Page 54 of The Marriage Auction 2: Part 1

“Are you fucking kidding me? You played me?” Rhodes gasped while his brows furrowed, anger and sadness marring his expression.

“I wouldn’t exactly call it that,” I responded gently, trying to be considerate of his currently volatile mood.

“So, this guy acted like a douche for what reason? To get people to up their bids?” He shook his head. “Unbelievable. I thought you ran a legit auction here,” he continued, taking the situation in an entirely different direction, one that was sordid and uncouth. A path I hadn’t even considered because I wasn’t normally the type to deceive. Alas, desperate times had called for desperate measures. If I hadn’t intervened, Rhodes wouldn’t have even considered bidding on a wife this evening. Something that I knew with my whole heart would do him a world of good.

“Darling, the intent was not to up the bidding price. It was to get you to bid in the first place. Maia already had a buyer who was willing to pay top dollar. I didn’t tell Manny to bid on her at all. Just to act as though he would.” I narrowed my gaze at Manny. “Bidding was not part of our agreement.”

Manny, a thirty-five-year-old method actor, slumped into a chair. “I got caught up in the whole thing. It was really exciting and when I knew I was making Mr. Drag Ass there upset, I had a feeling he wouldn’t take the plunge until I went all in. As actors, we have to know when to improvise.”

I closed my eyes and inhaled a breath, then slowly let it out, trying to calm my own ire.

“I apologize, Rhodes. The intent was not to raise the bids, nor was that part of my very explicit instructions,” I stated with severity in my tone while glaring at Manny. “The plan was only to get you to see what you might miss if you didn’t bid on Ms. Fields.”

“He called Maia a pint-sized whore!” Rhodes growled between clenched teeth.

I jolted back into my husband’s arms. “Pardon moi?” I focused my gaze on Manny.

“Improvisation, my friend. You weren’t responding to the sexy talk. But when I called her names, you got really hot around the collar. I knew you’d go for it then.” He smiled as though he’d done something positive and expected to be praised for it.

I sighed and went over to Rhodes, placing my hands on his arms and looking him directly in the eye. “I’m sorry I deceived you. Please understand my intent was to encourage you to bid on a woman you yourself said you couldn’t stop thinking about. If you’d like to terminate your bid, I will allow it because it was done under false pretenses. I’ll tell Maia she will have to come back to the auction in a few months.”

Rhodes snarled. “Fuck!” He put his hands behind his head again and started to pace. “I can’t imagine her going through this again. She looked so happy, and that smile.” He sucked in a quick breath. “Men would crawl across hot lava to see that smile every day. Fuck!” he cursed again. “I don’t know what to do, but…”

I tried to hold back my smile as he mentally and physically went back and forth between his own needs and his wants.

“Rhodes, it’s okay. I’ll talk to Maia. I can probably go into the meet and greet and get the other interested party to take over her bid right away. Maybe not for seven million, but I’m sure between him, Maia, and myself, we can come to an agreement that suits all involved.”

He suddenly snapped to attention. “The hell you will. I won her fair and square. No other man will touch a single hair on her stunning head,” he returned, his chest rising and falling along with his frustration.

“Yes, but technically it was under false pretenses, and I will not hold you to it based on deception. That’s not how I run my business.” I squinted over at Manny, who winced and looked away, now sullen.

“I-I…” He shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair. “I don’t want to back out. Take me to her. Now,” he demanded in no uncertain terms.

“As you wish. Follow me,” I instructed. “Manny, wait here until I’m ready to deal with you.”

“I ain’t leaving until I get paid anyway.” He grinned happily, not realizing the massive errors he’d made with his deplorable judgement.

When we exited the room, I turned to Rhodes. “I am deeply sorry for what occurred. You are my family. I would never lie to you. I simply wanted to encourage you to consider the opportunity before you.” I swallowed against the fear that this could be another person in my life that I might lose due to someone else’s ignorance.

He reached out and cupped my shoulder. “Hey, I get it. Your heart was in the right place, and hell…” He looked down at his shoes. “Maybe it’s the nudge I needed. I don’t know. Things aren’t going well with Emily. Her mother could give a rat’s ass about her, and I’m so goddamned lonely,” he admitted, his shoulders dropping in what could only be defeat.

I pulled him into a hug, pressing my cheek to his chest. “I know you are. You’ve done everything you could for your daughter, Rhodes. Deep down, she knows that. She also knows you love her to distraction. But there comes a time when you have to put some of your own happiness on your priority list. Itcan’t all be Emily and work, intermingled with Portia’s antics. You deserve someone to come home to at the end of a hard workday. Someone to discuss the highs and lows of raising a teenager. Maia could be that for you, if you’re willing to take the risk.”

He sighed and shifted me out of his arms. “What if it’s like what happened with Portia?”

“Being unfaithful is against the contract,” I stated with conviction. “Maia will forfeit it all if she betrays you. And I promise that young woman needs this just as much as you. Maybe for different reasons, but I think over time you will see her reasons line up with yours.”

He chuckled and looped his arm around my shoulders. “Ever the romantic. You realize she’s in this for the money, right? Which is basically the same reason Portia took me for a ride.”

I shook my head. “Maia needs the money, yes, but I think she’ll surprise you. Get to know her. Take her out. Travel a bit with her. Introduce her to Emily.”

“Fuck! Emily is going to shit a brick. This is going to rock her world and not in a good way. Portia just told her yesterday that she wasn’t marrying Pablo. I can’t introduce her to yet another new person who’s going to change her life.”

I rolled my eyes. “Portia has more fiancés than I have expensive shoes, and,mon cher, I adore my wide variety of footwear,” I tutted.

He laughed out loud.

“Besides, you do not give that girl enough credit. She is not unaware of the coming and goings of her mother and the lack of interest she takes in her life. Emily may need you to start treating her like a young adult. Then maybe she’ll start acting like one.”

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