Chapter 5 FIVE

A part of me wanted to say nothing, to keep that small paddle in my purse and leave Joey to twist in the wind. And it would have been nice as well. He'd been so relieved when he saw me from up on stage, as if everything would go as planned and he'd get his way as always. I would have been perfectly within my rights to hang him, especially after what he'd done to me.

But, as angry as I was at Joey, it was nothing compared to my resentment of Crystal Montecillo. She'd made my high school years a living hell by treating me like the little rich brat that she was. So be it if I had to team up with Joey to make sure she didn't get what she wanted.

Besides, I wasn't playing with my money.

"Did I just hear two thousand?"

" Joven inquired.

I took a deep breath and wrapped my fingers around the paddle. It was either now or never, I reasoned. As I tossed the paddle into the air, my hand shot up.

"Seventy-five thousand pesos"

Everyone turned around to see who had made the winning bid. Crystal's icy gaze locked on me, and she narrowed her eyes as if she could dismember me limb from limb with a single hard stare.

Girlie, you'll have to do better than that.

"Here we go," I muttered under my breath, trying to keep a smile from spreading across my face.

"We've got two thousand from the lovely and talented Miss Gia Perez, the woman behind this amazing party we're all enjoying tonight!" Joven congratulated. "Can we raise it even higher?" "

"100,000 pesos!"

Crystal said, not missing a beat.

"Wasn't that quick?" Joven remarked. "But, folks, we're not stopping there, are we?" "

Crystal's prim expression suggested she was irritated, but she still felt in complete control of the situation.

"A hundred and twenty thousand!"

"Wow!

"Joven stated. "Let's keep the momentum going!" "

I opened my mouth to speak, but another voice from the audience cut me off.

"A hundred forty!"

Another wealthy woman joins the fray.

I had a thought. Rather than getting sucked into a three-way brawl, I'd let Crystal and the new woman fight it out. That's exactly what they did.

"A hundred fifty!"

Crystal yelled, her voice irritated.

The air was deafeningly quiet as everyone waited to see if this new woman would take it to the next level. Joey was visibly nervous as he took the stage. I didn't mind seeing him perspire. A cocky guy like him could use a little time in the hot seat now and then.

"There are a hundred fifty thousand of us!"

Joven exclaimed joyfully. "Do we have a total of a hundred sixty?" Is that correct? Then...going once, twice...and...s-"

It's time for me to make a move. "Two hundred and thousand!" "

That piqued the interest of the party. Everyone, from the guests to the serving staff to the band, came to a halt when I yelled my bid. And, despite the fact that it wasn't my money, I could feel the weight of it. It was a lot more than I had to my name. Joey smiled, happy that I had outbid Crystal.

"We've got two hundred thousand!"

Joven yelled as he looked around the room. "Wow! Is anyone else here? "

I cast a glance at Crystal, her hateful expression letting me know she wasn't happy. She averted her gaze from me, focusing on the older man she was married to, or was in the process of divorcing, or whatever their situation was. She Joey him a pout, one that seemed to say "please, pretty-pretty-pretty please?"

But all he did was shake his head. I knew I'd won at that point.

Crystal slid her paddle onto the table and buried her chin in her upturned hands, a pout on her face befitting a five-year-old who didn't get her way.

"Two hundred and thousand pesos!"

" Joven phoned. "Going once...going twice...sold!" "

Applause erupted. I'd paid two hundred thousand pesos to take Joey on a fantastic weekend to Bora. Of course, what had actually occurred was that Joey had paid ten thousand dollars to have himself transported to Bora, but no one else needed to know that.

As Joey walked off the stage, Joven announced the next stud in the auction.

Kendra rushed over to me as I struggled to catch my breath. "Holy crap! " Her eyes widened as she spoke. "Wow! That was thrilling!" "

"It was," I said, a grin on my face. "And do you want to know something else? It was complete nonsense."

Kendra's brow furrowed in perplexity. "What are you on about?" "

Before I had a chance to explain the truth to her, a few other guests stopped by and congratulated me, telling me how jealous they were that I would be spending the weekend in Bora with Dr. Garcia. I didn't bother telling anyone about what was really going on.

Alma waddled over, her hand on her belly, a puzzled expression on her face. "Oh my goodness! " she explained. "I still can't believe it! That was...so intense I was afraid I'd go into labor! "

"Glad to put on a good show," I joked proudly. It was peculiar. Working behind the scenes was one of my favorite aspects of my job. But, at the time, I was enjoying being the star of the show.

"Don't misinterpret this," Alma cautioned. "But I had no idea you made that much money." It's one thing to have ten thousand dollars in the bank; it's quite another to have two hundred thousand dollars to spend on a weekend in Bora. Not to mention, why would you put your money on Joey of all people? You despise him."

It was time for me to clear the air, to tell the truth. Crystal was visible over their shoulders. She remained seated, staring at me with pure hatred in her eyes. I just couldn't stop myself. I gave her a wink. She slammed her fist against the table before speaking to her husband. She then stood up and stormed out of the room. It was a fantastic private show just for me.

Joey, Mr. Tight Scrubs himself, approached us at that moment, his towering frame looming over the three of us. His presence abruptly halted the conversation.

"I'm sorry for interrupting," he said cockily. "However, I wanted to pay a visit and congratulate the big winner." I'm looking forward to our weekend together, G." He took my hand in his, leaned forward, and kissed my knuckles.

I was too taken aback to even think of a response. "Um..." was the only thing that came out of my mouth.

Kendra was taken aback, and Alma looked on with suspicion. And I was more turned on than I had ever been in my life at the time. Joey remained a jerk, a heartless jerk. But I'd be lying if I ignored what was going on, no matter how much I felt like melting into a puddle in front of everyone.

I shook my head, returning to my senses. It was past time for me to put my foot down. "Thank you, Joey," I said as I slipped my hand from his and cleared my throat. "However, I'm not going anywhere with you."

"Wait a minute, what?" Kendra inquired, her lips curled into a cute pout.

"Bora sounds like a lot of fun," I said. "However, I'm going to be booked for the entire weekend."

That statement elicited puzzled looks from everyone in the room.

"Which weekend could it be?" Joey inquired.

Shit. His smirk let me know I'd made a mistake.

"Yeah," Kendra said. "They haven't even said when it will take place."

"Well, um, what I meant to say is that I'm going to be so busy with work for the next month or so that there's a really good chance I'll be busy."

Kendra Joey gave me a perplexed look before pulling out her trusty clipboard and flipping through the pages. "Well, most weekends, we're pretty open, and-"

My face flushed as my flimsy excuse was ripped apart in front of me. So much for a painless exit from the situation.

"You should really just go, Gia," Kendra suggested, a smile on her face. "You really need to take a vacation."

I groaned quietly to myself as I realized I wasn't going to get out of this. All I wanted was to get away from Joey as quickly as possible.

"All right," I said. "I need to go check on some...stuff." And, Kendra, I'm sure you've got...stuff to do as well."

"Yeah," Kendra said, clearly perplexed by my actions. "I'll do a sweep of the area."

"And I'll go check on Joven," Alma said, glancing at her husband as he bounded off the stage, now finished with the auction. They both walked away, leaving me and Joey alone.

"Don't you have a tuxedo to change into?"

" I inquired, my voice sterner than necessary.

"Sure, sure," he responded. "But first, I wanted to tell you something."

I sighed, knowing he was going to aggravate the situation. "What is it?"

With a grin on his face, he placed his hand on the wall behind me and leaned in, his mouth just inches away from my ear. "I can't wait for our weekend together," he said as he stepped back, winking at me before leaving me alone.

I had no idea what to say or do. I just stood there wide-eyed for a few moments. With a remark like that, he knew exactly what he was doing. And the worst part was that his proximity, voice, and even boldness had driven me insane. My skin tingled, my cheeks were flushed, and I was drenched.

The jerk had done it yet again. Because, as much as I resisted admitting it, no man could get me going like Joey Garcia.

The worst part? He was going to get his opportunity.