I Refuse to Be Your Second Choice novel Chapter 299

When Anne spoke, Natalie felt her heart drop. Her fingers curled tightly in her palm. She didn’t even need to think about it. This had Alexander written all over it.

She could hardly believe he would stoop this low. Cutting off her access to venues wasn’t enough for him. Now he was sabotaging the entire auction. The sellers she’d already secured had all pulled out. That meant her auction was about to have nothing left to sell.

“Nora, what do we do now? Should we try reaching out to other sellers?” Anne’s voice was strained with worry.

Natalie took a moment, forcing herself to steady her breathing before she spoke. “Even if we try to find new sellers now, we probably don’t have enough time. And there’s no guarantee their pieces would fit our standards.”

She paused, thinking. “Let’s reach out to the original sellers again. If they’re willing to talk, tell them we can lower our commission.”

If she had to cover the loss out of her own pocket, she would. Right now, all that mattered was getting through this disaster.

Anne offered to drive her home, but Natalie shook her head. “Go back to the office and handle this. I’ll take a cab.”

As soon as she got home, Natalie pulled out her phone and called Alexander. She’d made up her mind on the ride over. Everything traced back to him. He had no idea what had really happened that night. He believed she was to blame for his child’s death. Now Billy was suffering because of it. She needed to set the record straight.

She dialed his number the moment she walked through the door. No answer. The call rang out and disconnected. She tried again. This time, it rang a few times, then he hung up on her.

He wasn’t picking up. Not even willing to listen.

Natalie’s chest tightened. She stared at her phone for a second, then began typing a message.

“Nora, we contacted all the sellers. None of them want to work with us.”

Natalie had been expecting this. “Send me the list. I’ll call them myself.”

Anne sent it over right away. Natalie started at the top and worked her way down, calling each seller one by one. She was honest and determined, offering them a lower commission, even suggesting discounts for future deals if they’d stick with her. Billy’s auction house had always offered high commissions, but that was because they got the best prices for their sellers. Even with the fees, everyone made money. With a discount, they’d make even more.

But the sellers were distant. Some were brutally straightforward.

“Ms. Watson, it’s not that we don’t want to work with you. The Ramirez Group already signed us. Their terms are better. Business is business. I’m sure you understand.”