Those Jeffries Boys by Debbie McGowan

Author:Debbie McGowan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: friends, soccer, strong women, forty something, three brothers, men with children, minor intrigue, new and established relationships, past domestic violence, sunday league football
Publisher: Beaten Track Publishing

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15: Bid to Win

Thursday, 4th–Friday, 5th October

The auction was being held in the same function room where they’d celebrated Josh and George’s wedding the previous summer, although without the balloons and flowers and little round tables, it looked like a completely different space. There were already a good thirty or forty people sitting in the rows of chairs that all faced one end of the room, where there was a table, a projector and a screen. Men and women in smart business suits and wearing ID badges milled around, handing out auction brochures to newcomers and answering their questions. One of them approached Dan and Andy.

“Good afternoon, gentlemen.” She offered them a demure smile.

“Afternoon,” Dan said. Andy acknowledged her with a nod.

“Are you planning to bid today? If so, I can deal with your registration for you.”

Dan withdrew his passport and his driving licence from his pocket and handed them over.

“Have you attended a Derek Arnold auction before?” she asked as she wrote down Dan’s details.

“Yeah.” It wasn’t a total lie, in that he had attended a property auction before—when his mum and Len had bought their house—and for all he knew, it could have been a Derek Arnold auction, although maybe not, seeing as they were living in the place now. But it was Dan’s one and only experience of auctions, and had he still intended to bid on anything, he might have needed a little more guidance. However, he’d have got it from his brother, not the auctioneer.

The woman handed Dan’s documents back, along with a copy of the paperwork, a bidder’s number and a brochure, and gave Andy an enquiring look, which he met with a shake of the head. She returned her attention to Dan. “If you have any questions, or wish to know more about any of the properties, please feel free to ask any of the Derek Arnold representatives. We can be identified by our name badges.” She lifted hers in illustration.

Both Dan and Andy nodded once to confirm they’d heard and understood, and the woman moved on.

“Shall we sit?” Dan suggested, as the room was getting busy.

They employed the lessons of their youth—whereby each had learned the harder, though infinitely more fun way, that teachers kept their beady eyes on the naughty kids at the back of the class—and sat a couple of rows closer to the front, aiming to stay inconspicuous.

Dan flicked through the brochure, to the Sharston house listing, and leaned in to speak. “How should I play this?”

Andy gave the details a cursory glance. “Don’t bid above the reserve price.”

“And if no-one outbids me?”

Andy shrugged. “Or don’t bid at all.”

Dan considered Andy’s suggestion. It was the option with the least financial risk, but he’d taken heed of his brother’s warning. They’d seen what Sharston and her cronies were capable of, and the pre-auction bid made Dan’s interest clear. If he didn’t bid today, it would arouse suspicion, draw dangerous attention not just to him but to his family.

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