Page 36 of Shifted

"One hundred thousand!" he shouted again. Some paddles went down, but he remained determined. I couldn’t understand why, but here he was desperately trying to win it.

"Two hundred thousand!" A lady yells four rows back.

"Two hundred and five thousand!" Theo yells as he keeps the paddle in the air so carelessly, like he wasn't just offering over someone's life savings.

"Two hundred and five thousand. Do we have two hundred and ten thousand?" The auctioneer upped the price, and I lifted my paddle. Because it might be someone's life savings, but I sure as hell wasn't allowing him to buy me anything.

"Two hundred and thirty!" I reply; Theo looks at me, shocked. I wasn’t here to be played or tested. I was now here to win.

"Two fifty!" He counters.

"Two fifty, do I have two seventy?"

"Three hundred!" I shouted to the auctioneer, and the paddles decreased as it was soon just me and Theo against each other bidding as we just kept shouting numbers.

"Four fifty!" I raise my paddle.

"Four eighty!"

"Five hundred thousand!" Theo lifts his paddle again with half a million dollars attached to it.

"Five hundred and five thousand!" I glared at him. Do you think you can outbid me, Jones?" He laughed as I kept my paddle up, determined this man would not win this painting over me. I might just lose it if he does.

"Think? I know I can?" He raises his paddle again as the number keeps drawing up, and I follow in pursuit, rapidly raising mine.

"How would your fiancé feel about you bidding hundreds of thousands on me?!" I raised my paddle. “Six hundred thousand!" At this point, I knew this was a waste.

"Fiancé?"

"Yes, Michelle?" He looked confused, keeping his paddle raised in the air as the number drew up.

"Who?" He asks.

"Your fiancé Michelle, who's back in Chicago waiting for you? I was confused as to why she wasn't there. I think she’d be insulted to know you called me your Wife." He looked lost and then turned back to the auctioneer.

"Eight hundred thousand." That was my queue of defeat, and my paddle found its way to my lap as I sat unpleasantly.

"Eight hundred thousand, do I have eight hundred and ten?" I watched as the auctioneer looked around the crowd as I sat cross-armed next to the asshole seated beside me, "Eight hundred going once, going twice, SOLD!" The gavel bangs, and my stomach churned.

"Hope?" I sighed, looking over at him. “I get it. You won my childhood painting!” But instead of looking victorious, he looked confused.

"What?" I ask.

"Who's Michelle? I've never been engaged before, and I don't know anyone named Michelle?" A pit formed in my stomach, but this time, it swallowed me whole.

"I was told you had a fiancé." He shook his head slowly, confused by what I had just said.

"What about a girlfriend or serious partner?" He shook his head again and chuckled, taking my hand.

"You looked a little jealous, Hope?" I scoffed. But on the inside, I wasn’t jealous; I was confused and a little panicked, maybe even horrified.

"How could I be jealous of a non-existent woman while her fiancé is bidding hundreds of thousands against me on a painting I liked?" He shrugged. "You make a good point." He stood, offering me his hand, which I ignored, standing on my own.

"I just bought you an eight-hundred-thousand-dollar painting, and that's how you treat me?" He bought it for me? I thought it was to spite me.

"I never asked you to. In fact, I wanted to pay for it myself. You just made it way out of budget, so I'd like to buy it from you at a fair price?" He shook his head and smiled at me lightly, "No way, plus how can you afford that? I mean, you’re a single working mother. I could never-"

"I do very well for myself, as a matter of fact. So, you'll let me chip in for the painting, end of discussion, and change your thinking before I tell on you to your Mother Theodore." He put his hands up in defense, surrendering.

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