Mikhail was furious; it was supposed to be his stage to show the States that everything was fine, and he was ready to enter the collapsed economy to make significant gains!
The first half went exactly how he envisioned, but the second half worsened. He didn't care about the cars he bought, but paying extra hurt him.
His train of thought got disrupted when the next item was put up for auction.
Aston Martin DB4 from the year 1959.
A sleek British sports car with a top speed of 153 mph and an acceleration of 0-60 mph in 6.1 seconds. These results were standard in today's supercars, but back then, this was one of the cars that could compete with the Ferrari 250 GT, which he lost to Antonio.
It was also a scarce model, so he could compensate for his loss of pride by going for this model. It would be a worthwhile model for him.
"Everyone, the 1959 Aston Martin DB4 has a starting price of 1.7 million US dollars. I am expecting to see which gentleman can own it!" Auctioneer added, which didn't make any sense; why did they care about your expectation? Bring a hottie on stage if you want to see it!
Nonetheless, his enthusiasm mobilized the atmosphere of the participants on site.
"3 million!"
"3.5 million!"
The owners and collectors of the car dealerships started to participate in the quotation first because they knew this car was not worth as much as Ferrari 250 GT. The estimated market price was somewhere around the ten million dollar mark.
It was an Aston Martin that didn't have the same prestige as a Ferrari; although there were a few fanatics, their numbers were small.
"5.5 million."
"5.6 million."
Instantly really liked this car and was waiting to make a move.
"7 million." The price had reached 7 million, and the consequent increase significantly slowed.
"8.1 million." Istanbul bid for the first time.
ƥandasnovel·ƈom A million-dollar increase made many lose interest; they looked toward the person who bid and understood the retailer market was out. Now, only the collector and other heavyweights were going to start bidding.
" You are going for it?" Samuel asked.
" Yeah, I am hoping to get it. I don't have this model yet."
" Good."
The price was still rising slowly. Everyone was meticulous in bidding this time, and there were no crazy leap-forward price increases.
"10 million." It was Istanbul who shouted the price.
"10 million, going once."
There was a bit of silence at the scene, and some collectors were comparing whether it was cost-effective to raise the price again. After all, the Aston Martin DB4 didn't have a market as big as the Ferrari 250GT.
"10 million, going twice."
On the other hand, Istanbul thought it was a fair price. After all, it was going to his collection, so he didn't need to sell it immediately. The auctioneer was about to smash the hammer, but someone jumped in before it!
"11 million." Fridmansky quoted his price. He was here to make a name for himself; how could he let them have one more over him? It didn't matter what car he bought, and this Aston Martin was also in a reasonable price range!
Even if he couldn't get the car, he didn't want these kids to have it for a bargain price. He hoped to increase the price a little and make them bleed; that would elevate some of the pain in his heart!
Seeing him suddenly entering the fray made Istanbul frown; his funds were not unlimited, and there was one other item he wanted to buy, the 1938 Delahaye 165 convertible,
If he misses managing the funds, he could lose his chance to get it. He thought for a few seconds and surmised it was too early to give up. People saw him hesitating and thought what they saw with Antonio would never happen again.
Fridmansky was amused seeing his hesitation; he knew he had entered the game with perfect timing!
"11.5 million." Istanbul made another offer to test the oligarch.
"12 million." Fridmansky did not hesitate and bid again.
Istanbul was ready to give up if he didn't want to miss his chance to own a Delahaye over this.
"12 million, going once."
"12 million, going twice."
"13 million." Seeing Istanbul surrender, Samuel suddenly made his move.
" What are you doing?" Istanbul asked.
" Trust me." Samuel said in a low voice and winked at them.
They were puzzled for a while; they knew the last item would cost several times more than this one. It was foolish to make such a move and not to forget it was over its estimated price too!
Fridmansky was also surprised; it turned out that he forgot it was a team of five kids. He didn't think the handsome man was someone influential, but his calculations were wrong. Maybe he did have some cash to spare.
" 14 million!" Although he wondered about the young man's background, he was not ready to concede now; he raised the price again.
"15 million." Samuel pulled out his acting tricks, glaring toward the stage with clenched hands; he was in it for the end!
Fridmansky also noticed his demeanour and scoffed; he thought Samuel would not last long. He was ready to see the frustration in Samuel's eyes as he took this beauty from him!
"16 million."
The price was way out of the estimated range, but he kept looking at Samuel's face, which was already sweating. Samuel's restlessness told him the fight was already over! Still, Samuel reluctantly quoted 17 million, looking hopefully toward the stage like his life depended on it!
Mikhail laughed; his many years of experience told him that was it. He took his time to bid again, enjoying their sweet agony!
"18 million" He once again called out a sky-high price. He looked toward Samuel to see his defeated look, but something strange happened.
What's going on? The kid ready to die earlier leaned back with crossed legs looking smugly at him. There was no desperation, only a look of pity in his eyes!
"Fuck!" Mikhail knew what had happened. He was duped into buying it!
He who wanted to let them bleed was critically injured by this young man! How was that possible!?
" Hahaha, good move!"
" I knew something was up!"
" Well played man! Look at his face!"
" Yeah, it's like he accidently ate a fly!" Samuel delivered the final blow!
" Hahahah"
They laughed while mocking the old man's stupidity! The oligarch didn't know he was digging his grave by buying a DB4 for eighteen million dollars! It was almost doubled its original value, good luck recouping your losses on it!
"18 million, going thrice, SOLD!" This hit the nail on the head.
"Congratulations to the 12th for winning the bid for this Aston Martin DB4!" The auctioneer was extremely happy not for the winner but for himself; he would get a fat check in commission for this sale!
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter