Just as I was about to settle back into my chair for a nap, my assistant burst in.
“Mr. Mercer! The thousand-year-old jade bracelet is broken!”
I woke up instantly. “What!?”
“What happened?”
The assistant stammered.
“It was Mr. Pierce. He brought Emily back and opened the safe himself.”
My ears buzzed.
Besides me, only Nathaniel knew the safe combination.
No matter how many precautions I took, I still couldn’t protect anyone around me.
I flung open the door to the restoration room, and the scene before me chilled my heart.
Emily was using super glue to piece together the shattered jade bracelet, mumbling nonstop.
“I just wanted to wear it and feel the warmth of history from this thousand-year-old artifact. How did it suddenly slip off?”
“Nathaniel, am I really so useless that I can’t do anything right?”
Nathaniel stroked her hair, his voice gentle.
“Emily, no one will blame you. The bracelet is just too slippery.”
“Be good, don’t cry.”
Emily, however, was sobbing and hiccuping.
“Vivian must be even angrier. I just wanted to touch it, and now she’s about to fire me.”
“I have to fix it before she gets here. Come on, Emily.”
Nathaniel fondly scratched her nose.