Page 13 of Jesse

It took a while to get people interested in bidding. And his price was pret-ty low for being first billed.

But maybe he’s too young? Twenty is practically a baby. Maybe people are holding out for number two. A very handsome, thirty-something heir to a medical supply fortune.

Hmmm.

No. He barely gets above minimum too.

There are a lot of whispers in the room. Lots of shifting in seats as that same scenario plays out over and over again. They are all bought, but can I just say that the enthusiasm in this room is lacking?

Badly?

And the scoreboard keeping track of donations is just barely over five point five million dollars by the time Jesse Boston is introduced.

I mean… I’ve not been here before but it was my understanding that each bachelor goes for an average of eight hundred thousand dollars. Which should have us up near or over the ten million mark by now.

The moment that Jesse steps out on to the stage, everything changes.

Women stand up, waving their little paddles before the bidding even starts.

I raise my paddle with them. Ready to grab my prize.

But ten seconds in, the bidding is already up to one point one million dollars. And climbing.

“What the hell is happening?” Mila hisses in my ear.

“I don’t know. But we’re already over budget. We lost.”

“We can’t lose!” Hannah snaps. “We planned this. This is happening!”

She grabs my hand and raises it in the air.

The auctioneer points to me and says, “Two point seven. That’s two point seven. Do I have two point eight? Two point eight from the lady in yellow!”

The four of us turn to look at the lady in yellow and Natalie says, “She can’t win! Bid again!”

“You guys!” I say. “It’s already at three point one!”

By the time Hannah raises my hand up, the auctioneer is calling out, “Three point eight! Ladies! Surely we can go higher than that for the children!”

And then… I’m not sure what happens. Someone gets knocked over, there’s a bit of screaming, and the lady next to Mila gets hit in the eye with a paddle and starts shrieking, “My eye! My eye!”

And by the time all that ruckus is over Hannah is holding my hand in the air and the auctioneer is pointing at me, yelling, “Sold! To the young lady in red for ten million dollars!”

I look at Hannah in shock. “What the fuck did you just do?”

“We won!” she squeals, standing up to clap.

I shoot Mila a look. “We came here with one million dollars. One. And we just spent ten times that much on… on…. him!”

I point to him. And Jesse Boston is looking right back at me.

Oh, shit.

I look back at the girls.

Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Oh, shit.

Because Hannah, Natalie, and Mila have already gotten up to leave me here.