Total pages in book: 8
Estimated words: 7632 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 38(@200wpm)___ 31(@250wpm)___ 25(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 7632 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 38(@200wpm)___ 31(@250wpm)___ 25(@300wpm)
I pull the black and gold business card from my pocket. It’s elegant but just has an address on it. I can’t shake the feeling that I’m supposed to be here. I finish my Scotch and make my way toward the address on foot.
The warehouse is nondescript. It looks like any other warehouse in the world, and that gives me pause. I knock on the door, and a slot opens near the center of the door.
“Password?” a heavily Hungarian accented voice asks.
“Password?” I repeat.
“Look at back of your card,” the voice replies, annoyed. I flip the card over and grimace as I see the word neatly printed on the back. I didn’t notice it before.
“Fellatio.”
The slot slams closed, and then I hear locks turning. The door opens, and I am surprised by how opulent the room is.
“Welcome to the Sight Unseen Auction,” a lovely woman dressed in what I can only describe as a prom dress says.
“Thanks.” I don’t know what else to say.
“Come right this way. This is the selection of Willing Participants in this evening’s auction,” she says, handing me what looks like a menu from a five-star restaurant. I do not like how she says willing, but by just being here, I don’t have a moral leg to stand on. I fucking know that. At least they’re willing… right?
She leads me to plush seating. I don’t know why I was expecting grimy seating and girls chained to radiators, but I was. I look around the semi-darkened room and see actors, politicians, and other celebrity figures ready to purchase girls. I’m not the least bit surprised. Mutually assured destruction, I'm sure, is what keeps everyone quiet.
I suppose I should have been concerned when they didn’t pat me down and take my phone or weapons, but I don’t have much time to worry about it. The auction is about to begin. Fuck, I can’t do this. I’m about to leave and call the authorities when the auctioneer begins.
“Gentleman, the twenty-three-year-old up first for bid is the oldest on our auction block this evening. Here is a quick rundown of her:
College Graduate
Virgin
Rich as sin, so she already knows how to act at society functions.
Teacher
She wants you to know that she’s up for anything; she can't/won't say no, is willing to relocate, and is also flexible. Take that however you want to, boys. If the price is right, Item 316 might be yours. Do we have an opening bid for one night or forever with her?”
Shit. She’s why I’m here… whoever she is.
Two
Alice Jacobson
Ever since I heard Daddy’s business partner talking about this auction at my family’s annual Christmas party, I knew this was where I’d end up. I haven’t seen any of Budapest, except for the airport and this warehouse, but I’m ready for my adventure to begin.
I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it’s already been more exciting than any day back home in New York. When my perfect sister, Riley, announced she was marrying the man I had been in love with since childhood, Bryan Williamson. He never looked at me twice and I get why. Riley is thin and gorgeous. I am… not. I know that. She’s also vicious, and I know he’ll be unhappy, but that’s not my problem. The Jacobson’s are New York royalty, and we know it. Over the last hundred years, we’ve accumulated wealth through various real estate holdings and other business ventures. I’m a trust fund baby and had the best of everything growing up. I don’t need to work, but I want to.
My parents, mostly my mother, could never understand why I never used our money to ensure I was rail thin. I don’t want to be a carbon copy of everyone we know. I’m sure I could stand to lose a few pounds, but right now, I don’t want to. Sure, it would make teaching sixth grade easier because sixth graders are vicious, but despite that, I love my job and I love my body.
That Christmas party changed everything for me. Riley and Bryan announced their engagement, and my brother, Jay, and his wife, Skylar, announced that they were pregnant with their first baby. Everyone looked to me for some kind of announcement, but I had none. Instead, I was going to town on some shrimp cocktail like a starving savage. I heard the murmurings about how pitiful I was and the suffering my poor parents must have gone through with me. I had had enough, and then Mr. Klein spoke in hushed whispers near me to some older man I’d never met. Of course, I thought he was talking about me, but I was surprised to hear that he wasn’t. No. He was talking about an auction where rich men buy girls sight unseen. No one pays any attention to me, so I was able to hear their whole sordid conversation. I was able to discern that two kinds of auctions are held. One is above board; while not at all legal, it’s at least more palatable than what happens in the basement. I gathered that the basement was not for me. I got the name of the auction and contacted them through their quite deceptive website. I learned the location of the first auction that takes place once the school year is over. I didn’t make any plans for next year yet. All of that was months ago now. Keeping my secret was easy. I haven’t made a social media post in days. That’s not the norm for me, but I didn’t want to let anything slip. Being a Jacobson, even a lesser one, I have a pretty big social media following. I talk about plus-size fashion, makeup, teaching, my family’s charities, and anything else I might want to discuss. Sure, I definitely get negative comments, but I get a lot of positive ones, too. Honestly, I can handle anything when I have a family like the one I have. I love my family, and I’m sure they love me too somewhere deep down, but they can suck sometimes.