Beverly Dexter, fresh from her life-saving warning from me, owed me a certain amount of loyalty but she also was there to court some clients from Dad’s friends. Much to her delight, she discovered that Brandon was single as well and knew that his family was well-received and he could be considered quite a catch. It was like Christmas for her.
Dad was there to get away from Mother and to support me, just as he’d promised. The administrator from Sunset Village was amazed that someone would make it their mission to improve his property, and therefore his vacancy rate. The rest of Dad’s friends all had mothers or fathers in the age range where they were becoming caretakers and having an investment in Sunset Village could mean a solution to the vast commitment and interruption about to impede their lives. Therefore, I learned that no matter the reason, people must have some stake in order to participate.
Worth had been neither notified nor invited. His check still sat in my purse and I was debating whether to turn it in. If I did, it meant he would have a seat on this board and in the decision making, and that sting had not yet worn off for me. I hadn’t spoken to him since the meeting with Ms. Dexter. I either refused his calls or texts and didn’t answer the door when he came to call. Dad and Mother had respectfully looked the other way and that left Worth standing outside the door like a foundling. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could do it, but he had to know that he couldn’t treat me like that and get away with it. The question was… how far could I push him?
We had managed to put offers on the parcels of land all around Sunset Village. I hoped that when Dad’s friends left today, their donations would allow the actual purchase. We had architectural designs to show how the additions could be added without impacting the existing structure and how the entire plan with stables and other external buildings could be integrated into an interesting and accessible way. Ms. Dexter’s knowledge and expertise, luckily, had come in extremely handy. I kept my fingers crossed that she wouldn’t learn the truth of my lies until our project was completed.
When the meeting concluded, we parted with more than a half million dollars in our coffer, promises of more participation, an approved plan and the intent to break ground the very next day. I was on top of the world… until, that is, I thought about Worth and his betrayal of me. I sighed. And my betrayal of him.
It was my job to organize fundraisers and I thought the first one could be a bachelor auction. I had tons of friends from school, many of whom were considered excellent catches. We would hold it at the Galt House and their dates would be as exotic as the bachelor was willing to sponsor.
I had been making calls and already had twenty bachelors lined up. A call to the local radio station garnered me an emcee for the evening and the Galt House was glad to donate the use of one of their ballrooms for the event. Word spread quickly and I expected almost a hundred eligible young ladies to show up.
“Thank you for agreeing to be one of the bachelors, Brandon,” I told him over the phone when he called to discuss foundation business. “I know you’ll bring in a pretty penny.”
“Really? How much are you willing to pay for me?” he teased, but somehow I knew he wasn’t really teasing. “What’s up with ol’ LaViere, by the way. I haven’t heard you mention him and not seen him around. You two have a falling out?”
“Let’s stick to foundation business for now, Brandon, could we? I don’t know where we stand and right now, I’m taking a hiatus. Listen, I’ve got more calls to make. Catch you later!” I hung up quickly before he asked any more invasive questions.
My next call would be a surprise, I was sure. “Todd? This is Auggie,” I said to my police officer friend.
“Auggie? Wow! I never expected to hear from you. What’s up?”
“We’re having a bachelor auction to raise funds for the Sunset Village Foundation,” I began.
“Oh, yeah, I heard that being talked about. People are saying you’ve bitten off quite a chunk, but it’s for a good cause. How can I help?”
“I was hoping you might agree to be one of the eligible bachelors. Wear your uniform and all that? Would you, Todd?”
He laughed, a quick barking sound. “Auggie, how much do you think I could bring? You’ve got some big names lined up from what I hear. Isn’t your boyfriend, the great Dr. LaViere, on the auction block?”
“No, he isn’t. Todd, there are a ton of girls who would love to go out with you. Please help? It’s for a good cause,” I cajoled him.
“Never could resist your pleas, Auggie. Okay, for you I will do it. But let’s get back to LaViere… are you two not an item anymore?”
“It’s complicated, Todd. I’ll have a packet sent to you and really appreciate your participation. I’ll look forward to seeing you there that night.” I finished the conversation equally quickly and hung up. Worth had already put me in the gossip columns and I didn’t appreciate that in the least.
***
The night of the bachelor auction came around and I’d spent the entire day at the Galt House, checking details and making sure everything was set up properly. Judging by the number of women in the lobby and waiting outside, I knew this was going to be highly successful and my goal was to raise another hundred thousand dollars or more.
Curtain time came and the emcee was his usual charming self. Everyone began with playful bids on the lesser known individuals, local businessmen, college athletes, even a couple of jockeys. Todd had good-naturedly shown up and brought a couple of his officer friends with him. They went over a lot better than any of us expected, which just goes to prove the adage about a man in a uniform.
Then came the moneyed set and here the stakes went up. Some of the biggest names in the state had young male studs who were available and there was no shortage of fillies willing to bid upon them. I waited until Brandon came on the stage and just to get things going, I started the bidding myself at a thousand dollars. This drew some raised eyebrows and a babble of other females began throwing numbers at him. He was blushing, obviously embarrassed and continued to throw me hinting looks to bail him out.
The bid was up to four thousand dollars when suddenly, amidst the havoc, a male voice rang out clearly above the audience.
“A hundred thousand dollars,” called out the voice and I turned to see Worth standing tall and heads above the rest of the crowd at the back of the room. There was a hush and the emcee said, “Thank you, Dr. LaViere, I’m not sure we’ll have a bid higher than that — but sir, surely you don’t intend to go on a date with Mr. Knotts yourself?” This statement brought a titter through the crowd.