bidding war pt. 1
“It’s for charity. Something you don’t know anything about.”
Petra pushes one hand under the curl of her short hair as though putting it into place, and Rose has to work to keep her cool. It’s a pot shot – she knows that – and she’s not going to let it get under her skin. Or, well, she is, but she’s also going to turn it right back around.
Because if anybody can be petty, it’s Rose Alver.
(She’d taken Luisa’s name when they got married. It only seemed right. She’d never really been a Solano, and her own name had been discarded long ago. She’d wanted nothing more than to be an Alver. She’d finally felt like she belonged.)
“I seem to remember a charity ten years ago when you and I went head to head—”
Petra blinks into the mirror. “We both agreed that was unfair. Emilio had more money than Rafael did. There was no way we could win.”
“You can tell yourself that,” Rose says, fiddling with the make-up in her purse. She doesn’t need to put any more on, doesn’t need to touch anything up. She’s beautiful just the way she is. Far more than the blonde to her right. An auction didn’t change that. “But you and I both know that I would still win.”
One of Petra’s brows raises, and she turns to Rose, one arm crossed about her waist. “Why don’t you put your body where your mouth is?”
Rose’s eyes light up. “Luisa will be so pleased with you, finally up for that foursome—”
“No.” Petra rolls her eyes. “Auction yourself off, too. I know you don’t care about charity the way Jane and I do—”
Now it’s Rose’s turn to roll her eyes. “Petra, please, you don’t care about charity. You’re just doing it because Jane asked her to and she has you whipped.”
Petra gives Rose a onceover. “No more whipped than Luisa has you.”
“Touché.”
“Anyway, it’ll be a final nail in the coffin.” Petra turns to finish with her make-up and then looks back at Rose. “But Luisa can’t bid.”
“Fine.” Rose nods once. “Jane can’t either.”
Petra’s eyes narrow. “Jane doesn’t have near the money Luisa does.”
“Did,” Rose corrects, “and after all the boasting she’s done about that hundred thousand dollar advance, I’d say she has enough to bring her a-game. Besides,” she continues, “you know they’ll outbid anyone else, and the game isn’t about your girlfriend and my wife trying to outbid each other. That’s how we ended up with the Solano fiasco of 2011.”
“Don’t remind me.” Petra sighs, despite the fact that she was the one who brought it up in the first place. There was a slight difference in the fiasco bit – the auction had gone on just fine, but the fight between Emilio and Rafael afterwards had been…not pleasant to see, and Luisa saying she would have bid more on Rose if there hadn’t been any other offers – in full hearing of everyone in the family – had not helped matters, no matter how much she said she also would have bid more on Petra. “Fine. They don’t bid on us. Got it.”
Rose smiled. “Good. It’s a fair game, then.”
The sound of Petra’s compact mirror slapping shut echoes in the bathroom. “You might think that you’ll win because you have the whole crime lord prisoner schtick going on, but most of the men are just going to be scared of you. What they really want is a woman like me. Blonde. Beautiful. And with enough of a brain to keep them interested.”
“Petra, I don’t care what the men bid on me.” Rose smiles and brushes a hand through her bright red waves. “They aren’t my target audience. Not anymore. But we’ll see what I can do.” Her eyes meet Petra’s briefly. “And what’s the prize for winning?”
“Who said you were going to win?”
“I did.” Rose’s voice is firm, but not in the antagonistic way she’d used when she’d run her crime ring. She tries not to use that voice anymore. The only time it gets out is when Luisa asks for it…or when some snot-nosed kid cuts her off on the freeway. Or when she needs to get a customer to shut up and do the smart thing for once and listen to her. So not very often at all. “But I’m sure you have something you’d like if you won. Something more than the right to say you won.” Her lips press together, and one hand rests on her hip. “And don’t make it something boring like money.”
Petra sighed and shook her head. “I don’t need your money.”
“And I don’t need yours.”
If we’d wanted to stay in the hotel business, Rose thinks, we could have kept Luisa’s shares. But we didn’t want that. And it was an easy enough trade for paying my way out of jail. Things Jane hadn’t liked to learn 101 – Petra remembering that she and Rose were friends once – and slightly more than friends, but not in the way Rose had been with Luisa – and offering to help instead of get in the way.
Also screwing Rafael out of the hotel he’d been dragging through the mud was just an additional bonus.
“So what do you want?” Petra asks, watching Rose carefully.
Rose shrugs. “I want that foursome Luisa keeps asking about.”
Petra blinks, and then her jaw tightens. “No.”
“It shouldn’t be that big of a deal, Petra. You’re so sure you’ll win – you shouldn’t be worried about that happening if you lose.” Rose grins. “C’mon. We’re very, very nice people.”
Petra’s eyes narrow. “Fine. But if I win, Luisa has to stop bringing it up. It makes Jane very uncomfortable.”
“But not you.”
Petra’s eyes meet and hold Rose’s own. “Of course, not me. Luisa’s interest means you’re clearly not taking care of her. Jane’s disinterest means I’m doing my job.”
Rose’s jaw tightens. “I’ll see you on the bidding floor.”
Petra smiles. “It’s a date.”