Ascension of the Untouchable Billionaire.

Chapter 5. Grand Event.

The Grand Regency Plaza was a monolith of glass and light, its exterior draped in banners for the Harmony Gala. 

Valets in white gloves scurried like ants, whisking away expensive cars as the city’s elite poured toward the crimson-carpeted entrance.

A sleek, midnight-blue Bentley Mulsanne glided to the curb, its engine a low, predatory hum. 

Inside, the atmosphere was thick with the scent of Chante’s expensive perfume and the frantic staccato of her voice as she spoke into an encrypted headset.

"Non, I told the Zurich office—if the liquidity isn't moved by midnight, heads will roll. Literally," Chantel hissed, her eyes sharp and focused on a digital ledger on her tablet. 

Noah couldn't help the huff that escaped him. This was the seventh death threat she had spoken in the last hour and he couldn't help but find it funny.

At the small noise, she looked over at Noah, her expression turning embarrassed for a fraction of a second. 

She placed a hand on his arm, her manicured nails a stark contrast to the fading scars on his knuckles. "Forgive me, Monsieur Stone. This merger won't settle itself. Please, go ahead. I shall join you the moment I finish with these cowards."

Noah nodded, adjusting the cuffs of his new suit. It was a bespoke, charcoal-gray three-piece that cost more than the entire inventory of the warehouse where he’d worked that morning. 

It hugged his shoulders perfectly, highlighting a physique hardened by three years of manual labor, a raw, dangerous edge that no amount of Italian tailoring could fully hide.

He stepped out of the car, the cool night air hitting his face. 

He didn't move for a while, simply standing and taking in the opulence of such an event.

"Noah?"

The voice was like a bucket of ice water. He turned to see Nicole and Steven standing near the fountain. 

Nicole looked breathtaking in a white gown that shimmered like moonlight, but her expression was one of pure, unadulterated shock, which quickly curdled into suspicion.

"What are you doing here?" Nicole demanded, stepping toward him. 

Her eyes raked over his suit, and for a moment, he saw a flicker of something, uncertainty? Surprise? before she masked it with a sneer. "Are you following me? Noah, this is stalking. It’s pathetic."

Steven Crestwood let out a sharp, barking laugh, tucking his arm possessively around Nicole’s waist. "Stalking? No, Nicky, look at him. He’s playing dress-up. Where did you get the threads, Stone?" 

"None of your business," Noah said, his voice as steady as a wave. "And I’m not here for Nicole. I’m here for the auction."

Nicole’s face flushed with anger. "The auction? Noah, do you even hear yourself? The opening bid for the cheapest item tonight is fifty thousand dollars. You’re a mechanic! Just because you’ve found some way to defraud a bank with a fake card doesn't mean you belong here."

She stepped closer, her voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "My mother told me what you did at Apex Sovereign. I don't know how you haven't been arrested yet, but you need to leave before you cause a scene that ruins my career. If you have any shred of the man I married left in you, you’ll return that stolen card and go back to the industrial district where you belong."

"I told you, Nicole," Noah said, his gaze piercing hers. "Don't praise yourself too much. My world doesn't revolve around your 'career' or your 'reputation' anymore. I’m here for something you wouldn't understand."

"Something I wouldn't understand?" Nicole scoffed. "You mean a felony? Because that’s all this is. You’re degenerating, Noah. This divorce has clearly broken your mind."

Steven sneered, stepping up to Noah’s chest. "She’s right. You’re embarrassing yourself. You don't have an invitation, you don't have the status, and you certainly don't have the right to breathe the same air as these people. Security is already watching you, grease pig. Why don't you scurry off before I have them toss you into the fountain?"

"Is there a problem here, mon chéri?"

The voice was a low, melodic purr that cut through Steven’s arrogance like a silk cord.

The Bentley’s door had opened, and Chantel stepped onto the red carpet. If she had been a storm at the bank, she was a goddess here. 

She wore a backless, floor-length gown of liquid emerald silk that clung to her curves with scandalous precision.

 Her platinum hair caught the spotlight, and her aura of absolute, unshakeable power made every head in the vicinity turn.

She walked straight to Noah, ignoring the gasps from the onlookers. 

With a grace that felt unnatural, she slid her arm through his, leaning her head against his shoulder. 

Her perfume—dark roses and spice—filled his nostrils on his next inhale.

"I am so sorry I took so long, darling," she cooed, her French accent thick and dripping with affection. "The Board is so... tiresome. Have these people been bothering you?"

She turned her gaze toward Nicole and Steven, eyes narrowing in blatant judgement.

Noah felt the warmth of her body against his, the soft pressure of her chest against his arm. 

He knew she was playing a part, what with the mocking lilt that followed after each word, but the way she looked at him—with a fierce, protective light in her eyes—sent a strange, electric jolt through his chest.

Nicole stared at Chantel, her mouth slightly agape. She had always prided herself on her beauty, but this woman was on a different plane of existence. 

She felt a sudden, sharp pang of jealousy that she couldn't explain. Why was Noah standing with a woman who looked like this?

"Who... who are you?" Nicole stammered.

Chantel didn't answer her. Instead, she turned to Steven, her eyes narrowing as she recognized the man. "Ah, Monsieur Crestwood. I believe you hold a Platinum membership at my bank. I saw your family’s credit audit on my desk last week. Quite a lot of... overleveraged debt in your father’s shipping firm, isn't there?"

And just like that Steven turned pale. 

His smug grin vanished, replaced by a look of dawning horror. "Director... Director Dubois?"

Chantel smirked, “The one and only." 

"You know her?" Nicole asked, looking between them.

"Know her?" Steven’s voice was shaky. "Nicky, this is Chantel Dubois. She’s the Senior Director of Apex Sovereign. She... she oversees the entire investment portfolio for the tri-state area."

Steven’s mind was racing. 

He was a Platinum member, which meant he was a big fish in most ponds, but to Chantel, he was barely a minnow. 

He had spent months trying to get a five-minute meeting with her office, and here she was, draped over Noah Stone.

He looked at Noah, then at Chantel, and a realization hit him, one that allowed his ego to remain intact. 

‘Of course. They're…. Together!’

"I see," Steven said, his confidence returning as a greasy smirk spread across his face. "So that’s how it is. I was wondering how a mechanic got a suit like that. He’s your 'project,' isn't he, Director? A little charity case? Or maybe something more... private?"

He looked at Nicole with a triumphant glint. "Don't worry, Nicky. He hasn't found success. He’s just found a sugar mummy. He’s a kept man. Probably traded that fake black card for a night of service."

Nicole felt a wave of relief mingled with disgust. A gigolo. That made sense. 

That explained the suit, the car, and the presence of a woman like Chante.

 Noah had sold the only thing he had left, his dignity, to get close to the world she was trying to build.

"Is that true, Noah?" Nicole asked, her voice dripping with disappointment. "Is this how you’re 'attending' the auction? As a plus-one for a woman who bought you?"

Chantel let out a soft, dangerous laugh, her grip on Noah’s arm tightening. "You have such a small, boring imagination, Steven. It is no wonder your firm is failing."

She looked up at Noah, her eyes sparkling with mischief and something much deeper. "Shall we go in, Dear? The auctioneer is waiting for the real power to arrive. We wouldn't want to keep everyone waiting."

Noah didn't look back

at the stunned couple. 

He could feel Nicole’s eyes on his back but for the first time in years he didn't care.