Free As He Bids by Olivia Rigal

CHAPTER ONE

    I wait in the lobby area for the receptionist to get settled in. She's a very pretty woman in her thirties, wearing a dress that looks as though it's been painted on her. Perched on towering heels, she looks at us from high up. Her hair and makeup are impeccable. How does she manage to look so polished at nine in the morning?
    Looking at my skirt and flat shoes, I feel rumpled. Next to me are two guys who are about my age, and they didn't bother to dress up even a bit. The three of us are caricatures of art students. They look around us with their mouths open, like fish out of water while I wear what I hope is a calm and composed look.
    There's one thing we should be sharing: huge smiles on our faces. Out of hundreds of résumés, ours managed to land us an internship with Goldsmith and Evans Auctioneers.
    Two months at Goldsmith and Evans! Just thinking about it makes me giddy. Of course, there are more prestigious international auction houses in Manhattan, but this is the one I wanted. This is where Bruce Nelson works, and he has been my obsession for longer than I care to admit.
    Bruce started working here as an intern when he was preparing his PhD, and now he runs the painting department. He's been acclaimed as one of the best experts in his field... the field I picked for my master's thesis.
    Inside me, there's a little girl jumping up and down with glee. I'm going to be working in the same auction house as Bruce Nelson for the next two months. The idea enchants and terrifies me at the same time.  
    To speak, or think , of the devil... Bruce Nelson enters the lobby.
    Somehow, my inner girl vanishes in a puff of smoke. In her stead is a sultry woman who can't stop staring at him. He waves at the receptionist as he passes, on his way to the elevator, and gives her a killer smile.
    Jealousy invades me. I want him to smile at me like that. I drink him in with my eyes until the elevator doors close behind him.
    The distinctive ping of the Apple computer resonates through the lobby, redirecting my attention to the receptionist. A little twitch of her mouth lets me know that she's noticed my staring. She must see this happen a lot--crazy girls fawning over one of her bosses. Steve Goldsmith and James Evans, the two named partners of the auction house, are also kind of cute.
    While her computer boots up, the receptionist calls out to us. "You're the summer interns, right?"
    "Yes, ma'am," the three of us answer in unison as we gather closer to her reception stand.
    "Don't 'ma'am' me." She laughs. "If you do, you'll make me feel ancient, and that won't do. Call me Tabitha or Tab, okay?"
    The three of us nod like a row of Japanese lucky cats.
    "Good, now that this major point is settled, let me see where I am to dispatch you guys." She searches the papers on her desk. She picks up four sheets, and I see those are our résumés. Through the paper, notes written with a red felt pen are visible.
    "William?"
    One of my companions stands to attention, and she looks at him. "You're in the antiquities department."
    William does a fist pump. "Yes!"
    With a benevolent smile on her face, she gives him directions to where he's to meet his new boss. She drops his résumé on her desk and looks at the next page. "Now, you must be Kenneth, and you are..." She raises her eyes from the paper and gives him a quizzical look. "The dolls and toys department."
    A big smile spreads across his face. I look sideways at him and wonder if he favors antique porcelain dolls or lead soldier figurines... unless it's miniature trains or old-fashioned automatons. He has the smile of the boy let loose in a toy store. I can't help but smile, as well, while I wonder how cool that department actually is. They probably won't let him play with the toys.
    "You'll have to wait for Jimmy here," Tab says to Kenneth. "He'll be coming any minute to pick you up to go out at a consignor's place to look at a private collection."
    Kenneth nods and stands next to