Chapter 4
Nichole's cheeks were tinged with a hint of pink. She had studied finance for so long at college, precisely for this day. From the second floor, Sophie watched as James and Nichole chatted animatedly, quietly averting her gaze.-
Nichole indeed had some talent, which was one of the reasons James would find himself drawn to her in the future.
In her previous life, Nichole had identified a prime piece of real estate for James, which had made him see her in a new light.
But in reality, that property was already valuable, especially as it was located near the Burke International properties. With James' finances at her disposal, Nichole drove up the price without hesitation, which in turn increased the value of the surrounding Burke International properties. Either way, James couldn't lose.
Even without Nichole, that piece of land was something James would have acquired anyway.
As soon as the auction began, Nichole started bidding. She snagged the first three prime properties.
James sat beside Nichole like a guardian angel.
"Devonport Crescent, starting at one billion!"
"Two billion."
It was the first time Sophie spoke up at the auction, and the entire room gasped.
James frowned. What was she thinking?
Nichole whispered, "That land isn't worth much. Sophie's going to lose two billion."
James pulled out his phone and texted Sophie, [What are you doing?]
Sophie glanced at the message and then flipped her phone face down.
"Two billion once..."
"Two billion twice..."
"Damn, has Sophie lost her mind? Two billion for that?" Adler was on the second floor and shocked.
"Three billion." Beside him, Colby casually threw out a number.
Adler nearly flipped the table. He gritted his teeth. "Colby! Have you also lost it?"
Across the room, Sophie was frowning, trying to figure out who was crazy enough to bid against her for such a worthless piece of land, only to spot Colby.
Sophie vaguely remembered that Colby was involved in some shady businesses. Since when did he get into real estate development?
"Four billion!" Sophie calmly raised the bid.
Downstairs, James' frown deepened, and he typed furiously on his phone. [Sophie, shut it!]
This time, Sophie turned her phone off.
"Five billion."
Facing Colby's deliberate provocation, Sophie almost gritted her teeth to dust. 'Alright, playing it this way, huh?'
Sophie spoke up. "Ten billion!"
"She's definitely gone mad!" Adler exclaimed.
Downstairs, James stood up. The usually composed man was also somewhat unable to fathom Sophie's intentions. In his view, that piece of land wasn't even worth one billion, and Sophie was willing to spend ten billion on it.
Meeting Sophie's indifferent gaze, Colby smiled slightly and gestured for her to proceed.
"Ten billion once..."
"Ten billion twice..."
"Ten billion three times! Sold!"
As the gavel struck, Sophie's heart finally relaxed. She had secured the land, though she had spent an extra eight billion unnecessarily.
All because of Colby!
Sophie glared at Colby from across the room.
Adler nudged Colby. "Hey, hey, Sophie's glaring at you. If I were her, I'd probably want to kill you!"
Colby raised an eyebrow, seemingly unconcerned.
Downstairs, Nichole tugged at James. "Mr. Burke, Sophie's going to bankrupt you."
James coldly replied, "She set the price herself. No one else will foot the bill for her."