“The bidding starts as ten thousand dollars,” he said. “Do I have ten thousand?”
“Ten,” I said, raising my hand. Anderson’s eyes sought me in the crowd. He tipped his head at me in approval.
Somebody else called out, “Twelve thousand.”
“Fifteen,” I said.
“What the hell are you doing?” Rowan whispered next to me, his smile twitching with a mix of amusement and confusion.
“Just showing we can play with the top dogs,” I said.
I tossed in another couple bids as the number quickly soared, but stepped back when there were still a few other bidders in the mix so there was no chance of the painting going to me. It was won by a short, balding man who looked very happy with the now one hundred thousand dollar purchase.
“A great showing for our first auction,” Anderson said. “Remember that all our proceeds from today’s event will go to charitable foundations that work with displaced children and veterans.”
We circulated through the crowd, keeping an eye on Anderson and waiting out the next two auctions. I didn’t bid again, but Rowan did in the third, picking up my strategy. After that was over, I noticed Anderson going over to the corner to consult with another man, maybe a colleague. The other guy hustled off, and for that moment, our target was alone.
“Come on,” I said, tugging on Rowan’s suit jacket.
We hurried over as quickly as we could while still pretending to be as posh and poised as everyone around us. Rowan grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing waiter and held it up in a cheers gesture to Anderson as we reached him. “The event seems to be going well.”
The real estate guru looked us over. “It has,” he said. “I’m sorry neither of you has scored anything you were interested in yet, but I appreciate you throwing your hats into the ring all the same.”
Rowan flashed his smile, the one that always seemed to put people at ease. I simply stood there and looked pretty, which was my main job while he did the talking. I was totally okay with that for the time being.
“That’s all right,” Rowan said. “Obviously there are people here more fanatical for art than we are. But we had our sights on a bigger score.”
Anderson raised his eyebrows, clearly intrigued. “What would that be? What line of work are you in, by the way? I don’t think our paths have crossed before.”
“Not surprising,” Rowan said breezily. “We’re venture capitalists, and we’ve spent the last two years hustling to expand our business to the point where we can compete on a national scale. We already have holdings in a few different states.”
“Anything I’d have heard of?”
“For now, we mostly operate in smaller cities. Our most prominent business is based out of Paradise Bend.”
Anderson showed no sign that he’d ever heard of the county, which wasn’t surprising, considering that it sounded like the Storm kept his illicit activities very separate from his legitimate business ventures.
“But I take it you’re looking to expand,” he said.
“Yes.” Rowan let his smile turn a bit sly. “We’ve cultivated a lot of… connections to keep us abreast of any interesting developments where we might have an opportunity. I understand one of your regular financiers is balking at agreeing to fairer terms—which seem truly deserved considering how much you’ve done for his company.”
Anderson’s gaze flickered, but otherwise he kept his expression impassive. “Who would have suggested a thing like that?”
Rowan shrugged. “I don’t want to get anyone in trouble. I just wanted to let you know that if you’re looking for someone who’ll meet your conditions and give you the percentage you’re worth, possibly even offer a little extra bonus as a show of trust in a new partnership, we’d love to talk further.”
Anderson glanced at me, and I figured it was time I showed that I had a brain as well as a body. “We think it could benefit both us and you,” I said. “We’re impressed by what you arranged for this hotel, and we’ve seen several of your other projects. You clearly have a good eye.”
“I’m not sure,” Anderson said. “I don’t like to make any kind of deal on the fly like this.” But he was clearly intrigued.
“We’re expecting a boom in the real estate business in our county and the surrounding area very soon,” Rowan said. “With the right partnership, we could have a gold mine on our hands. We definitely don’t expect you to commit to anything upfront, but I’d love to submit some documents to your office for you to look over. We’d just need to hear within a couple of days. We’re looking to set up multiple investments, but we can’t wait too long to get started.”
An eager gleam had come into the businessman’s eyes. He rubbed his hands together. “Yes,” he said, pulling a business card out of his pocket. “This is the card I only give people Iactuallywant to hear from. Send your proposal to this address, and I’ll take a look right away.”
As Rowan slipped the card into his suit, a couple of women dragged Anderson away, but not before he gave us another encouraging nod.
As soon as he was out of view, I turned toward Rowan. “We did it! I think he’ll bite. You already have all the paperwork done up, don’t you?”
“Yeah.” Rowan chuckled, looking a bit dazed. “I spent all yesterday getting it perfect. We can contact Gideon as soon as we’ve left and he can send it before we’re even back at the mansion. If Anderson bites—it’ll be amazing for the Nobles and the Claws even without the fact that it’s undermining the Storm’s business at the same time.”