Secretly Mine-Chapter 149: Searching (1) [Lucas POV]

After finishing up with the event staff, I walked back into the hall to see if I could find Leslie.

Originally, I was going to decline going with the attendant, but after Leslie’s encouragement, I decided to go. We had so much fun looking at all of the various paintings that I couldn’t bring myself to want to leave.

The hall was full of people, making it difficult to spot a single person. Thankfully, Leslie was one of the few people wearing a gold colored dress.

I walked over to where we looked at the paintings, then to the refreshment tables by the entrance.

"She’s not here either," I mumbled.

Could it be that she went back to see Christian and her sister?

Christian’s attitude was less than welcoming when I met him earlier. The way he looked at Leslie wasn’t what a normal future brother-in-law should have. It was far too possessive.

After a short while of searching, I located Leslie’s sister, Morgan. She was talking to a few other ladies, but Leslie was nowhere in sight.

I wonder where she could have gone?

After a few more minutes of searching, I gave up and went to my reserved seat just in time for the event to begin.

"Thank you, everyone, for coming! As you all know, this is an annual charity event where we raise money for a good cause. This year, we will be donating all of today’s proceeds to The Lavender House, a charity organization that takes in homeless children all around the world, giving them a chance at life."

The crowd erupted into applause, and I joined in as well. I’ve donated to The Lavender House previously, and they’ve always put the well-being of the children they take care of above all else.

Next came a few more introductions of key people who helped bring this event to life, including the hosts, the Lombardi family.

After a few more rounds of applause, the event finally started, and the first painting was brought up to the stage to begin the auction. I watched and applauded along with the others, but didn’t bid on anything.

While all of the paintings were nice, I had no need for them. I would rather simply donate a sum of money directly to the charity after the event and allow someone who will actually enjoy the painting to have it.

Twenty minutes later, it was finally my painting’s turn to be auctioned off. Very few people knew me as the famous painter, L.L. Lewis, but my style of painting was very difficult to replicate.

"Ladies and gentlemen! We have a real treat here for anyone who happens to be an avid art collector. We have an authentic, signed painting by the famous L.L. Lewis! Though the painting is small, don’t let that fool you of its worth! It’s a one-of-a-kind piece from his private collection!"

Multiple gasps sounded from the audience at the announcement. As soon as the auction began, the bids came flooding in so fast that the auctioneer had a hard time keeping up.

It was the longest auction thus far, causing the price to skyrocket to over three million. The paintings before it didn’t even make it to a million.

My lips curved up into a small smile. It was just one of the paintings I had lying around, and not anything special to me. The real paintings that held value were all locked in my studio.

My eyes flickered slightly. There was one painting that I started multiple times but couldn’t grasp the mesmerizing beauty of no matter how I tried.

Maybe one day I can convince her to pose for me.

Leslie’s gorgeous long brown hair and her pure hazel green eyes captivated my thoughts. I spent many sleepless nights locked inside my studio, trying to get the expression just right, but it was never good enough.

The cheering crowd brought me back out of my thoughts.

"And sold! For 5.2 million!" the MC announced with a big smile.

5.2 million. Not bad, a little more than what I had expected.

There were plenty more paintings to go through, but I lost interest after my painting was sold. I glanced around the hall once again to see if I could find Leslie, but I still couldn’t find her.

Maybe she left?

I sighed inwardly and quietly got up from my seat. Being in crowded environments for a long time took a lot of energy out of me. For this reason, I booked a room in this hotel. This gave me a place to escape to when the large crowds were starting to get to me.

I’ll go up to my room for a while and come back for the closing ceremony.

As I entered the lobby, I noticed a large crowd of people waiting for the elevators. Frowning slightly, I considered my options. My room was on the sixth floor, but the last thing I wanted was to be jammed into an elevator full of people, and there were enough people that it would take multiple rounds to get everyone to where they needed to be.

Stairs it is.

I turned to go down the small hallway past the restrooms before arriving at the door that led into the large stairwell.

As I entered, I looked up, mentally preparing myself for this small workout of climbing hundreds of stairs. A thought entered my head, causing me to chuckle to myself.

I thought of how Leslie looked at my body with flushed cheeks. She clearly enjoyed the muscles, and that was more than enough motivation for me to want to sprint up the staircase.

My initial dread was replaced with pure motivation, and I quickened my pace, nearly jogging up the stairs.

After making it to the fourth floor, I paused slightly to catch my breath. My calves were burning, but I felt good. If it made me even a tiny bit more attractive to Leslie, then I wouldn’t mind running up and down this stairwell all day.

Okay, only two more floors. Let’s go.

As soon as my breathing normalized, I resumed my jog, heading upwards to the sixth floor.

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