Chapter 48: Don't Call Me by My Name

"$45 million first, $45 million second, last chance, sold." The small hammer struck. "Jacqueline Thompson, the president of TR Group, please come up. Mr. Silva will personally present the sapphire to you." I got up gracefully and walked onto the stage. From the beginning to the end, Elias' gaze seemed to be stuck to me. I pretended not to see him. After receiving the sapphire, I bowed towards the crowd and gave a speech with a smile. $45 million in exchange for TR Group's exposure as well as mine was worth it. I was sure we would be all over the headlines tomorrow. When I thought about TR's stock, I felt a lot more relieved. Love was nothing. I only needed my career. The next step was the ball. I gave Ian the sapphire and told him to keep it safe. Ian took it and said, "Jacqueline, I don't know if we're doing the right thing tonight." "Of course it's right." "Why?" "All the people at the auction have higher status than us. And they don't lack rare treasures, so how would they care about an ordinary sapphire? Mrs. Silva was selling this sapphire for charity, do you understand?" "This time, I make a good impression on Mrs. Silva and this might be helpful for TR." "Is it really because of TR and not because… she is Elias' mother?" I looked at Ian with cold eyes. Ian knew he had made an indiscreet remark, "I'll give the sapphire to the assistant so he can go back first and I'll come back to you later." "Go ahead." Perhaps because I had just shown up prominently, some young men came to talk to me. I only exchanged business cards with them politely because I wasn't interested in them. And they lost interest when they saw me indifferent. But there was a young man who had been staring at me since the beginning of the auction. At this moment, after the others had dispersed, he came over with champagne in his hand, smiling. "Hello." I nodded politely. "Hello, Ms. Thompson," he said, holding out his hand to me, "I'm Julian Sanders. I just saw you at the auction and thought you were quite bold and vigorous. You would do me the honor of having another drink with me after the party." I'd be a fool not to hear such an obvious invitation. I politely declined, "Thank you, Mr. Sanders, but I have other things to do later in the evening, so I'll probably have to let you down." "Ms. Thompson, what's so important to you? Shall I accompany you to finish it first?" He did not give up. I started to feel impatient but still said with a smile on my face, "It's my private matter..." "What private matter?" He stepped closer, "Ms. Thompson, although my status' not as high as Silva Consortium's, I'm a bit famous in the industry. If you go out for a drink tonight, I will give you all the jewellery you want." Could this guy not understand human language? Moreover, I was the president of TR, not a butterfly on the dance floor. What did he think of me? I was considering how to get rid of him without offending him so that I could get peace and quiet. However, he took my silence as acquiescence and wanted to touch me. As he reached out to pull me, a hand came and grabbed his hand steadily. I looked up almost simultaneously with Julian. Julian was upset about being disturbed, but when he saw it was Elias, he didn't dare to say anything. I put my arms around my chest and simply stood aside to look on. "Mr. Silva," Julian became respectful in both tone and manner. "What are you going to do with her?" Elias ignored his flattery and asked with a cold expression. Julian swallowed nervously and no longer looked like a lascivious man, "Mr. Silva, Ms. Thompson and I were just talking to each other..." "Talking?" Elias' gaze was cold as he smiled, "But what I saw was you bothering Ms. Thompson and she already became impatient with you." Julian, who had just tried to "harass" me, was already casting a look at me for help. I did not want to make enemies in the business world, so I gave him an out so that I could make one more friend. Wasn't that what Elias had taught me at first? What was he doing now? To get me an enemy? What a man. I smiled, "Mr. Silva, don't worry. Mr. Sanders was just talking to me with no other intention." "That's right." Julian nodded his head vigorously. Elias saw that I was not pursuing the matter and had to let Julian go. Julian left with his tail between his legs. I nodded at Elias and turned around to walk away. If I didn't leave, I might not be able to control myself and cause him to be hospitalized. He took my hand. Yes, he took my hand. Almost by reflex, I gave him a suplex. But I failed. Well. I didn't know if I was embarrassed because I was not skillful or regretful when my conditioned reflex to hit him was finally overcome by reason. In short, I stood still, not knowing whether I should leave or not. "Jacqueline..." "Stay away from me." I forced myself to smile, "Mr. Silva, thank you for helping me just now." "Jacqueline..." Why did he keep calling me? I knew my name was Jacqueline! "Mr. Silva," I smiled, "I know my name is common, so you don't have to call me by my name over and over again. Tonight, I won the sapphire bid and I hope that TR Group will have the opportunity to cooperate with Silva Consortium in the future." "Is that what you really mean?" He looked at me with burning eyes. Of course not! What I really meant was to be completely isolated from you all my life and that you get the hell out of my world. But for the sake of the greater good, I had to be calm. "Yes." He nodded his head and said "Got it" Got it? You didn't know shit. "After the party, there will be other events at the estate. If you're not busy, you can spend a few days here. Some bigwigs will come here in a few days." He told me the names of the bigwigs and I shuddered. Of course I couldn't leave in that case. Although I was really annoyed with him and hated him, as I said, I had to bear the humiliation for the greater good. So, I stayed at the manor. The manor was so huge that it took at least a few days to walk all around it. But I did not have the mood to stroll around the manor. I just waited for the arrival of the "bigwigs" that Elias had talked about. But as days passed and all the other guests left the manor, I realized that something was wrong. Could Elias have been lying to me?