C5 The Auction

7 days had passed in a blur. It was true when they said that time passes and you don't even know it when you are happy in your space.

Taking out a black dress from the closet, I was alleviated.

I was finding an occasion to wear it, and this current time could not be any better.

"All the preparations have been done, Boss. We're waiting for your orders."

I nodded, my words oozing with confidence, "It's time to get our land back."

Reaching there, the first thing I did was to meet the one who allowed the land to be a part of the auction.

"Nice to see you again, Mr Kingsley."

"M-Miss Ford, you're here..." Douglas Kingsley let out a nervous laugh.

"You indeed look busier than I thought. Might be the reason for not picking up the calls."

"Haha, ...yeah. Busy, yes." I noticed how he kept averting his eyes.

"Mr Kingsley, you don't seem happy after seeing me." I raised a brow.

"N-No, I am! I am delighted to have you here. It's just... I'm surprised to see you attending today."

"Well, I got an invitation," I flapped the invitation card in front of his face. "You see I couldn't let it go to waste."

"Oh, the invitation card... Ah, yes... It was given to the Ford family too." He mumbled.

It was a good thing that he expected I could come here without an invitation.

If I had no invitation with me, I still would have come nonetheless.

Seeing the fear on his face, I decided to tease him further.

"Do you want me to leave, then?" I asked with amusement, not breaking eye contact with him.

"You are an important guest. How can I dare to ask you to leave? You normally don't show up on events like this..."

"Something that I want is being auctioned today. I'm here to get it back." Clear eyes, staring at him.

"I hope you make people sign the agreements as proof here. Otherwise, any random man can come to claim our property as his own at any time."

I should have made him sign the contract first. That way, I would not need to give attention to this auction.

One thing which boosted me was watching a man like Douglas Kingsley becoming a nervous wreck in a woman's presence.

It was a sight to behold.

However, I started to sense so many curious eyes behind my back that I had to refrain from catching all the attention on me.

Too much attention could become a catastrophe for my plan.

I decided to play low-key and left the hall. I was retouching the make-up in the restroom when I received the message from Michael which said:

That the mysterious shareholder was going to be here.

Quickly giving him a call, I asked, "Do you know what he looks like?"

"No, but I've managed to discover that he will attend today." Mr Shareholder, you better stop playing cat-and-mouse. "Seems like he also has his eyes on the land."

"Alright," I declared. "I'll meet you in the main hall. Bring Stacy with you."

It was 4:30 pm when the auction officially started. Most of the people were here to either auction their property or they were here to bid.

"Ma'am, are you here to auction an item or take part in the bidding?" A man approached me. He had a list in his hands.

"The latter."

"And what name you will choose to bid from?" He wrote something down.

"Victoria Ford."

The man's hand stopped writing and he looked up. Noticing my face at last.

"You're from the Empire...?" I could tell that he was stunned. Empire usually did not show their face when not needed.

"Yeah, the CEO." I threw a smile at him.

"I've got a question for you."

"Please, ask." He was more courteous than before. I think I even heard an 'Oh, my God.'

"When will the bid of Marigold begin?"

"...That land," The man thought for a while before he answered, "It's the last item that will be displayed, so it will take an hour utmost. If you're in a hurry, may I disclose it right after the next item?"

My lips arched up.

He's such a smart person. Kingsley is extremely lucky to have someone who knows how to read and appease the mood.

When I was about to respond, Michael nudged me and mouthed, 'no.'

Oh, I forgot I had an intelligent person next to me as well. I am lucky, too.

Thankfully, Michael stopped me or else I would not be able to see the face of that mysterious shareholder.

I needed to have a meeting with him and negotiate the shares he had as soon as possible. Any individual below the merit, yet having Empire's shares could tarnish the company's image.

"No, that won't be necessary. Thank you, though." I politely refused and the man left.

More than half an hour had passed and my patient was running thin.

The auctioneer kept making people exhausted with his words. Still, people had to act like they were enjoying it.

From time to time, my eyes darted toward the entrance. Hoping to see that one person who we had been searching for.

My eyes lit up when the picture of the land was shown on the projector and Kingsley was holding a document— precisely one that belonged to Marigold.

"For the last item of this auction, we present you the land, Marigold. The starting price of this land opens from $478k."

I gazed around to see if others were raising their bid boards. Qualm, this was what they had on their faces. They were unsure whether they should buy this land or let it go.

"How much amount can we currently release and proceed with?" I asked Michael, my eyes never leaving the screen ahead.

"Approximately $700 million," Michael answered, tapping on his iPad with a frown. Was pressure getting to him?

"5 million from Empire!" I raised the bid board, taking people by surprise.

Watching me calling out the price, the bidders started to take an interest and several of them raised the value to the maximum of 8 million.

"18 million."

Some even attempted to compete.

"35 million." This was my final price. No one dared to raise the value again. Kingsley's eyes bulged out of their sockets. A mere $478k land was getting sold for 35 million dollars.

"35 million going once," The auctioneer excitedly shouted.

"35 million going twice."

I smirked and leaned back in my seat, enjoying myself.

This land was mine.

"35 million going-"

"70 million." A voice announced and everyone turned their head, following the voice.

My eyes narrowed. Who was daring enough?