My Love for Auction (MLFA 1)

MLFA Chapter 1

A picture of Cole .....

Chapter One

Cole's POV

Today was a Friday. I would normally be enjoying the last day of the week and looking forward to relaxing over the weekend, but this Friday was February 13, the day before Valentine's Day. Even then I would usually stay in and watch a few chick flick films and drink wine and eat ice cream to my heart's content.
But tomorrow was different. Tomorrow I had promised to be auctioned.

I had agreed to let my friend Georgina enter me in a Love Auction for charity, held in a sought-after place in London full of high-profile businessmen.

Now I was having second thoughts. When I'd agreed to this Auction it was on a girl's night out a month ago, wine influenced-well, that was my excuse, but now it was very real.

I was sitting at the front desk of Heath Engineering when Darius walked past, looking through a file with his brother Fred. Both were partners of the Heath firm.

He lifted his head out of the file and glanced at me, smiled, making my legs turn into jelly. I just hoped he wouldn't come over to speak to me right now, as I couldn't string a sentence together in his company.

Tall and lean, Darius had sandy blond hair and green eyes, always wore suits and looked hot every day. Which is unfair, I thought.

Just like that, he turned his head and went back into his conversation with Fred, walking into his office. Phew!

"You know you will have to speak to him tomorrow night?" the culprit behind this whole Love Auction evening said, smiling wickedly at me. Georgina had managed to persuade Darius to attend this event tomorrow, trying to play Cupid, and she was convinced he would be bidding on me.

"I don't know if I can," which was my honest opinion.

"Of course you can, Miss Colleen Andrews, he is only a man after all."
Oh how I wished I had my friend's confidence.

"It's been six months and I have only been able to say hello, bye and good evening, and even that never comes out right. I doubt he even knows my full name," I huffed.

"Of course he knows your name. Just think, when it gets heated in the night, you don't need to speak much. Don't think about anything and you'll be fine." Wicked girl!

"You know, you're terrible. You have a one-track mind."

She smirked at me. "Yes, I know. Just enjoy the attention you'll get. Darius will get jealous and want you for himself."

Great! My friend was delusional.
"How do you know if he even fancies me?"

Georgina stared at me like I had something stuck between my teeth. Maybe I did. I started to worry.
"Chill. Trust me, he does. He would be mad not to-you're a beautiful girl, Cole."

I'd never liked it when people discussed what I looked like. I always thought it was a pity "you're beautiful" so I changed the subject.
"You're not my type," I giggled.
"What, this pretty, gorgeous blond standing in front of you? Damn!"
We laughed at each other, then I frowned, thinking of tomorrow. Georgina sensed this.

"Let's talk business. Now, be around my place at one tomorrow. We need to start the preparation-I have arranged transport too."
It doesn't start till seven, I thought.
"We have a lot of work to do!"
I smiled. "But I thought I was beautiful!"

"We all need help, Cole, to enhance." She had an answer for everything.
Then I suddenly had a thought. "What transport?"
"You will have to wait and see."
Georgina clearly had something up her sleeve, but what? Now I was worried.

I finished for the day and decided to walk home instead of using the Tube. It took a bit longer, but I had to clear my head. It was a cold day, so I wrapped my arms around my small waist and tightened the coat to make sure to stay warm. As I passed a few florists, I glanced in the windows and saw all the red roses on display, ready for tomorrow. Some lucky girl will be receiving a bunch of those beautiful flowers, I thought.

When I arrived home, I opened the door to my one bedroom apartment. It was a very small place, but it was all I could afford. I used to live in a place called Littlehampton, a good two hours away from the city, and was brought up by my grandparents in a two-bedroom cottage not far from the beach.

It was a different lifestyle to the city. My grandfather died when I was 12, and then the day I passed my exams-I remember it clearly-I rushed home excitedly from school to find my grandmother dead on the floor. She'd had a heart attack. I always thought my grandmother had never accepted her husband's death and died of a broken heart, merely keeping herself going until I was an adult and able to fend for myself.

I could merely dream of being in love like my grandparents had been. It was beautiful. They had only ever loved each other, but I couldn't imagine anyone who would love me in the same way, especially not my perfect man, Darius. 

"If only," I huffed. He could have any woman he wanted, so why would he choose me?

I had attracted attention because of my looks since I was at school, but I was always so quiet and nervous, and never had the nerve to talk back to the boys.

But I needed to change, and that's why I'd agreed to the Auction, even though I hated the idea. I wanted one thing in life: to fall in love at least once. Even though I'd risk a broken heart, it would be worth it.

I'd inherited my grandparents' cottage in Littlehampton, but I didn't want to live there alone. There were lots of memories that I wasn't ready to face up to yet, so I'd decided to rent it out to a lovely couple, which helped me pay for my apartment.

When I first arrived here in London, I was seventeen and had enrolled myself into college, working various shifts as a waitress to make ends meet. But when I finished college, it was difficult at first to get an interview, let alone a job, so I started to visit companies in person, asking if there were any positions available and leaving my CV.

That's when my big break came-the third place I visited rang me and asked if I could come back for an interview, and now I worked for Heath Engineering.

I showered and changed into my pajamas and made myself tea. Afterwards I sat down on my favorite chair, wondering what would happen tomorrow.

Would Darius make the highest bid and whisk me away somewhere romantic for the evening, like Georgina planned? Or would I be laughed off the stage with no bids?

That would be embarrassing! I wished I had the faith in myself that Georgina had, believing that the Auction would be a night to remember-I'd be wined and dined, maybe dance the night away...

If only Georgina could have heard me, she would have rolled her eyes. The two of us were close friends, but we were complete opposites in lots of ways, and one was what we expected from relationships.

I wanted the real deal of love, whatever it cost, while Georgina wanted a man to support her and give her a great status in life. If there was love involved, that would merely be a bonus. I knew that everyone was different, but I did worry about my friend. She deserved to be in love as much as I did.

I decided to call it a night and headed off to bed. One thing was for sure: I didn't have long to wait to find out what the Love Auction would hold for me...