“She wanted one of the diamonds, so I bought it for her,” he said.
After a brief pause, he added flatly, “I’ll send you the bill. I don’t give out gifts unless it’s someone’s birthday.”
Gregory coughed on the other end of the line.
“Seriously?” Gregory snapped.
Magnus rolled his eyes and straightened from the wall.
“She’s your sister, not mine,” he answered dismissively. He started walking slowly down the hallway again as he spoke. “You take care of her. Why are you expecting me to buy stuff for her?”
“Alright, alright. I’ll take care of the bill, goddamnit,” Gregory said with a sigh.
Magnus hummed lightly in response.
“So what else is going on?” Gregory asked.
Magnus stopped walking.
His brows slowly furrowed again as irritation returned to his face.
“The auctioneer I told you about… Sylvia,” he said. “She’s also here today.”
“Oh?” Gregory sounded interested.
He ran a hand through his hair and let out a frustrated breath.
“I tried to give her a diamond as a gift,” he continued, his voice tightening. “But she refused it. Acted like accepting it would burn her house down.”
His jaw clenched.
“She didn’t even care that it was worth a hundred million dollars,” he added angrily. “I spent a hundred fucking million on that diamond, and she still turned it down.”
He was frowning deeply now, his grip tightening around the phone.
On the other end, Gregory sounded stunned.
“She refused a gift from you? In public?”
He let out a disbelieving laugh.
“You’ve got to be joking. If you gave me a gift in public, I’d accept it without blinking. Just being seen accepting something from Magnus Graves would probably raise my net worth by a few million instantly.”
Magnus snorted quietly but didn’t respond.
Gregory continued talking, curiosity filling his voice.
“She sounds impressive. She’s a top auctioneer, right? And she still refused to acknowledge any connection with you? Most people would kill for that. Just standing next to you could launch someone straight into the richest circles in the world.”
He paused before adding,
“That kind of dignity is rare. I’m guessing she’s beautiful too? Auctioneers usually are.”
A small smile appeared on Magnus’s face without him realizing it.
“Yeah,” he murmured quietly. “She’s… beautiful.”
Gregory’s tone suddenly shifted.
