Taste of Sin

2| Offer

Chapter 2: Offer (Ace's POV)

I had expected her to grow a little pale, or her eyes to widen a bit, or her breathing to falter. But she gave me nothing, she had no reaction whatsoever. And that irked me. 

She stirred the ice in her drink. "My brother passed away in a car accident, so I'm not sure what you're talking about." 

"Really? I believe they found a bullet wound, didn't they?" 

"No," she said calmly. "No bullet wound." 

I watched her carefully. 

She remembers me, I have no doubt about that. It's why she turned the other way and ran. What confuses me is why she isn't confronting me or panicking. Why is she playing nice? 

"Next up we have two stems of the rarest flower in the world! Middlemist's Red Camellia! We'll start the bid at seven hundred thousand dollars!" 

Her back became straighter and she stared at the stage while the black fabric was lifted off and two stems of the flower were revealed. Seven hundred grand for a fucking flower? What the actual fuck? 

A small smile tugged at her lips while she stared at it. 

"What's so special about a flower?" I mumbled, mostly to myself. 

"It's the rarest flower in the world. There are only two plants of them in the world. One in the UK and one in New Zealand. They come from China though and the UK didn't plant any until the 1730s. They're beautiful." 

I frowned, looking at the flower. "It looks like every other flower." 

She scoffed beside me. "It doesn't." 

"Why do you say it's beautiful?" 

"Because it's rare," she shrugged, tilting her glass back and chewing on the ice loudly. 

I watched her with amusement. "Isn't it rare because it's beautiful?" 

She shook her head. "It's beautiful because it's rare." 

"Going at eight hundred thousand, once! Twice!" 

She turned to me. "Would you bet a million for that?" 

"Would you like me to?" I lifted a brow at her. 

"You could bet a billion for all I care. It's not my money or my flower," she shrugged. 

"Sold!" 

She let out a breath, her shoulders slumping a little while she ate more ice. Flowers over diamonds even though diamonds last forever. Weird. She opened her purse and checked the time on her phone. 

I watched her, tilting my head to one side, slightly. "Somewhere to be?" 

She looked back at me, closing her purse. 

"Someone, to meet?" I smirked. 

"No one to meet. My bedroom to be. Actually, my kitchen," she mumbled, standing up. 

"You're hungry?" I asked. 

"It's way past dinner time, Allister." 

I chuckled, "Allister?" 

"Will you bid on anything tonight?" She stood in front of me now, her hands in front of her, holding onto her purse. 

"Depends." 

"On?" 

"Who I think of when I look at the object." 

"Ah," she nodded. "You're bidding for a girl too then."