Charlotte didn't understand what was happening. Who had suggested her for the auction? Because she definitely hadn't volunteered for this.  She stepped out of the bathroom only to see that everyone was murmuring about her. "Who is she?" "They should move on to the next one. She must have left." "Is that the same Astor who's that guy's lawyer?" Mary appeared seemingly out of nowhere and gently grabbed her arm. "Charlotte? Are you OK? They're calling you to go on stage!" She seemed very excited about the whole thing, while Charlotte stood there, petrified.  "How?..." was all she could say.  "Mister! Here she is!" Mary waved her hand in the air, trying to get the director's attention. The spotlight that had been shining on him quickly moved to where Charlotte stood, as the crowd near her parted, making way for her to go to the stage.  Charlotte began to move mechanically, trying to ignore the wh

Logan beamed at Charlotte, looking overly pleased with himself. "Regardless," Charlotte said. "This is wrong. Stuart and the team have worked so hard to paint you in a good light, and you're trashing all our hard work by showing up here." "No one is going to notice it's me," he replied, making Charlotte twirl and then pulling her closer to him again. "I have a plan." "I'm not sure I trust your plan," Charlotte said. She didn't know the next song, but it was another power ballad, and now, she was actually enjoying the dance. To hell with everyone who would gossip about her; no matter what she did, people would always talk.  "There is just one song left after this one," Logan said. "And I must return you to the vultures." "You paid a million dollars for just three songs?"  "That's what the museum director said." "I'm flattered," Charlotte replied. "And still angry. But flattered." "Don't feel too specia

Charlotte Astor was beautiful and she hated it sometimes.Sure, it made it easy for her to get her way most of the time, but it also drew unwanted attention. Puberty had come to her like a sudden burst of lightning. It was as if an invisible hand had molded her from clay, from one day to the other.With that, came the unavoidable attention of guys. Finnick Hardwell, the star of the football team, had been trying to get her to kiss him all night. This party by the lake was technically their third date. Charlotte had just wanted to have a good time with Edward and his friends. They never tried to flirt with her and treated her like she was one more of the pack. But Edward was nowhere to be seen, and she was getting anxious. Was he with a girl? He hadn't mentioned meeting anyone on the way here. "Stop it," she said flirtatiously, as Finnick kept kissing her neck. "There are too many people around." She tried to ignore hi

Charlotte spent one more week in the hospital until she was finally released under the condition she wouldn't go back to work immediately. Her mother hadn't returned to see her after the day she had her small confrontation with Logan, so that was the first thing on her mind when Floyd dropped her off at her apartment. She needed to speak with her mother. And with Mary.  Floyd had surprised her. He had gone to visit her every day after work, sometimes stopping by during lunch to say hello and eat with her. He had also offered to drop her off when she was released, and somehow, even agreed to allow Logan's security team to follow him around as a precautionary measure. When Charlotte asked about it, he didn't seem too comfortable with the setup, but he hadn't told Logan to send them away. Edward had shown up only once, claiming he was very busy, and even though Charlotte was dying to see him, she thought it was for the best. The dream she had had about him

The ride to Mrs. Vazquez's home was long, and Charlotte and Logan spent most of it in silence. Stuart sat in the passenger's seat and kept his eyes on the road, while Charlotte observed Logan every once in a while. Not once did he look her way or speak. Behind them were three more black cars which were part of the security detail for Stuart, Charlotte, and Logan. After Charlotte's attack, Logan had put security teams to follow all of them around. Charlotte didn't even know their names, but the black car had been parked in front of her building since yesterday. When they pulled into a neighborhood that looked like it had seen better days, the driver spoke to them via ham radio, telling them to stay back."Is this fine, sir?" he said to Logan.Logan, whose eyes were still transfixed on the window and beyond, only grunted as a sign of approval. "Should we stop a block away?" Stuart interceded once the driver was done speaking. He tur