After seeing the bids from Texas Oil Group and BP, Martin casually tore a note from the pad on his desk. He wrote down a number—$970 million—then scratched it out and replaced it with $1 billion.
For an oilfield as rich as Sertan's, $1 billion was a reasonable price. But paying that kind of money upfront, without having seen a single drop of oil, was a gamble even for giants like Texas Oil and BP.
Still, Martin didn't hesitate to finalize his bid.
He wouldn't submit it just yet, though. Most serious bidders waited until the very last day to submit their bids, avoiding competitors like Martin who might cheat the system.
Martin suspected that Texas Oil and BP might raise their bids at the last minute, which was why he ultimately upped his offer to $1 billion.
Haya hadn't seen Martin since their last outing. Perhaps she was avoiding him out of embarrassment.
Embarrassment? Absolutely. Ever since her humiliating prank backfired, leaving her completely flustered, just thinking about Martin made her blush—and gave her an uncomfortable urge to visit the restroom.
But as the bidding deadline loomed, she had no choice but to face him again.
The day before the deadline, three hours before the window for submissions closed, Campbell Oil submitted its bid.
True to form, they were the last company to do so.
In an unexpected move, Martin revised his bid once again, increasing it to $1.02 billion.
David Scott was stunned by the sudden change. There had been no prior indication of such a move, and Haya hadn't sent any updates either.
When David asked for an explanation, Martin gave a single word: "Intuition."
Of course, it wasn't mere intuition. Martin had been keeping a close eye on Texas Oil Group through his detection magic and had overheard their final bid.
"$1.01 billion," he had heard Evans Crooks say over the phone, explaining his strategy to his board.
"The earlier bids were just decoys to lure others into complacency. No one will expect us to raise our offer by $56 million at the last minute."
The Day of the Bid Opening
At the venue, Martin sat calmly, his gaze fixed on Haya, who was busy fielding questions from representatives of various companies.
Feeling the intensity of his stare, Haya eventually couldn't take it anymore. She briskly walked over to him, adopting a professional demeanor.
"Mr. Martin, is there anything else you need? If you wish to revise your bid, you still have one hour."
Yes, bidders were allowed one final chance to amend their offers before the bids were officially opened.
Martin shook his head and leaned closer, whispering, "Texas Oil Group raised their bid at the last minute. You didn't tell me."
Haya whispered back, "My phone was confiscated yesterday morning! I couldn't even contact Leo, let alone you!"
"That's not my problem," Martin replied with a mischievous grin. "You owe me. Think of how you're going to repay that debt!"
His smile sent shivers down her spine.
Realizing what he meant, she snapped, "How do you know Texas Oil changed their bid? You have another informant on the committee, don't you? How dare you!"
Martin didn't deny it. He simply smirked and said, "That's not important. What matters is, you owe me."
Not far away, Texas Oil's CEO, Evans Crooks, glared at Martin. Seeing him talking so casually with Haya—the famous beauty of the Arab world—filled him with jealousy.
"Flirting at a time ? Let's see how cheerful you are when your bid fails," Evans muttered to himself.
He had pursued Haya in the past, but every invitation was flatly rejected.
Onstage, Haya checked the clock repeatedly before finally announcing that the revision period was over.
The room grew silent as she declared the bid opening had begun.
Everyone's eyes were glued to her as she began inspecting the sealed bids, verifying the seals and documentation alongside the staff.
Once everything was confirmed, Haya glanced at the UAE Minister of Oil, Hasfah, signaling for him to proceed.
As Hasfah ascended the stage, Martin noticed the sharp gazes following him—likely from representatives who had paid dearly to curry his favor.
"He's probably made ten millions from this auction alone," Martin thought with amusement.
Nearby, a representative from Japan's Mitsubishi Oil muttered under his breath: "Greedy vulture."
Hasfah, unfazed by the hostility, opened the first bid envelope with practiced ease and began announcing the amounts:
Sweden's Partex: $742 million
Japan's Mitsubishi Oil: $901 million
Royal Dutch Shell: $889 million
France's Total: $891 million
The Mitsubishi representative smiled briefly, their bid the highest so far—until:
BP (England): $988 million
"Baka!" the Mitsubishi representative cursed as disappointment spread across his face.
Then came the bombshell:
Texas Oil Group: $1.01 billion
"What the f—!" cursed BP's representative, now staring daggers at Evans Crooks.
Evans smirked, feeling vindicated. His strategic price adjustment had paid off—just in time to outbid BP.
Campbell Oil Company: $1.02 billion
The room fell silent.
This time, the outburst came from Evans Crooks, his head snapping toward Martin in disbelief.
A single million-dollar difference had cost Texas Oil the bid.
Evans sank into his seat, consumed by regret. If only they'd added just $1 million more... or if he hadn't wasted $1 million bribing Hasfah...
"Damn Hasfah! Damn Martin! Damn Little Bush!" Evans cursed internally, his fury now extending even to the U.S. president, who had foolishly informed Martin about the auction in the first place.
Without that slip, Martin wouldn't have been here to steal the prize.