Forever My Love: A Contenporary Romance (The Armstrongs Book 2) by Jessica Gray

don’t care. Either he leaves, or I do.”
    Kendra closed her eyes, praying for patience. The man was a prima donna of the first order and too used to having his own way. “Fine.” She smiled at the guard and nodded her head, “You can wait right outside the door.”
    “I’ll be right here, Ms. O’Neill.”
    Once the door was closed, Kendra invited Mr. Carolius to have a seat. “Please,” she gestured towards the chair in front of her desk.
    She waited until he was seated, but before she could speak, he took the reins, “So, where is the necklace?”
    Okay. He's really getting on my nerves now!   Kendra handed him the pictures she’d taken of the necklace.
    “What’s this? Where is the necklace? I didn’t come down here to look at a picture.”
    “Mr. Carolius, company policy dictates that I can only show you the pictures at this point in time.”
    “Look, Ms. O’Neill. That necklace belongs to me. The little whore Daisy stole it from me, and I want it back.”
    “I understand this is difficult…”
    “You don’t understand anything, so let me spell it out for you. I paid for the necklace. You have the necklace and I want it back. Now, I would strongly suggest you go retrieve it and let me get back to my busy life.”
    Kendra held onto her temper, just barely. Does he honestly think he can intimidate me into giving him the necklace? Try again! “I would suggest you calm down for starters. If, as you have said, Daisy did in fact steal the necklace, then I will have no choice but to involve the police going forward.”
    “No! You can’t do that!”
    “If the necklace is stolen, I have no choice. Percy's doesn't deal with stolen pieces.” She watched as the man struggled to contain his anger. The instant he softened his face and voice, she knew he was going to take a different tact. She had to give him merits for playing the game well, but she'd been the business for too long, she knew all the tricks.
    “Ms. O’Neill, surely we can come to some sort of agreement that benefits us both? What kind of a commission does your company pay you?”
    “Mr. Carolius, I’m not for sale.” Kendra was digging her fingernails into her palms to help remind her to keep her cool no matter what. He was trying to make her feel cheap and she hated it. He was the stereotypical rich guy who preyed on younger, less fortunate women, throwing his money and power around and expecting everyone around him to bow low and kiss his feet. Wrong girl, buddy!
    “Why don’t we make a phone call to the police station? I’m sure they could break someone away to come out and take your statement…”
    “That will not be necessary.” Mr. Carolius stared across the desk at her and then shook his head resignedly. “Look, I don’t need any more publicity right now. And this situation couldn’t have come up at a worse time.”
    “Is there ever a good time?” she murmured.
    He looked at her and then continued, “I do not want the police becoming involved in this situation with Daisy.”
    Just as I thought. She didn’t steal it. He was making that up to try and convince me to give it back to him. Kendra wanted to kick him out of her office, but she had to think about Percy’s and Daisy first.
    “The way I see it, either the necklace has to go up for auction, or has to be purchased for a price that will satisfy the seller.”
    “You expect me to purchase the necklace a second time?” he asked incredulously.
    “I don’t see that you have another option.  If you don’t purchase the necklace, I will have to continue doing the appraisal and it will go to auction shortly. It will be advertised both online and in our monthly magazine as it is sure to bring a hefty sum, which will please my employer greatly.”
    “Fine. I’ll write you a check tonight.”
    “Sorry. But you are welcome to make an offer and I will run it by my boss in the morning and get her approval to present it to the owner.”
    “Daisy will agree. Just remind