Chapter 116 They Call Me Auction For a Reason
Bryce left the office before noon back to his apartment. He was unhappy with what his father had just done, but blamed himself. He could have taken the news down without addressing the employees the way he did. Now his father had seized the opportunity to announce to the whole company that Susan was soon going to be his wife.
"I will never marry Susan, even if she is the last woman on earth," Bryce said to himself inside his room. "I have messed around enough. I need to put things in their place. Something is not right, and I need to find out what that thing is," he added and fetched his phone.
Bryce dialled a number and waited for the call to connect.
"Hello, Ian. How are you doing?" Bryce greeted.
"All good," Ian replied. "I know you only call when there is a major issue. So what is it, your engagement news or the murder that hit your home?" he went straight to the point.
"I can handle the engagement case. I need your help with something else," Bryce said. "The woman accused of murdering my sister and mum," he said.
"Angela Anderson," Ian called out the name on the other end of the call.
"Yes, I feel something is not right. I need your help to look into the whole murder thing. I want to know exactly what happened," Bryce requested.
"No problem," Ian said. "You know the drill," he added.
"Don't worry. Money is not the problem. At this moment, you are the only one I can trust," Bryce said.
"Don't worry, I've got you back, old friend. I will get you something within 48 hours," Ian said.
"Thank you," Bryce said and ended the call.
Back at the Diamond Corporation, Devon had organised a mini celebration for Susan after announcing the upcoming engagement. The ground floor had a huge space, and that was where the party was ongoing. Drinks were going around for everyone. Some employees were happy, whilst others were not, because they knew how bossy Susan can be. It can only be worse now that she is going to be Bryce's wife.
"It's good to be rich. I can never organise this kind of party even if you give me a week," an employee said to another employee.
"I will never be poor. I will work towards becoming a billionaire someday," the employee replied.
"Sweety, that will take you a lifetime. Maybe you should take some lessons from Ms Susan here and hook up with a billionaire's son," the employee said, and they both giggled.
At another corner of the space, Susan and Eva stood together with drinks in hand, and Devon walked up to them.
"I have a few things to take care of in town. Have fun, sweetie. And get ready for your engagement this weekend," Devon said. "Have this, from here, go shopping and get for yourself something nice for the engagement," he added, handing Susan his black card.
"Thank you," Susan said heartily and hugged Devon.
"You deserve the best, my dear," Devon said and pulled away from the hug.
He hugged Eva briefly before leaving the place.
"Wow! Now we are going shopping," Eva commented, staring at the black card in Susan's hand after Devon had left.
"What can I say, he dotes on me," Susan said. "I don't hate my parents, but I never had this kind of luxurious life with them," she said.
"So you are happy your parents are no more?" Eva asked.
"Don't say it out loud!" Susan said, covering Eva's mouth with her hand, and she scanned the environment like she was looking to find out if anyone had heard Eva. "My parents might hear you," she added and removed her hand from Eva's mouth.
The two ladies giggled at Eva's statement.
"I will put it this way. Sometimes death is a good thing. It makes way for great stuff, like in my case," Susan said, and Eva laughed.
"You are one damn lucky orphan. I am not that lucky. My husband was even a freak," Eva said.
"Forget about him. He is gone and will never bother you again," Susan said, and Eva smiled.
"Thank you, Susan. You are the greatest Sister life ever gave me," Eva said. "I will forever be committed to anything you want me to do for you," she added, and Susan smiled.
In another space, Bernard stood there with Peter standing next to him. Peter had a drink in hand, but Bernard seemed off.
"If you don't want to marry her, why are you going on with the wedding?" Peter said to Bernard. "I am glad you don't have to turn in your resignation anymore, but this is still crazy," he added.
Bernard recalled Susan's threat. He can't afford to have his private life published all over social media,
"I have an image to protect," Bernard said, and Peter shook his head.
"We all have an image to protect, but remember, it's you first before anyone else. People will always think what they want. It doesn't mean you should make yourself unhappy for them. It will not change what they think of you," Peter said.
"You don't understand. I draw the line on certain things, and this is why I have to marry her," Bernard said, and Peter sighed.
Meanwhile, while the party was ongoing, Britney was working on pulling the news of Bryce's relationship with Susan down.
"My boss is a very private person, and he doesn't want his business all up on social media. I don't care how you land the information. I want it off your platform, or you will be talking to the company's lawyers," Britney threatened. "And don't make me involve the company lawyers, I will sue your agency and shut down your business in the process," she added.
"Fine, I will pull it down," the CEO of one of the news agencies that had published the gossip said.
"I want it down now and published an apology to the Moore family and have the world know the news you published is false because that is what it is," Britney said.
Once she was done with the call, she dialled another number.
"Hello, I have found the person who started the gossip. I want to sue the cockroach's ass. Next time, he will know that, as a cockroach, you don't challenge the bird to a fight," Britney angrily ended the call after the person had acknowledged.
"Hello, Mr President, everything has been taken care of. We are taking legal actions against the one who started the gossip," Britney informed Bryce over the phone.
"That is good," Bryce said, and the call ended.
At A&J Group, Zora was with Elorm.
"I feel terrible doing nothing to help my friend. Days have gone by since my friend was arrested, and I have not even gone to see her," Zora complained.
"Zora, you know these rich people. They will not let you see her," Elorm said. "Aside from that, they can even arrest you as an accomplice. When that happened, how can you help her?" he tried to reason with her.
"Fine, I get that point, but sitting here doing nothing and coming to work as if everything is okay is not okay with me," Zora expressed.
"Zora, I understand how you feel," Elorm said.
He had stopped Zora from involving herself with anything that had to do with Angela. He was afraid of losing her. He had not been able to confess his feelings to her, but he was not going to let anything bad happen to her.
"Let's do it this way. Let's wait for the police to finish with their proceedings, and once we know what they have, it will help us know what to do to help Angela," Elorm suggested, and Zora frowned.
"That sounds like sitting down, doing nothing, and just waiting for Angela to be sentenced before we move," Zora said.
"No, we will get a clear picture of the situation," Elorm said.
"Elorm, I see you just don't want me involving myself in Angela's case," Zora said. "She is my friend and like a sister to me. I am not asking you to do anything. I can help her on my own," she added and stood up to leave, but Elorm grabbed her hand and stopped her from leaving his office.
"Zora, I am sorry," Elorm said. "I want to help," he added. "Where do we start from?" he asked, and Zora just stared at him, standing on his feet behind his desk, holding her hand while she stood in front of his desk.
Back at Diamond Corporation, Susan's phone rang, and she retrieved her phone from her bag. She checked the screen for the caller and excused herself to answer the call, seeing the person calling.
"Yes, talk to me," Susan said once she found herself in a lonely hallway leading to the garage.
"You are right. He did call," Ian said. "I will need three times the amount he is paying me to do his bidding if you want me to do your bidding," he said.
"You are betraying, you friend, how sure am I that you will not betray me?" Susan questioned.
"They call me auction for a reason," Ian said.
"And what is that supposed to mean?" Susan asked.
"Just like in an auction, I work with the highest bidder. So just make sure you are the highest bidder. And my service will be sold to you. I am not on anyone's side. My loyalty lies with the highest bidder," Ian assured.