Next to James was a strong man as well. He stood two meters tall with a large bald head and a glum face.
Li Du recognized the big man, Dundee Jones, an NBA role player and the out-of-form star who owned the shoes in the warehouse he from a short time ago.
Seeing the two men, Li Du guessed their intentions immediately.
James was famous in the world of sports. He was the NBA king in one of the four major sports leagues in the United States. His nickname was "Little King" and he was great on the field.
He had been more famous these past two years because last year he"d "made a decision to bring talent to Miami" and left his former club to join the two stars for the champions.h.i.+p.
This year, however, he failed, drawing criticism and becoming almost a national enemy of America.
In the compet.i.tion, James was domineering, but in life, he was very modest. After shaking hands with Li Du, he politely introduced himself and did not a.s.sume that they should know him.
As Li Du knew, James was one of the best businessmen in the NBA. He was known for his high emotional intelligence, better than Bryant, and had been praised for his personal and social life.
When Li Du invited both of them into the villa, James was a little nervous. "Your dogs—are they all right?"
As a sports star, he was very careful about his safety. If he was bitten by a dog and could not play, he would lose a lot of money.
Knowing his scruples, Li Du waved to Ah Meow and shouted, "Take your lackeys to a place where n.o.body will find them."
Ah Meow and his companions got up, gave a few cheers and ran to the back of the villa.
James and Jones looked at each other. Jones uttered, "Are you really a treasure hunter? Not a trainer? Part of the circus or the zoo?"
Li Du laughed. "Oh, no, it"s just that our animals are more intelligent. And of course, it has to do with how long we"ve been together."
James nodded in agreement. "Yes, I had a bulldog when I was a kid, and we spent two years together. When I played rugby, he would fetch the ball for me, and it was great."
"And then?"
"Then the poor kid had such a large appet.i.te that my mother thought we couldn"t feed him anymore, and I gave him away," James moaned.
Many professional athletes in the United States had an unfortunate childhood, but Li Du also admired these people. Sometimes these children ate junk food all day, and sometimes they were hungry because junk food was not filling. But in their youth, they just needed to exercise, and they could build up muscle.
Entering the villa quietly, James took a look around. He saw the helicopter and a thoughtful look crossed his face.
After entering the sitting room, Brother Wolf and the others playing cards stood up and said, "Boss."
Li Du said, "You go play outside. The two gentlemen and I have some matters I want to discuss."
"Yes, boss." Several big men followed him out.
At this scene, James again cast him a thoughtful look.
Jones couldn"t resist asking, "Are these your bodyguards?"
"Bodyguards and staff. But we have a good relations.h.i.+p, so they could have any ident.i.ty," laughed Li Du.
Hearing this, Jones grumbled, "So the treasure collector is rich? I"ll do that when I retire."
"Wait till you retire," said James. "It"s still early in your career. You stay in Dallas first. You can help me win some champions.h.i.+p and then think about this."
Shrugging his shoulders, Jones said, "You"re the boss. I listen to you."
James was very self-disciplined. Sophie served coffee. While Jones took it, James thanked her but rejected the coffee politely and asked for a gla.s.s of water.
After a few words, Li Du went into the main topic, asking, "You guys are after the sports shoes that I bought, aren"t you?"
James laughed. "Yeah, that"s my buddy"s warehouse. Oh, I mean, it used to belong to my buddy. Due to some misunderstanding, you bought this warehouse. You know what I mean. We want to buy it back."
"I bought it just for business," Li Du said. "The shoes were just sent here. I haven"t touched it yet. If both of you are willing to give a good price, I am willing to sell it."
James paused for a moment and asked, "What do you think of a price?"
Li Du said, "Two million, right?"
"Who did you ask to value it?" asked Jones in surprise.
"I"m friends with Kobe, too, and when I talked about the shoes, I learned a few lessons from him about the price," said Li Du with a casual laugh.
With an expression of disapproval, Jones said, "Kobe? Well, he did something great."
Li Du didn"t know what would happen in the NBA if he spoke openly about the situation. He would never guess what was going to happen, but he felt that Jones had a very weird att.i.tude.
James, who was younger than Jones, was much more skilled at controlling what he said. He gave Jones a stern look and told him not to talk.
Then, James mused, "Two million. Maybe if you sell them separately you"ll get that price. But if we"re willing to accept the shoes as a whole, it"s not a reasonable price."
"I"ll be honest with you. These shoes were taken at a cost of 1.1 million dollars. Including the workmans.h.i.+p and the transportation price, it was about 1.2 million.
"I know what you"re trying to do," Li Du continued. "You"re helping your brother buy these shoes back. I salute your brotherhood. So I can sell them to you if you just let me get a little profit. Then you can have your shoes back."
James laughed. "Thanks a lot, man. Your words have won my friends.h.i.+p."
Li Du said, "Make an offer. How much do you think you can give?"
James motioned for him to wait a moment and then whispered a few words with Jones.
At the end of the discussion, he asked, "Can I offer 1.6 million for a price that might be aggressive?"
Li Du laughed, "Yes, I am willing to accept 1.6 million dollars. I can sell it for 100,000 dollars less, as a reward for your friends.h.i.+p."
"1.5 million?" Jones asked cheerfully.
Li Du nodded and said, "Yes, 1.5 million."
James stood and shook hands with Li Du. His expression was less businesslike, formal, and more sincere. "Thanks, brother. You"ve given me a lot of respect in this negotiation. I am happy to have a friend like you."
The hundreds of thousands of dollars were nothing to Li Du. James"s friends.h.i.+p was more important. He and Kobe were the top superstars in the NBA. Being friends with them, he could open a new market in the NBA.
The items in the warehouse could be a couple of dollars, while the jewelry in the Harry-Winston group was more profitable, and the sports stars were many of the big customers in the jewelry industry.