A wave of recognition moved through the Sawyer family section. Victor Sawyer leaned back in his seat, studying Maximus with mild surprise. The Sawyer matriarch's together with an unreadable glint in her eyes.
The bidding climbed, two million, two point one, two point two and so on. Voices from all corners of the room stepping in and bowing out like a slow, elegant duel.
Two point three, two point four.
By the time it hit three point one million, the initial bloom of paddles has withered down to just a handful: Maximus, the Sawyer matriarch herself, a heavyset man in a commanders uniform whom Maximus didn't recognize, and a hawk faced collector from the East seated near the back.
Valerie was watching him now with a mix of fascination and thrill. He wasn't sweating or fidgeting, he was still, with a cold presence in a room full of restless money.
Three point two. Three point three.
