Chapter 249: Blank
Mina listened to Oric explain the unwritten rules of the bachelorette auction and she could not help but to sympathize with the women involved. She watched as several young and beautiful women took the stage one after the other.
If a bid hit $10,000, which was relatively low for the people in attendance, the bachelorette was able to showcase her talents, and unsurprisingly, every woman so far hit the mark and beyond.
Like everyone else, Mina became lost in the performances of the women, who were all talented in their own right. It was a pity that the entertainment field was brutal and flooded, otherwise Mina was sure many of the women would have had promising careers.
Mina found herself swaying to the beautifully sung tune of an actress hopeful who could not be more than her own age, the woman looked so soft and petite that Mina felt the urge to pull the girl off stage and send her somewhere safe, but Mina couldn't even keep herself.
When the bidding had opened for that bachelorette, Mina mentally cringed. Some of the men holding up white flags were with their wives, and Mina felt disgusted on their behalf. The crowd was lively from beginning to the end, and even Oric raised his flag a few times. The action garnered a scowl from Mina, but Oric just shrugged.
"At least I'm not married," Oric said and Mina had to agree.
Thinking back, Mina realized that there were many young unaccompanied men at the event, and she realized that it was probably because the bachelorette auction was the main event they were waiting for.
Mina continued to watch as a breathtakingly beautiful blonde-haired woman took the stage and Mina swore she could hear a pin drop. The order of the woman being called was randomized through a tumble machine, but Mina had the impression that the organizers had saved the best for last.
"Why isn't she famous?" Mina asked Oric and the man clarified that being pretty was not a talent.
As if to echo Oric's words, the blonde-haired women performed a monologue that Mina recognized from her literary theory class. The piece was from a melodrama, but the blonde-haired women made it seem more like a comedy and it elicited a few chuckles from the crowd.
It was not that she was a bad actress, but her mannerisms were over the top, and it threw off the depressed mood of the piece she was reciting. When the women left the stage, she wore a smug smile and Mina could not understand why. Oric explained it to her.
"Being a mistress pays well," he said, and Mina widened her eyes in understanding before casting them back toward the stage.
The hostess peered into the tumble machine and tried to draw out the crowd's anticipation by letting everyone know that there were only two more cards left before they would move on to the luxury item auction. Mina recalled Cylus asking her if she wanted him to buy her anything and she was glad to find out that he was not referring to any of the women she had watched perform.
Mina was still lost in her thoughts when she heard her name being called. She knew she was not hearing things because Oric was staring at her with eyes so wide she could have laughed if she were not internally panicking.
Oric could tell that Mina was caught off guard, but before he thought to pull her away Mina was pushed forward and the chubby man she had seen earlier ushered her to the stage. Mina had just enough time to look back to see who had pushed her and to her surprise, it was not Lisa; it was Luna.
Mina stood on the stage, trying hard not to have a panic attack as the ringing in her eyes became more and more intense. She could feel someone stand close to her and she looked up to see CEO Rue mouth the word 'why' to her.
Mina shook her head to let the man know that she had nothing to do with what was happening and he nodded in understanding. The hostess, who Mina could tell liked CEO Rue, caught the small interaction and she quickly snatched Mina's talent card from the person operating the tumble machine.
Originally the duo had been taking turns to read the cards, and by chance Mr. Rue was supposed to be the person reading Mina's card, but the hostess read it out loud herself.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, this is Miss Mina Harlow. Her talents are…" the hostess stopped and looked around dramatically. "It seems Miss Harlow forgot to complete the talent section of her card. Instead, she asked that the bidding start at $50,000."
Mina's entire body jolted at the amount that she heard. The number was significant to her, and only a handful of people knew why. As much as she had wanted to believe it was Lisa who had put her name in the drawing, all the evidence told her it was Luna and when she caught the woman's self-satisfied smile in the crowd, she had her proof.
Mina could hear the murmuring of people but she was too embarrassed to speak and even worse, she felt like if she ran off the stage and caused a scene, she would cause Mr. Rue even more trouble than she already had.
Mina heard numbers being shouted back and forth among the crowd and she could not help but to look at the men who were bidding on her. Oric had told her what a blank card meant, and she knew what they all thought. What Luna wanted them to think. How she already felt about herself.
"$100,000 said a weak male voice and Mina looked up to see it was the young boy she had smiled at earlier in the evening.
It occurred to Mina that the boy was probably at the event to lose his virginity. It was not an uncommon practice and even Paul, the kindest man she knew, had been made to do the same thing.
The number kept climbing higher and higher, and Mina swore she could see some of the bidders salivating as they spoke.
Mina was angry, disgusted, and humiliated. She wanted nothing more than to run away, but for some reason she could not move. She cast her eyes around the room looking for CEO Zane, but he was nowhere in the crowd.
Mina swept the faces of the men and women around her once more before her gaze landed on Oric who cast a bid on behalf of Cylus, who unbeknownst to Mina, had somehow managed to text his friend. She felt relieved when his bid was the highest at $200,000.