He Gave Me Hearing, Then Taught Me What Silence Really Means novel Chapter 61

She thought of her grandmother's warnings and swallowed her frustration.

If she had known Alistair was that kind of man, she never would have added his number in the first place.

She muted his notifications. It was best to keep her distance from now on.

This time, Alistair seemed to take the hint and didn't press the issue.

Juniper lay in bed, hugging her pillow, entirely unable to sleep.

She had never imagined she would be able to move into a new place so quickly, let alone one this nice. She buried her face into the pillow, taking a deep, appreciative breath.

Did this mean her luck was finally starting to turn around?

With that comforting thought, she drifted off to sleep.

Early the next morning, the other nine colleagues from the group chat arrived at the new location by ten o'clock.

Since they were going to be running the studio together, they needed to get acquainted.

The four appraisers were the most senior, having worked at the auction house for about six years, and were all in their forties.

The rest of the team was relatively young.

The group sat around a long table on the first floor. As the team lead, Juniper needed to clearly outline everyone's responsibilities to avoid any future conflicts.

They needed to assign who would handle client relations and manage pre-sales and after-sales issues.

They also needed to designate who would handle the live-stream sales, which required excellent communication skills and the charisma to pitch their inventory effectively.

The ten of them were divided into three core departments. The four appraisers were already locked in; they had the seniority and intimately understood the second-hand jewelry consignment market.

Three others were tasked with live-stream sales. They had great communication skills and had occasionally hosted events back at the auction house.

Juniper had majored in jewelry design in college and knew the technicalities inside out. She listened quietly off-camera until she noticed the tag on one particular piece, her brows furrowing.

She leaned over to the appraiser next to her and whispered, "Are we absolutely sure about this pricing? The origin says Colombia?"

The host had already introduced the ring ten minutes prior, claiming it was of Colombian origin, but Juniper noticed the ring lacked an official certification, possessing only two minor appraisal cards from an overseas lab.

The ring had already been sold to a viewer, so she signaled the host to pause and stepped up to the mic, her voice gentle. "Is the buyer who just secured the ring still here? This particular piece currently doesn't have domestic certification, and getting an official appraisal might take about a week. The color saturation doesn't quite match typical Colombian origins. Once we have the official results, our backend team will coordinate with you, and we'll also consult the original owner on how they wish to proceed."

There weren't many people in the stream, but the chat immediately lit up upon hearing Juniper's voice.

"Who was that? Her voice is so soothing."

"Is that June? June hosted a stream before, I recognize that voice. I love her, she's always so incredibly honest about the pieces."

Juniper had indeed hosted a session before, but she hadn't expected anyone to actually remember her. Noticing the current host looking a bit uneasy, she quickly wrapped it up. "So, once the certification is issued, our backend will notify you. We promise you'll get exactly what you pay for."