After Claire and Dewitt stepped outside, Dewitt turned to her and casually
mentioned that he had already prepaid thirty thousand dollars into Hayley's account. When Claire heard this, her gratitude was written all over her face.
She immediately offered to transfer the money back to him, but Dewitt just laughed it off.
"If you insist on giving me that money, my family's going to wonder what on earth I'm doing."
Claire grinned. "Alright then, I won't fight you on it.”
True to her word, Claire didn't push it any further. She still had that jade stone in her hand though. Turning it over in her palm, she glanced at Dewitt.
"Hey, Dewitt, would this jade be useful for you?"
Anyone could see he was tempted by it. That shimmer in his eyes said it all. Dewitt hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and offered a suggestion.
"Don't you know Dane? Sell it to him. You'll get the best price that way."
"He'll make sure you don't walk away with anything less than what it's worth." With family watching her back, Dewitt figured Dane wouldn't dare mess around.
"You really don't want it?" Claire blinked in surprise. Judging by the way he looked at it, she could tell he liked it. Why wouldn't he take it?
“I do want it, but I can't give you the kind of money Dane can. I'm just trying to help you get the most out of it." He gave a crooked smile. "I'm in the rough stone business, not jewelry."
With that, Claire got it. Sure, Dewitt bought jade too, but he wouldn't spend a fortune. On the other hand, someone like Dane, with a whole jewelry business to run, needed high-quality jade all the time. And pieces like this, well, those became statement pieces for high-end collections. The kind that bring in serious money.
The big jewelry companies always needed premium jade to show off their brand, so Dane would probably jump at the chance to buy this one.
"It doesn't matter to me," she shrugged. "If you want it, I'll let you have it first."
"Actually, I'm not even sure I want to sell it. I was thinking about getting a custom piece of jewelry made."
"It's my first time finding jade like this all on my own. It feels special."
Honestly, Claire had never planned on selling it. The only reason she considered it was because she knew it could help Dewitt, and she was more than happy to do something for him.
Dewitt arched an eyebrow, unsure whether Claire knew just how wealthy her family was now or if she simply didn't care about money.
"You really don't want to cash in? This jade could sell for a lot. I heard the James family you used to live with had loads of money. Like, real old money."
"Now that you're back with us, living with Pandora, don't you feel like your lifestyle's taken a huge step down?"
"If you wanted things to be easier, selling the jade would give you plenty of spending money."
"Or you could use it to shut up the people who like to talk behind your back."
Dewitt guessed that going from
being a wealthy heiress to, well, a fake meant claire had dealt with her fair share of people saying nasty things. He was just trying to show
her how to hit back.
Claire rolled her eyes so hard she nearly laughed.
"I don't need to prove anything. Living well is already the best way to get back at
anyone who doubted me."
"And honestly, I couldn't care less what other people think." Dewitt was caught off guard. “You're really not like Cindy."
Cindy was always worried about other people's opinions. When Pandora invited his mom over to cook Cindy felt embarrassed and insisted on doing it herself just to save face.
She didn't realize that helping Pandora meant they'd get plenty in return. She just
didn't get how give-and-take works between people.
Claire, though, saw things a lot more clearly.
"Everybody's different. No two people are cut from the exact same cloth, you know?"