âChristieâs is almost always first, but Iâm still terrified. I actually dreamt last night that she had us do a Hashiyama.â
I sucked in my breath and nodded understandingly. It was one of those stories that was legendary in the auction world. In 2005, Takashi Hashiyama, the president of a big Japanese company, couldnât decide if he wanted to sell the companyâs eight-figure art collection with the help of Sothebyâs or Christieâs. So instead of going with his gut or flipping a coin, he had the head of Christieâs Tokyo and the head of Sothebyâs Tokyo play rock, paper, scissors. Christieâs won and we suddenly all started practicing playground games in the office.
âOf course, in this day and age, sheâd probably make us play something more timely, like Angry Birds.â Nicole stared at me, checked her high score, and then we both laughed nervously.
âOkay, so if she doesnât make us have some sort of video game contest with Sothebyâs, we stick with our twelve percent buyerâs premium.â
âYeah, we probably have to,â I said, making little check marks next to the proposal I had typed up on the plane. âAnd we waive sellerâs commission and we give our guarantee, half of which can be paid out to her upon signing.â
âThirty million.â
âYes, thirty million. Thatâs high, but itâs doable.â
âIâve made a list of possible extras,â said Nicole, looking at her list. âHer oldest son, Gordon, heâs the one who spent a little time in rehab, heâs a huge Ravens fan. I can get him a meet-and-greet in the locker room.â
âYou can? How?â
âDonât ask, but I can. As for Elizabeth, I canât pinpoint anything she might want that she canât already buy, so weâll just feel it out.â
I could see the words âAmerican Ballet Theatre, Clydesdale horses, space aviation, and Duke of Gloucesterâ on her list but didnât ask any questions.
âI also looked and saw that Olivier Burnell was at the rostrum for every New York sale her husband attended in the past fifteen years. We can put it in her contract that he will conduct the auction and if he canât, she can withdraw.â
âOlivier has never missed an auction. Even that time when he sliced open his thumb with a steak knife . . .â
âAnd just wore cashmere gloves,â Nicole said, finishing my sentence. âI know he never misses an auction, but she doesnât. Letâs write it in. I think sheâll appreciate it.â
âOkay,â I said, mentally preparing the baskets of Airborne and vitamin C that I was going to start bringing Olivier on a weekly basis.
âLouise said she wants high estimates.â
âThey all want high estimates,â I replied, rolling the corner of the piece of Christieâs embossed paper in front of me. âIt can backfire, but sellers never seem to care.â
âI know, I know, the reserve prices can go too high and then thereâs the risk it wonât sell. But if we donât go high, you know Sothebyâs will give her the high estimates she wants.â
âYouâre right.â I sat on my hands so I would stop fidgÂeting and looked at our papersâour talking points, the proposal, everything we had laid out before even seeing any of her collection in person. We typed up our final proposal, used the clubâs business center to print it out, and paused in front of a wall-to-wall window overlooking a manicured lawn.
âI feel ready,â said Nicole, standing up.
âMe too,â I replied, placing the new contract in a leather Christieâs folder.
Elizabethâs house was roughly the size of Belgium and got bigger as we noticed a back wing and then a separate guesthouse. I pressed the button on the loudspeaker next to the gate of her ivory brick mansion, it