Chapter 155
Mr. Byron’s polite and gentle demeanor, coupled with his words, immediately silenced the entire hall. Who said bidders had to be dressed in suits and ties? Natalie told herself, quickly regaining her composure.
“Welcome, everyone, to the Prestige Properties Group charity auction. We will now begin with our first item p>
Without any further ado, Natalie jumped right into it.
“Three hundred thousand. Do I have any other bids?” she called out for the first
time.
“Yeah, I’ll raise it by ten thousand p>
“I’ll raise it by ten thousand, too p>
The bidders below had no understanding of auction rules, calling out random bids despite the instructions she had her team give before the event.
Just then, a group of men burst through the entrance.
“Mr. Byron, holding a charity auction and you didn’t think to invite me? I would have loved to show my support,” said the leader, a man in a garishly patterned jacket with bleached blond hair.
It was clear from his demeanor that he was here to cause trouble. Natalie paused.
“Who told you to stop?” the blond man sneered, his harsh gaze landing on Natalie. His eyes widened with a lecherous, greedy expression.
Uncomfortable under his stare, Natalie turned to her client. “Mr. Byron, should I continue p>
This was Prestige Properties Group’s auction; Mr. Byron was in charge. She would follow his lead.
“Please, continue.” Dıscover more novels at.net
Natalie nodded and resumed the bidding. “Three hundred and twenty thousand. Are there any further bids?” she asked calmly, looking out at the audience.
The blond man scoffed. “You’re really holding a charity auction for this worthless junk p>
His comment was met with a wave of laughter.
He strode to a table, and his men moved to kick out the people already seated there. But those men were loyal to Mr. Byron and refused to budge, slamming their hands on the table as they stood up. The tension between the two groups was palpable.
“Is this how you treat your guests, Mr. Byron?” the blond man asked sarcastically.
“Today is for charity, Mr. Gates. Of course, you are welcome,” Mr. Byron replied. He glanced at the man beside him, who then walked to the tense table and waved his hand. Mr. Byron’s men immediately backed down and gave up their seats.
Mr. Gates sat down triumphantly, his eyes fixed on Natalie. “Sweetheart, let’s not waste any more time, I’l take everything. Mr. Byron needs the money, and I’ve got plenty of it. A million should be enough, right p>
His words were a clear insult, though not directed at Natalie. However, as she was
working with Mr. Byron, she couldn’t let his honor be tarnished.
“Sir, the purpose of an auction is to achieve the highest possible value for each item. If you’re interested, you are come to participate in
the bidding. Whether you win or not, however, will depend on you resources,” Natalie said with a gentle smile.
The blond man, Mr. Gates, was momentarily mesmerized. One of his men had to nudge him to snap him out of it. “What, you think a million is all I’ve got? Fine, I’ll show you what I’m made of p>
Natalie smiled sweetly and continued with the bidding for the first item.
True to his word, Mr. Gates seemed determined to prove his wealth. No matter who placed a bid, he would raise it until the other party gave up.
By the sixth item, however, it finally dawned on him that he was being played for a sucker.
“You’re messing with me!” he roared, glaring at Natalie.
Natalie maintained her smile. “I have been following standard procedure. You were the one who chose to keep raising the bids. But don’t worry, you’ve already proven your strength by acquiring six items p>
It was a polite way of saying: *It’s okay if you’re out of money. You can just watch for the rest p>
Mr. Gates felt cheated, but he couldn’t deny that he had willingly made the bids. He turned his fury on Mr. Byron. “You two teamed up to screw me over p>
His men surged to their feet, and in response, Mr. Byron’s men rose as well, creating a tense standoff.
“Mr. Gates, I never forced you to do anything. These were all your own decisions,” Mr. Byron said with a smirk.
Feeling provoked and unable to argue, Mr. Gates bellowed, “Mr. Byron, did you really think I came here to bid on your garbage? You stole my company’s property, and I’m here today to settle the score p>
Suddenly, a steel pipe clattered to the floor from someone’s sleeve.
The sound shattered the standoff, acting like a signal. In an instant, both sides erupted into a chaotic brawl.
As the scene descended into mayhem, Natalie quickly pulled out her phone to call the police.
Mr. Gates spotted her and yelled, “Grab that woman p>