Page 46 of Auctioned to the Billionaire Surgeon

“Okay. I’ll think about what might work and get back to you. Other than that, I’ll be choosing your makeup, hairstyle, and clothes for the auction. Are you okay with that?”

I got the strong sense that it didn’t matter whether I was or not.“Sure, that’s fine.”

“Okay, then.” Carmen put all my paperwork in her file folder.“I’ll be back in touch as we have any questions.” She eased back in her chair.“This is going to be a great auction now, Jelly. Ray Ann, I mean. God. Now I’m calling you Jelly, too.”

I gave her a small smile, my mind elsewhereas I left her office. I couldn’t believe I was really doing this. I was going to be a Cinnamon Girl, just like Nadine and Daisy. While I didn’t expect my experience to end like theirs had, I just hoped that it wouldn’t be something I’d regret doing.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Jelly

“Okay, let’s go out there,” Carmen said, reaching for my hand.

I’d had plenty of time to get ready for this, but I was still nervous. I didn’t have to do a dance or anything like that. I’d been personally scarred by the dance Daisy had done that had turned into porn on the floor of Sugar. I’d been very clear with Carmen that I wouldn’t be doing anything like that.

She’d been fine with that. The one thing she’d been clear about, though, was that I had to wear something extra revealing and look hot as hell. I’d agreed to that. I’d also planned to be presented at a time that Paolo wouldn’t be around. I’d heard enough about him not wanting a non-society girl on his arms at events. I didn’t need to see his disinterest in bidding on me in the auction. Or worse… his pity.

It was easy to lie to my friends and pretend I didn’t want Paolo. But it was a lot harder to convince myself that I hadn’t at least partially fallen for him. Between seeing him at work with the kids and their parents and being wildly attracted to him, it would take a stronger woman than I to withstand that kind of man.

“Okay,” I said, hating that my voice wavered a little.

Carmen looked at me sharply. “You okay?”

I nodded. “Yeah. Just don’t love to stand up in front of everyone and be the center of attention, you know?”

She shrugged. “It’s never bothered me any.” She did a final assessment of me. “You look hot as fuck,” she said with anapproving nod. She’d had a professional do my hair and makeup. She’d also chosen a short, red sequined dress that was very low cut and paired it with four-inch heels. “This will go well.”

Some light background music started up. It was just some of the jazzy, sexy mix that often played during some of the dancers’ sets. It was almost like background noise in the club at this point. “I’ll go out first, then you come out when I announce you. Got it?”

I nodded.

Carmen went out to polite clapping. Our crowd was generally gentlemanly. At least until later in the night after the alcohol had been flowing for a while.

“Good evening. I have some exciting news to share with y’all this evening. I’ve picked the headliner for our upcoming Cinnamon Girl auction.”

The clapping got louder, and there were a couple of hoots and hollers.

“It’s hard to believe how fast time goes, but this hostess has been working at Sugar now for close to two years. She’s fast become one of everyone’s favorites.”

There was a collective holding of breath, and I wanted to roll my eyes. I knew Daisy had felt it, too. Everyone’s favorite hostess was Glory, hands down. So, I knew that right now at least half the men in the room were wishing and hoping she was about to be announced for auction. But it was just me.

Not that I begrudged Glory her popularity. She was the best hostess. She knew exactly how much to flirt without taking things too far. She was nice without being too nice, she could be sarcastic without being mean, and, let’s face it, she was a total knockout. Even though she tried to keep a bit of distance between herself and the other girls at Cinnamon House, I’d gotten at least somewhat close with her over the time since Daisy had left. The house had gone through some turnover, and in a lot of ways Glory was the house mother. We still had at least two rooms open in the house, and I wondered at times why Carmen hadn’t moved anyone new in lately. But I knewshe was very picky about who she let live there.

“And so now…” I heard Carmen saying and snapped back to attention, “I’d like to ask Ray Ann, AKA Jelly, to come out on stage with me!”

The crowd went wild, which was gratifying. I walked out making sure to put extra sway in my hips like Carmen and Madeline had schooled me on in practice. Then I came and stood beside Carmen like I was a pageant queen or something.

“Jelly!” Several of the guys yelled, and I grinned at them when I could see who it was. The lights were so bright in my eyes, it was difficult to see who everyone was, but I did my best. I only faltered once, and that was when my eyes fell on Paolo, who was sitting at the premier table with the Salazar brothers, Byron, and Reynolds. I bobbled on my feet slightly before righting myself. Then I’d pulled my eyes from his and smiled brightly out at the rest of the audience.

What the hell was Paolo doing here? He was supposed to be working late tonight. It was one of the reasons I’d urged Carmen to go on and announce me tonight. But here he was, staring up at me with disappointment and something like possessiveness on his face.

“If you’d like the chance to bid on Jelly or any of the other Cinnamon Girls in next month’s auction, you need to get your membership upgraded, complete all your paperwork, and enter yourself as a bidder. You have two weeks from tonight, gentlemen. Don’t let Jelly down.”

“Why aren’t you going to do a dance like Daisy did?” a guy jumped up and yelled.

“I keep that kind of thing private between just me and my auction winner,” I said with a saucy wink and cock of my hip. They didn’t need to know if I tried to dance in these heels I’d likely pitch right off the stage and break an arm or a leg. Definitely unsexy.

“But how do we know if you’re going to be…”