Chapter 80: Take me as your plus one
Xavier immediately noticed the subtle shift in her expression. His dark eyes sharpened, a hint of alarm bleeding into his cold, professional mask.
"What is the matter, Miss April?" Xavier asked, his deep voice carrying a sudden edge of tension. "Did something bad happen?"
"N-no," April stuttered slightly. It wasn’t because she was trying to spin a lie, but because she was genuinely, utterly amazed by what was flashing in front of her. "There is nothing wrong."
April’s eyes eagerly scanned through the scrolling neon texts of the floating interface.
[System Notice: Eye of Destiny (Rank 2) Activated.]
[Target Fortune: Xavier Reed — Midnight Acquisition]
The Event: The target will attend an elite corporate auction house this evening at 9:00 PM.
The Asset: Lot Number 13 is what he is actively pursuing. However, Lot Number 14 features a confidential, highly restricted real estate plan and structural deed for a heavily fortified, deep-hillside bunker fortress on the city’s northern ridge. This asset is highly fit for the Host.
The Outcome: Xavier Reed will win the highly competitive bid for Number 13, securing a masterpiece of modern tactical architecture. However, Number 14 does not have a fixed acquisitor yet.
April’s heart gave a sudden, violent throb against her ribs. A hillside fortress.
This was absolutely perfect. She had already been stressing over how she would manually scout, purchase, and fortify a massive piece of land without drawing government suspicion.
But here it was—already built, heavily fortified, and up for legal auction tonight. And the system was already advising her to take it.
This was exactly why the Rank 2 upgrade of the system was superior; it revealed the precise, hidden stepping stones she needed.
That auction. She absolutely had to be there.
April lifted her head to look directly into Xavier’s dark, worrying eyes, her composure snapping right back into place.
"Like I said, there is nothing wrong. Tonight at nine, you are attending a private, high-tier auction house, right?" April said, her voice dropping into a focused, low register. "You are vying for several corporate lots, but the prize of the evening that you are vying for the most will be Lot Thirteen. And don’t worry about it, you will win the bid." She said as the orb vanished just as it had appeared and she picked up her half drunk soda.
Xavier’s eyebrows pulled together slightly, a flicker of profound surprise mixing with the lingering worry in his eyes. He hadn’t even briefed his own personal secretary about the specific lots he was targeting tonight. To hear her name the exact number so casually was staggering.
Still, a question burned in his mind: what exactly had gotten her looking so profoundly surprised when she first initiated his reading? If it wasn’t a threat or a looming catastrophe, then what was it?
As if sensing his troubled mind, April decided to just come clean. There was no point in playing mind games when a literal fortress was on the line.
"Mr. Reed," she called out, setting her soda down. "I am interested in this auction because it has something I need. I was simply surprised to see that our interests crossed paths tonight, but in any case, there really is no problem. Just... I need you to take me as your plus-one."
Xavier stared at her, thoroughly taken aback for a second. He never would have guessed she’d ask to attend an elite, public social gathering. She seemed like the type to shut herself away from high society.
But looking at the fierce, unyielding determination flaring in her dark eyes, his lips curled into a rare, genuine smile.
"I did not take you for someone who enjoys high-society auctions, Miss April," Xavier murmured, his deep voice smooth. "But if you wish to attend... who am I to decline? Alright. We shall go together. I will have Samuel prepare your evening wear."
Right on cue, the other two men in the room had their ears instantly perk up like predators catching a fresh scent.
Alexander’s eyes flashed with a sudden, competitive spark. An elite auction? It was the perfect opportunity to pester April, get into her good graces, and buy her absolutely anything she pointed her finger at. If he could fund her desires at the auction, he could secure a permanent spot as her favored associate.
Nat Collins merely grinned, his chaotic mind already calculating how much fun he could have crashing a stuffy corporate event just to watch the little seer operate in a room full of black sheep.
"Alright, the show is officially over," April stated flatly, waving her hands dismissively as she reached back for her tablet and her bowl of chips. "I am incredibly busy. Get out of my room."
"Busy online shopping, right," Nat snickered loudly.
Before April could pull the tablet away, Nat’s massive hand shot out, casually snatching the device right out of her lap for a brief second.
His long fingers flew across the digital interface with lightning speed, tapping a few things into her cart before tossing the tablet back onto her lap.
"You can’t have all the fun, little seer," Nat smirked, adjusting his glasses. "Consider it a personal gift to my favorite partner."
April looked down at the screen, her brow furrowing in irritation as she checked what the psychopath had just forcibly added to her order. Her breath hitched slightly.
It was a complete, high-end tactical outfit. Black leather, custom ballistic carbon plating, an intricate thigh-and-chest harness system, reinforced combat gloves, and steel-toed boots. It was a flawless, professional-grade set of gear designed for active, brutal warfare.
What is this? I’m preparing for the apocalypse but even I didn’t think to buy combat gear. She clicked her to give. You know why? Because I don’t plan on doing any fighting or even leaving my house.
But what made April’s skin crawl was the data fields. Nat had skipped the selection menus entirely, inputting her exact, very specific measurements manually.
The sizing was flawless—right down to her C-cup breast size, her exact waist proportions, and her precise height of 165 centimeters.
She had never told him her measurements. She hadn’t even been in his presence for more than twenty-four hours. Just how did he gauge all of that perfectly with just his eyes? Is he a pervert?
April snapped her head up, a chill running down her spine as she glared at him.
Nat simply offered her a slow, highly suggestive wink, his lopsided grin widening as he turned on his heel.
"See ya tonight at the party, sweetheart," he laughed, his boots loudly stomping out of the lounge, with Xavier and Alexander following close behind to manage the chaos.
Once they were gone, she let out an annoyed sigh. She may have gotten one too many annoying clients.
She flopped back on the couch. But at least they had deep pockets.
