Page 2 of Deserving Cora
The redhead smirked at her, not even looking at the stage.
Pipe frowned in confusion. Why had she bid on him if she didn’t seem the least bit interested in what she was spending a hell of a lot of money on? He watched as the redhead leaned down and said something to the other woman, who frowned and abruptly turned, pushing her way through the crowd and walking away from the stage.
Then and only then did the redhead look up with a very satisfied grin on her face.
Disgust swam through Pipe’s veins. It seemed obvious she’d only bid on him so the other womanwouldn’twin. That meant the two women probably knew each other, had some sort of bad history.
He realized he was way too interested in the dynamic between the women than he should be. But he couldn’t help remembering the hopeful look in Brunette’s eyes when she’d briefly held the winning bid…and the devastation when she realized the amount had gone over her price range.
“Looks like the winner is Ms. Eleanor Vanlandingham. Congratulations! Have a wonderful time at dinner!”
The MC gestured for Pipe to walk off the stage to the left. He did so, but couldn’t get the woman in the black dress out of his mind, the way she didn’t fit in at this event. How he knew that, Pipe wasn’t sure. Mostly, he was judging her exterior—exactly what people did tohim. But still, he was rarely wrong in his assessments of others. It was an important skill to have as a special forces soldier, and he’d always been the one his team relied on when they needed to determine if they could trust an informant or not.
He didn’t think he was wrong in his assessment of that woman either—yet, she had thousands of dollars to blow at an auction.
The fact that she was such a dichotomy intrigued Pipe. That she stood out to him, for the very reasons shedidn’tstand out to others. And that spark of…something…flared again. It was a foreign feeling, but he wasn’t willing to ignore it.
He needed to know more about the woman in the black dress. She may not have won the date, but Pipe was going to track her down the second he got off this stage…and try to figure out why he was so drawn to her.
CHAPTERTWO
It was taking every ounce of pride and strength for Cora Rooney not to burst into tears. She’d planned tonight so carefully. When she’d heard that one of the owners of The Refuge was going to be in Washington, DC, at a charity auction, she’d been elated. Like most people, she knew about the resort catering to those who suffered from PTSD. There had been a lot of articles written about the place—and the men who owned it—when it had first opened, and even now, more than five years later, they were still getting interviews and press coverage because of how generous they were with their time and money.
She’d been distressed enough to spend some of her own hard-earned money on a ticket to the gala tonight. She’d have preferred not to, wanted to hoard every dime to use for her main objective, but the gala was a means to an end…namely, the chance to have a conversation with one of the former special forces soldiers who owned The Refuge.
It was a desperate decision. She’d contacted private investigators, all of whom wanted too much money to take her case. Private security firms were out, for the same reason. Cora had even dug around on the Internet, trying to find a former police officer or FBI agent to consult, but the few she’d found made the hair on the back of her neck stand up, and not in a good way. They were quick to offer help, but like everyone else, demanded thousands of dollars—up front. Which made her think they were scammers.
If there was any other way to get help that didn’t require money she didn’t have, Cora would’ve taken it. But she was out of options. Even if the representative from The Refuge had refused to help her, at least she could say she’d tried everything.
Thinking about why she was at this auction in the first place made her heart hurt.
Lara.
She’d known her best friend since they were teenagers, so over twenty years now. Lara had been the only girl at school who’d tried to befriend Cora when she’d arrived as a newcomer in the tenth grade. Cora hadn’t fit into the upper-class school at all. A foster kid with no designer clothes, a bad attitude she wore like a shield, and an expectation that everyone would hate her on sight. She wasn’t exactly wrong on that last count…except for Lara.
Lara Osler had literally saved her life. Had overlooked her lack of money, lack of parents, and lack of trust for anyone and everyone, and simply taken her under her wing, not caring that their peers made fun of her for it behind her back.
They were opposites in so many ways. Lara was tall at five-ten, compared to Cora’s five foot five. Cora had boring brown hair, while Lara’s was shiny blonde. Cora was brash and didn’t hesitate to speak her mind. Lara was far more diplomatic and almost shy. Despite that, Lara fell for men hard and fast, convinced each one could be her happy-ever-after, while Cora was too distrustful to offer most guys more than a single night.
They were like oil and water, but somehow they’d immediately clicked. Despite their differences, or maybe because of them, Cora and Lara had become best friends. She owed Lara everything.
That was why she’d bought a dress and two-inch heels, attempted to put on some makeup, and attended this fancy shindig.
And she’d failed.
She hadn’t been sure she’d have enough money to win the man from The Refuge to begin with. The six thousand dollars she’d scrounged up was the most money she’d ever had in her bank account at one time. And she’d spend every dime to help Lara, even if no one other than Cora believed she actuallyneededhelp. And when most of the winning bids for the men in front of him had been in her range, she began to think she might have a chance.
The bidding had slowed at five thousand dollars, and for a second, Cora had thought she’d done it. That she’d won. That she was one step closer to helping her friend.
Then Eleanor Vanlandingham appeared, practically knocking Cora to the floor. From the second she realized who was standing next to her, Cora had known her nemesis from high school was going to ruin everything…and she’d been right. She didn’t know why the other woman hated her so much. She’d been a bitch back in high school, and she was still a bitch twenty-two years later. They didn’t run into each other often, but when they did, nothing good came out of it.
Like tonight.
Eleanor had crushed Cora’s plan with two little words. Ten thousand dollars was way above what she could afford to spend…more than she had in her account. She’d failed. She wouldn’t be able to talk to Mr. Clark, wouldn’t be able to try to convince him to help her.
Cora wanted to cry…and she wasn’t a crier. It never helped, only made her feel stuffed up and weak, and made her look like crap.
It wasn’t as if Eleanor even wanted a date with the man. He wasn’t her type. Not even close. Too rough around the edges, too many tattoos. Not pretty enough. Not a millionaire. The list went on and on.
