shared. “It turns out the pendant has family associations that go back generations. I guess you could call it a long-lost family heirloom.”
“And you knew nothing about it when you decided to bid?”
Eve shook her head. “Not a thing. I just knew I wanted it. Now that I do know, of course, there’s no way I could part with it.”
“I’ll pay you ten times the auction price,” he stated in a cool, no-nonsense voice.
“Did you hear what I just said?”
“Fifty times.”
Eve rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Sorry. No.”
“One hundred times. I’m offering you a hundred times what you paid. You do realize how much that is?”
It took her a little longer to do the math this time. When she finished, she stared at him, incredulous. “You can’t be serious.”
“I’m very serious. Think about it; you could quit your job.”
“I like my job.”
“You’d never have to worry about paying bills again.”
She shrugged. “I didn’t say I was worried. And even if I was drowning in debt I could never sell the pendant knowing it would break my grandmother’s heart. When she saw it, she was like a kid on Christmas morning.”
He didn’t even attempt an understanding smile. He just looked annoyed, and impatient, and the way he pressed his lips together made Eve think he was biting his tongue to avoid saying something he would later regret. Straightening from the window ledge, he moved unhurriedly across the office, taking his time checking out the impressive collection of framed certificates and awards hanging on the wall and paying particular attention to the one that meant the most to her. It was one Rory had made for her when she was in the first grade; in painstakingly drawn letters and a rainbow of bright colors it proclaimed her “The World’s Best Aunt . ”
Finally, he turned toward the desk, glancing first at the photo of Grand, Chloe and Rory taken last summer on the beach in Newport, and then at her.
“I was wrong,” he told her. “I assumed that if I kept increasing my offer that eventually I would reach a figure you couldn’t resist. But you’re not interested in money.”
“Oh, I’m interested,” she countered, visions of Jimmy Choos and trips to Europe and Rory graduating from an Ivy League college dancing in her head. “Very interested. It’s just not the most important thing in the world to me.”
“I see that now.” He reached for the photo. “This is what’s important to you. Family. Your grandmother and your sister, Chloe, and niece . . . Rory, isn’t it?”
Eve stiffened, unsmiling, her gaze sharp. “That’s right. You know an awful lot about my family.”
“Only what’s a matter of public record, and not for any nefarious purpose.”
“Then why?”
“Because the most important thing in the world to me is that pendant . . . your newly discovered family heirloom. I’ve spent several fortunes and more of my life than you can possibly imagine searching for it. I came here to make a deal with you, and I wasn’t about to come without arming myself beforehand with as much information as possible. That’s just good business.”
“Fine. But I’m the one you’re dealing with, not my family. Leave them out of this.”
“It’s not me you should be worried about. You said the pendant has family associations; it also has other, darker associations that you know nothing of. There are others who do. And that can be very dangerous. As long as it’s in your possession you’re at risk. And so is your family.”
“Are you talking about the men who attacked us last night?”
He shook his head. “The warlocks won’t bother you again. I can promise you that.”
“Warlocks. So that’s what they were. I wondered.” She eyed him uncertainly. “How do you know they won’t come back?”
“Because I know the man who sent them. Unlike you, money is what matters to him . . . all that matters. Before I came to see you I paid him a visit and made it worth
“And you knew nothing about it when you decided to bid?”
Eve shook her head. “Not a thing. I just knew I wanted it. Now that I do know, of course, there’s no way I could part with it.”
“I’ll pay you ten times the auction price,” he stated in a cool, no-nonsense voice.
“Did you hear what I just said?”
“Fifty times.”
Eve rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Sorry. No.”
“One hundred times. I’m offering you a hundred times what you paid. You do realize how much that is?”
It took her a little longer to do the math this time. When she finished, she stared at him, incredulous. “You can’t be serious.”
“I’m very serious. Think about it; you could quit your job.”
“I like my job.”
“You’d never have to worry about paying bills again.”
She shrugged. “I didn’t say I was worried. And even if I was drowning in debt I could never sell the pendant knowing it would break my grandmother’s heart. When she saw it, she was like a kid on Christmas morning.”
He didn’t even attempt an understanding smile. He just looked annoyed, and impatient, and the way he pressed his lips together made Eve think he was biting his tongue to avoid saying something he would later regret. Straightening from the window ledge, he moved unhurriedly across the office, taking his time checking out the impressive collection of framed certificates and awards hanging on the wall and paying particular attention to the one that meant the most to her. It was one Rory had made for her when she was in the first grade; in painstakingly drawn letters and a rainbow of bright colors it proclaimed her “The World’s Best Aunt . ”
Finally, he turned toward the desk, glancing first at the photo of Grand, Chloe and Rory taken last summer on the beach in Newport, and then at her.
“I was wrong,” he told her. “I assumed that if I kept increasing my offer that eventually I would reach a figure you couldn’t resist. But you’re not interested in money.”
“Oh, I’m interested,” she countered, visions of Jimmy Choos and trips to Europe and Rory graduating from an Ivy League college dancing in her head. “Very interested. It’s just not the most important thing in the world to me.”
“I see that now.” He reached for the photo. “This is what’s important to you. Family. Your grandmother and your sister, Chloe, and niece . . . Rory, isn’t it?”
Eve stiffened, unsmiling, her gaze sharp. “That’s right. You know an awful lot about my family.”
“Only what’s a matter of public record, and not for any nefarious purpose.”
“Then why?”
“Because the most important thing in the world to me is that pendant . . . your newly discovered family heirloom. I’ve spent several fortunes and more of my life than you can possibly imagine searching for it. I came here to make a deal with you, and I wasn’t about to come without arming myself beforehand with as much information as possible. That’s just good business.”
“Fine. But I’m the one you’re dealing with, not my family. Leave them out of this.”
“It’s not me you should be worried about. You said the pendant has family associations; it also has other, darker associations that you know nothing of. There are others who do. And that can be very dangerous. As long as it’s in your possession you’re at risk. And so is your family.”
“Are you talking about the men who attacked us last night?”
He shook his head. “The warlocks won’t bother you again. I can promise you that.”
“Warlocks. So that’s what they were. I wondered.” She eyed him uncertainly. “How do you know they won’t come back?”
“Because I know the man who sent them. Unlike you, money is what matters to him . . . all that matters. Before I came to see you I paid him a visit and made it worth
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