I Refuse to Be Your Second Choice novel Chapter 155

Mr. Byron's polite and gentle demeanor, coupled with his words, immediately silenced the entire hall. Who said bidders had to be dressed in suits and ties? Natalie told herself, quickly regaining her composure.

"Welcome, everyone, to the Prestige Properties Group charity auction. We will now begin with our first item..."

Without any further ado, Natalie jumped right into it.

"Three hundred thousand. Do I have any other bids?" she called out for the first time.

"Yeah, I'll raise it by ten thousand."

"I'll raise it by ten thousand, too."

The bidders below had no understanding of auction rules, calling out random bids despite the instructions she had her team give before the event.

Just then, a group of men burst through the entrance.

"Mr. Byron, holding a charity auction and you didn't think to invite me? I would have loved to show my support," said the leader, a man in a garishly patterned jacket with bleached blond hair.

It was clear from his demeanor that he was here to cause trouble. Natalie paused.

"Who told you to stop?" the blond man sneered, his harsh gaze landing on Natalie. His eyes widened with a lecherous, greedy expression.

Uncomfortable under his stare, Natalie turned to her client. "Mr. Byron, should I continue?"

This was Prestige Properties Group's auction; Mr. Byron was in charge. She would follow his lead.

"Please, continue."

Natalie nodded and resumed the bidding. "Three hundred and twenty thousand. Are there any further bids?" she asked calmly, looking out at the audience.

The blond man scoffed. "You're really holding a charity auction for this worthless junk?"

His comment was met with a wave of laughter.

He strode to a table, and his men moved to kick out the people already seated there. But those men were loyal to Mr. Byron and refused to budge, slamming their hands on the table as they stood up. The tension between the two groups was palpable.

"Is this how you treat your guests, Mr. Byron?" the blond man asked sarcastically.

It was a polite way of saying: *It's okay if you're out of money. You can just watch for the rest.*

Mr. Gates felt cheated, but he couldn't deny that he had willingly made the bids. He turned his fury on Mr. Byron. "You two teamed up to screw me over!"

His men surged to their feet, and in response, Mr. Byron's men rose as well, creating a tense standoff.

"Mr. Gates, I never forced you to do anything. These were all your own decisions," Mr. Byron said with a smirk.

Feeling provoked and unable to argue, Mr. Gates bellowed, "Mr. Byron, did you really think I came here to bid on your garbage? You stole my company's property, and I'm here today to settle the score!"

Suddenly, a steel pipe clattered to the floor from someone's sleeve.

The sound shattered the standoff, acting like a signal. In an instant, both sides erupted into a chaotic brawl.

As the scene descended into mayhem, Natalie quickly pulled out her phone to call the police.

Mr. Gates spotted her and yelled, "Grab that woman!"