“Incredible,” I whisper, turning my attention to the man.
“It’s one of my favorite pieces. One of the oldest in my collection as well.”
“I’ve seen pictures but, wow, in person …” My reaction is genuine, but I also need to not give away anything to tip him off.
“It’s truly something to behold.” His voice holds wonder in it, something I didn’t realize he was capable of. It makes him seem more human, but I know the truth. “I didn’t realize you knew art.” He heads to the room closest to us, and I follow.
“It’s more of a hobby, truthfully, and I tend to like the history of it more than the actual art.”
“Ah, a fellow history lover. How wonderful. Nico is … not as cultured.”
I barely contain my snort at the idea of Nico being anywhere close to the label of “cultured”.
“Yes.” He nods at my not-so-concealed reaction. “Please have a seat.”
I set the package I intercepted last night on the desk in front of me before taking a seat in the chair. His office is exactly what I expected—dark woods and many, many different artifacts and pieces of art. Hell, this office is enough evidence because I knowfor a fact that half of these have been reported stolen. Too bad this place is locked down like a high-security prison.
“Thank you for bringing this to me.”
“Of course.”
“Last night was a … test of sorts,” he says.
I tilt my head but keep quiet to allow him to lead the conversation.
“You’re aware of the buying and selling of artifacts side of my business, but currently, I have suspicions about Nico, and I no longer want to take it all on my shoulders. I’ve been looking for a … director of sorts. Obviously, Nico has his hands in a little of everything, but I’m trying to separate it all out in order to grow the business. I need culture and sophistication.”
“And I’m that?”
“I believe so. Am I wrong?”
“No.”
“Good. Then I will be giving you more and more responsibility as the weeks go on. We have something … larger coming to us within the next month. This will all be to prepare you to take the lead on that.” He leaves nothing for interpretation.
“I’m honored, sir.”
“You’ll need to be at Bella’s more while you get the hang of our delivery system. Usually, the bouncers get a tip-off when something is delivered, but I would like to remove them from the process.”
“Are you interested in starting a different system? I’m sure I can come up with something a little more efficient or less risky with the amount of people around or who know about it,” I offer.
The slow smile that spreads across his face is a sign that I’m on the right track.
“I would be amenable to that.”
“I can work on that during the day and then spend some time at Bella’s in the evenings until I figure out a new way to be informed of drops.” I go to stand.
Oscar holds his hand up. “It goes without saying that this stays between us. The crew at Bella’s cannot be trusted with such important business. That’s why I want to remove any responsibility from the men. This will allow you to reach me directly if you encounter any issues.” He slides me a cellphone. “I expect you to check the products from here on out and make sure they are as described. I have people on hand who verify the authenticity, but I need to make sure it’s not broken or something else entirely. Do not do this at Bella’s. Take it home. I’ll have a designated day to drop things off here. If I need something sooner, I will let you know.”
“Thank you for the opportunity.”
“I’ll text you a time when things are getting delivered. There will be a note attached that describes what it is. Do not text me back; only call me if there are problems. We’ll talk about your ideas when you do drop-offs.”
I know when I’ve been dismissed. I bow my head and stand to leave.
“Oh, and Chris?”
I turn around, my eyebrow arched up in question.
