Chapter 49 - Chapter 49. Fight At the Antique store

Fight at the Antique Store"Kevin, do you have any idea what you're talking about? After all, Ms. Anderson is an expert," Lily said somewhat awkwardly.She knew very well that the Anderson family had a lot of experience in the antique business, and that Phoebe had an excellent reputation in the Chicago area as an appraiser.However, what happened next shocked everyone.Phoebe said very calmly, "I trust in Kevin's ability. He definitely wouldn't steer me wrong on something like this."Hearing this, Lily was instantly stunned. She'd been with Kevin for three years and had no idea that he knew how to appraise antiques.Why would Phoebe, who came from such a distinguished family, trust him so much?Kevin looked down at the bracelet in his hand and said, "Has everyone here heard of the jewelry that was found in King Tut's tomb?"They all nodded as they listened to hear what Kevin would say next."Well, there were many other artifacts found in countless other Egyptian tombs around the same time. I believe that this bracelet was made by a master artisan, based on a lost bracelet from one of those excavations."The original bracelet was intended to give the wearer fertility and immortality. That's why it was left with the deceased in the tomb, for the afterlife. I've only seen sketches of the original, but I believe that this reproduction was made with the same intent, and the same materials. Together with the original bracelet, the pair of them would be worth quite a bit more, perhaps as much as three million dollars."When the onlookers heard this, they immediately started to chatter. The people who had mocked Kevin earlier felt very awkward.Lily also felt rather awkward. She couldn't help but wonder why Phoebe trusted him so much, while she, his wife, had questioned his ability.She stared blankly at Kevin and suddenly felt that she had never really understood him!"Okay, transfer twenty-five thousand dollars to this gentleman!" Phoebe said excitedly.One of her employees immediately transferred the money to the routing number he'd given them."Who said I only want twenty-five thousand?" The man suddenly said, "I want one million dollars for the bracelet. You still owe me nine hundred seventy-five thousand!"Sir, how can you do this? I've already transferred the money to you and our transaction is complete!" Phoebe said very unhappily."Didn't you hear what he said? The two bracelets together would be worth at least three million." The man greedily said, "Even though there's only one now, it's got to me worth at least a million!"Everyone started berating the man for going back on his word after agreeing on a price. The man didn't care what they thought and said, "My price is one million. If you don't want to pay that, then the deal is off!"Phoebe was getting more and more upset. From what Kevin had said, the bracelet would only have more value if it were paired with the original, which had been lost a hundred years ago. By itself, it was just a curiosity."In that case, have our money transferred back to our account and leave our store immediately!" Phoebe said coldly. She would rather not earn any money at all than put up with this nonsense."I have a rule when I'm doing business. Once the money is in my pocket, I never take it out again!" The man said very arrogantly.He had an evil smile on his face and was clearly making things difficult for Phoebe.The crowd of antique dealers and other onlookers were exasperated by the man's behavior. How could he refuse to return the money if the sale was off? Shouldn't he be arrested for this?Phoebe gave in to her anger and turned to the store's guards, "Security, arrest him!" she said loudly.Kevin didn't expect something like this to happen. With a sullen look on his face, he walked over to the man and grabbed his shoulder."Let me go!" he yelled. "Do you know who I am? I'm Ruben Cook. Maybe you've heard of my cousin, Drake Cook." He pushed at Kevin to try to break free, but failed. As he struggled, some fruit fell out of his backpack."What the heck is this?" Kevin said when he saw the fruit."Do you think you can bully me just because there are so many of you?" Ruben said brazenly, "If anyone lays a hand on me, I'll call my cousin! If you're not careful, he'll come down here and tear this place apart," he said confidently.The room was silent as everyone wondered what would happen next."I don't care who owns this place. You need to play by my rules," Ruben griped, "You're nothing compared to Drake!"Get him out of here!" Phoebe said angrily."How dare you touch me!" Ruben yelled as he finally broke free from Kevin's grip and took a step back. He quickly took out his phone and tapped on one of his contacts. While the call was connecting, he said to them, "You're in deep shit now!"Drake, I'm surrounded!" Ruben said frantically, "Send someone down to Anderson Antiques to save me!"Everyone could hear Drake's deep voice as he asked, "What have you done this time?"The onlookers got nervous when they realized that Ruben was asking someone like Drake for help. What a mess they were in!Some of them were already making a move for the door."Nobody's leaving. You're all screwed now!" Ruben said arrogantly.Ruben exaggerated everything and tried to make himself look like a victim. "Drake, I came here to sell two antiques, but now everyone has me surrounded and they want me to pay them before they'll let me leave."I'll be right there," Everyone could hear Drake shout over the phone, "I want to see who has the cojones to try something like this!"As it turns out, Drake had asked his cousin Ruben to take the bust and the bracelet to Anderson's Antiques to have them appraised. If he liked the price, he was prepared to sell them.Ruben ended the call and warned Phoebe, "If you have any sense, you'll give me the full million dollars. Unlike me, Drake has a nasty temper!"Phoebe was so furious that she couldn't speak.Everyone started to encourage her to accept the deal to make Ruben go away. Some of them even blamed Kevin for putting them in this predicament. But nobody was willing to ask Ruben to return the store's money. They all started glaring at Kevin. If he hadn't said that the bracelet could be worth a lot more, Ruben wouldn't be demanding a million dollars now.Phoebe didn't know what to do. Twenty-five thousand wasn't much money for the store, but this kind of behavior was intolerable. After a few minutes, a couple of black SUVs screeched to a halt in front of the store's entrance, Drake rushed into the room, followed by his bodyguards."Who's been bullying my cousin?" Drake roared.Aside from Kevin, everyone else in the room was trembling with fear.Ruben quickly ran over to Drake and pointed at the crowd, "They said that they'd have me arrested if I didn't sell the bust and the bracelet to them."How could this be?" Drake asked sternly, "Who's in charge here?"Phoebe's face turned pale. Just as she was about to face Drake, Kevin put his hand on her shoulder and took a step forward."Drake, it isn't him. It's that woman!" Ruben said as he pointed at Phoebe.But Drake didn't answer him. He stared blankly at Kevin, and his expression turned from anger to confusion to fear."Drake, you've got a lot of guts bringing your men in here to cause trouble," Kevin said without flinching.As soon as he said this, everyone started to panic, especially the ones who knew Kevin.They didn't want to get drawn into one of his fights.Ruben snarled at Kevin, "Don't think you're so great just because you bought some of my stuff."Before Ruben could say anything else, Drake gave him a backhand to the face."Why did you hit me?" Ruben said in shock."You're embarrassing me," Drake scolded him as he pushed his cousin aside, "I'll deal with you later."Then Drake took a deep breath.Phoebe bit her lip nervously when she saw Drake walking towards Kevin. However, what happened next shocked everyone in the room.Drake apologized politely to Kevin, "I'm sorry, Mr. Williams. I had no idea this would happen. My cousin can get carried away sometimes."They were all wondering how Drake knew Kevin. Not only that, he'd just apologized instead of wiping the floor with him."So, did you send this jackass over here?" Kevin asked in a menacing tone.This definitely had an effect on Drake and it showed in his expression. He turned around and shouted at his cousin, "Get over here, you son of a bitch!"Ruben walked over to him covering his face to try to protect himself from another powerful slap."Hurry up and apologize to Mr. Williams," Drake said as he pulled Ruben by the ear and made him stand in front of Kevin."I'm sorry, Mr. Williams, I was wrong to do that!" he stammered.Kevin glared at Ruben and then turned his eyes to Drake."Drake, did you really send your cousin in here to strong-arm the Andersons and take their money?" Kevin asked with a steely look in his eyes, "He just told us that you were coming here to tear this place apart."Mr. Williams, this is just a big misunderstanding!" Drake was on the verge of tears."Misunderstanding? I'm the one who appraised those two antiques. Are you saying there's something wrong with my judgment? Do you want President Anderson to throw me out of here?" Kevin asked gruffly."Seriously, Mr. Williams, I didn't expect things to turn out like this!" Drake replied with an awkward smile.Nobody could believe they were watching this.Seeing that Kevin hadn't accepted his apology, Drake gritted his teeth and slapped Ruben again."Look at the trouble you've gotten me into," he yelled."Mr. Williams, is there anything I can do to make you accept my apology?" Drake pleaded."You shouldn't apologize to me. This is President Anderson's store and your cousin has caused her a lot of trouble today. You really should be apologizing to her."Before Kevin had finished speaking, Drake had walked over to stand in front of Phoebe. What was he going to do now?