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"Fifteen thousand," the auctioneer called. "Sixteen," he said almost immediately after.
"Uh-oh, what's happening?" I asked.
"Bidding war," Damien said. "Seems to be paddle sixty-four and thirty-seven."
I grabbed the clipboard with the names and paddle numbers on it, scanning down for the right numbers and let out a loud groan.
"That bad?" Damien asked.
"Remember when I told you that if you wanted to needle Ra, you should just tell him that you think Amun is the real head of the Egyptian pantheon?"
"Yes..."
"Sixty-four is Ra, and thirty-seven..."
"Is Amun," he finished for me.
"Yep. Is anyone else in the race?"
"No, the last person dropped out a few bids ago."
"All right, get the auctioneer to cut things off as soon as he can." We didn't want this escalating into more of an issue than it was always going to be. I didn't even know why either of them wanted it. As far as I knew, they were both single, and Ra at least had made it very clear that he wasn't interested in using Jinx services.
Then again, he'd come tonight, maybe he'd changed his mind.
"Final bid, twenty-four thousand," the auctioneer called. "Anyone got twenty-five? No? Going once, going twice, sold to bidder sixty-four."
I snuck a peak down to Anansa who was unsurprisingly beaming. No doubt she'd get a lot more bookings off the back of this, especially as the cruise had gone way over value. I was pleased for her, while also a little worried for Aine over how things had gone.
I pulled my phone out of my bag and sent her a message. Min was friends with Ra anyway, I was sure he'd be able to sort things out.
People began to mingle as the auction faded away, and the drinks started to flow.
I let out a relieved sigh. Other than one potential hiccup that wasn't even my responsibility to solve, things had gone well.
Damien pulled off his headset and set it back in the box, giving a few instructions to some of the staff as he did.
"All right, I think I'm all yours, now," he said. "Command me as you would."
I laughed. "You know, I could get used to this."
"Working together?"
I nodded. "Don't tell Aine, yet."
"Does that mean you'll join Jinx properly?"
"No, definitely not. I like working for myself. And the good thing about my office is that there aren't any risks of people walking in on us."
He chuckled, putting a warm hand on my lower back. "That's fair."
"But I think I'll take her up on her offer to work with Jinx more."
"Just because you like working with me?"
"No. I mean, that's a bonus, especially the meetings." I gave him a knowing look. "But I liked having a client who trusts me too. I get them sometimes with others too, but it's not the same. When it comes to Aine, she'll let me have my way if I explain that it's better because she trusts me. With other clients, they'll push back more."
"So what you're saying is that you like control," he teased.
