Chapter 28 Deal is Deal
“Two million is definitely out of the question! For these three items you have, Jessica, I can only offer two hundred thousand.”
“One million eight hundred thousand!”
“One hundred eighty thousand.”
Nicholas’s counteroffer left Jessica stunned.
“Smiley Nick, what do you mean by this?”
“Jessica, I wasn’t particularly interested in your items to begin with. Since you’re calling out random prices, it’s only fair I can too! I never planned on buying them. However, I can totally accept if you want to sell at the price I offered.”
Nicholas was certain in his position, knowing that even though the items were forgeries, their total value was around five hundred thousand dollars. If he could get them for a mere one hundred eighty thousand, he’d essentially be pocketing a profit of three hundred twenty thousand, so why not?
“Smiley Nick, aren’t you going a bit too far? You scammed me out of eighty million, gave me three forgeries, and still, that’s not enough for you? You want to keep scamming me? As the owner of Auctiq, you can’t possibly fail to recognize that even as forgeries, these antiques have a market value of at least five hundred thousand dollars!”
“Ma’am Jessica, you say I scammed you out of eighty million – that’s not right. Since you wanted to buy antiques, there’s always a risk involved! If you failed to discern that these were forgeries and you
paid a high price for cheap items, that’s on you – you can’t blame me. And to claim that I’m trying to scam you again, that’s even less correct. You’re aware these forgeries are valued at five hundred thousand in the market, yet you called out a price of two million, clearly aiming to deceive me for my money. I naturally can’t accept that, so my offer of one hundred eighty thousand is purely self- defense. Of course, the choice is yours – you can simply choose not to sell. Auctiq has been operating for over three hundred years, and up to this day, throughout the eight generations of ownership, there has never been any forced trading!”
Nicholas kept his smile steady. He was confident in his stance with Jessica, knowing that if she tried to offload these items elsewhere, no one would be willing to buy them. The risk associated with such forgeries was high. Even with a genuine value of five hundred
thousand, other auction houses might not offer more than one hundred thousand because the sale of antiques is greatly dependent
on luck. Genuine antiques are difficult to match with the right buyer,
making it even harder to sell forgeries.
With a three–hundred–year legacy, what made Auctiq the premier auction house in Delvin Hub was its vast network of clientele. In the whole of Delvin Hub, only Nicholas could find buyers for these
antiques.
“Since you’ve put it that way, Smiley Nick, I won’t sell these items.”
Jessica turned away and commanded Daniel, “Pack them up. We’re
leaving.”
“Wait a moment!”
“Smiley Nick, what now? You’ve changed your mind and want to buy
these items?*
“Jessica, you misunderstand. I just wanted to remind you. If you leave Auctiq with these forgeries today, I won’t be able to offer you one hundred eighty thousand if you bring them back next time. At most, I can only offer you one hundred thousand! You’ve always been cautious, Jessica. I’m sure you’ve made inquiries elsewhere before coming to Auctiq. Chances are, not many places would take these forgeries off your hands, and if they do, the bids won’t exceed one.
hundred thousand.”
