Chapter 99 And The Winner Is…
Chapter Ninety-Eight
As soon as the lights dimmed, and the Host’s voice came over the microphone, all the guests quietly returned to their seats.
Vera and Kurt had to do the same and she was pissed that she did not have the time to pull out Aria’s hair.
“Well, this is another moment where I will shine as the Queen that I am.” She thought oneself with an haughty sniff, “I don’t need to be bothered with the likes of Aria.”
So she flipped her hair over her shoulder with another haughty sniff and went back to Nathan, holding on to him even when he was clearly sitting down.
Aria and Zach sat across the aisle as well as Nathan and the others. From time to time, Vera would throw hateful glances at Aria.
Selena sat behind Vera and she could not help, but notice the hateful glances which Vera was giving Aria from across the aisle.
She looked from one to the other, then back at Aria, scoffing with disbelief, “Hmph, I can’t believe she had actually managed to offend Vera Hale within such a short time.” She thought to herself, “Aria Beaumont, you are in deep soup now.”
Kurt Eugene would be winning the project that day, and Aria would know that she’d messed with someone she was not supposed to mess with.
However, Aria did not notice or care about whatever the hell was going on around her. She had not reacted as well when she’d heard the whispers against her, and was now sitting down with a quiet dignity.
She’d heard about the speculations and the assumptions that was flying around in the hall long before she entered.
Everyone thought the Vaughn Empire was going to be winning the bid.
Even while they were still seated, without the winner being announced, several other people gripped Kurt by the shoulder and patted him in congratulations.
Nathan made a big show to walk across the aisle from Aria and go to meet Nathan, shaking his hands warmly.
“Congratulations.” He uttered with a pleasant laugh, as Kurt shook his hands once more.
Aria could not help but shake her head when she how foolish Nathan and the rest of them were.
“Fools,” she muttered, “Let’s see how you will react when I win the bid. Do they think everything works their way just because they wish it to?”
Zach was looking at the crowd over in Kurt’s side and he whistled lowly, shaking his head in disdain, “Wow, That’s just plain crazy,” he said calmly, “I mean, the winner has not being announced. Yet, they are all flocking over to him.”
Aria shrugged, glancing over briefly, “They think he’s the winning team.”
Zach glanced at her, admiring her calm, and composed face, and then he glanced back at Nathan and he grimaced in distaste, “What the hell is he doing over there?”
At that moment, the host on the stage tapped on the microphone in order to get their attention.
He smiled as he addressed the audience, “Thank you, everyone, for your patience. The acquisition bid for the Nexus Logistics Project has been finalized.”
There was a pause as everyone looked at each other in surprise.
An acquisition bid?
What the hell was going on here? Everyone had come to the event thinking it was a project award, but it was actually an acquisition bid.
The Vaughn empire was actually going to buy the Nexus Logistics company?
A quick glance at Kurt where he was seated even puzzled them more. Kurt remained very calm as though he’d know all along that it was an acquisition bid.
Seeing his calm front, his supporters relaxed as well, and assured themselves it was not something that could catch him by surprise.
Besides, since it was an acquisition bid, they were all sure it was only the Vaughn Empire that must have bid for it.
This was because any other company that had tried to bid for it had steered clear, when they saw a giant conglomerate like the Vaughn Empire taking place.
The Nexus company was not that big of a deal as well but everyone thought it would make a turn around when the Vaughn Empire worked with it.
Now, they were infact, buying it off.
Now that was more like it.
The Host smiled at the audience once more as he continued, “The winning company is—”
He paused, stretching the moment.
Nathan was relaxed in his seat with an half-smile. He glanced at Aria and thought he saw her shoulders stretched taut with distress.
“Just hold on bitch,” he muttered to himself, “This is only the beginning.”
Kurt straightened up on his chair, already adjusting his cuffs and his jackets. Vera patted him on his arm, smiling broadly as he prepared to go up on the stage.
“—The Graves Capital Group.”
There was shocked silence in the room, instead of the usual applause that normally accompanied an announcement like that. Then almost immediately, shocked gasps followed, the whole place becoming a hum of murmurs.
Kurt almost toppled to the ground from his chair when he heard those words. He had actually tried to stand up when the Host had called out the winners name, but he did so at the same time another name was called.
His brain was too fast to note the difference but not his body, and his knees had buckled underneath him.
Now, he looked up with a pale face at the host, and then at Aria, a murderous look settling on his features.
With trembling, he turned his head ever so slowly to where the Directors from the Vaughn Empire were seated.
The dignified men only gave him a long stare that seemed to say, “Oops!”
Kurt shivered with fear and humiliation as Vera helped him back on to his seat. Vera was extremely distressed.
“How could this happen?” She hissed at him , “I thought you said you had everything under control?!”
“I thought I did!” Kurt snapped back at her, forgetting to keep his voice low, “But heaven knows how this bitch has to be ahead of me in this, damn it…”
He and Vera turned to look at Aria as well as everyone else.
Aria was already on her feet and was moving towards the stage elegantly amidst the confusion around her.