I bit my lip. Without my necklace, I didn't feel nearly as confident about leaving on my own. "I could hire another security team for my hotel while maintaining my contract with the existing one," I said nervously. I certainly had the money. The question was whether a new team could be trusted. I would prefer to avoid becoming reliant on such a team... ugh! Perhaps selling the necklace had been a mistake... 

I needed Amanda to go away so I could discuss strategy with Vivian. "I am tired," I said, "I'll think about this more tomorrow. For now, I need my sleep."