Businesswoman Chapter 38

Tulips rested in the minds of Loreen and Lisa. They stood in the back while paddles swished through the air like they were whacking flies.

“I remember this in my days in college,” Loreen whispered to Lisa. “You see, it’s like a traditional auction in reverse. You start at the highest price and then you whittle that down to the lowest. It’s actually brilliant. It’s great for IPOs.”

“I have my own story with this way of injecting funds. I was going to buy a piece of art. I ended up paying twenty five hundred dollars for it. I think I was ripped off, though.”

“No, you weren’t. That’s just the nature of the bids. Once you know the value of what you want, the price becomes ever more important.”

The auctioneer revealed to the company the best price. For a million dollars, Delaware company Coates received a bid for two hundred thousand dollars at sixty dollars a share. He banged the gavel.

“Sold.”

Lisa looked at Loreen. “Can you believe how this all started? The people of the Netherlands used the idea which essentially launched in England where the bidder shouted from their lungs, ‘Mine!’”

“Yes, that is right. Now, here we are today in the midst of a tiny economic powerhouse surrounded by a wasteland,” Lisa observed.

Then, there seemed to be a commotion among some of the bidders. No fists flew, but a bit of shouting arose. The auctioneer pounded the gavel and officers divided the warring factions.

“I didn’t expect that,” Lisa admitted.

“This is my eleventh one. I’ve seen worse. They say money brings out the worst in people. I say it engenders passion. It shouldn't even be called money, but choices.”

“Yes, I think that’s fitting. They seemed to have calmed down a bit.”