Chapter 156 Are You Feeling Sorry for Me?
"This is the first time I've brought a girl home, so they're curious," William explained.
First time?
William was almost twenty-five years old. Could she really be his first girlfriend?
That didn't seem right...
"What are you thinking about?" William turned his head to ask her.
"Nothing."
Butler Oscar walked over, glanced at the girl beside William, then said to William, "Mr. Everest is here, waiting in the reception room."
William nodded and led Isabella to the reception room.
He pushed open the door.
Inside sat a middle-aged man around forty years old.
Seeing William, he quickly stood up. "Mr. Brown, you're here?"
William pulled out a chair for Isabella to sit down, then said to Lachlan, "Mr. Everest, no need to be formal. Please sit."
Lachlan looked at William, feeling something was off.
The person who used to always have a cold expression was now radiating warmth and kindness from the inside out?
Lachlan sat down, feeling flattered. Looking up, he was surprised to see William actually smiling at him, which immediately made him nervous.
Wait...
Was this William sick today or something?
Lachlan picked up his coffee cup to take a sip and calm his nerves.
William pointed at Isabella and introduced her seriously, "Mr. Everest, this is my girlfriend."
Lachlan spat out the coffee he'd just drunk.
He coughed several times.
William could actually date someone? And date a young girl at that?
William didn't give him time to react. He had Isabella take out the vase and jade pendant. "Mr. Everest, my girlfriend has two very precious collectibles she wants to sell. Take a look. How much would be appropriate for these two items?"
Lachlan was stunned.
Very precious?
If William was using words like "very precious," it must be incredibly valuable.
Lachlan quickly took the vase and examined it carefully.
As he looked, Lachlan fell silent.
It was just an ordinary vase with average collectible value, not generating any interest in purchasing it.
This vase would probably sell for about twenty thousand dollars on the market.
"To be honest, Mr. Brown, this vase..."
Before he could finish, William added, "Oh right, Mr. Everest, I just remembered, last month I received a painting by Emery McPherson. You know I don't usually like collecting these things, so why don't you take it?"
Lachlan's eyes widened instantly.
"Emery McPherson?"
Emery McPherson was world-renowned, and his paintings were always priceless.
Lachlan had never seen an authentic Emery McPherson painting in his life.
William took a sip of coffee and added, "It's 'Whispering Meadows.'"
"Whispering Meadows!" Lachlan slammed the table and stood up, startling Isabella.
"That's Emery McPherson's most famous work!"
Lachlan was very excited.
"Quick!"
He couldn't wait any longer, his eyes shining with excitement. "Let me see it now!"
"No rush." William remained calm, pointing at the vase in his hand. "Mr. Everest, finish looking at the vase and jade bracelet first. If the price is right this time, I'll invite you to see 'Whispering Meadows' next time."
Lachlan paused.
There was a hidden meaning in those words?
Lachlan sat down, his eyes darting around, and instantly understood.
"Yes, let's finish looking at what's at hand first."
He took out a magnifying glass to carefully examine the ordinary vase. Every second, the muscles on his face twitched dramatically.
"Ms. Taylor!" Lachlan suddenly looked at Isabella with great excitement.
Isabella was startled by him. "What is it?"
"This vase of yours is priceless!"
Isabella stared at him blankly.
"This vase is a rare artistic treasure, absolutely amazing! Seeing such a treasure today makes my trip worthwhile."
Isabella smiled. "Really?"
William glanced at Isabella and smirked slightly.
"Of course it's true!" Lachlan said solemnly. "My eye for these things is never wrong!"
Isabella's eyes flickered. "If that's the case, how much can it sell for?"
"This vase, I'll pay eight hundred thousand dollars for it!" Lachlan said.
Isabella instinctively looked at William.
Her expression was asking, "I'm not being scammed, right?"
William nodded slightly, indicating the price was acceptable.
"Okay, then as you said, eight hundred thousand dollars."
For the other jade bracelet, Isabella also sold it to him for five hundred thousand dollars, as Lachlan suggested.
"This is wonderful!"
Lachlan hugged the vase and jade bracelet, smiling in a way that looked worse than crying.
A net loss of 1.3 million dollars!
Coming out of the reception room, Isabella received a text notification that Lachlan had transferred the money.
She carefully counted the zeros and couldn't help laughing.
William also chuckled softly and lowered his voice to ask her, "Have you had dinner yet?"
"No."
"Then stay for dinner tonight."
Isabella checked the time. At this hour, the school cafeteria would definitely be closed, and she'd have to order takeout.
It would be rude to refuse such hospitality.
"Okay."
"What do you want to eat? I'll make it for you."
A passing maid's eyelid twitched when she heard this.
What did she just hear?
William was actually going to cook dinner himself today?
"Don't you have a chef at home?" Isabella asked.
William raised an eyebrow. "You don't want to eat what I make?"
Isabella quickly shook her head. "No, you've been dealing with work all day, you must be tired..."
William asked, "Are you worried about me?"
"Of course not!" Isabella's face turned red.
She turned her face away from him. "If you want to cook yourself, then cook. I'm not worried about you at all, really."
William was about to tell her to sit on the sofa when suddenly a figure appeared at the living room entrance.
Sophia stood at the door with her backpack, wearing her school uniform, head tilted back, eyes closed, drawing out her words: "Brother, I'm finally home after studying all this time!"
The next second, Sophia and Isabella's eyes met.
Sophia exclaimed in surprise, "Isabella? What are you doing at my house?"
"What am I doing at your house?" Isabella was confused.
A few seconds later, she realized Sophia also lived here. "I... I have two antiques, and I asked your brother to help me find someone in this field to appraise them, so I came to your house."
Sophia was surprised. "Appraising artifacts? At my house?"
Isabella: "Yes."
Was there a problem with that?
Sophia entered the house and casually tossed her backpack onto the sofa, giving William a meaningful look.
William was finding ways to bring Isabella home. Just appraising something, yet he brought her all the way home.
How ridiculous.
William glanced at his watch. "Sophia, I'm going to cook. You keep Isabella company and watch TV."
Sophia smiled. "Got it."
She walked over, grabbed Isabella's arm, pulled her to sit on the sofa, and pushed a plate of fruit in front of her. "Isabella, have some fruit."
Sophia looked at the fruit in the plate. "Brother, don't tell me you washed this fruit yourself too?"
William glanced at her without saying anything and turned to leave.
Sophia picked up an apple and started eating, saying, "I've never eaten food my brother cooked in my entire life."
"Isabella, thanks to you, I finally get to eat my brother's cooking today."
Isabella: "..."