Chapter 124: Waiting for the Bids

Over by the front table, Arthur Snyder was burning up with rage.

Near the drinks, Sadie and Sabrina stared in disbelief, unable to figure out how Jude had ties with someone as huge as Chelsea Lee...

Once Jude followed Chelsea’s lead, all his awkwardness vanished, and he was gliding across the room like he’d been dancing his whole life.

When the music finally stopped, the room erupted into loud applause as the rich crowd rushed to clap for the club’s owner.

Even after letting go of her waist, Jude still had zero clue what Chelsea was actually planning.

"Don’t just stand around watching, everyone!" Chelsea called out with a smile, waving to the orchestra. "Grab a partner and get out here... as soon as this dance is done, I’ll head back to the stage and announce the winner of the Heavens Club!"

With that, dozens of couples walked out onto the floor as a faster song kicked in.

Having zero desire to spin around in circles any longer, Jude turned and headed for a couch near the pillars to sit down.

The second he walked away, over a dozen rich heirs swarmed Chelsea like flies, bowing and begging for the next dance.

Chelsea turned down every single one of them with a polite smile.

At the front table, Arthur Snyder thought about trying his luck again... until he remembered her shoving him aside like a piece of trash.

His face twitched, and he glued himself to his chair to avoid another public humiliation.

In the whole ballroom, if Chelsea was the queen of the night, Salma Thompson was right behind her in looks and family name.

Except right now, Salma looked ready to kill someone...

After watching Jude hold Chelsea by the waist, her mood had tanked.

Every guy who dared walk up to her table got hit with a glare so terrifying they ran away in seconds.

Then, to everyone’s shock, Salma stood up and marched right across the room... straight toward Jude’s couch!

Every guy in the room stared at Jude with burning jealousy.

What the hell does this guy have that we don’t?

Bagging Chelsea Lee was crazy enough... now Salma Thompson is chasing him down too?!

Stopping right in front of Jude, Salma looked down at him with ice in her eyes. "Get up, Jude. You’re dancing with me."

"I don’t really dance, Salma," Jude said, leaning back into the couch. "There’s a line of guys over there dying to take you out."

That brush-off set off her temper instantly.

"If you hate dancing so much, why did you just spend five minutes holding Chelsea Lee?!" Salma snapped, her voice shaking with anger. "If you can dance with her in front of everyone, why can’t you dance with me?!"

Jude looked at her, helpless. "That wasn’t—"

"I don’t care about your excuses... get up right now!"

Without waiting for another word, Salma grabbed his arm with both hands and dragged him right off the couch toward the floor.

Seeing everyone turning to stare, Jude knew that if he pulled away and made a scene, Salma would blow the whole room up.

He let out a sigh and followed her out.

Watching the two most powerful women in the city fight over a guy in a courier vest, the other men looked ready to cry into their drinks...

The second Jude put his hand on her waist and took a step, Salma locked eyes with him, glaring like a hawk.

"Start talking... what is going on between you and Chelsea Lee?"

"Nothing," Jude said.

"Save the lies!" Salma hissed through her teeth. "If nothing’s going on, why did the owner of the club push Arthur Snyder out of the way just to pull you onto the floor?!"

"Because there really is nothing," Jude frowned slightly. "I’ve known the woman for less than two days."

"Less than two days, and she turns down twenty billionaires just to whisper in your ear for an entire song?! Who the hell is going to believe that?!"

Salma drove her high heel straight down onto the top of Jude’s shoe.

Even with his crazy pain tolerance, Jude’s eyebrow twitched in shock. "What was that for?!"

"What’s your real relationship with her?" Salma repeated in a quiet whisper.

"Salma, I met her two days ago and didn’t even know she owned this place until she walked on stage... what secret could there possibly be?!" Jude said, exhausted.

Without missing a beat, Salma slammed her heel down on his foot a second time.

"Mind not using my shoe as a punching bag?" Jude asked, staring at her in disbelief.

"Yes, I mind!" Salma lifted her chin.

Looking at her angry face, Jude realized something fast: once a woman lost her temper, logic was completely out the window...

He didn’t even know what Chelsea was up to himself... and worse, he and Salma had just agreed to be "just friends" five minutes ago!

Why the hell was she acting like a wife catching him cheating?!

...

The ballroom dancing dragged on for almost half an hour.

Across those thirty minutes, barely anyone actually cared about the music or the dancing.

Every CEO and rich heir in the room was thinking about only one thing: the sealed envelopes sitting in the counting room backstage.

Dozens of hitters had thrown their hats into the ring, writing down the highest numbers their nerves could handle and wiring 10% into the non-refundable escrow account.

Nobody knew who would come out on top, and every bidder on the floor was praying their money wouldn’t end up as an expensive gift to their rival’s victory party.

For guys with hundreds of millions on the line, thirty minutes of dancing felt like thirty hours of torture...

Nowhere was that pressure worse than at the Snyder family table right in front of the stage.

Because Jeremiah and Arthur Snyder had gambled on a massive five-billion-dollar bid every single second felt like a punch to the gut.

If Arthur walked out with the deed to the Heavens Club, the Snyders would join the absolute top royalty of Midtown; if someone beat them, losing five hundred million dollars would bleed their family dry!