Chapter 463 Someone Must Have Tampered with It
Leo's eyes flashed with disgust, but he kept his voice super calm, "Ayla, there's no point in pissing off Seb right now. We need to lock down this project first. We can deal with everything else once the crisis at Bridges Group is over."
Ayla sneered, "If you had a big company like Seb, do you think I'd put up with his crap?"
Basically, she thought Leo was useless.
Leo didn't let Ayla's words get to him, his expression stayed the same.
"Ayla, chill out. We can't afford to miss the sign-in and bid submission."
Ayla snorted but didn't say anything else. She shot Leo a look full of disdain.
If they didn't have a kid together, she would've dumped Leo ages ago and found someone who could help her take over Bridges Group.
They walked to the sign-in desk, and after signing in, Ayla handed over the bid documents.
Just as she was about to take Leo's arm and head inside, she noticed the bid documents from Silvercrest Group.
Her eyes flickered, but she kept quiet and walked into the bidding venue with Leo.
As soon as they got in, she let go of his hand. "I'm going to the restroom. Find a seat and don't embarrass the Bridges family."
Now that Leo's gaming company was gone, people saw him as living off Ayla. Many called him a "kept man" behind his back.
If they weren't scared of the Bridges family, they might've said it to his face.
"Want me to go with you?"
Ayla curled her lip, "No need."
With that, she walked off.
Watching her leave, Leo's lips curled into a meaningful smile.
When they submitted the bid documents earlier, he saw Ayla's eyes linger on Silvercrest Group's documents for a second.
After being together for so long, he knew what she was thinking. She was probably planning to mess with Silvercrest Group's bid.
Pulling a stunt like that at the bidding venue was asking for trouble.
But Leo didn't plan to stop her. He wanted Bridges Group for himself. If Ayla was digging her own grave, it was just making things easier for him.
Ten minutes later, Ayla came back.
"This place is huge. Took me forever to find the restroom. Did I miss anything?"
Leo smiled, "Nope, the bid opening is about to start. Let's find our seats."
As soon as they sat down, the host took the stage.
"Distinguished guests, dear representatives of the bidding units, welcome to the bid opening ceremony of Harmonious Shopping Mall. I am your host, Gino Bautista. It's a great honor to kick off this significant event..."
After all the formalities, he finally got to the point. "Now, let's begin the bid opening."
He picked up the top bid document from the stack beside him, showing everyone it was sealed, then placed it aside and picked up the second one...
Ayla watched Gino's actions closely, her hand gripping her bag so tight her knuckles turned white, her body tense, clearly nervous.
But her eyes also showed a hint of excitement and anticipation.
Soon, it was Silvercrest Group's turn.
The moment Gino picked it up, his expression changed.
The top of Silvercrest Group's bid document had a tear, indicating it had been opened.
According to the rules, unsealed bid documents would be immediately disqualified.
The audience started buzzing.
"What happened? How could Silvercrest Group submit an unsealed bid document? How could their staff make such a basic mistake?"
"Unsealed? More like they found out the base price in advance and tried to change their bid, messing up the resealing!"
"Regardless, everyone here saw that the bid document wasn't sealed. Silvercrest Group definitely can't participate in this bid!"
"With one strong competitor out, our company's chances just went up a bit!"
The murmurs grew louder, and the host Gino spoke according to the rules, "Dear representatives, the bid document submitted by Silvercrest Group is unsealed. According to the relevant regulations and established procedures of this bid, Silvercrest Group's bid document is invalid. Unfortunately, Silvercrest Group cannot participate in this bid. To avoid disrupting the bid opening process, if Silvercrest Group has any objections, they can verify the specifics with the staff after the bid opening."
As Gino's voice fell, everyone looked at Silvercrest Group.
Some were puzzled, some mocked, and some were gloating.
The happiest among them was Ayla.
Not being able to participate in this bid would ruin months of effort for Silvercrest Group.
Although it wouldn't cause significant damage to Silvercrest Group, it was enough to disgust Seb.
Seb didn't seem to notice the surrounding gazes. His eyes turned cold as he said to Sharon, "Stay here. I'm going out for a bit."
Seeing Seb's expressionless face, Sharon felt both angry and heartbroken. "I'll go with you."
Seb had stayed up several nights preparing for this bid, and when they submitted the bid documents earlier, they were sealed. Someone must have tampered with them.
Anyone at the venue could have done it, but the most likely suspect was Ayla.
Seb remained calm, "No need. Wait here for me."
With that, Seb turned and left.
The remaining bid documents were all sealed, and no further issues arose.
"Now that we've checked the sealing of all bid documents, we'll open the documents and announce the bids. After announcing the bids, there will be a second bidding process, followed by the evaluation. The results will be out in about a week."
With that, the host began opening the documents and announcing the bids.
"Now announcing the bid from Excel Construction Co., Ltd. The total bid amount is $8,543,468, with a construction period of 325 calendar days. The project quality standard meets the current national engineering quality acceptance standards, and the bid bond has been fully submitted."
"Next is the bid from the Bridges Group. The total bid amount is $7,965,056, with a construction period of 312 calendar days. The project quality standard..."
After all the bids were announced, Ayla frowned.
The Bridges Group's bid was moderately low, but there were still four or five companies with lower bids.
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