A Bid For Love

Chapter 1
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    "I can't believe I'm selling myself." FBI Special Agent Asher Hall straightened his tie. "Are you sure this isn't illegal?"
    Holly Clarke patted the electric blue kerchief in his breast pocket. "Yep. And it's moral, too. All for a worthy cause. Think of it as that classic win-win-win scenario."
    Okay... "Win-win- win ?" Sometimes following his teammates required a translator.
    "Sure. Some nice lady wins a fabulous weekend with you in Italy, the local homeless shelter and food bank gets a huge boost to its funding, and you might--just might--meet someone interesting enough to take out for a second time. Maybe even date steady." Her grin dared him to argue. "I know it's a new sort of concept, but I think you could like having a girlfriend who lasted more than twenty-four hours."
    "Ha. Ha." Even his best sarcasm never worked on her. Asher didn't know why he bothered. "I dated Poppy McIntyre for two years." He managed to meet the gaze Holly gave him for all of ten seconds. "Okay, perhaps not the best example."
    "Yeah, that was more of an armed conflict than a relationship." She cocked her head, surveying him carefully from the toes of his polished dress shoes to his carefully combed hair. "I think you're ready to prove yourself worth of lightening someone's bank account."
    "Why did I let Scott talk me into this?"
    Holly grinned. "Uh, it was your idea to...what was it you said? Grace the female social set of the greater DelMarVa area with proper incentive to open their considerable pocketbooks?" She brushed a spot of lint from his lapel. "And when you pulled up that romance novel persona for your online video... I thought you'd be ecstatic to strut the runway for the final bidding."
    He could hardly say he currently suffered a raging case of stage fright. "I'm merely concerned with certain tawdry aspects I hadn't considered." Not entirely a lie. Even though the advertising all stressed the platonic aspects of the prizes, he had a very good idea some of the bidders had far from altruistic plans in mind. "Still, one must soldier on."
    "That's the spirit." The punch she delivered to his shoulder held a dose of sarcasm and he tossed withering glare in her direction as he headed for the stage and an over-crowded ballroom of people willing to look him over and see if he was a tempting enough entree to buy.

    * * * *
    God, let's just get this over with so I can meet my new...temporary owner...and go find a double Scotch on the rocks. Asher tried not to let the tremor in his knees show as the bachelors all stood up on stage, waiting to find out to whom and for how much they went. Maybe a double-double.
    He plastered a meaningless smile on his face and listened as some of his fellow bachelors faced the indignity of low bids.
    Oh, God, what if no one wants me?
    He hadn't really considered that possibility. After all, he had some physical assets--height, a trim muscular form, a pleasing face, and all his hair. And, as Holly had so winningly pointed out, an inability to keep a girlfriend for more than twenty-four hours, Poppy notwithstanding.
    Suppose my bids are lower than anyone else's?
    The teasing would go on for years. It would likely hound him until retirement. He felt decidedly faint when the mistress of ceremonies began his introduction.
    "And our next entry, I'm very glad to say, made this year's charity event a huge success. He took the highest bid in the history of this event. Special Agent Asher Hall."
    Oh, thank you! Relief blanked his mind enough he could step forward and not collapse on the stage. He even managed a smile for the emcee. "Good evening, Monica." The speech he'd practiced for hours took over. "It's my pleasure to help you help our community." He could nearly feel Holly rolling her eyes.
    Monica smiled and went back to her notes. "Agent Hall, along with the pleasure of his company, has offered his lucky bidder... Oh, my! A weekend on the Italian Riviera. Well, well." She glanced at him and that note card came awfully close to serving as a fan.
    "A memorable three days of culture and relaxation." He grinned out into the darkened room, grateful for the spotlight. He couldn't actually see who might or might not have purchased him.
    "And the winner of this memorable experience is..." An usher handed Monica a small envelope, which she opened. "Anonymous." Her brows drew together and she looked out over the audience. "Do we have the bidder here?"
    The audience rustled, but no one called out or