Page 13 of Dirty Work
Chapter Ten
“We have this beautiful woman here, up next. Her name is Anne and she works at Binder Capital. She is one of their new secretaries. In her free time she enjoys reading, watching TV, and long walks on the beach.”
Oh, jeez.. Maybe the organizers aren’t taking this as seriously as I thought they would be. I feel a little more at ease, now that I know this silly biography is being presented to the sea of men I’m looking out into. The audience, the bidding crowd, is made up of all the men from the office.
I see Bryan and Greg there, my boss and a few of the partners. I recognize some people from HR and IT, and follow the faces in the crowd to a few of the partners’ wives, seated together and chatting boredly, not paying much attention to the auction.
“Anne, here, is having a date auctioned off tonight, so be sure to bid on her.” The auctioneer checks the card that he’s reading from. “And it looks like her proceeds will be donated to the Greenpoint branch of the New York Public Library. Very nice cause, Anne!”
She smile and smooth the fabric of my dress down.
“Let’s start the bidding,” the auctioneer says.
“One hundred dollars!” I see Greg’s arm shoot up from the sea of hot guys in the audience.
“Sir, okay, that's not how this works,” the auctioneer says.
Greg laughs and puts his arm down. “I’m just trying to make sure I can outbid my friend here. It isn’t fair that he gets all of Anne’s time to himself.”
Her cheeks flush and I feel a little lightheaded and funny
“We are going to start the bidding at, as this gentleman suggested, one hundred dollars,” the auctioneer concedes.
Bryan raises his paddle to indicate that he is placing a bid.
“I see one hundred, can I get one hundred and fifty?”
In turn, Greg raises his paddle and jabs Bryan in the ribs. I looked at the pair in confusion. A bidding war? Both men wanted to go on a date with me?
I catch myself before going down this line of thinking. I realize that this is just a silly charity thing, that they aren't bidding on me, exactly, that they were bidding on putting some money toward a good cause in the city. It’s not like I wouldn’t be willing or even enthusiastic to hang out with either or both of them at day of the week, either at work or after work.
But Bryan has a determined look in his eye. As the two men volley back and forth for the bid on a date with me, my heart quickens, and I feel a little gleam of mischief in Bryan’s eye.
By the time the bid goes up to a cool thousand dollars, I wonder if he is doing this just to impress me.
It’s working.
The auctioneer picks up his pace, announcing the level of the bids faster and faster, Bryan and Greg’s paddles hoisting into the air, alternating being swung up high and then swiftly coming down. My heart picks up pace even more, the excitement of being a commodity and objectified taking over and replacing my rational thoughts.
I’m reveling in it, and my panties are soaked, and I wonder if the people around me know. It’s embarrassing, and I can’t imagine actually know that that know.
But tonight, I want to be objectified.
I imagine going back to Bryan’s apartment with him again, even if Greg were to end up winning the date with me.
“Fifty thousand dollars.” Bryan stands up, pushing Greg’s bidding paddle down.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is the highest bid we have had on a date so far tonight.”
Greg flashed his gorgeous smile and stands up to applaud Bryan. The room erupts in applause as Bryan makes his way up to the stage to claim the prize he’s won.
“Sir, we usually organize a time to follow up with the women so they can explain their cause.” The auctioneer attempts to clarify the rules for Bryan, but it is clear that if he did already know the rules, he was ignoring them, and if he didn’t, he wasn't interested.
When he finally gets to the stage, I have to shout to him so he’ll hear over the applause.
“You already knew that I would go home with you. You must really like the New York Public Library, or something.”
“Well, if it’s important to you, then it’s important to me. I knew you wouldn’t do this stupid auction unless it was a cause you really gave a crap about,” he says, smiling and crossing his arms across his chest.
“But fifty thousand dollars? That’s a little ridiculous, isn’t it?”
“I know. You just wiped out my charity budget for this quarter.”
Damn.
Maybe Bryan really is one of the rainmakers at work. I never pegged him for that. But between seeing his apartment and this huge contribution, I realize that I must have underestimated him - in more ways than one.
