Page 73 of Made of Steele
“Take advantage of that,” Drew said. “Try to get as much information about the item and get him to pose for a picture if you can.”
“I’ll do my best.” She ended her call.
Thankful she was wired again and Drew could hear the upcoming conversation, she marched across the lush green grass, one of the benefits of frequent winter rain in the area. Many places across the county had green grass in the summer due to abundant rain, but not Portland. Summer dried up, the foliage along with it.
She took a breath to put on her Meg Jacobs persona and stepped around the bench. Oliver shot to his feet. He wore jeans, expensive leather loafers, and what she thought was a cashmere sweater in a subtle green color that brought out his dark coloring.
“You came!” His eyes were alight with happiness. “I wondered if you would.”
“Why?”
“Because you asked to meet out here, and I wondered if you didn’t trust me for some reason.”
“Not you in particular.” She took a seat and tried to calm her jittery nerves. “I just like to be careful when meeting men I don’t know. My dad taught me that.”
“Sounds like a smart guy, but you can trust me.”
“Good to hear.” She tapped the box and didn’t have to feign excitement. “Is this the antiquity?”
He nodded. “Would you like to see it right away?”
“I would,” she said, making sure to sound breathless. She rested a hand on his arm to distract him from thinking about one of the few park visitors seeing the object.
A wide smile transformed his face into an extremely handsome man. Why on earth was he still single? Other than he seemed to be a chauvinist. There were women who didn’t mind that behavior in a relationship. She just wasn’t one of them.
He opened the box flaps and peeled back brown padded wrapping. She took in the limestone relief of a Persian guard that was only about eight inches square. She’d expected something much larger and had to admit surprise. Still, it looked old. Very old.
“This was part of a row of soldiers depicted on a balustrade,” Oliver said. “Experts who authenticated it for my seller say it was made sometime around 510 BC.” Oliver lifted his shoulders. “It’s the final missing piece of the relief. That’s why it’s so valuable.”
Making it even more despicable to keep it from the Iraqis.
She faked an admiring glance. “Do you already have a buyer?”
“I do. A guy my dad has dealt with for years. He’ll probably turn around and sell it for even more.” He laughed. “Tomorrow night you’ll be looking at a guy who made his first million. Or should I say multi-millions. Not bad for someone my age.”
“I’m so impressed,” she said, making sure she gushed.
“I thought you would be.”
“You might think I’m crazy, but I’d like to take a selfie with us holding the relief.” She still had her hand on his arm, so she squeezed it. “I find this so exciting, and the excitement is spilling over to you.”
“I don’t know.” He frowned. “A picture could incriminate me.”
“I would never show it to anyone. I promise.” She leaned closer and batted her lashes. She either would come across as sultry or a woman who didn’t know what she was doing as she had never flirted shamelessly like this before.
“You’re tempting me.” He grinned. “I just can’t think when you look at me like that, and I need you to stop.”
“The only thing that will stop me right now is a picture.” She cast him a pleading look. “Just one. Then we can move on to talking about going on a date.”
“No. Sorry.” He shook his head hard. “I can’t be seen in the photo with the relief.”
She couldn’t fail to get the picture that an expert could review. Sure, they couldn’t confirm the item as authentic until they saw it in person, but they could tell them that they were moving in the right direction. “Can I take one with just me in it then?”
He beamed her a smile. “That you can do.”
She lifted the box, taking her time to be sure the relief displayed clearly as did the box label with the Northwest Geo Instruments on it and snapped a photo. She’d planned ahead and had the camera set on burst mode so it took multiple high-speed photos.
“Okay.” He closed the box and placed it on his lap. “One’s enough and it’s for your own private viewing.”
