It was electrifying. The fashion was as weird and compelling as the emcee’s outfit. Lots of mixes of ripped clothes, hand paintings, odd add-ons, and lots of skin in many shapes, shades, and sizes. I loved that they weren’t just using twigs as models. They even had one model that was spellbindingly attractive in a wheelchair. Though the runway show held my interest, I don’t think I breathed until I finally saw her. She wore an enormous gossamer cape with a massive hood, and a white wedding dress with ravens painted in silhouette flying up from her hemline. Her face was beautifully made up, and her hair had been elegantly knotted to her head with a wig as she still had short hair. She looked like an urban princess ready to run away with a mythological prince.
I would be more than happy to oblige that fantasy. When the fashion show ended, I sat up in my seat and felt the handle of the auction paddle. I had to be ready as I assumed Kylie would be the top prize tonight for more than just me.
“Alright everyone, we are ready for the big event. Raise your paddle if you are interested in bidding. The date will go to the highest bidder, and remember all the money from tonight’s auction goes to the Every Dream foundation. Okay, good luck, and I hope you have an incredible evening.”
I fiddled with the paddle barely able to contain myself, guaranteed my evening was going to be remarkable. I had food in my refrigerator, rose petals in the Jacuzzi tub, a vat of ice cream to scare Kylie as a joke. Soft cozy robes, tons of lube … yes, tonight was going to be remarkable for sure.
Chapter 15
Kylie
I saw him in the audience and knew Alec was on the guest list. He sat at a table all by himself. How could the bastard show his face? He had just bought the building I’d spent the last month trying to secure. Yes, the place was a rat trap, and I wasn’t sure how I was going to be able to get it up to code, but I thought with the money from the auction, we’d have a place to start. Mrs. Ludemeyer was a friend of Avery’s mom. She was going to give us the building for almost nothing by New York real estate standards; it was a butt load of money for us. Alec, the greedy mother fucker, found a way to buy it out from under us. I could barely look at his face.
Compounding my stress and anxiety over Alec’s buying our building was the fact that my dress barely fit. I could hardly breathe in it, and I felt as if I might pass out. I had to hold it together, though. I owed it to Avery and my foundation to keep my cool. My efforts to turn my reputation around and start being seen as a responsible human in society were working. Having a scandalous collapse on stage at my own event wouldn’t be great press, so I just focused on breathing. We had already let the dress out once, but it still was too tight around my stomach.
“Next up, Kylie Morgan.” The room went wild, and I did everything I could to just get my ass out on stage. “Okay, bids for Kylie start at five thousand dollars.”
It was hard not to feel like a piece of meat standing out there in my avant-garde wedding dress, but we had agreed this was the best way to raise the largest amount of money.
I stood out in front of the hot lights unable to see who was bidding on me, but I listened as the price escalated quickly.
“One hundred thousand dollars, what?” Johan had gotten a note from one of the hosts.
The room fell silent as he read the note. “Well, okay. This is a first for me. I’ve never seen this happen in a live auction before, but I have in my hand a bid for one million, five hundred thousand dollars for Kylie Morgan. Does anyone want to bid higher?”
I was definitely going to throw up. I didn’t have to see who had made the bid to know it was Alec. Why would Alec buy the building we were trying to secure and then spend one point five million dollars to have dinner with me? I truly started to worry that there was something really off about that man.
“Okay, do we have any other bids? Anyone? Kylie Morgan is sold for one point five million dollars.”
Don’t pass out, don’t throw up. Don’t pass out, don’t throw up.
“Well, that’s it for the evening; you can collect your date at the far end of the event hall. They will be yours for the evening until the event ends at ten o’clock. Before meeting with your date, make sure to give the host your credit card or other means of payment. Thank you all for being here, enjoy dinner, dancing, the show and drinks. For patrons and models only, the exclusive art gallery next door welcomes you with masterworks that are on tour, including Picasso and Monet.” With that my fate was sealed.