Handshakes

The next day, the amount of attendees in this auction were severely cut down in number. By now, most of the white paddled people who came for the actual auction didn't return the next day.

The rest of the white paddles meanwhile stayed behind to make some more connections and even maybe improve some existing ones.

The blue paddles all came to either bid once or twice or to just watch the show unfold. The blue paddles are big enough, wealthy enough and powerful enough to be affected by the winner and loser of this auction.

Considering the main bidders for this particular set of horns, it's even bigger than it has been. The last one was won by a landslide by the Bassets, but it seems the Danlias are now fighting back.

They are not the first family to contest the Bassets, but all who tried, failed. They failed and they were absolutely annihilated. Their family names were written off the face of this continent.

The Danlias however are the closest to the Bassets. The Danlias are basically the Basset's little sibling in terms of wealth, so this is basically the Danlias breaking free from their shackles.

The shackles of fear and nervousness are nowhere to be seen this time around and if the Danlias actually win, then the Bassets will lose a lot of reputation. If they can't fend off the Danlias, can they not defend the Lamberts? What about their dogs, the Whittaker's?

It will lose the hope of their subordinates who just want more money. If they see a more beneficial deal, they take it and sell their old team out. It's a dirty business, but it's still only business.

"Welcome back ladies and gentlemen to the second day of this lovely auction! We are going to get right into the auction from where we last left off with the lot #69! The previous bid was 830 million gold coins from the Bassets!"

Frank enthusiastically introduces the lot for a while and reveals the summary of the previous day's happenings. However, his face was telling of a different story entirely.

His face was definitely clean and wiped off, but he still smelled of cheap perfume. It seems he over-indulged a bit last night. Even with his eyes, you could see the tiredness in his eyes.

His eyebags were controlled with female make-up, but it still showed a bit. His hair was clean and his suit was pristine, so he looked like a business executive who is addicted to alcohol and hides it.

That is what Frank looks like.

His tired and lazy eyes rest on Rosé as he was asking if she wanted to bid once more. I tapped her thigh, doing the signal and she sighed while raising the paddle.

"I see we have a bid from ms. Rosé Danlia for 850 million! What a beautiful auction we have right now!"

She looks at me with a bit of contempt and begging, begging me to stop this insane gamble. She doesn't want to lose nearly a billion in gold coins for a bullshit pair of horns.

Basset visibly grits his teeth as shown by his tensed jaw and he raised his paddle while staring straight at Rosé. His secretary, Jeffrey, is under Rosé I believe and that's where we take our information from.

"...932 million"

With that, everyone was shocked to the core. With those few sequences of words and letters and numbers, he broke his own record by a big amount. By 32 million gold.

32 million gold is the price of most of the blue paddle's mansions. This is an insane number overshadowed by the 9th digit in his bid.

Rosé almost pulls all of her hair out while ripping her eyes out. She knows what I want to do, but she doesn't know if she has the will to do it. She feels like I'm taking the piss out of this auction since it isn't my money, but that isn't the case.

...maybe it's fun bidding with money that isn't yours, but that isn't the only reason. This is for the cause of winning against my enemies. Not for spiting her or playing around.

I tap her thigh and she looks at me with puppy dog eyes. Her mouth curves down into a fully sad face that I completely ignore. I tap her once again and after another 40 minutes of thinking, she concedes.

40 minutes is a long time, but this auction requires it. With this amount of money on the line, it would be unprofessional to give the auction attendees too little time to think.

"Ahem, 9.....940 million"

"Oh my! What a bid from Rosé Danlia! Absolutely brilliant!"

Frank's eyes go wide from the fact that Basset broke his own record, but Rosé raised it by 8 million gold. This is unheard of, this level of defiance to the highest form of family.

The highest families are the Durands and the Bassets. The Durands are quiet, but the Bassets demand more power and more respect. This is just a slap in the face, a kick in the balls and a punch to the nose for their power-tripping minds.

By now, the Basset family head isn't just simply clenching his jaw and gritting his teeth. He is shaking his fist in anger, shaking his foot, his eyes are red and he is furious.

No words can describe the anger he is feeling right now. This isn't just about the horns, this is about the hierarchy in their world. This isn't a normal "boss-son" relationship, this is a "master-bitch" relationship.

It's either you are the master, you are fake allies or you are a bitch. Right now, the Bassets are the masters and the Danlias are the bitches in their eyes. To have them disobey, is to have their master position challenged.

He laces his fingers together while resting his chin and closing his eyes to hide the frustration right now. He needs these horns and the only way to get them is by paying more.

After another hour of thinking and deliberation, he raised his paddle in the air with a solemn expression.

".....975.....million"

His voice is extremely elongated to emphasize is anger in a respectful and proper way. He exhaled a massive sigh from his nostrils and turned his eyes back to Frank from staring at Rosé.

She looks at me with those begging eyes again that spare slightly filled with tears. Well, I would be too. If some person was bidding with my money, I'd be very afraid.

I rub her thigh and once I do, she lets out a giggle in relief and after 20 minutes of "deliberation", she shakes her head and gives Frank the sign that she gave up: putting down the paddle in the floor.

Frank sees this and his eyes shine in excitement.

"And it seems like Mr. Basset will get the horns for a beautiful 975 million gold coins!"

""WOOOHOOO!!!""

"Amazing! Great auction, if I do say so myself"

The crowd goes wild and applause echoes around the center. Rosé puts on a sad expression and shrugs her shoulders in defeat. It was a bitter win for Basset, but a win nonetheless.

At the end of the auction while everyone was leaving, I made Rosé shake hands with the Whittaker's in a semi-hidden place. Her genuine smile was plastered around her entire face while the Whittaker's had a pleasant smile that was profesional.

'This is perfect. She is a great actor, if I do say so myself'

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(A.N) yo! Another chapter for you beautiful and handsome readers! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that you have an amazing day today!

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