"Yes, you two beautiful ladies," the emcee continued. "All the young women here are invited to participate in the first bidding of the charity gala, and you both are included. Please join the other beautiful ladies at the front."
"Would it be rude to say no?" Natalie muttered under her breath.
"Let’s just go see what this is about," Mia urged, pulling Natalie along as they walked toward the center of the hall. A few young women from wealthy families were already there, including Briena, who stood confidently at the front.
"Great," the emcee said, smiling as he gathered them. "We have five beautiful young ladies here. The first bidding of the night will be to claim the honor of the first dance. The man who bids the most on any of these five young ladies will have the privilege of sharing the first dance of the evening with the lady of his choice."
A round of applause filled the hall as the men eagerly prepared to bid on the women standing before them.
"What the hell is this?" Natalie whispered to Mia, angrily. "Are we an object to bid on."
"I’d love to smack that emcee in the head," Mia muttered, equally annoyed.
Briena, standing nearby, leaned over and whispered snidely, "Don’t worry, Natalie. I doubt anyone would bid on you—at least, no decent man."
Natalie ignored the jab, keeping her composure, but Mia wasn’t having it.
"Why don’t you shut your mouth, Briena? It stinks. You better hope the guy who bids on you doesn’t pass out from the stench when he dance with you. Though, with your fiancé bidding on, I guess that bastard deserves to faint."
"You—!"
"Let’s begin the bidding!" the emcee’s voice cut through the tense exchange, drawing everyone’s attention to ladies.
"We have the two Ford sisters," the emcee declared with a sly grin. "We’ll save them for later to see which one will fetch the higher bid, but let’s start with our other three lovely ladies." He paused dramatically. "The bidding starts at fifty million."
"Eighty million for Mia Wilson!" called out one of the businessmen.
"One hundred million for Mia Wilson," another quickly raised the bid.
"What the hell, girl," Natalie whispered to Mia, who looked just as shocked. "If I knew a simple ten minutes dance with you is worth this much, I’d have auctioned off one of your dance everyday to get capital for my poor company."
Mia whispered back, "If I could keep that amount, I’d dance happily as well. We need capital for our new perfume launch—even if it’s in peanuts."
Suddenly, a deep voice echoed through the hall. "Three hundred million for Ms. Wilson."
All eyes turned toward the source of the voice. Steve Davis, son of one of the four wealthiest families, stood confidently in his expensive suit, his gaze fixed solely on Mia.
Mia shot a glare at Steve, who stood unflinching, his expression calm and composed. What the hell is he trying to pull? ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
Reluctantly, Mia walked over to Steve, standing beside him with barely concealed annoyance. Fine. I’ll tolerate this jerk if it keeps Grandma quiet for a little longer.
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