Page 68 of The Marriage Deal
“You gave her a position because she’s my friend?”
“I didn’t do that, Thompson did.”
I crossed my arms, unimpressed by his pathetic attempt at hiding his power level. Thompson would never have promoted her if Levi didn’t thumb the scales.
“She’s good at her job and deserves the promotion more than anyone. Northride would suffer if it were to let such good talent leave,” he said.
“Thank you.”
He shrugged again as though he had not just changed one woman’s life for the better. Make that two. I would have been sad if Jess had to leave Northride.
Levi shifted in his seat. "Uh, a couple of friends from the MMQ Society and I are having a celebratory dinner. Wanna come?"
I wanted to. I really wanted to. "I can't. My sister needs help at the shop. I'll be in the city all weekend."
His smile faltered. "You miss the shots you don't take, right?"
???
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, you're no longer seeing each other? Aren't you staying together?" Effie asked as we juggled a heavy box into the back of the storeroom. We dropped it on the floor, narrowly missing my foot. "What do you want to do with all this stuff?"
"They're antiques. Got 'em at an insanely low price. So, you two broke up. Or divorced?"
"No. We're still together." I opened the box. There was an old, gold-encrusted lamp lying between stuffing. "What if it's fake?"
Effie dusted her hands off and wiped her brow. "That's where little sis comes in."
I rolled my eyes. I hope, for your sake, you did not get scammed. Do you know how many people go out of their way to do forgeries?
"Excuse me, ma'am." She jerked her head to the side, arms akimbo. "I run a pawnshop." She stooped to open another box filled with old and dirty brooches, necklaces and metal reticules that looked to be at least from the Victorian era. She took out one brooch and examined it under the yellow storeroom light. "I know these things are authentic. I can tell that much. What I want from you is a valuation."
I bent down, inspecting some of the antiques. There were old pocket watches, a few necklaces, a cigarette holder and some jewelry items. She was right. Most of this stuff was, if not authentic, were straight up historical artifacts. And Effie had at least six boxes full. "Effie? Where did you get this?"
"I told you. I bought it off some old lady who wanted to clean her apartment."
I picked up an ashtray that looked vaguely familiar. I could have missed it because of all the dust that lined it. But after a few rubs, it was clear someone artificially added the dust to make it look like it hadn't been polished for a while. "And you believed this woman?"
Effie shrugged. "I mean, I knew the story was fucking baloney. But." She picked up a brooch. This is real shit. I wasn't exactly going to say no to a treasure trove.
"Fucking hell. And what if it was a thief?"
Effie shrugged. "Then I'll sell it to other thieves."
I glared at her. Effie always tried to run an ethical store. She never sold stolen goods, and she always made sure to get the genuine certificate of a watch or jewelry. It's one of the reasons why the shop wasn't making money.
"Listen," she said. "The old lady didn't seem like a thief. And she also seemed lucid. As lucid as one can be at her age."
I examined the ashtray again, and then I remembered where I had seen it before. Levi's mom's castle. Either the old lady had stolen this shit from Levi's mom or Levi found a way to give itto her. Or Rebecca somehow knew about our plight and did this herself. Or… the less likely scenario, this was all a coincidence.
I got up, got out of the storeroom and made a call to Levi. He wasn't answering. So I sent him a text.
Me: Did you give my sister your mother's old stuff?
And shoved my phone back in my pocket. Effie followed me out to the storefront.
"Listen, I know you think I hoodwinked some old lady into selling me expensive antiques, but I promise you, she was eager to get them off her hands. She came in here last week wondering if she wanted me to look at her stuff."
"How much did you pay her?"
