Serena says, “I have Louboutins on my wish list. Hopefully, if the right guy bids on me tonight, I’ll be walking around in them by tomorrow.”
For a lot of women, this seems to be a routine thing. You want a new designer handbag? A Louis Vuitton dress? No problem. Give Conrad a call and he’ll arrange to have you lined up for the next month’s auction.
“What is the deal with this man, anyway?” I ask.
Serena watches herself in the mirror, pouting as she figures out how to answer my question. “I dunno. Rumor is that he’s a bit of a creep, so I stay out of his business. Conrad organizes the auction so he doesn’t usually bet himself, not unless he’s desperate, but his family always attends. They normally bet as a team.”
Am I understanding her Southern accent correctly?
“Hisfamily?”
“Yeah, not like his mom and sister—that would be weird. Hiscrimefamily, I mean.”
The man scouted me in the dark last night, asking me to participate in his basement auction—no shit he’s in the mafia. But if I’m going off stereotypes, Irishmen are supposed to be nice, innocent men that drink cider and stay out of trouble.
“The girls that go back with the O’Neills get paid a lot, but at the end of the day, money only buys you so much,” Serena says.
She can say that again.
I’m doing a few finishing touches in the mirror when something beeps, coming from the television screen in the corner of the room. There are four names highlighted in green—one of them is mine.
“Looks like we’re first up,” says Serena. “It’s good to get it out of the way.”
She’s probably right, but that doesn’t mean I’m not shitting it as she escorts me out of the dressing room.
It would be easy to blame the eight-inch heels for my pathetic inability to walk. In actual fact, it’s nerves—an emotion I thought I’d stopped feeling years ago.
But now it’s back and it’s turning my legs to jelly. It’s pointless having knees—I can’t even bend them.
“Are you alright?” Serena looks me up and down.
“Fine.”
“O-M-G. This is your first rodeo, isn’t it? You’ve never done this before?” She stops me in my tracks and lets the two other women pass. “Don’t take it the wrong way, but you look like you do this a lot.”
Charming. That must have something to do with the heels, and the sequin lingerie that has been in the cupboard collecting dust for what feels like forever.
“No way. I stopped entertaining the male species three years ago when I got pregnant from Satan in a suit.”
Serena’s eyes widen. “You have akid?”
“Yeah.” I keep my voice stable, trying to not overthink her concerned face. “It’s kinda why I’m doing this. I need the money.”
The way Serena moves next has me breaking out in a sticky sweat. She looks over her shoulder. Twice.
Great. Now my stomach is churning with regret too.
“Some girls never come back, Carmen.”
“What?”
“I’m deadly serious.” I’ve never seen a woman look so gray with so much powdered blush on her face. “Some of them become missing persons. Even the police can’t locate them. It all depends on who bids. If the wrong bidder ends up with you, you’re screwed.”
“Surely you can refuse them.”
“Are you out of your mind?” Serena’s eyes look like they’re about to fall out of their sockets. “They’re not gonna go back on their offer just because you say no. This world is different. Down here, you have no rights as a woman. We’re pawns for the rich. That’s it.”
“So, what brings you here? Louboutins are gorgeous, but you can’t be risking your life for a pair.”
