Her Revenge Contract
Chapter 126

Katherine's

POV

In the week that followed after the party, I was criticized harshly for my sudden decision to leave, yet the confession of our love sprinkled some light and hope on our former fans. In the meantime, I returned to work, which made those who still had other intentions to seize power in the company shiver in fear.

After all, the fate of John's family was already decided, and no one dared follow their path.

Just when everything was about to return to normal, a piece of land just outside our city was open for bidding.

It was a relatively remote wilderness area that lay between two cities. There were unfinished buildings centered on the land, and originally everyone thought that it had no value.

When the council presented the land reform plan, that piece of land became the center of discussion. Every developer wanted to get their hands on it, and every company between the two cities wanted to compete for the piece of land.

I looked at the drafted bidding proposal during dinner. Sophia had been working on it during the week. She was now officially appointed as my new personal assistant and was currently working on a cash flow projection for the tender. Kelly, on the other hand, had gone back to work directly under Xavier, but I saw her regularly. She was basically acting as an intermediary between the two groups.

"For this bid, I plan to let Black Umbrella and King Group compete against one another," Xavier said. "King Group's shares have recovered well, and it can afford to undertake big projects again."

I sighed, and Xavier must have heard me. King Group has cash flow problems at the moment.

Rose caused a lot of damage to the company with her lies and rumors, and at one stage, the shares of King Group had no value.

Now, and with great difficulty, the shares are stable again, but our cash flow hasn't recovered yet.

"Don't worry about it," Xavier said, knowing what I was thinking about. "Black Umbrella will provide the cash when needed."

I nodded.

Later that night, Sophia sent the project bidding list, and I gasped with worry when I read through the list.

I felt a little dizzy and nauseous after finishing reading the first few lines.

There were huge and powerful compatriots on the list, and I foresaw a bloodbath coming.

"It will always be like that; if there is money to be made, everyone will jump at the opportunity to get a piece of the pie," Xavier said, unconcerned. "I wouldn't worry too much about it, trust me."

I handed the list to Xavier, and he scanned through the list looking bored; only once did his pupils dilate.

In the last couple of days, we have been making intensive preparations for the bid. Everyone was eager to get their hands on the project.

The smaller companies even withdrew before the bidding started, leaving only the huge and powerful companies to compete.

I sighed when I got the final list of companies that were competing in the final bid.

MDM Corporation was one of the leading companies that made the list and was worried. I remember that none of the MDM Group directors were present at the gala dinner. It was clear to me that the Group had no interest in becoming acquainted with us. Xavier and I sat side by side at the bidding table, and next to me sat a man, well dressed, with an entertainment magazine with our picture on the cover, reading and scanning through the same two pages.

I gestured to Xavier, and he immediately frowned. He then told me to swap chairs with him, but before I could ask why, the bidding started, and I complied.

I sighed nervously when I heard the bidding quotations handed in by the various companies.

The King Group had no chance of winning the bid.

Although there were waves of suppression and withdrawal, there were still twenty companies left competing.

I shook my head while listening to the quotations from each company.

"The King Group is out," I whispered to Xavier.

Xavier, in return, took my hand in his, and his cold, hard expression turned soft and warm.

"It is still a win for the King Group if Black Umbrella wins the bid," he whispered back at me.

After rounds and rounds of bidding, most companies gave up, and in the end, only Black Umbrella and the MDM Group were still fighting it out.

Black Umbrella Enterprises has a certain strength in the business world, and the MDM Group has a huge network in the neighboring city.

It is said that the strongest dragon can't beat the local snake, and I started to worry if Xavier would be able to pull it off.

Xavier's eyes were gradually turning cold out of anger, and I looked among the people still at the venue to replace out who the representatives were for the MDM Group. Many sentences in this chapter have been removed because you are not reading them on Job nib.c(o)m. The man next to Xavier suddenly chuckled behind his hand; although the sound was muffled, Xavier turned to look at the man with a cold expression on his face. "What do you replace so entertaining?" Xavier asked coldly.

The man was not afraid of Xavier, and the corners of his lips curled up in pure amusement.

"You still don't have a sense of humor, Alpha Black; don't you replace this situation ironic?" the man said to Xavier. "Maybe it's time that you loosened up, big guy!"

I glanced at the man, annoyed and feeling irritated at his arrogance, yet when my gaze met his dark blue eyes, the man's cold, hard, frozen face changed into a gentle smile.

"Hi gorgeous," he said. "My name is Alpha William, and I am the representative of MDM Group. What will your beautiful name be?"

I was startled when I heard his name and who he was representing, yet I was even more annoyed that he called me gorgeous in front of all these people.

"You have been flipping through the same magazine for a while," I growled coldly at him. "I do not need any introduction; look at the magazine in your hand."

William was surprised at my sudden outburst, looked down at the magazine in his hand, immediately threw it aside, and changed his attitude instantly.

He stretched out his hand to me, hoping for me to take it.

"My apologies," he said sincerely. "I was just flipping through the pages absent-mindedly. Let me formally introduce myself. My name is Alpha William Saunders, the owner of the MDM Group and the soon-to-be Alpha of the Winter Moon Pack. I didn't attend your gala a couple of days ago due to important family matters I needed to attend to. I want to formally apologize for not attending and hope you will accept my apology."

William had a sincere expression on his face; his outstretched hand was frozen in mid-air, but he didn't intend to take it back.

I glanced at him, and although my first impression of him wasn't wonderful, I couldn't openly offend him. I reached out my hand and gave his hand a shake.

"Nice to meet you, Alpha Saunders," I said, "My name is Katherine King, the heir of the King Group."

I retrieved my hand a second later and ignored him throughout the rest of the bidding.

The first round of bidding ended, and the MDM Group had the highest bid, and Black Umbrella came in second.

The MDM Group had some strength in the local area. Relatively speaking, the MDM Group had the greatest possibility of winning the tender.

"William doesn't look like a serious person," I said to Xavier, taking a sip of my wine.

William was a tall and handsome man with dark brown hair that was tied neatly at the back of his head. He had been staring at me since the beginning of the first round, and he was making me feel uncomfortable under his gaze. In addition to his previous arrogant introduction, my impression of him had worsened throughout the night.

A naughty smile followed on Xavier's lips, and he turned his body slightly to completely block my view and took the opportunity to openly kiss me long and slowly.

William groaned annoyed next to Xavier, and Xavier in return chuckled darkly under his breath.

"If you don't like to watch," he said to William, "look the other way."

Xavier smiled and snaked his arm possessively around my shoulders.

The second round of bidding began, and William did not have the same annoyed look on his face anymore; instead, he kept staring at me with hungry eyes. What was his deal with me?

Can't he replace someone else to stalk?

There are plenty of women out there who would love to be by his side.

He was so intrigued by me that he even forgot to submit the final bidding confirmation letter.

No one expected this outcome, not even Xavier.

Either William was too intrigued by me and accidentally forgot to submit the paperwork, or he did it intentionally for a reason.

No matter what the reason, I didn't want to get involved with him. He scared me, and cold shivers were running down my spine constantly.

Why did I suddenly feel afraid of him?

Xavier and I left the bidding offices soon after and headed toward the parking lot, where Greyson waited for us.

Just as we stepped out of the building, William's voice sounded behind us.

"Hey, wait up," William called, and he rushed over.

Xavier knitted his eyebrows together, confused, yet he froze and turned around out of respect.

"I think you two should thank me for throwing the bid." He asked, pleased with himself.

I stepped aside, feeling uncomfortable under William's gaze, but Xavier showed a standard manner of socializing in the business world.

"Alpha William, did you deliberately throw the project off in such an obvious way?" Xavier said coldly, watching him through hateful eyes, "I am naturally grateful for it."

Xavier followed William's gaze, seeing his eyes pinned on me. "But I need to warn you: if your decision to do so was only to flatter my fiancé, it might create friction between us."

William's plan was exposed, but he didn't look embarrassed about it; on the contrary, he looked proud and was very calm and smiling.

"Since Alpha Black has already noticed my interest in Ms. Kate, I won't lie," he said with confidence.

Xavier gave him a warning growl, but William ignored it; he was staring at me.

"The ancient script warns us all that if the chosen wolf doesn't mark her mate, she can still decide to take another. Since you are not marked," he gestured to Xavier's nape, "I am still in line to be her mate." I couldn't help but roll my eyes at him.

Who does he think he is, and what does he think I'll do? Jump from mate to mate?

I was already marked and mated! I didn't want another mate.

"I'm sorry, Alpha Saunders, but my mate has been marked already," Xavier said, pulling me to his side.

"I welcome you as a friend in the business world," I said, trying to give my two cents, "but that is all I can give you. I don't need or want another mate!"

If someone else had heard what I had said, they would have left already, but William laughed cheekily at me. Instead of being angry at the sarcasm in my words, his eyes showed a gleam of light as if it were a challenge. "If you say so," he said, looking at me with some hidden secret behind his eyes, "I really hope that I'm wrong."

William moved slightly closer, and Xavier stretched out his hand to stop him, staring at him with his cold, hard eyes and warning him to stay back.

William smiled, took a step back, and pulled his suit straight.

"The future is long and unpredictable," he said, then turned on his heels and rushed back inside, leaving me standing confused next to Xavier.