Her voice and words had been clear enough, but unfortunately, bad news was still bad news, no matter the tone it was delivered in. The small crowd reacted in a way that was expected. Clutching their fine purses and checkbooks, they scuttled on their feet and began to head towards the exit.
Everyone was confused, but only Alex felt annoyed. It was all he could do to keep himself from glowering at Scarlett. He shot her a long and questioning look. But he there actually had been no need for that. She walked up to him and whispered in a low and brisk tone;
"Quick! Come wih me!"
Not bothering to explain, she picked up her dress and hurried away. Alex followed her closely, wondering what in the hell was the reason for this intrusion. As far as his Eye of god could tell, so far there had been no security breach. He followed her down an unfamiliar path, and appeared before a simple looking door which in turn opened up to some kind of private room. She held the door open for him, signalling him to come in.
Alex was a pretty patient guy. But his patience was fast running out.
"What's this about Scarlett? By the gods, this had better be good."
She took a deep breath before beginning in a deferential tone;
"Mister Alex, before I let you know what's going on, let me first apologize for all of that nastiness..."
Alex's face remained taut. Was she actually being serious? Had she actually stopped him from claiming his prize all because she wanted to apologize? He stared at her like she was an idiot. She was not making any sense right now.
"Look, if it's about that, it's all water under the bridge. Can we just get ba---"
"It's not about that!" She snapped. "There's been a new development, and it could be pretty big for you. That's why I called you here."
She was now business as usual, so Alex also got into the same lane.
"You have three seconds to explain yourself Scarlett."
"Three seconds? How about thirty million?"
"What?"
"Thirty million dollars mister Alex. That's how much someone's currently offering to take the Cursed Blade off your hands."
A dark expression shadowed his face. "WHO?"
"Some big shot. But honestly who cares? You're asking the wrong questions right now! This is thirty million dollars looking at you right in the eyes. That's an easy ten mil for you! All you gotta do is say yes."
He took a step back and shook his head.
"Don't be absurd!" she rasped; "I know ten easy million is nothing to you since you're a rich bloke and all, but think about what I told you about the death curse that follows the owners!"
Alex remained unmovable as a mountain. "I already told you it's not about the money Scar. That blade is mine for the taking, and I'm taking it."
"Those are mighty fine words mister. But I doubt they'll hold up when the heat comes!" Her breathing pace was rising rapidly by the moment now. She walked up to him and placed her hands on her hips. "Do you think you'll be able to keep the Cursed Blade now that some super shady guy wants it? You do know how these things work right?! They'll come after you mister Alex! You know they will!!"
Alex drew closer to her, bridging the already short gap between them. He was so close he could feel her hot breath on his chin. Thinking he was about to say something decisively serious, she listened raptly
"I've told you already..." He paused for dramatic effect; "Lose the mister, call me Alex!"
Her eyes flared and she flung her hands in frustration.
"Were you always this stubborn?! A-l-e-x!" She drew out his name intentionally. Letting him know she was purposely drawing it out for emphasis.
But Alex was enjoying her frustration. It was the closest he had seen her to losing control. He simply shrugged and replied her indifferently;
"I'm a big boy Scarlett. Don't worry about me, I'm pretty sure I can fix everything."
After a few seconds of staring at him intently, her shoulders finally slumped.
"For your sake, I hope you're right. If not, I feel like I should save your contact as 'My soon to be deceased friend,' seeing that you're almost a goner."
"So, with that out of the way, can we put this behind us and get back to the business at hand? I have an artifact to purchase."
Shrugging her shoulders, she replied him flatly; "Sure. It's your funeral though. Don't say I didn't warn you."
And so, their dance came to an end. As they walked back in silence, both of them realized that the other was an exceptionally willful person. Scarlett had literally disrupted an entire event just to get what she wanted. Alex on the other hand, despite the writing on the wall, despite the incoming threat of violence, and the promise of a free ten million, had overtly refused to let it go.
They came up at the end of the hallway, only to be met with the small crowd of buyers huddled together at the lobby. Alex watched as Scarlett diffused the situation. She really knew how to work a room. A few pats on the shoulders here and there, a few whispers in some ears, the lovely blonde assured the top brass in the crowd that all was well.
Alex kept his eyes open.
Of course, he did not expect the big shot to be present. But it was very likely that eyes were currently on him. He kept his calm, and followed the crowd in. His previous bid was still unbeaten, so once again, Alex emerged as the victor. There was no round of applause this time. People had gotten over the original euphoria, and their minds had moved on to other interesting things.
Having gotten what he needed. He saw no need to remain in the venue any longer. He stood up and quietly headed out of the room, straight to the counter. He noticed that Scarlett was no where to be found, but quickly dismissed it seeing that she was probably busy. The bright-eyed receptionist received him warmly.
"How may help you sir?"
"I need to leave right away. Kindly have my item ready."
"Uhmm- okay. Please hold on a moment..." She tapped on some keys. and made a quick phone call. "Your item has been docked already sir. All we need is the payment and we're good to go."
Alex nodded and left before the lady could ask him about his preferred payment option. Less than two minutes later, he came back from his car holding two black duffel bags in each hand. Four in total.
"Here," he said as he hoisted them up on the counter. "That's twenty million."
A doubtful look immediately appeared in the simple girl's eyes. Suspicious of the stranger, she lifted up her hands and unzipped the first bag, half-expecting this to be some kind of prank. It was not.
A short gasp escaped her lips when she saw the neat bundles of crisp notes in the bag. That look of surprise never got old. Especially from people who had never seen nor held that kind of money before. There was something inexplicably overpowering, and humbling about it. It was humbling because they knew that they would never have that amount in their entire lives, and it was overpowering because it was a fellow human who had that wealth.
She swallowed. And when she finally lifted up her eyes, Alex noted that there was a sharp shift in the way she now looked at him. It was almost worshipful, almost reverring. She was like a puppy in his hands now, and there was no doubt that he could have her right there if he wanted to. But he did not. Alas, this was the power of money.
Another ten to fifteen minutes were wasted on counting the four bags of money. She had to bring in additional personnel to aid with the process.
Finally, with the box that contained the blade was safely tucked away in the boot compartment, he slammed the door of his car and allowed himself to breathe properly. It was a sigh of satisfaction. When he looked back on the long process it took to get here, he could not help but be amazed. This was all because of some stupid law that prevented gods from forcefully acquiring objects that belonged other gods.