Free Web NovelChapter 137: Chapter 137: His Logic Defeated Edie
The stylists in the Beck Mansion were very professional, and they only spent twenty minutes on Edie’s hair and makeup. Stuart didn’t let Edie leave alone after she was finished, he came to pick her up at the lounge. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
Before leaving, Stuart looked into Edie’s eyes and said thoughtfully, "Are you sure you want to go? If you don’t want to see those people, I can go for you." Warmth flowed in Edie’s heart, and she knew Stuart was worried about her. He was worried that if she saw those cold-hearted bystanders again, she would be upset.
She knew she had to face it herself. She held her head up high and smiled. You could see the courage in her face, "I’m fine; those people cannot influence me, let’s go." Stuart stopped trying to persuade her.
What he needed to do was to make sure Edie was in no danger. It didn’t matter what he had to do, but he promised himself that he would always be there to protect her. Edie took Stuart’s arm, and the two of them walked into the auction together.
Being the best mansion in the city, every detail in it showed extravagance. This was the most prominent auction in the city, which Mr. Beck invested both effort and money. Unlike any other ordinary auction, there was no noise, and the auction hall could accommodate thousands of people without being in disorder.
Small TV screens were installed in front of each table so that every guest could see the exhibit clearly and make a bid on time. It was Edie’s first time attending such an event, and she looked around in interest. Stuart was very patient with Edie. He explained the auction process to her and taught her how to use the TV screen.
Shortly after, the auction began. Mr. Beck, the organizer of the event, stood up and gave a short speech. "Thank you all for attending the auction at the Beck Mansion this evening. Most of the exhibits at the auction came from generous donations from fellow business leaders and celebrities. Only a small portion came from my collection. The exhibits were put up for auction to raise money for our war-torn children. On behalf of the children who have been rescued, I would like to thank all of you for coming to this auction. You are not only spending money, but you are also doing a good deed."
Mr. Beck’s English wasn’t fluent since he was Irish, but after he finished the speech, the guests broke into rapturous applause.
Edie was touched by him and said, "Mr. Beck seems to be a kindhearted man."
Stuart glanced at her and said, "Then, you’re wrong."
Edie was astonished, "Why?"
"In the business world, there is no difference between good and evil; only interest counts. For Mr. Beck and all the people here, they are not concerned about the children. They are only concerned about how much they can offer to reveal their financial resources to their business partners. This is how they can obtain more cooperation in the future. Some of them are even donating to avoid tax to increase the company’s profits."
Stuart was born to do business, and his eyes lit up once he started talking about the business world.
"You mean, even the people who donated, did not donate out of pure kindness?"
Stuart nodded; everyone in the business world is complicated. If he had to pick the most kindhearted person in the entire hall, it would have to be Edie.
"There are complicated interest trading behind every donation, and no single donation was made out of pure kindness."
Edie bit her lips. She had thought, maybe Donald donated the necklace because he had financial problems, but she wasn’t sure. Since it was a donation auction, even if her mother’s necklace were donated, she wouldn’t feel as bad. But now, it seemed that it wasn’t as simple as she thought.
The bidding of the first exhibit started; it was a brooch. It was one of Mr. Beck’s collections. According to the introduction, it once belonged to Princess Diana. The initial price was five hundred thousand dollars. The rule was to bid up by one hundred thousand every time.
Since it was the first exhibit, out of respect towards Mr. Beck, everyone was very enthusiastic about bidding. Edie couldn’t pay attention to anything else. She stared blankly at the numbers on the TV screen and waited anxiously for the bidding of her mother’s necklace.
"Is it pretty?" Edie heard Stuart, but she wasn’t paying attention, she nodded out of instinct and replied, "Um, yes." No one would’ve expected Stuart to enter five million dollars on the screen. The bidding price was still at three million, and he skipped two million!
However, noticing the price, the host was startled at first and then reported, "Guest number sixteen offered five million, anyone higher?" Whispers started spreading throughout the hall.
It was only a brooch, even if it belonged to Princess Diana, it wasn’t worth the price. Now that someone offered such a high price, everyone started guessing who it was. After a while, Edie finally discovered, number sixteen was Stuart, she widened her eyes, "Why did you buy the brooch?" Stuart proudly said, "You liked it."
His logic defeated Edie. She sighed and said, "You asked me if it’s pretty, of course, I had to say it’s pretty; it didn’t mean I wanted it." Stuart’s facial expression was calm as usual as if the five hundred million he just spent was five hundred dollars. "If you think it’s pretty, then I’ll buy it, it’s not expensive or anything."
Edie choked on his words, according to Stuart’s wealth, buying a five hundred million dollar brooch was more like buying a car. Edie had a strange feeling, it felt like Stuart was trying to flatter her. Being around Stuart, the hardest thing for her was to avoid falling for him. He was treating her too well. Then she remembered that he didn’t like women. Thinking of this made Edie both a little upset and glad.
As the auction went on, Edie hardly spoke. No matter what Stuart asked, she would only reply, "So so." Stuart saw right through her charade, he smiled and still bought some jewelry for her. Edie had to comfort herself by thinking it wasn’t her fault, and there was no way she could’ve stopped Stuart from burning his own money.
