Chapter 68
“Wait a second. Wasn’t Alyssa the one who placed the bid just now?”
“It doesn’t matter. She’s using Howard’s paddle, and he didn’t stop her. Same thing, isn’t it? Even if it’s just something she likes, he can buy it to please her.”
People nodded in agreement. Everyone understood the unspoken rule. Unless someone was set on winning, the polite thing would be to let Howard have his way.
“The second bidder is Elena, Jimmy’s date!” someone exclaimed.
Confusion rippled through the crowd.
“What does that mean? Is Jimmy trying to go up against Howard?”
“I don’t know. He’s always been hot–tempered. Who knows what he’s up to this time?”
While the crowd buzzed with speculation, Brandon sat in a private box on the second floor, laughing.
“My dear stupid brother, Grandpa’s already upset with you, and you’re making it worse. This is too good. I don’t even have to do a thing. You’ll ruin everything yourself.”
In the shadows beside him, another man listened in silence, sipping his wine without a word.
Across the hall, Alyssa could hardly believe someone had dared to bid against her. This had been her plan all along. She had no intention of fighting for the high–priced items, but she also wouldn’t let herself look cheap in front of Howard. The tanzanite was perfect.
She could frame it as a token of love, something she bought with Howard’s bidder number as her contributing to the cause. In her mind, it would become a symbol of their relationship.
way
of
With Howard, there was no such thing as loss. Whatever she spent here, he would repay her with more. On top of that, the publicity alone was worth a fortune.
This was their first bid of the night. By convention, others should have yielded. She had even added an extra ten thousand dollars to be polite, calling out 80 thousand dollars. But Elena dared to follow.
Alyssa couldn’t understand if this was Elena’s or Jimmy’s idea. Could this be a test? Was it a challenge toward her or Howard himself? Nothing made sense.
Alyssa couldn’t figure it out. She wasn’t sure if she should raise the bid.
The stone was valued at 100 thousand dollars, and Alyssa’s limit was 120 thousand dollars. Anything beyond that simply wasn’t worth the price.
While she hesitated, the auctioneer had moved on to ask if anyone wished to raise the bid.
Alyssa lifted her paddle once more. She refused to believe Elena would push things further.
“100 thousand dollars from Bidder 888.”
The room stirred again.
“She’s raising the bid. She must really like the tanzanite stone.”
“Do you think Bidder 823 will follow?”
Everyone turned to look at Megan’s seat.
Before the auctioneer could respond, Megan had raised her paddle again.
“We have 110 thousand dollars from Bidder 823!”
Alyssa gritted her teeth and scribbled another number quickly. She wasn’t about to back down.
“120 thousand dollars from Bidder 888!”
Without skipping a beat, the auctioneer announced, “We have 150 thousand dollars from Bidder 824!”
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