The man was disappointed, but he still showed his understanding, and finally, he urged, "My beautiful lady, I suggest that you keep it well. It is not safe here, and since you are beautiful, it will attract even more attention."
Irish was shocked by his words and thanked him.
When he went back, she immediately put the diamond in her pocket and started to leave the shopping center for fear of getting robbed.
She walked back quickly, and when she got back to Mandela Square, she felt relieved because there were many people, and it would be difficult for a robbery to occur. She sat beside the fountain and was going to call Joseph, but suddenly she found that a man had quickly rushed to the other side of the street to avoid her eyes.
She hesitated for a while and lowered her head to pretend she did not see him. Two minutes later, she found the man was still there. It was a black man in a blue hat who was dressed in a casual suit. Her heart missed a beat because she remembered him looking at her when she started shopping. Thinking of this, she thought perhaps he had followed her for a long time.
Was it because of the rough stone around her neck?
Irish felt that since she came here, she had experienced a lot of good luck, as well as a lot of bad luck. She adapted to it because it was a place where both angels and demons lived.
Instead of being afraid, she felt a little excited.
She clenched her phone and gave up calling Joseph since he was doing business, so she stood up and then went into a coffee house.
As expected, when she sat down beside the window, the man also followed her in and sat in a corner close by.
Irish ordered a cup of coffee and took a sip of it slowly. She had chosen a perfect position. Outside the window, there was a fountain beside which the policemen were on patrol. So even if the man rushed to rob her, she could seek help from the policemen.
But after a long while, the man still sat there motionlessly. It seemed that he was more patient than she expected.
Her phone rang, and it was Joseph.
He had just finished the negotiations with Hall and was about to find her, so she told him the address. When she was answering the phone, she was acutely aware that though he pretended to read the newspaper, the man in the corner focused on her. Thinking about it, she lowered her voice and asked, "Is it safe in Mandela Square?"
Joseph kept silent for a few seconds, and soon he replied, "Wait for me there. Don't move."
After she finished the call, the man returned to normal again.
Irish stopped drinking her coffee and hoped that Joseph would come soon.
He showed up within 10 minutes, and the spray of the fountain blurred his figure, but he discovered her through the mist with his sharp eyes.
Irish was suddenly relieved by his appearance.
Joseph ordered a cup of coffee and then walked to her. The smell of the rich coffee fragrance intertwined with his faint woody fragrance made Irish feel at ease.
"Are you okay?"
Irish shook her head and stirred her coffee leisurely. She did not intend to tell him that someone had followed her, and she also didn't want to tell him that there was a man in the corner who kept staring at her.
She smiled and asked him, "How did your dealings go with Mr. Hall?"
Joseph felt relieved when he saw she wasn't frightened, and he took a sip of coffee and replied, "Thanks to you, Mr. Hall has restrained himself before me."
"In psychology, we call it the authority effect. Though it may not be so appropriate to use it on such an occasion, at least it had an effect." She deliberately made a self-introduction when she had met Mr. Hall so as to clamp down on him.
His smoking, as well as his shaking hands, had revealed his arrogance. Irish's self-introduction was also not her temporary intention because she wanted him to know that there was a psychologist who was employed by the Runestone Group to supervise their negotiation. He must understand that she was by no means ordinary.
She had mentioned her tutor, who was famous around the world, and Irish knew he must know him because sight holders always liked to learn about business psychology. She showed her authority to him so he would restrain himself. Generally speaking, the so-called authority effect would make people feel safe, but Mr. Hall was a special case. When he talked with Joseph, he would look at Irish from time to time. She believed that he was afraid that she might see through his mind.
It meant that he was hiding something from Joseph.
"No matter what the reason was, I hated his behavior," Joseph smiled softly.
Irish showed a bright smile and said, "Are you happy to be taking advantage of your girlfriend in your business deals?"
"Nonsense!" He patted her head gently.
"It turns out that we work well with each other. Perhaps others won't understand what I am doing."
Joseph laughed and said, "You certainly have a silver tongue!"
"I know you're clever, I just wanted to do a favor for you."
"Well, then talk about your opinion," Irish stirred her coffee and thought for a while, then looked up at Joseph and said, "Though I don't know the details of your conversation, I know Mr. Hall is eager to draw the investment on it. He is arrogant but can still sense his uneasiness from his eyes and behavior, but I don't know what he is trying to hide."
Joseph held his chin and thought for a while. He agreed with Irish's opinion and then nodded, "That's what I was thinking during our talk."
"Joseph, is there any problem with this diamond mine?" Irish suddenly proposed an assumption.
Joseph squinted and didn't respond, and Irish didn't continue to talk but drank her coffee quietly.
"Most of the mineral resources in South Africa are private, except for the large deposits controlled by the Anglo-American consortium. The rest of the deposits are in the hands of locals in South Africa. Henry has dealt with the locals more often than I have. Your assumption is possible because the chaos of mineral property rights can also lead to the ubiquity of investment traps, such as the production of mineral deposits, and contracts can even be fraudulent," He said in a low voice.
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