CHAPTER 32. Lost in Bidding
1904 Words
The auction day has come, and Gabriel is very excited to get the red pearl. Wearing one of the most luxurious collections of suits he has and shiny leather shoes, he felt ready to rampage the venue together with the mafia community and other high-ranking illegal personnel, which he didn’t even know.
‘Next is to find you, Crystal.' He smirked at his reflection in the mirror, sliding his fingers through his thick hair.
He shot one last glance at himself before he finally stepped out of the closet and grabbed his phone on the bed, dialing his friend's number.
"I'm ready." He shortly said when Axel answered the call. He will be his companion s***h driver for tonight's event.
"Yes boss, but I don't think you are."
"What do you mean?"
"Just come down already and see for yourself," Axel told him and ended the call.
“You look very handsome, son. Do you have a date with Rachel tonight?” His mother commented and inquired, getting out from the other room.
“No, mom. I am going to an event tonight with Axel,” he told her and pecked his mother on the forehead before he proceeded, but the moment he had a glimpse of their living room from the second floor, he sighed with so much irritation before he started descending through the staircase.
"Gabriel!" Rachel excitedly approached her fiance with a big hug.
"Get off me! You're ruining my clothes!" He annoyingly hissed, straightening his suits.
"You look mighty, baby. Where are you going? You should have told me you are going to a party tonight so I can accompany you." Rachel said as she kept on following Gabriel until outside of the mansion.
"Anyway, that's fine, because I'm always ready. I just have to call-"
"Stop!" Gabriel hissed, cutting her off, and looked at her with his fierce eyes.
"How many times do I have to tell you? I don't want you to interfere with whatever business or transaction I have, can’t you understand that? Just leave me alone, okay?”
“Come on, I am your fiancee. You can’t just drop me off like that whenever you want to.” Rachel complained, blocking his way.
“I have no time to argue with you, Rachel. I need to go.” Gabriel pushed the lady aside and walked past her, heading to the parking area where his friend was waiting.
“So, what did you say to your fiancee?” Axel asked when they were both settled inside the car.
“I told her to just vanish like a bubble in the air,” Gabriel bluntly responded, and his friend only chuckled. But just after a few minutes Gabriel's phone rings and it was his father.
“I’m sure Rachel reported to him again,” he annoyingly muttered and brought the phone to his ear.
“What have you done again, Gabriel?” Joemar’s first words while Gabriel just heaved a deep sigh before he spoke.
“Dad, are you sure about having a daughter-in-law as childish as her?”
“That’s not what I asked. When are you going to learn to treat Rachel the right way? Come on, just try to look at the good side of being engaged with her and forget whatever feelings you have left for your past women because they didn’t deserve you.”
“Are you done?” Gabriel coldly asked his father.
“No. I also want to inform you that Rachel requested to get you two married as soon as possible instead of waiting for years.” Joemar let out from the other line that made Gabriel’s eyes widen in disbelief.
“What!? No way!” he resisted.
“I already warned you, but you keep on acting hard towards her. Now, that results from being defiant.”
“No! I will not marry that woman. I thought you said that the wedding is happening in two years?”
“Yes, but that was before and since Austin replaced Mr. Alonzo in their company, he became even more powerful and certainly he can just push our company down in a blink of an eye. So, be a good boy now, son.
“I’m really hating this life now,” Gabriel complained, gripping his phone hard.
“After my business visit here in London, we are going to talk about the wedding, so prepare yourself.”
“There will be no wedding happening between us,” Gabriel uttered before he ended the call and slammed his fist on the car’s board.
“Ssh! Wait, I'm hearing something.” Axel mocked him as he playfully put his hand on his ear and pretended to be hearing something.
“Yeah! The bells, I can already hear it,” he added while he keeps his eyes focused on the road ahead.
“Cut the f**k off, Axel.” Gabriel annoyingly complained. As he leaned his body against the door and looked outside of the window beside him.
“I would rather marry Crystal than that brat.” he hissed.
“Wow, the mysterious Crystal. You really make me curious about this girl. I just hope I still have a chance to meet her.” but Gabriel stayed quiet and just busy himself watching the establishments they have passed along the city.
After driving for almost an hour and a half, they finally arrived at the hotel where the auction was being held. After they presented their appointment to the front desk, a staff member led them to an exclusive elevator and pressed the ground floor button. He assisted them until the door opened and led them straight to a double door. They walked into a dark hallway with cold yellow lights on the ceiling but the end of the hallway revealed a bright light that led to a hall like in cinemas where the seats were elevated and a wide platform in the middle in the bottom part of the hall in front of them.
“Sir.” the staff handed him a number without looking up to him.
“Thank you,” he said, and the man left, uttering no more words.
The auction had started when they arrived, but just in time for the bloody pearl’s turn. Gabriel felt very confident after hearing the bidders’ prices for the current item, which didn’t even exceed half of the amount he had prepared.
“And now, we are moving on to lot nine, the mysterious bloody pearl.” The auctioneer introduces. Gabriel sat up straight in his seat, gripping his assigned number tightly.
‘This is it!’ he eagerly thought.
“The pirates discovered this mythical pearl centuries ago and ended up in the hands of Elliot James, a well-known treasure hunter in his era. In the old days, the sirens introduced to humanity the knowledge about the pearl and it's a miracle to heal whoever is suffering in any kind of sickness and pain.” The man continued while standing beside the glass stand where the pearl is being placed while they showed its larger image on a big screen to let everyone have a closer look at it.
“Starting with the price of ten million dollars, we can now start the bidding.” He finally starts the soliciting and everyone interested in the item follows.
“Twelve, thirteen, fifteen million dollars, sixteen on my right, seventeen million, twenty million the lady on the phone, twenty-five, twenty-six million dollars at the aisle, thirty, thirty million I’ll take thirty to thirty is the bid from the mister on my right. Now it’s thirty million dollars, thirty-five million the lady on the phone. Thirty-six, thank you very much. Thirty-eight, thirty-nine, forty million dollars,” and so on,
Gabriel was astonished. He never thought that the bidding would be as intense as it is now, unlike the first items that were auctioned earlier.
“One hundred million dollars, the man with a hoodie.” Gabriel felt his heart skip a beat when suddenly a courageous man in front bid.
‘Heck!’ he cursed, as he can’t let that man get the red pearl.
“One hundred two!” he proposed, raising his number while it shocked Axel and felt worried about his friend’s sudden announcement.
“Hey, bro. Are you sure about this? You might get out of this place broke.”
“Just shut up!” he deeply hissed at him as he focused his attention on the current event.
“One hundred and five, one hundred and six million dollars.”
“One hundred and ten.” The man in a hoodie still fought for it.
“One hundred and ten million dollars against you madam, one hundred and twelve.” The auctioneer continued selling the product.
“One hundred and twenty,” again the man in a hoodie.
“One hundred and twenty-five!” Gabriel took it from him.
“One hundred and twenty-five million for the man at the back.”
“One hundred and fifty,”
“One hundred and fifty-five.” Gabriel also didn’t give up.
“Two hundred million dollars.” Now there is another one interrupted, and the bidding continues until they have gotten as much as five hundred million dollars.
“Gabriel, I think you should stop,” Axel warned his friend.
“Don’t worry I came prepared.” he retorted, even though cold sweats formed on his forehead already he continued grabbing the chance to buy the pearl until the man with a hoodie bet another price and made Gabriel finally give up.
“Nine hundred million dollars,” the man in a black hoodie bid.
“Nine hundred million dollars for the bloody pearl. Anyone else is against it?” the auctioneer asked, while Gabriel was feeling frustrated as he thought he could take home the pearl tonight, but he lost it.
“We sold bloody pearls at the price of nine hundred million dollars. Congratulations, sir.” The auctioneer greeted the man in a hoodie and everyone applauded.
“I think it’s time to leave, man,” Axel urges him, while the expression of being a loser is clear on Gabriel’s face.
“That’s alright, man. He might need the pearl that much more than you.” They are now back in the parking area.
“I badly needed it too!” Gabriel irritatingly responded.
“Yeah, maybe? But you can’t afford the nine hundred million dollar pearl for now. Maybe when you become the chairperson of your company.” Axel remarked.
“This is crazy! How could someone else be interested in that tiny thing and even willing to pay almost a billion price!?” Gabriel unbelievably complained as he ran his fingers through his hair.
“Why don’t you ask yourself?”
“Well, I have my reason and I know that pearl’s real capability, more than them!”
“Really now, huh?”
“Whatever! Let’s go. I need to calm myself. This day is worse than ever!” He exclaimed before settling himself inside the car.
- Writer
