Chapter 9 The Mysterious, Sebastian Le Roux
1502 Words
Xesha's POV
The gavel had fallen and the Blood Diamond bracelet was mine. Jasper seemed unwilling to lose to me, so he began to focus his attention on other auction items, as did I.
My mother's white jade necklace was one of the items up for grabs at this event. I had to get it as a memento of my mother. However, this time the competition was no longer between Jasper and me, but between Jasper and a man in another VIP room.
"Two hundred thousand dollars," I offered, raising my paddle.
"Three hundred thousand." Jasper refused to be outdone.
Another voice replied, "Four hundred thousand."
This was really a close competition. If the mysterious man in the other room dared to keep bidding until the price was high enough, it meant he wasn't just anyone.
When the bidding approached hundreds of thousands of dollars more, I gave up. I let Jasper win, and it seemed that the mysterious man did the same. He stopped bidding, and my mother's white jade necklace went to Jasper.
"He must be crazy," Shana muttered. "Two million dollars for a necklace?"
"It's a historical necklace. Don't you remember?"
"I know. Your mother's necklace is indeed a rare item in terms of design, age, and materials used. However, it shouldn't be worth that much." Shana then checked the guest list for the event. "I think he's the kind of person who wouldn't hesitate to pay that much for the necklace, but he let Jasper win. The question is, why?"
I shrugged in response to Shana's words. "We don't know who he is, and it doesn't matter. Are we leaving now?"
"How's your bracelet?"
"I already paid for it."
"Then let my assistant take care of it." Shana then called one of her assistants and ordered him to take my belongings, while Shana and I were about to leave immediately.
Unfortunately, Jasper blocked my way, appearing before me with a proud expression because he had beaten me in the auction for my mother's necklace.
"Are you leaving now?" he asked, but I ignored him. However, since he had won my mother's white jade necklace, I had to follow him and make sure there were no defects or anything else that could lower the price.
As we walked, the door to another room opened. A tall, well-built man, surrounded by several men in black suits, emerged from the room and managed to grab my attention.
His steps were confident and steady, and he stopped when Jasper called his name.
"Mr. Le Roux." The dark brown-haired man turned around, facing Jasper without a smile, only a cold and dark gaze.
He... he was the man whose car I had crashed into that time. So he was the famous Sebastian Le Roux?
Who didn't know him? Not only did he run 'clean' businesses, but also the darkest businesses in Manhattan or maybe even around the world. However, that could just be a rumor. Seeing how calm he was, unlike the messy and temperamental cartel members, I didn't think he was capable of doing anything dangerous.
I froze in place. Time seemed to stop as he passed me to accept Jasper's outstretched hand—as if he had never met me before. They didn't seem familiar with each other, but it was clear that Jasper was trying to play nice in front of Sebastian.
"I'm glad to meet you on an occasion like this, Mr. Le Roux," Jasper said politely. He was an expert at that, as well as at lying. "I actually wanted to give you something as a gift."
He then signaled to his assistant to retrieve the box he had just received from the auctioneer.
He had paid for all the items he had acquired at this event in full without saying much. I thought he would give the items to his mistress, but I was wrong.
"This is a rare white jade necklace. You seemed to want it very much earlier. So... it's okay if I give it to you as a token of my respect," said Jasper.
Sebastian just stared at the velvet box in Jasper's hand. It was as if he had no desire to accept the item Jasper was offering him.
"You don't have to do this, Mr..."
"Dawn. Jasper Dawn. We were involved in a small project together with a company in Miami back then. Do you remember?"
Sebastian glanced at Jasper with a look that seemed to say, "Should I remember?" Seeing the clear disinterest on Sebastian's face, Jasper's smile faded instantly.
"Because there were so many people involved at the time, I guess I didn't pay much attention to you," Sebastian said, which took me aback. Although he seemed cold and uninterested in Jasper's tactics, he seemed quite adept at playing his role.
Jasper's tactic in giving the Jade necklace was, of course, to establish a connection between his company and Sebastian Le Roux's FX Capital Holdings—a giant corporation operating in several fields, one of which happened to be the same as JD Company.
Losing an auction item worth two million dollars wouldn't harm him because if his shot hit the mark, he would gain a larger corporate profit than that, if FX Capital Holdings agreed to join him in a project.
It wasn't surprising. Although I was not included in the ranks of business people because I only owned a few percent of shares in several of Jasper's companies, and again, business was not my field, such characters had not escaped my attention all this time.
You had to be sweet-talking like Jasper and Helena, or if you were cold like Sebastian, just kept your mouth shut and held your attitude in check, then you would be safe.
"Please, accept it, Mr. Le Roux. I would be very happy if you would." Jasper asked his assistant to take the velvet box and handed it to Sebastian with the lid open.
Sebastian paused for a moment, staring at the million-dollar item with a sour expression. Who knew what was going through his mind right now.
"All right, if that's what you want, Mr. Dawn. Thank you for your generosity," replied Sebastian, then signaled one of his bodyguards to take the item.
"Who are you going to give it to?" asked Jasper, which sounded presumptuous to me. "It was a necklace left behind by my late mother-in-law. I don't know who put it up for auction."
Jasper glanced at me. "I think her daughter is trying to get it back."
Sebastian froze when he heard Jasper's words. "Why don't you give it to her instead? She would be delighted."
"Oh, no, Mr. Le Roux. I can buy her something nicer. She doesn't need to remember something that's been lost. Right?"
Sebastian didn't respond. Not long later, one of his bodyguards approached and whispered to Sebastian. Jasper's expression changed.
"Someone planning to buy this entire building?" asked Sebastian.
"Yes, sir." The large man then looked at Jasper. "He is, sir."
Jasper laughed bitterly. "That's not what I meant. I just don't like it when people say we're making a racket." He fell silent when he saw Sebastian's expression change. "Don't tell me you're the one who said we were noisy."
So, it wasn't Shana's men who were fighting with Jasper in his room earlier, but Sebastian's bodyguard?
Sebastian again gave no meaningful response. He was like a statue. Passive, but only raising his hand, as if the world moved for him, at his command. And with just his small expressions, he managed to make Jasper's face blush.
I, who had been silent all this time, decided to leave after witnessing Jasper's defeat in front of Sebastian. He was indeed an expert at winning people over. However, I wasn't sure he would succeed with Sebastian.
I had just turned around when a single sentence from Sebastian made me stop in my tracks.
"So that's the quality you chose?" he said coldly.
What? I immediately turned sharply towards him, who was apparently glancing at me. We locked eyes for a split second, and during that time, it felt like the earth had stopped spinning on its axis.
Was he... talking to me?
"I thought he's better than me. As it turns out..." he said again. Slowly, but I could hear him clearly, and it sounded ironic and sarcastic. However, he just hung up the words and didn't continue at all as if telling me to think for myself about continuing the sentence.
What did he mean? Was he mocking me? If so, what did he know about who I chose? Even if Jasper wasn't better than him, did I even know him?
Sebastian Le Roux... that name was familiar. However, I thought it was only because he was an EXTREMELY successful businessman. But it seemed like there was a secret behind it all.
There was something in the background that made me feel familiar with him. And I thought I would find out soon.
- Writer
