The Highest Bidder

❊ Cʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ Fɪᴠᴇ ❊

We pulled up to a large black gate and the driver spoke into a little black box located a few feet away. After a few moments, the gates creaked open and we pulled through. I watched as the gates closed back behind us and I could just imagine the clicking of the lock.

Tall trees lined the road leading up to the home. My eyes widened and I tried - unsuccessfully - to keep my face straight. There was a three car garage detached from a three-story brick house. The setting sun casted an orange glow onto the home and on the three-tier fountain in the front. Four white columns towered at the beginning of the porch leading to the front doors, giving the home a regality most could only wish upon their house.

My mouth gaped.

Enzo chuckled at my reaction, but who wouldn't react like that when they'd only seen houses like his on television?

The limo stopped and he stepped out once the door was open for him. I followed silently, my eyes never once leaving his house. I could only assume that the place was way out of my price range in home buying. Wait, no. No assumption was needed. I knew it was out of my price range.

It was no wonder how he could buy a person for that amount of money without even batting an eye.

I followed him inside and stood dumbstruck, once again. The floors were dark wood, waxed enough to be like a mirror below my feet. The walls were painted gray and had black and white photos of a variety of scenes. His house looked more like an art museum than a place someone lived. There was a chandelier right as I walked in, casting small rainbows across the walls.

There was a hallway on either side of me as I walked farther inside. To the right, there were rooms with black doors. At the end of the hall, there was a black spiral staircase leading to the next floor. To the left, there were a couple more rooms but there weren't any doors except for one double door. From the sounds, one of the rooms was the kitchen.

In front of me were black double doors. I wasn't sure where they led, but I was sure that I'd end up finding out in the year that I worked for him.

"Have you ever heard of conserving energy?" I turned, noticing that every single light was on from what I could see. "You know, turn off lights when you exit a room and shit like that?"

Enzo was watching me as I took in the place, his eyes curious and amused all at once.

Before he could answer, I held up my hand. "Wait. Rich people don't care about conserving energy. What's your bill like? Jesus, no, don't answer that. It's probably like three thousand dollars just for your damn lights."

A door to the right opened and a girl walked out. She had long blonde hair pulled tight up into a ponytail. She wore a maid's uniform and a bright smile formed on her face when she spotted us in the entrance hall.

He turned at the sound and nodded a hello at the girl. "Good evening, Sophia."

"Good evening, Enzo." Her smile never faltered as she turned her attention to me. She clasped her small hands in front of her body and tilted her head, no curiosity from where I came from in her gaze at all.

"This is Eva." He motioned towards me. "Eva, this is Sophia. She's been here for six months now and will be the one to show you the ropes. For tonight, I'll show you to your room. You can begin your training tomorrow morning. Sophia?"

She turned bright blue eyes on him. "Yes?"

"Give her about an hour to get settled in," he said. "Then you can grab her for dinner. You two can have your dinner together tonight so that you can get to know each other."

Sophia nodded her acknowledgment and gave me one last smile before turning in the direction from which she came. So she knew where my room would be? In a three-story house, she knew which room would be mine? Well, of course she would. She's been in his house for six months. I was probably getting the room that the girl before her had.

I tilted my head. I really hoped that he didn't expect me to be that obedient. She was like a freaking puppy.

Enzo began to walk down the hall. "Follow me."

I followed, then mentally slapped myself.

Now who was like a puppy?

I sighed and ran my fingers through my matted hair. I couldn't have looked even relatively appropriate, especially in my see-through gown and my half up, half everywhere else hair.

My eyes bugged and I looked down at myself. "I'm naked!"

He stopped and turned slowly to face me. "You're not naked, Eva. You're wearing lingerie. All of the girls wear that."

"The hell they do!" I covered myself. "The hell I do! And you're just standing there!"

He cocked an eyebrow. "What would you rather I do? I haven't looked at anything other than your face."

My entire body felt like it was thrown into an inferno. He was right, of course. I never once saw his eyes stray to anything other than my face. And that was probably the reason why I forgot what I was wearing. But what kind of man didn't take the opportunity to...

No, why was I complaining? I was thankful that he didn't look at me. I didn't have anything to be shy about, but I barely knew Enzo and he barely knew me. He only knew my name, height, weight, and that I was as stubborn as a mule.

Maybe he was gay.

The thought caused me to relax slightly.

He turned back and began to walk down the hallway again. I followed, my arms still covering what I could. At the end of the hall, he stopped and opened the last door on the right. It opened up to a simple room with lush white carpet, two white dressers, a white nightstand, a closet, and another white door that led into a bathroom. There was a king sized bed with dark gray sheets, just below a huge window that looked out to the front of the house.

I stepped inside and turned.

"Clothes are stocked in the dressers and the closet." Enzo nodded towards one of the dressers. "There are also bathroom supplies in the bathroom. Your uniform is in the closet for tomorrow. But for now, you can wear what you find comfortable. You can shower if you'd like. Sophia will be here in about an hour to grab you for dinner. Do you need anything else?"

I stared blankly at him. "Yeah, I need to go home. I need to tell my family where I am. I need to figure out how to put a stop to that stupid auction."

He nodded his head as if he understood. "I'll take care of contacting your family. As for going home and stopping the auction...good luck on both counts."

Then he turned and walked away, leaving me staring after him in the doorway. I watched until he disappeared down the next hallway, never once looking back.