Page 72 of Stuart Woods' Smolder

“That’s unacceptable,” he snapped.

“I’m sorry?”

“How many can you get by Friday?”

“ThisFriday? Are you joking?”

“Answer the question.”

“I don’t think we can get any others in that time frame.”

“Then the deal’s off. Keep the painting you have. I’ll keep my money. Oh, I’ll make sure anyone who wants to use your service knows how unaccommodating you can be.”

“Hold on,” Simon said. “Let’s not be hasty. What if I could deliver two?”

“Three, or I’m walking.”

“Why the rush? Is this for an event?”

“A private showing.”

“And you don’t care which ones we get?”

“As long as they were painted by Matilda Stone, I couldn’t give a shit. Can you do it or not?”

“I’ll need to check a few things, but—”

“See, I knew you could make it happen.”

“Butnot for the five hundred grand we agreed on.”

“A deal’s a deal.”

“Our deal gave me a month-long window, not four days.”

“Hang on for a moment,” Petry said, then muted the call. He shot Nico a look. “Amonth?”

“You and I discussed that, remember? You never said anything about wanting them by—”

Petry waved him off and unmuted the call. “What would you need to meet my deadline?”

“Double,” Simon said.

“A million? Are the pictures even worth that much?”

“This isn’t about worth. This is about the risks I will be taking to meet your deadline.”

Petry locked eyes with Nico as if this was all his fault. “Fine. One million.”

“Half now,” Simon said. “The rest on delivery.”

“And you’ll have them by Friday.”

“I’ll have obtained them by then, but the earliest I could get them to you in New York would be Saturday.”

“I don’t need them in New York. I need them in Los Angeles. Can you do that?”

“I might be able to arrange that. I would need to verify a few things first.”

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