Luc's brows shot up a couple raised notches as they were heading towards the bar, causing his hand to fall from Joaquin's shoulder with just how surprised he was. His first show on his own? Man. Luc's jaw even gaped for about half a second, but he was King of Quick Recovery.
"Really?" he asked, the surprise still evident in the line of his brow and pale eyes being just a little wider than normal. He gave a wave of his hand as he shook his head suddenly - like he was wiping away the news of it being Joaquin's first show from his memory. "No, don't say that."
He briefly turned his attention to the bartender to order himself another scotch on the rocks, draining what was left of the one he had so he could trade off for the full one. Once he had taken the first sip of the whiskey, he draped an arm across Joaquin's shoulders - pulling him close like he had some great secret to tell him. And, in a way, he kind of did.
"First of all, Mr. Barton," he said lowly, glancing to see who was around before he continued, "most of these people have lots of money. More than they probably know what to do with." Luc had that on good authority, considering he was one of them - technically speaking. "Don't tell me it's negotiable. Just let the negotiation happen naturally. You never know - you quote something higher, I may pay it? The only way to find out is to try - and if you tell me it's negotiable, you've already cowed out." He laughed a little and gave a vague nod to indicate the other people attending. "There's sharks out there, Joaquin. Don't let them fool you."
He smiled and let his arm drop, about to take a drink but stopping himself short as another thought came to him (he kind of was on a tangent by this point). "I mean, you've gotta eat too, right? And all these people have got the money." He shrugged his shoulder and pointed towards Joaquin's chest with his glass - touching his sternum gently with the rim before bringing it to his lips. "I guess we kinda like it like that - the game of the deal." He snickered and gave a playful little wink, nudging Joaquin's side with his elbow. He was notorious for talking way too much - and this was no different.
"Come on." He motioned towards one of the walls of artwork. "Sell me something. Take me to your favorite piece - and then make it my favorite. Do that, and then make me spend some money on it."