I bite back a laugh. She almost never curses, but her first big art sale brings it out of her.
“You better buckle up,” I murmur. “I have a feeling you might sell more than one painting tonight.”
Maura sets her hand on her stomach. “Why does the thought of that make me nauseous?”
“Because you don’t understand what your work is worth yet. Give it time. You’ll internalize it eventually.”
“But probably not tonight,” she sighs as the gallerist announces the next piece for sale.
The bidding only gets livelier from there, since the first painting sold was the smallest in the gallery. When the fourth painting to be auctioned sells for $60,000, Maura looks about ready to pass out. I find myself hovering closer behind her, just in case I need to catch her.
“The final piece being auctioned tonight is the center of the show,” the gallerist declares. “A painting you see behind me,Warm Front.”
There's a flurry of movement in the crowd. Clearly, there's going to be a lot of interest in this piece. In the front, I recognize Edmund Wu, a wealthy retired real estate scion known for his significant art collection. I’d be thrilled to see him bidding for any other one of Maura’s paintings.
Not this one.
Warm Frontis mine.
Across the room, Nate gives me a nod. He’s standing by, waiting for me to text him when it’s time to bid, and how much. I designated him as my proxy, since I trust him to keep his cool more than the others. Ryan and Beau might jump too quickly, just out of excitement. Luke would try to come up with a code that’s more complicated than it needs to be.
I’ll wait to bid, though. It’s not good strategy to jump in too enthusiastically out of the gate. Besides, I’m interested to see what the true market value of the painting is.
“We’ll start the bidding at $10,000.”
“$10,000!” Wu holds up his hand. His tone is neutral, but I can see the excitement in his expression.
“$12,000!” a female voice shouts out.
“$14,000,” Wu says.
Dozens of voices call out, driving the price up by thousands at a time. Even Ryan gets in on the action, taking the opportunity to bid $69,000 and make me roll my eyes. Bids only start slowing down once Wu and his female rival bring the price over $100,000. I flash Nate two fingers, then five, and he nods.
“$125,000,” he calls out.
“Nate’s bidding?” Maura murmurs, sounding surprised.
“$150,000,” Wu counters.
Nate glances over at me and I raise two fingers. This time, Maura catches his look. It only takes her a moment to catch on as he calls out, “$170,000.”.
Maura whirls around to stare at me with wide eyes. “Are you insane?” she hisses through her teeth. I ignore her, focusing on Wu.
“$200,000!” he says.
A gasp goes through the room at that number, and even the gallerist’s eyes widen with surprise. Maura’s hand flies to her mouth in shock.
I shrug. Wu doesn’t seem to have come close to his lower limit, so I decide to skip ahead. Nate’s eyes widen, but he doesn’t hesitate. “Half a million.”
The crowd goes completely silent. Maura’s hand drops, revealing her paper-white complexion. If this goes on much longer, she’s liable to go into shock.
Wu glances back and meets my eyes. He’s smart enough to figure out the game. “$700,000,” he says.
I meet Nate’s eyes and make a fist with my left hand. “Are you sure?” he mouths to me, and I nod.
“One million dollars,” Nate says after a long moment.
“One million,” the gallerist echoes, stunned.
