"No. The statue will sell for at least 2.5 million at auction, and I won't settle for anything less than that." She turned her attention back to Bertha. "1.6 million is the absolute lowest I will accept for it. If you can't match that, I'll be taking the statue elsewhere, and you won't have the chance to sell it."
Bertha paused for a long moment, clearly weighing her options. She knew that if she pushed too hard, she might lose out on a sale entirely. Yet, she was also running a business, and she didn't want to make a bad deal that could hurt her bottom line.
"Your Highness, can you give us a moment to discuss?" Kaiser interrupted their conversation, dragging the manager with him.
As Bertha took the statue into the back room, Kael's senses went into overdrive. His enhanced hearing allowed him to eavesdrop on the conversation between the auction house manager and the master appraiser, Kaiser. Though he couldn't see them, he could pick up every word they spoke.
