Steven grinned obsequiously and went forward to greet Boris warmly, his grin almost splitting his face in half. However, when he extended his hand in great joy, he did not even get Boris’ attention, as the latter shoved him away to stand next to Javier.Boris’ eyes brightened up at the sight of Evanna, but the moment he noticed Javier’s hand, which was interlaced with hers, he reeled in his captivated gaze. This was the master’s woman. He would not dare have any other thoughts about her!It was apparent that Boris was quite tactful—unlike someone else. Ruby, for example, admonished Javier when she saw that Boris was there. “Mr. Garrison is here, so piss off and give up your seat!”She was not being brazen. She was just doing her husband a favor, so she gave him a sh*t-eating grin.Once her supposedly pandering words left her mouth, however, Boris was angered.“Who do you think you are to speak so pompously?!”Boris’ comment stunned Ruby, who was totally befuddled. Why was she b
Asiel’s proclamation made David queasy. Asiel never made things up, which could only mean the master had sniffed something fishy. Not keen to see Eliott shamed in public—Eliott’s disgrace would be just as disgraceful for David, after all—he wanted Asiel to keep quiet and cover things up.Unfortunately, Asiel misread David’s expression and thought the latter wanted him to explain in detail. Thus, he obliged. “Look at the color. Soft and faded, this faint spot of blue indicates an anomaly in the glazing process. Porcelain ware sporting such features is rarer–and thus more of a treasure–than its more common peers. This is, in fact, a genuine historical artifact. One would even classify it as a Grade-1 historical artifact, such as paintings and sculptures of old artisans and masters found in museums. Though it won’t fetch the highest price out there, Grade-1 artifacts are considered protected by the state, so all legitimate sales of such items are prohibited. Of course, this doesn’t stop
The crowd gasped in shock, Jared most of them all. His golden Victoria was worth 600,000 dollars, but now, Asiel’s verdict meant that the little trinket’s price dwarfed the value of his pure-gold Victoria!“Impossible! He’s useless! He’s literally a good-for-nothing! There’s no way he could even buy something so beyond his means. This has to be a fake!” Jared cried. His disbelief was so great that he accidentally said that part out loud. Asiel shot him a look. “Please. Do you know the immense historicity and meaning behind the Fleur-de-lys, hmm? It’s the favored symbol of monarchies. It’s used by both royalty and saints. It’s religious, political, dynastic, artistic, emblematic, and symbolic. A favored emblem of royalty…It’s not something to be emblazoned on any item willy-nilly!” he pointed out. “And of course, what can we deduce from the liberal use of gemstones, especially in the past, when few people had access to such things? Diamonds, rubies, and pink diamonds…Do you honestly
Javier welcomed the man. He had only known Asiel for a while and he was already impressed. After he showed the man to his seat, the two of them began to chat. A few pleasantries later, Asiel finally asked the real question he wanted to ask. “How did you know that there was a pocket watch hiding in the mantle clock, Mr. Kersey?”Javier flashed him a smile. “I take no pleasure in keeping secrets, Mr. Langdon, but sorry. I'd rather not say.”Asiel nodded appreciatively. He was equally impressed by Javier’s attitude and would rather not get an answer than to be lied to. Javier’s answer was not satisfactory, sure, but it was also not irritating to hear. Antique and art appraisal were a race for the players, as each individual relied on their own secret techniques to out-compete one another. That way, they could maintain their prestige and income. Asiel did not ask any more questions; there was no point. He just threw in some small talk before taking his leave. The banquet was a merr
There was no way Evanna’s mother would make Javier hard, no matter how little she was wearing. He did, however, feel burning flames in his groin for Evanna. He had to be inside a beautiful woman like that, or it would feel as though he had wasted this fake marriage. He returned to the bedroom and turned the knob. To his surprise, Evanna had locked the door! He received a text message from the woman on the other side of the door. Her message was simple and brutally clear: Javier was to sleep on the couch tonight. “Please. You really think I can be stopped by a mere locked door?” Javier murmured to himself. He instinctively looked for a paperclip to unlock the door, though he gave up before he really acted on it. Evanna was only doing this because she was clearly not ready. Fine, then. Javier could wait. He left the door alone and went out of the house. All this energy should be spent elsewhere, though not exactly purposelessly. Jared claimed he had “helped” Javier at the ban
Pain shot up from the driver’s groin, causing the man to snap out of his blackout, only to let out a few yelps of anguish before plopping back on the bed and fainting again. The agony was just too much!His screams woke up Rosemary, who opened her eyes to see Jared, his father, and her own naked body. She was baffled. Why were these two here? A more terrifying question hit her a millisecond later: Did this mean…that the thing between her and the driver…?!Rosemary immediately defended herself by blaming it all on the driver. “Honey, you gotta believe me! I had nothing to do with this—he forced me! It was him! He—”“Darling, you’re really hanging him out to dry, huh? Just like you did your lingerie, I bet!” The older Griffin snapped at her with a mirthless smile. “He forced you, you say? Then the surveillance footage should prove it!”The mention of the camera mortified Rosemary, who fell down on her knees and begged for dear life. The older Griffin, though, had a steely glare t
David was stunned! Baffled! Stupefied! He had decades under his belt, but still, he had never seen so much money before in his life.Just the reminder that all of this had been transferred into his account the moment Javier had ended his call sent a chill down his spine. He stared at Javier with renewed respect and intrigue. This guy…Holy sh*t, he needed to abandon every past judgment and opinion of his. Now, he really had to know who he was. This grandson-in-law had been doling out surprise after surprise like there was no tomorrow!Lord Almighty, David had to find out who this Javier really was. Why would he marry his granddaughter? Why would he join their comparatively humble family? Why—“I don't have time for small talk!” Javier interjected. He was in no mood for all this chit-chat. “I just wanna know where Daniel Dennison is!”His brother? So this guy was after his brother? But why?David snuffed out any curiosity he felt the moment he met Javier’s piercing gaze. It was li
How could Javier possibly let Evanna witness something like that? He had to pick the right course of action. He could try desperately to dampen her curiosity, say there was nothing to see there, and yank her away from the spot. Unfortunately, the sweetest fruit was forbidden fruit. The more he tried to pull her away, the more curious she felt. Evanna took advantage of a millisecond when Javier was distracted and struggled out of his hold.She lunged at the window and peered inside, resting her head on the sill. She then saw her mother gripping the edge of the table, her features glowing in enjoyment. Wilson was behind her, his hands on her hips as he thrust forward over and over again. Evanna’s cheeks turned scarlet. What the hell?!Maybe she should jump off the building right now…She glared at Javier in embarrassment, turned around, and ran. Helpless, Javier followed her. “Why did you glare at me? I didn’t say ‘Look, Evanna, come on! You gotta see this!’ to you. I kept tryin