"100 million!"
Gisele was surprised by the figure she heard when she walked back into the booth.
Few minutes ago. It was just at 25 million so how did it jump across a heap 75 million? She could not help but regretfully glance at the man seated in the other booth. A knowing look flashed past her eyes.
A man in love was akin to a fool!
Who didn't know he was bidding it for his girlfriend. If everyone else did not know, well she knew alright!
Harold on the other hand watched the unending scruple going on between his subordinate and Devon. A frown appeared on his eyes, especially when he saw the girl next to him looking at Devon with regret in her eyes.
Knowing the kind of man Devon was, he was surely not going to back down especially when the opposition was Robert. Harold pinched the space between his brows and sighed helplessly.
"200 million!"
...
After coming back from the restroom. Gisele could feel a fever coming up. Even with the suit on her shoulders, she still felt a slight chill and could sense the slight raise in her body temperature. She poured a cup of hot coffee for herself from the tray in the room, then effortlessly took small sips from the cup to warm her body up.
"200 million!" The calm voice beside her announced loudly.
"Pfft" Gisele subconsciously choked on the coffee in her mouth. Her fingers also lost grip on the ceramic cup in shock and it fell to the ground.
200 million?!
The hall broke into an uproar. Everyone could not believe that someone had taken the cloth's price to such a limit. Be it bravery or stupidity, it amounted to murmurs and whispers from everyone in the room.
Devon also turned to look at the man that had decided to take over the contest himself. Harold glanced at the girl struggling to pick her things up and then back at Devon. The momentary glance did not evade Devon's observative eyes. A knowing look flashed across his eyes then transformed into a hesitant frown as he noticed Harold's expression that seemed to say 'Save me some face and let me have this cloth'.
The figure of the girl bending to pick the things she had dropped found its way again into his eyes. She had her face down and her flowing brown hair covered what else would have been there to recognize her with, so all Devon could see was the long hair dropping like a waterfall and also the military coat sprawled over her shoulders. He didn't need to ask where she had gotten the coat from as the young general next to her was apparently missing a coat. Now he was curious...
What was the relationship between the two of them? and why did that girl's figure look familiar even?
Claudia noticed the two men glancing at each other. She subtly shook her head at Devon, hinting him to forfeit the bid.
"200 going once!"
"going twice!"
"Gone!" The MC shouted and that was a confirmation that the dress had been bought by the general for a price of 200 million.
If the dress looked beautiful before, now with it's sky high price, it exuded a shining light. In the eyes of the audience, the dress was akin to a priceless treasure.
At last Gisele picked up all her stuff, just in time to see when the dress was being taken off the state. She passed Harold a complicated gaze and sucked in a few breaths of admiration. Buying a dress for 200 million, surely this was something one of Country M elite and prodigy could do.
Whosoever was going to get that dress was definitely a lucky girl!
Gisele had soiled her dress with the coffee so she excused herself to go clean up a little in the restroom.
The auction had pretty much come to an end with the sale of GXJ's dress, all that was left was for the socialites to mingle and discuss amongst themselves. Those who weren't social butterflies would directly just say their goodbyes to the host and leave the venue.
"Mr Harold" Devon walked over to Harold who was talking to a bunch of business men.
Harold paused his conversation and turned to return the greeting. "Mr Devon, congratulations on winning the project Bid"
Devon smiled gratefully but didn't return the compliment. It would be awkward congratulating him for winning a bid over a girl's dress. Curiously he also looked around wanting to see the girl but she was no where to be found.
"So when shall we meet to sign the necessary documents?" He asked
"I've prepared everything already, if you're a bit free at the moment, why don't we proceed to the office and settle everything?"
Devon immediately agreed as it was per his already laid down plans. He had cleared his schedule for today in confidence that he would be dealing with the signage for the project bid all day long.
Harold said goodbye to the men he was talking with and was about to leave when Robert came and whispered into his eyes. His eyes shone and he made a stop.
"Unfortunately Mr Devon, my deputy would have to lead the way first. I have something personal to attend to, I'll come over once I'm done"
Devon glanced at the man silently. The slight warmth that had appear on Harold's face did not miss his eyes, still it was none of his business, so he turned a blind eye to it.
"Sure"
The two of them departed at the spot, Harold walked off with Robert who was carrying the packaged dress in hand, Devon followed the middle aged man that was introduced as a deputy.
Though they departed, their parts still crossed at the entrance.
Devon watched Harold walking side by side with the girl from before. There were bodyguards surrounding them, still he could see her petite build shrouded by that military coat and then the tall bodies of the men around her. Her plaid gown flowed elegantly around her body with each of her stop. Her long hair no longer flew with the wind ass it had been rolled up into a tight office bun.
That dress... Where has he seen it before?
...
"Thank you" Gisele thanked the man that held the door open for her. Stepping into the black Maybach made her awkward and uncomfortable but she had no choice.
Aunty Claudia was tied up with a few friends and could not take her back, she was not reassured with leaving Gisele to return on her own, so she asked Harold to drop her off at her destination. To her greatest shock the young man agreed without second thoughts.
After her, the thin tall man also got into the car. Even with the abundant space, she felt cramped from his suffocating aura of superiority. Thankfully, the friendly and jovial Robert was driving shotgun so the ride was not entirely stiff since he kept on bringing up topics to discuss with Gisele.
"Modelling? Why not acting?" Robert asked surprised. The news that the young lady was you into the modelling industry rather than the entertainment industry came as a surprise to him.
With a face like hers, people would rather appreciate seeing her on their Tv screen rather than a few magazine pages. But who would ignorantly give her only a few pages in their magazine. He could really forsee a future where her face would be pasted round the city on every nook and cranny.
Gisele smiled and shook her head "The entertainment industry is too complicated. I don't want to get dragged into muddy waters"
Even though the modelling industry had it's ups and down too, it still was not as complicated as the entertainment/acting industry. All she wanted was to get a stable financial source for herself so that she could give her grandfather and uncle a better life. Rather then wallowing in the muddy waters of the entertainment industry for a long time, modelling was a faster way to achieve this.
The serious and sincere expression on the girls face told Harold, she was not lying. She really wasn't like other girls who wouldn't mind a few amorousness. Robert observed his friends expression and ended up clicking his tongue. He could already see him leaving him behind at the threshold of singlehood.
"That's good, don't forget to send me a few magazines when you feature in them. I would be your number one fan!"
Gisele laughed softly, she was happy that such a Zen-like person rooting to be her fan.
"Do I need to? With your status every magazine would gladly offer you a copy for free" she retorted back cockily.
The young man pouted and gave her a glare "Do you need to point that out? Can't I pretend to be normal even with you?"
"Fine then, I'll send a dozen copy everytime, as my number one fan remember to always ask for my autograph okay?"
The two of them laughed it off and continued their discussion like that till Gisele got to her destination. Since the man was very friendly, Gisele also did not stand in ceremony with him. She conversed with him like he was a long time friend of hers. As for the third person in the car... Well she just pretended he was a decoration, that way she wasn't bothered by his presence.