Verified. Exclusive. Discreet.
Realization dawns slowly as I click a photo at random, reading the description that pops up. The wording is ambiguous, but I can read between the lines.
These women are selling their virginity to the highest bidder.
My jaw clenches so tight it aches. I grip the mouse and scroll, scanning, praying she’s not there. Page one, page two, page three…
With a violent jolt in my chest, I freeze.
At the top of the fourth page, Willa smiles shyly at me, with a bid of $9,000 beneath her photo. I stare. Everything goes quiet. So quiet I can hear the blood pumping in my ears. I think back to the conversation by the creek, the sob in Willa’s voice.
“Of course I don’t want to!”
“I feel sick every time I think about it.”
This angel is selling her innocence to a stranger because she thinks it’s her only option.
Her only shot at clearing her debts.
“Fuck,” I mutter aloud. “Fuck.”
I stare at the number—the nine grand. Somewhere out there, men are bidding on Willa’s virginity. They’re eyeing up her listing. Scanning her photo. Paying to claim her…
I see red. The computer mouse cracks beneath my hand. Plastic splits. I barely notice. Rage is moving under my skin like a living thing, scorching and savage. I want to find every man who bid on Willa. Strangle them one by one for thinking they could touch her.
A growl rumbles deep in my throat as I click on the bid button, the cracked mouse mercifully still working. A pop-up appears, asking for my details, and I give them, filling out my bank information.
I don’t think.
Don’t hesitate.
Instead, I type a number and hit bid.
5
WILLA
My throat istight as I end the call with Everly and pocket my phone. I’ve been putting off calling my best friend, scared to admit how bad things have gotten. She has her own life in Chicago, and I don’t want her worrying about me, but I just couldn’t carry it alone anymore. I needed to tell someone. I hoped it would make me feel better, but after hearing how devastated Everly sounded, I feel a million times worse. She tried to offer me all of her savings, even though I know she worked her ass off for the ten grand in her bank account. I said no way.
With a last look at the creek flowing lazily through the trees, I turn around and head back toward the office, my mind racing with thoughts. The auction ends tomorrow. Listings never stay up for long—it’s meant to be a quick transaction. Quick enough to stop people having time to second-guess themselves. But it’s not working. I’m definitely second-guessing myself.
$9,200.
It’s not nothing. With nearly ten grand in a single night, I could start making loan repayments. Maybe even make a dent in my debt. It’s not enough to save me, but there’s still time. A lot of auctions start snowballing on the final day. If I could make itto twenty-grand, it would clear my debt with the loan company. The phone calls would stop. The outrageous interest rates would stop. I’d still be left with a mountain of credit card debt, but it would be a start.
I take a deep breath when I reach the door to the office, steeling myself to go back inside. Flint is waiting in there. I can hear him shifting in his desk chair, the groan of floorboards beneath him, and my heart flutters wildly. My body keeps betraying me with my new boss around. Every time those gray eyes meet mine across the office, my skin prickles with heat, insides turning to mush.
It’s a distraction I can’t afford right now.
I wasn’t expecting Flint to spend so much time in the office with me. He’s clearly not made for life behind a desk—he’s a lumberjack, built like the mountain itself, a body carved from physical labor. Part of me wishes he’d leave me to work alone. Anything to stop my stomach doing backflips when I look at him.
I’m not the kind of girl who gets to have a crush on her boss.
This job is a lifeline, and I need to keep things professional.
But it’s hard to remember that as I step into the office and feel those eyes burning into me.
Flint is watching me intently, his expression unreadable as I shoot him a polite smile and take a seat behind my desk once more.
