I Refuse to Be Your Second Choice novel Chapter 303

Natalie Watson had her team double-check the network setup and switch the livestream camera to the main angle. Lighting and microphones got a quick tune-up too.

Samuel Thompson caught on right away. “You’re planning to auction everything live online?”

Natalie nodded. “Alexander Ramirez might be able to shut out buyers from Cabinda, but can he lock out everyone in Kaston?”

Livestreaming used to be just one of several backup plans, never the highlight. The in-person auction was always the real deal. But this time, she didn’t have a choice.

“I’ll run the stream myself. Anne, call the hair and makeup artist,” Natalie said. Since the livestream was front and center for the first time, she wanted to take the lead.

Not long after, Natalie walked out in a moon-white couture dress, stepping up to the display for final checks on the lights and camera.

“Three, two, one…” The director’s voice counted them in.

Natalie took a deep breath. A gentle, welcoming smile spread across her face.

—

At the Ramirez Group, Alexander Ramirez stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, eyes fixed somewhere far away.

A knock sounded behind him.

“Mr. Ramirez, Billy Firth is livestreaming the auction right now,” Aaron Lee said as he hurried over, handing Alexander a tablet.

On the screen, Natalie was in the spotlight. She wore a stunning moon-white dress with silver embroidery, her makeup perfectly done, hair swept into a low bun with a single long strand falling in front.

There weren’t many viewers yet, just over two thousand.

The chat was mostly filled with people watching for fun, not serious buyers. Comments flew by, most of them off-topic or just jokes.

Natalie didn’t let it faze her. She kept her cool and introduced every item with absolute professionalism.

Anne let out a sudden gasp. “The viewer count just jumped again!”

Samuel watched the number skyrocket from twenty thousand to a hundred thousand, shooting up by tens of thousands every second.

Natalie kept the show going. Anne turned to Samuel with gratitude in her eyes. “Mr. Thompson, thank you.”

“Thank me?” Samuel looked at her, puzzled.

“Thanks for promoting the stream. More buyers are finding us because of you,” Anne explained.

So that was it. He had clicked to boost the stream a few minutes after it started, but he was honestly surprised it was only kicking in now.

“It’s your boss who’s got the real talent. She’s the reason they stick around.”