The Auction

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Struggling to control, her breathing Lulu didn't want to make her presence known. Ever so slowly she lifted her feet up, just in case anyone was to look under the stall doors. Biting down on her lower lip, she intently listened in on the conversation going on around her.

"That poor girl," Brooklyn laughed as she stood in front of the mirror. "Does she really think Dante cares about her?"

"Evidently, she does. I've seen them together. They look happy," Maxie stressed as she stood near Brooklyn.

"Dante always finds someone to fool around with while he's on assignment," Brooklyn dismissed easily as she fooled around with her hair. "He finds some blonde bimbo and before you know it, she's dream of wedding bells and he's looking forward to the next conquest."

"But he's in love with Lulu. He said so," Maxie protested as she gave Brooklyn a look. "What? You think he's going to cheat on Lulu?"

"Really, then why is it that she doesn't know about his kid," Brooklyn asked kindly as she reached into her purse. Lulu watched as she extracted a photo and handed it off to Maxie. "His name is Vincenzo. He's two. You might want to warn your friend, Dante plans on returning home soon."

Lulu heard the bathroom door open. Several more footsteps entered, but no one left. Lulu could see them vaguely thought the small gap. There seemed to a small group of them, standing in front of the mirror primping and preening themselves. 'Maxie looks ok, but Brooklyn could lose some weight.'

"That blonde that Dante is seeing, is she important?" Someone asked.

"She's just a local girl. Someone that Dante finds interesting for the time being," Olivia dismissed. "If there is one thing I know it's my son, he's more like his father than he believes. He'll be off chasing the next one soon enough. It will be fun, watching her make a fool out of herself trying to outbid everyone."

"Why are you saying that? Lulu is important," Maxie stated looking a bit annoyed.

"Please! Lulu is not as enticing as Carly; she just doesn't have the staying power. Dante doesn't want to disappoint Morgan so he's treating her with kid gloves," Olivia answered as she touched up her lipstick. "But…."

Their voices faded as the group left the bathroom. The heat coming off of her cheeks, gave Lulu an unhealthy look. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she finished going to the bathroom in peace.

Splashing some water on her face, she noted that when she looked in the mirror she still didn't look to good. 'Don't just take some prima donna's word for it. You can't ask Dante, but you can ask his handler. Lucky's hzndler knew everything that went down on his assignment, even the stuff Lucky really didn't want him to know.'

Taking a deep breath, Lulu opened her purse and pulled out her cell phone. Thinking god that she allowed Dante to use her phone to call in, Lulu was able to able to find his number. Closing her eyes, she clutched her phone in her hands.

"What are you doing?" Carly asked concerned. Reaching over, she fixed Lulu's hair. Spotting her flushed face and teary eyes, Carly looked at her sympathetically. "What happened?"

"Brooklyn says that Dante is just using me and that he has a son. He plans to leave to go home soon. Olivia thinks I'm insignificant," Lulu whispered as she tried not to cry. "They said that Dante is just like his father." Lulu saw Carly flinch at that comment. "What do you know?'

"Oh, Lulu, I'm not going to lie to you," Carly stated giving Lulu her patented look that told Lulu to stop her now or hear what she really thought. Nodding her head, Carly was proud that Lulu was willing to hear what she was going to say. "Dante is just like his father. Exactly like him in many respects. Sonny refuses to forgive Mike, Dante refuses to forgive Sonny. Sonny loves three things, power, money and women. Dante craves power; it shows with the mind games he's playing with Sonny. Now power, he knows he can have that any time because Sonny is more than willing to give it to him. What you're more concerned with is women; you want to know that he's not stepping out on you or playing you for a fool, am I right?"

"Yeah," Lulu whispered softly.

"Dante is being very careful here. Too many people are connected to him. He likes Michael but he adores Morgan, it might be that Morgan is young while Michael is older but I don't think so. I think it's because he truly has a little brother, someone who looks up to him. Correct me if I'm wrong, but he hasn't tried to connect to Kristina, has he?" Carly stresses as she reviewed her appearance in the mirror.

"No, he thinks she's foolish and unwise," Lulu said as she glanced down at her phone.

"Foolish and unwise have the same meaning," Carly dismissed. She spotted Lulu's cell phone, clutched in her hand. "Who are you calling?"

"Dante's handler," Lulu answered as she looked down at the phone. "I was thinking of asking him about Dante, but I don't know…."

"Give me the phone, you go watch the door," Carly ordered as she snatched the cell phone from Lulu's hands. "What is it exactly you want to know?"

"Everything."

~Milu~

TBC