Chapter 75 For Her, Unlimited Bidding
In the conference hall.
After the host warmed up the crowd, it was finally Samuel's turn to take the stage.
Unlike those company leaders who loved giving long speeches, Samuel only said a few words before announcing the start of the charity auction.
Bobby, since he was already there, symbolically bid on two items.
It was supposedly for charity, but in reality, it was just to show his stance to Samuel.
The Crawford Group was different from the old Richardson family.
This made the Sullivan family cautious. When they could achieve a win-win situation, they definitely didn't want to become enemies with them.
Everyone else had similar attitudes. To get their faces known in front of Samuel, they competed to join the auction.
The conference hall became extremely lively.
Until Taylor's work "Corner of Gravel" appeared, everyone's eyes lit up.
This wasn't just about doing charity or pleasing Samuel anymore. This was an item everyone genuinely wanted to win.
Yasmin didn't have a hobby of collecting paintings, but she knew about Taylor.
She also knew that her teacher Geraldo was both a fan and student of Taylor.
If she could win "Corner of Gravel" and give it to Geraldo, he would definitely like her even more.
Thinking this, Yasmin quietly acted cute with Steven.
Steven had always been generous when it came to money.
"If you like it, I'll bid on it for you."
He said this and raised his paddle.
But after several rounds of bidding, someone suddenly walked onto the stage and whispered something in the auctioneer's ear.
That person was none other than Samuel's right-hand man, York.
After hearing what York said, the host announced: "York is willing to bid unconditionally for the painting 'Corner of Gravel'!"
As soon as these words came out, the originally noisy voices below the stage instantly disappeared, falling into complete silence.
Even Steven, who had been determined to win, put down his auction paddle.
Seeing this, Yasmin tugged on Steven's sleeve in confusion.
"Steven, why did you stop bidding? What does this mean? Why did everyone else stop too?"
Before Steven could answer, a girl nearby who heard Yasmin's words laughed mockingly.
"Mr. Sullivan, what kind of date did you bring? She doesn't even know this? Is she from the countryside or something?"
Yasmin's face immediately turned red, and she became flustered.
She was afraid Steven would look down on her because of this.
Fortunately, Steven wasn't swayed by the provocation.
"Yasmin isn't from the countryside. It's just that I usually buy her whatever she wants directly, so she doesn't need to attend auctions."
The girl was left speechless and stood up to leave with an expressionless face.
Yasmin sensed something and looked at Steven.
"Steven, do you know that girl?"
"She's from Harborview City, recently working with the Sullivan family on a project. Since she's not local, Dad asked me to look after her a bit. She misunderstood, but I already explained everything to her yesterday."
Yasmin nodded, but felt a wave of fear.
No wonder she spoke so arrogantly—she liked Steven.
Good thing Steven's heart was still with her.
Otherwise, Steven could easily be stolen away by another woman.
She had to win today's championship no matter what!
After confirming that no one in the hall would bid higher, the host took "Corner of Gravel" backstage.
Soon the second item came up for auction, a painting by a foreign artist.
Steven took the opportunity to explain: "What York just did means in auction terms that no matter how much other bidders offer, he will add to that price with no upper limit, until no one else competes."
Yasmin's eyes widened.
"So that means even if we bid up to a hundred million dollars, he would offer more than a hundred million to win that item."
Steven nodded.
Yasmin was amazed by the person's wealth and boldness.
"Isn't he afraid someone will maliciously drive up the price?"
Steven smiled and said: "Anyone who dares to do this isn't afraid of other bidders' prices. Those without this confidence wouldn't dare."
Yasmin lowered her head and said: "I didn't even know this. Did I embarrass you?"
Steven shook his head: "I've attended countless auctions over the years, and this is only the second time I've seen someone dare to bid unlimited. It's not your fault for not knowing."
"You've seen it before? Who did this?"
"Samuel."
Yasmin instinctively looked toward the first row.
She happened to see York bowing and whispering something to Samuel.
"He's Samuel's man?"
"Yes." Steven replied, then said meaningfully: "This is really strange."
"Strange? Didn't you say he's done this before? Why is it still strange?"
Steven said: "Because the last time he bid unlimited, Samuel was also going after this same 'Corner of Gravel.'"
Yasmin fell silent.
Bidding unlimited for the same painting—that was truly rare.
And the paintings on display today were originally Samuel's collection.
If he wanted to keep that painting, he could have just not put it up for auction in the first place.
Now buying it back at a high price—what was the point?
Samuel really didn't think like a normal person.
Otherwise, why would he have spoken up for Amelia at the Richardson family's welcome party that day?
It was just a shame she couldn't win this painting to give to Geraldo.
...
Of course Yasmin didn't know that Samuel wasn't abnormal.
It was simply because Samuel only found out today that Taylor was Amelia.
He certainly liked Taylor's paintings, which is why he collected so many of them.
It was precisely because he had so many that he put this one up.
But if Amelia was Taylor, things were different.
Her paintings—no matter how many he had collected, he definitely wouldn't let others win them.
In fact, if he had known earlier that Amelia was Taylor, he would never have used this painting for the charity auction.
With Samuel bidding, no one else dared to compete.
An hour later, the auction ended.
All proceeds would go to charity.
The host held the microphone.
"The auction has ended. Now, we'll begin today's second activity."
The host briefly introduced today's oil painting competition.
When they mentioned that the champion could be responsible for the exterior design and logo design of the Crawford Group's new product, the venue erupted.
"I only heard the champion could win a million dollars in prize money. I didn't expect they could also become the Crawford Group's new product designer."
"The Crawford Group's new product is a new energy vehicle, right? Doesn't that mean the champion can design the car's logo?"
"I wonder who will be so lucky."
"Too bad I can't paint, otherwise I'd definitely enter the competition."
Hearing the discussions around her, Yasmin was delighted.
She only now learned that the so-called new product was actually a new energy vehicle.
If she could really win the championship, she would definitely become famous and make a name for herself throughout Phoenicia!