billion book
Chapter 21
21 The Silent Auction
The second night of the benefit organized by Amelie featured a silent auction. The items up for bid matched the high status of the guests–rare pieces of art, luxurious trips, vintage cars, boats, and many
other prized items donated by members of the charity board.
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As always, the evening promised to be both grand and lucrative.
As the night began, Amelie, Lauren, Emily, and Elizabeth gathered at the same table to discuss pressing board matters and the final day of the benefit, scheduled for the next day. Their serious discussion, however, was interrupted when Mrs. Pamela Pritchett, the wife of the CEO of one of the most prestigious law firms in the country, plopped into the free chair next to them and giggled mysteriously, wrapping her long thin fingers around a tall cocktail glass.
“Have you ladies heard the latest gossip? It’s a spicy
one!”
21 The Silent Auction
All four women arched their eyebrows at Mrs. Pritchett, who leaned over the table as if about to reveal a big juicy secret. “According to the rumors, Liam Bennett has already found himself a new lover! Can you believe it? That young fox sure moves quickly!”
Amelie instantly recalled her brief conversation with Liam during their dance last night and narrowed her eyes. Somehow, this news was quite upsetting. Emily
smiled and lowered her voice,
“That might actually be true. During the business lunch today, where Liam was present, someone caught him using a second phone to text someone. Mr. Lyn
snatched the phone out of his hands and saw a ‘flirty‘ message exchange between him and some unknown
woman.”
Emily smirked and Mrs. Protchett joined in again, “Yes, my husband told me the same thing! And when Mr. Bennett was put on the spot, he refused to confess who the woman was, but judging by his behavior, it
must be someone we all know.”
Amelie felt a slight tremble course through her entire body. She had abandoned the idea of discovering her
21 The Silent Auction
mysterious “phone pal’s” identity but now hat the ladies mentioned Liam Bennett talking to someone in secret, it all suddenly began to make sense.
‘Was I talking to him all this time? He is the one staying
in the suite next to mine?‘
Recalling all the message exchanges she had with him, Amelie’s face felt hot again. The mystery man behind the phone was drastically different than the one she had got to know; but was it really the case?
‘So it means his talking to me was the reason all these new rumors occurred… I am that woman he is “flirting”
with.‘
All of a sudden, another important realization struck her she gave Anna the phone this morning but when she left, Miss Hayden was needed at JFC headquarters and Amelie hadn’t seen her since. That made her slightly nervous.
‘I should have asked Liam to leave the charger at my door instead of giving the phone to Anna… That was really reckless of me.‘
The ladies‘ attention was shifted to the center of the room as there seemed to be forming a strange crowd,
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21 The Silent Auction
encircling the flustered Mr. Bennett. It appeared that everyone was pestering Liam to finally disclose his new lover’s identity.
Samantha made her way to the front and chimed into
the commotion,
“Come on, Mr. Bennett, send the message right now
and if that woman is here, we will all hear the
notification and find out! Sooner or later the two of
you will be caught up in the public gossip anyway, isn’t it better to reveal this relationship yourself to avoid public resonance?”
Her words made Amelie release a suppressed laugh.
Sure, Samantha was truly the one to talk about being
caught in public gossip.
Liam stretched his lips into an unpleasant grin, his glaring eyes were set to turn the annoying woman to
ashes.
“Miss Blackwood… Unfortunately, I don’t know who that woman is. I lost one of my phones, she found it, and we’ve been texting one another ever since. Staying anonymous is what makes this more exciting.”
Samantha didn’t want to give up.
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21 The Silent Auction
“But don’t you want to know who she is? What if she’s really one of the guests here? Wouldn’t that be amazing to finally get to meet your special secret
friend?”
The crowd resonated with her words, and a wave of
exciting murmurs echoed through the room. The high society was always known to be hungry for such shameless entertainment and despite the good cause of the ongoing event, tonight’s focus was once again. switched to the wrong thing.
And once again, it was all thanks to one woman.
“I can’t believe she’s doing it,” Elizabeth carefully looked at Amelie, waiting for her reaction. Perhaps she, too, had already managed to catch up to what was really happening.
Amelie’s expression was dark and cold. Somehow, she
couldn’t move her eyes away from Liam who, on the other hand, did not look in her direction even once.
Finally, Mr. Lyn stepped forward too and stood next to
Samantha.
“We’re having a silent auction tonight, aren’t we? I am bidding fifty thousand dollars on this item!”
21 The Silent Auction
He took out a signed bank note from the ner pocket of his vest and waved it in front of the crowd. Then, he turned back to Liam and added, “Come on, Mr. Bennett, it will be very cruel of you to not accept this bid since all of this is going to charity. Think of Mrs. Ashford and how hard she’s been working for this.”
His mentioning of Mrs. Asford finally made Liam move his eyes in her direction. Their eyes met and the man felt something inside him snap. With his gaze still firmly glued on hers, he asked, “Is this an acceptable way of receiving a donation?”
Amelie’s lips mouthed “yes” and Liam smirked.
“Very well,” Mr. Bennett took out his phone and unlocked the screen, “It will really be a shame if her phone is on silent mode right now.”
In an instant, the entire hall fell silent; it felt as if everyone was holding their breath, expecting something exciting to happen.
Liam’s finger finally pressed the send button on his screen and a loud “ding” struck the room like a lightning bolt. The noise came from Samantha’s purse.