your auction. I’m sorry—”
I silence her with a kiss and grind my hips against hers. She hums in response. God, I love these soft lips of hers. I could never get tired of her kisses.