After hanging up the phone, Charlotte fell into the bed and was lost in thought. In disbelief, she stared at the wall, and felt that Ada‘s sinister voice was kept haunting her head.
John checked the company‘s employee profile and sent Mike‘s address to Anna. Then Anna headed there immediately. However, she did not meet him there.
She found that Mike did not live there. Instead, it was a young couple who loved there. They said they had been living there for more than two months. Also, the landlord, a middle–aged woman, didn‘t know who Mike was.
Anna went to many places and kept asking for Mike‘s address. And on her third day in Liverpool, a fisherman on the island said that he knew Mike.
“Ah, I know him. He‘s a pastry baker, isn‘t he?” The fisherman sized up Anna as he wiped his sweat. He had just returned from the beach and carried a bucket of oysters taken from the reef wall.
“Yeah, we live in the same village. I heard that he had just returned from Birmingham. Why are you looking for him?”
“Oh, great! I‘m his colleague. When he retired, he accidentally left some of his things at our company. So, my boss asked me to send them to him.”
The man‘s eyes glowed after hearing Anna‘s words, and he immediately showed an admiring expression. He said, “Wow! Do you work in the same company as him? I heard that the hotel he worked at is particularly luxurious and famous worldwide. So, you‘re working in that hotel too?”
Anna smiled and nodded.
“I’ll take you to his house! Madam, please come with me.” The man said happily. He then led Anna into the village with enthusiasm.
The houses in the village were scattered. After walking along the village road for ten minutes or so, they stopped in front of a neat white house. The house‘s front door was open, and it sounded like someone was talking inside.
“Hey. we‘re here! The Smith house is huge, right? This yard out front is where Mike‘s brother lives. You can go in and say hello to him. Then, if you keep going, you‘ll find where Mike lives.”
The man told Anna in detail how she should go. Along the way, he told her many things that happened in the village So, Anna roughly knew about the Smith family
Smith‘s family was quite rich in the village. Mike and his brother’s mother was not only alive but also very healthy. However, since Mike‘s wife was in poor health, they had no children. Kenny who was working in the hotel, was Mike‘s adopted son, and they were very close.
Anna thanked him and then walked through the gate. And no one saw her as she walked into the courtyard. Then, she saw several people gathered around a dark red cabinet in the shade of the hallway
The man standing in the middle was very tall. He was about six and a half feet tall and wearing a suit and leather shoes. The man had one arm on the cabinet and was examining it carefully
He‘s probably here to buy that old furniture, Anna thought. “Hey, you! Who are you?” Anna heard a shrill voice behind her
She turned around and saw a middle–aged woman staring at her warily. The woman seemed to have been tanned by the hot sun of the sea.
Anna asked, “Hello, ma’am. Does Mike Smith live here, please?”
The woman waved her hand impatiently and said, “Mike? No, I don’t know him, Just go! Can’t you see I have visitors here?”
Despite the woman said so, her eyes drifted. Therefore, Anna immediately knew for sure that Mike was living there. She didn‘t say anything, but just thanked that woman and walked out of the
Smith house.
Just as she left, the two men looking at the furniture at Smith‘s house came out. One of the men, who appeared to be an assistant, gestured out a number and said, “Mr. Wilson, they sell that for this much money. I think if that cabinet is really made of rosewood, then it is quite a good
“Did you take pictures of it?”
“Yes. I just sent the photos to Mr. Johnson. But, he said he couldn‘t be sure if he just looked at the photos. So, he asked if you wanted him to come to Liverpool and see it for himself.”
The man frowned and replied, “Oh, no, that‘s unnecessary. Mr. Johnson was ill a while ago. I don‘t want to bother him.”
“Well, okay.” They saw Anna, who was in a green dress walking toward them as they were leaving.
She asked them, “Hey, you‘re not sure whether that cabinet was real rosewood or not, right?”
Both men look over at her. The assistant frowned and asked, “Who are you?”
Anna smiled and said calmly, “Oh, relax, I was just looking at the cabinet at Smith‘s house too. But, you didn‘t see me. I was also there to buy that cabinet. Since you saw it first, I thought | couldn‘t take it from you. However, it seems that you don‘t want to buy it. So, if that‘s the case, I‘ll buy that cabinet from them.”
The assistant snorted, surveyed Anna with his sharp eyes, and said, “You? Are you sure, Miss? Even we don‘t know if the cabinet is good or not! You‘re so young, do you really know anything about furniture?”
“I can tell you that it‘s well worth the price.” She said firmly. Her determined tone finally made that boss take her seriously. He asked, “Are you sure? It seems that all you did was just look at that cabinet from a distance. How can you be so sure?”
“Yes. I mean it. You may not know that my grandfather was very fond of collecting old furniture. So, I grew up sleeping in rosewood rocking chairs. I‘ve seen countless old furniture in his house, so I can identify the quality of wooden furniture at a glance.”
Anna could be so sure it was true because she had seen a lot of high–quality old furniture since she was a child. Her grandfather was an obsessive lover of old furniture. Therefore, she knew that the cabinet was of good quality just by looking at it.
Seeing that the man seemed to be doubting her words, Anna explained, “Look, that cabinet is of good condition. It‘s well preserved and without even a C***k. Not only that, even the table legs have not been sawed. I have seen many cabinets, so I know that there are not many rosewood cabinets intact like this. You should know that such nice wood furniture is rare.”
The man surveyed her and asked thoughtfully, “Why are you telling me this?“
Anna immediately realized that this man was a sophisticated and intelligent person. If she did not offer conditions in exchange, even if Mr. Smith gave him the cabinet, he might not receive
So, Anna simply suggested, “Well, please let me join you when you go to his house again.
You can say that I am also your assistant. After the deal is done, you then offer to go around their house to see other furniture. Then, you can look at the furniture there, and I‘ll find someone.”
The man stared at her for a few seconds and said, “Deal.”
Anna called that man Mr. Wilson because his assistant called him that. With them, Anna finally walked into the Smith house this time.
The woman who had just kicked her out was not there. Otherwise, Anna would be in trouble again.
Anna looked carefully at the cabinet again. After confirming that it was intact, she gave Mr. Wilson a hint.
Mr. Wilson said, “Okay, I‘ll buy it at your price.”
Mike‘s brother Jack was delighted to hear this. He immediately held out his hand and said, “Oh my God, that‘s great! Thank you!”
The assistant immediately stepped in front of Mr. Wilson and shook Jack‘s hand. He said, “Then, it‘s a deal. We‘ll transfer the money to your account within half an hour, okay? Well, we don‘t want to go back yet; it‘s still early. We‘d like to see if you have any more furniture here.”
“Yes, of course,” Jack said. He was willing to do that because he hoped they could buy a few more pieces
He was thrilled that Mr. Wilson was so generous. Many people had looked at the cabinet before, but no one had ever agreed to buy it at that price.
Anna followed Mr. Wilson and his assistant into the courtyard. After casually looking at some more furniture, they went into the backyard. – Jack followed in and explained, “This is where my brother lives. All of his furniture is new, and none of it is worth buying.”
Anna smiled and said, “Really? You don‘t have any expensive furniture hidden in here, do you? Come on, show it to Mr. Wilson.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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