The Princess and the Pauper (Arabella) novel Chapter 1681

Horace was so infuriated he could feel his heart pounding against his chest. Without hesitation, he called the boss.

"Boss, that Sean is way out of line. They say we won't touch their island for less than 70 or 80 million. Are they so desperate for collecting money? Other islands that are bigger and nicer go for just ten or twenty million. And you know what they told me? They said to go buy some other island and then they hung up on me. I'm so pissed, honestly. They're not serious about selling at all!"

Arabella couldn't help but hide a smirk as she saw how fume he was.

"But then, out of the blue, they said that Sean wants to meet us. Boss, do you think it might be the same Sean from last night? The names are the same one. Do people just happen to have the same name?"

Could they really be walking right into their own trap?

"Possibly." Arabella said, uncertain, "Have you looked them up?"

"I can't get a lead on this Sean's identity. Tried before and it always brings trouble. I haven't checked the other Sean from yesterday though. But with the number of goons he has, I bet he's no pushover."

What's with people named Sean being such a tough nut to crack?

"If it's the same guy, then we might actually have an advantage."

Horace thought he was hearing things. An advantage? The crowd from last night was anything but friendly, and almost had them completely surrounded.

"If it weren't for those homemade smoke bombs you whipped up, boss, we'd have been sitting ducks." Horace recounted, then couldn't help but add, "But I gotta say, tagging along with you these past few days has been a thrill like no other. No wonder Jack and the others are always vying to work with you."

Just one outing with the boss and he'd come back with a whole new level of street smarts, not to mention the adrenaline rush.

Thinking about how the boss might count on him more, sending him back home to help out, Horace couldn't stop the goofy grin spreading across his face, revealing his charming bunny teeth.