Page 102 of Trust Me

When she’d pointed out that sounded dangerously close to sexual harassment, he’d gotten defensive and told her she needed to learn how to take a joke.

But that kind of thing was never really a joke. There was nothing funny about being threatened with being fired because she’d turned down someone’s advances.

She forced herself to meet Mason’s gaze now. “I’m here on behalf of a client.” She moved closer to Rand, invading his space in a way that wasn’t businesslike at all. His hand went to the small of her back and she could’ve kissed him for picking up on her cue.

Mason’s gaze flicked over Rand, clearly noting the casual touch. He then addressed the SEAL. “And you are?”

“Her client.”

“We have that in common, then. She works for me too.”

“Worked. Past tense.”

“So why are you here?” he asked Rand.

“We have another interest besides the beautiful Ms. Hanson in common.”

Kira suppressed the flutter his words triggered. He was playing a role, nothing more.

Rand continued. “I’m interested in the artifact collection from the Middle East that Gillibrand is brokering.”

Mason’s eyes narrowed. “My family has already placed an offer that was accepted.”

“But it hasn’t closed yet. We all know how this works. Until the deal closes, Gillibrand can let potential buyers have a peek. Kick the tires, as it were.”

Mason looked to Kira. “You’re the tire kicker, I take it.”

“I want to see the provenance before I advise my client on making an offer.”

The CEO of Gillibrand, Davis Edward Gillibrand Jr., entered the foyer. “And so you shall, Dr. Hanson.” He turned his attention to Rand. “I’m always pleased to meet a collector. If this doesn’t work out, we have more Nabataean artifacts coming in the new year.”

Rand smiled. “I’m new to the collecting world, and Dr. Hanson assures me this is an excellent place to begin.” He held out his hand. “Randall Fallon.”

The two men shook hands. Gillibrand was clearly delighted Kira had brought a big spender into his orbit. She hoped she’d be able to recover Gillibrand’s goodwill when he realized Rand was a fraud.

She’d only dealt with Gillibrand directly a few times. He was an older man in his early seventies, with wisps of white hair on a mostly bald pate. He’d founded the auction house over thirty years before and had a reputation for being honest, but as with every auction house, there had been more than a few scandals over the decades.

“My father won’t be pleased to hear you’re entertaining other offers, Davis.”

The cheery man gave Mason his standard smile. “We’re all businessmen, and Mr. Fallon is correct. Until the deal closes, I have no reason not to let other buyers inspect the provenance.”

Kira added extra sweetness to her own smile. “If I find an issue, surely you’ll wish to know about that as well, Mason.”

“Very good.” Gillibrand turned to the receptionist. “Please take Dr. Hanson and Mr. Fallon to the main conference room and have the files for Lot 842 made available to them.”

“I’ll join you,” Mason said.

She fixed him with a look. “Are you paying my fee?”

“The provenance has already been established to Gardner Holdings’ satisfaction.”

Interesting word choice. “Who did you hire to vet the chain of title?”

“A consultant in the Middle East who’s much more familiar than you are with collectors in the region, including the man who owned these items for the last four decades.”

She couldn’t really argue with that. It wasn’t her strongest area of expertise. And she was, in fact, curious to know if he’d offer up a name for Freya to search on, presuming he wasn’t referring to Harun Taha.

Rand was probably wondering if they could squeeze information out of Mason too, because he said, “Sure. Join us.” He winked at Kira and added, “Anything you don’t want him to hear, you can whisper in my ear.”

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