Chapter 225: Chapter 225

Casper did not begrudge Tony for the finger-pointing earlier. Unlike other two-faced snobs out there, the latter’s outburst happened because of his passion for antiques.

“There’s something off about this one. It lacks… flair.”

“You really do know your antiques, Casper,” Victoria said approvingly, and pointed at the porcelain vase with variegated glaze. “What do you think of that one?” If both the vase and the temple jar turn out to be fake, I’d lose two showpieces for the Antique Fair.

“No. That one is the real deal.” He said, to her relief. “Those two men were good with mind games.

They used an authentic piece of antique to go along with a fake one to muddy the water. When pretense receives credence, a lie becomes the truth. It would be the ultimate scam if I hadn’t intervened.”

“To think I almost let them get away with it…” Embarrassed, Tony turned to Casper. “Please forgive my arrogance earlier. Showing off my knowledge about antiques to you is like teaching a fish how to swim.”

“There’s nothing to forgive, Mr. Lane. You are no doubt a master of your craft. With your seniority and experience, I can hardly hold a candle to you.”

Grateful for the out and awed by Casper’s capability, Tony grew fonder of the young man by the minute, especially after he found out that Elena was the latter’s secretary rather than his girlfriend. What a promising yet humble individual. It’s rare to find such qualities in youths nowadays.

He handed Casper his business card before making his departure.

After Tony left, Victoria smiled at Casper. “You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you?” Her smile turned flirtatious. “I have to admit that I quite like seeing you like this.”

“Then how do you feel about me naked?” He deadpanned, eyeing her suggestively.

“You wish!” she said in mock anger, but there was something inviting in her eyes.

Sprouting a goofy smile, Casper found his gaze dropping lower as if pulled by a magnet, until it rested on her rather impressive rack.

“Take a picture. It’ll last longer. Or, you can stay the night and we can do some… not-staring,” Victoria whispered in his ear hoarsely.

Her seductive words were music to his ears. “Sure thing,” he nodded profusely.

Elena flushed. “Hey, those two men just came to,” she interjected a little too loudly. “Didn’t you want to interrogate them or something?”

Ruefully, Victoria stepped away from Casper. She stood in front of the tied-up men and looked down at them coldly, as if a frost had settled over her features.

“You two have some guts trying to sell me forged antiques.”

“We didn’t know,” argued one man.

However, no one bought his story, especially since they had tried to flee after the porcelain vase was identified to be a fake.

Casper smiled at them. “Relax, guys. All I want to know is the whereabouts of the guy who made it.”

The sellers flinched. “How will we know who or where the person is? We thought the vase was real, but it turned out to be a forgery; we’re the victims here too!”

Fools. Shaking his head, Casper decided to hand them over to Victoria. He was sure that under her “care,” they would tell the truth in no time.

She looked at him. “Why do you want to find the guy?”

It was more of a rhetorical question than anything. As shrewd as Victoria was, she had already guessed the motive behind his determination—he wanted to use antique forgery to profiteer. Finding the forger for the vase would be the equivalent of finding the fabled goose that laid the golden eggs.

“That guy tried to besmirch the good name of your store by selling you imitations. I’m going to apprehend him for your sake, Ms. Stalling,” Casper said innocuously.

Victoria snorted. While it was true that her store had a reputation for selling only genuine antiques, the unspoken rule in the line of business was that a piece of antique would be considered real, as long as no one outrightly said otherwise. Hence, she was equally tempted by the prospect of making exorbitant profits through such near-flawless forgery.

“You and I both know what you’re up to, Casper. I want in. If you find that man, I want access to him too.”

A part of him briefly wondered if he should feel bad about discussing going halfsies on Buck—his fellow apprentice, and a senior one at that—like a commodity. However, it was simply too good an opportunity to pass up. The fleeting moment of hesitation was gone as quickly as it came.

“Oh, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you, Ms. Stalling,” Casper gave her a heads up that the various associations were preparing to strike against Victoria’s Chamber at the Antique Fair.

She took the news without batting an eyelash. To his surprise, she was more interested in how he was doing. “You seem to be making a name for yourself,” she said. “When we first met, you were just a student, and now you’ve become some big-shot association head. I heard the Firewolf Chamber is yours now.”

“I lucked out, that’s all.”

“Well, I’ll put my safety in your good hands then, come the Antique Fair,” she said with good cheer, pressing a kiss on Casper’s forehead as goodbye. “I’ll let you know when those two start talking.”

He sighed and brushed a finger across the patch of skin, still tingling with a pleasant sensation.

Couldn’t you have kissed me on the mouth?

With a strangely mopey Elena in tow, he headed back to his car while debating what he should do once Buck was found. I’ve never seen him before. The problem is how to convince him to work for us…

Should I go with the soft approach or do it the hard way? Regardless, finding him is the top priority now.

It was afternoon when Casper returned to the school. Rubbing his aching shoulders, he heaved a sigh.

“It’s tough being the boss of a hotel… I should just leave all this work to my secretary.”

Thankfully, Elena was not around to hear it, or she might resign in a huff.

Just as he thought he could finally rest, Sharon called.

“Mr. Simpson,” she reported, “I’ve finished editing the clip with Hanson and am uploading it to all his social media platforms. I’ve also been collecting quite a bit of dirt on Lingham Hotel, like Sheryl asked of me.”

Casper contemplated his next move. I should tell Sheryl about what happened with Sawyer. She’s smart and cautious, so I can probably get some good advice from her.

He asked Sharon for her sister’s number. Sheryl did not have a cell phone, so he dialed her landline.

The call was answered after a few rings.

“Hello?” Sheryl’s silvery voice sounded on the other end of the line.

“Hey, Sheryl, it’s Cas-” The call disconnected with a click before Casper could finish. He stared at his phone, confused. Did she just hang up on me?

A call from an unknown number came in some time later.

“I got a new cell phone; this is my number,” Sheryl said once Casper picked up. “The landline comes with the house provided by the Linghams, so I didn’t want to risk it in case the line’s been tapped. I’ll keep in touch using this new number.”

“Got it.” He was amazed by how cautious she was.