"I am literally screwed if you don't do this for me. Stella and Brenda already agreed. Please, Kori! I'll do anything, so what do you want?" Chloe is literally on her knees begging me.

"Why does it have to be lingerie? There has to be a fancy dress portion or something." Does she have temporary amnesia? Has she no clue who's she asking?

"There's not and it's for charity. Come on, you'll get to help kids with cancer, Please?" She bats those long beautiful eyelashes at me like a puppy.

"You know this could give a negative effect on our careers. I'll call Brad and get his input, but this is not written in stone if he says it's okay."

Dammit, she does so much for me.

"Can you call him now?"

I laughed. "Right this second?"

"Yeah, the cutoff is in two hours and I wouldn't ask you if this wasn't important to me." She acted like she was praying.

"Fine." I threw up my hands in defeat.

"Wait! What kind of people are these men?"

"You only have to give them one dance and you'll be in a dress. There's no funny stuff allowed."

"Alright, I'm not even sure he's available."

I got on my phone and scrolled down to find his name. "Even me asking could look bad, Chloe."

"Hi Brad, sorry to bother you." He sounded busy.

"I'm never too busy for you. What's up?" He's so kind.

"I need your permission to do something for charity."

He chuckled. "You do know I don't own you."

"Yeah, but this is a reputation thing. My friend Chloe is putting on a lingerie auction. I'll model lingerie and people bid for one dance. It's for the fight against childhood cancer."

Silence.

"Why lingerie?"

"Because she's a stylist, and one of her top clients owns a lingerie line and they're the sponsors."

He cleared his throat. "Is this by invitation only?"

"Brad, seriously."

"Alright, fine. I think it's fine, but send me details. I'm coming, or you're not doing it." He chuckled at my predicament.

"I'll text you back," I answered.

"He said only if he can come. Thanks a lot Chloe, now my boss will see me in underwear."

"I'll give you the most modest one, and I totally owe you one. We will meet here tomorrow and Thursday to learn the runway walk."

She can't be serious.

For some reason, when you're off work, time flies. Our apartment is literally sterile from all my cleaning, I've worked at the convent, practiced to be a damn stripper for Chloe, and even went to the spa. It was her treat to make sure I am properly groomed in certain areas. That's one experience I would like to forget.

Gavin sent flowers and Stella told him to give me space. My phone thankfully stopped ringing, so now I can start my new job and put Hardwick behind me.

All three of my friends laughed as I stood in my lingerie for the auction."

"What? It looks that bad?"

Stella shook her head. "You're fucking gorgeous, but the wings are so you. You're an angel, literally."

Yes, my lingerie is revealing, but she did as asked and it's all black lace, but it isn't like underwear. It is like a very very short dress at the bottom. It's still see through, but not nearly as bad as Stella's, but for her, it's still conservative.

"Chloe, if my father finds out about this, it's all on you." I reminded her again.

"Oh, he won't find out, besides, it's for charity." She said as she pulled a dress out of a bag. "Yours tonight for your big dance." She winked and smiled.

She held up a black satin gown with spaghetti straps that showed a slit up the side. Her huge smile was adorable actually. All the girls loved their dresses and Chloe gleamed with pride.

Brenda looked hot in her green lingerie, and we all teased the wings made her a fallen angel. I pointed out her attitude had lightened up lately.

Chloe handed me a pair of stiletto heels that only confirmed that I'll probably end up with a broken neck.

When the music started, we all lined up and, of course, I felt like the biggest and sluttiest idiot in the world. We will all do a walkthrough on the stage, then go up individually for the bidding.

I silently prayed as I walked the way we were taught. The spotlight is right on us and the rest of the room seems dark, so I can't even see faces. Knowing my new boss is in the crowd doesn't help my nerves, but at least I can't see his face. Graham and Kellen are also in the crowd keeping Brad company.

Stella, Brenda, and I were lined up together in the middle. In total, there are 20 of us, so I'm hoping I'm not as noticeable as the others.

Stella is in front of me and Brenda is behind me, so at least I'm not first or last.

Stella gave us one more peppy hug before we started moving out, and as soon as we crossed the curtain, we heard our friends whistling and yelling our names.

Assholes!

One foot in front of the other, I concentrate while looking out into the dark abyss and ignore the guys. How am I supposed to stay on two feet when I can't look at my feet?

"Kori, Kori, Kori! You're beautiful Kori Heart!"

Dammit, I hate Graham right now!

We stood and watched as each girl is called out to stage. I couldn't believe how much money these people were throwing around for one dance. Then I realized women were bidding, but declining the dance. They just want to see the new line of lingerie and give some money to charity. I hope one bids on me.

"Next up, we have Stella DeLucia. She is a marketing executive from Carter and Associates. She's a 2015 graduate of Notre Dame University and, gentleman get this, a former Notre Dame cheerleader and gymnast. She enjoys a good party and fine wine. Let's start the bidding at $1000.00."

I watched my gorgeous and confident friend on stage as a bidding war happened before my eyes. How rich are these people? I was horrified when I saw the flashes of cameras, and her final bid was $25,000. I was mortified. I'll probably end up paying them to dance with me. I snorted to myself.

"That was amazing ladies and gentleman. Let's keep the money flowing with our next kind model for the evening. I hope you men can handle these ladies. We have been blessed with strong, confident, and professional women this evening. Don't worry ladies, our Male models are up for bidding next."

The crowd laughed, but the men are in simple underwear.

I was prodded by Chloe to start walking out. Oh God, here we go...