Byron Bishop shook his head with a wry smile. He had completely forgotten who he was—an expert in jade appraisal. By joining the bidding himself, he had practically certified the artifact’s authenticity in front of everyone, which only drove its price even higher.
“One point eight five million!”
“One point nine million!”
The numbers climbed fast.
In the end, the jade lion sculpture was sold to a middle-aged man for 2.2 million dollars.
“Some people really have more money than sense,” Bishop sighed. “That piece is worth, at most, 1.8 million. Now it’s overpriced by four hundred thousand—all because I jumped in.”
“You really messed up this time,” Liam Hall teased with a smirk. “Didn’t think you’d be shilling for the auction house.”
With the first item sold, the auctioneer’s excitement
