At Sebastian’s tone, I realize “history” isn’t quite the right word. But—too late now. Stupid Darren. Why couldn’t he have just looked up from his phone, said, “Good morning,” and walked away?
“We were engaged,” I say finally. “Obviously, it didn’t work out.”
“You were engaged to a man who can’t bother to treat you with respect?”
He’s right about Darren’s attitude toward me. And I should’ve done something about it sooner, before it came back to haunt me.
But I don’t want to get into the embarrassing details of my ill-fated engagement to Darren and my grandfather’s and Roderick’s reaction to the way it ended. “It’s complicated.” Let’s not talk about it.
“How many men did you try to marry?”
Is he judging me? My hackles rise. “I don’t know why that’s relevant.”
“Are there more in the building?” He looks around like he’s ready to confront every man in the right age bracket. Then he waves his hand dismissively. “Never mind. Fire him.”
“What?”
“Fire. Him.” He pulls a finger across his neck.
“I can’t do that without just cause.” My response is swift and automatic. “It’s going to look like I’m being vindictive over an engagement that went bad.”
“He’s being insubordinate, talking to you like that. You’re entitled to get rid of him for creating a hostile work environment. This is your kingdom, Luce. Defend it.”
I stare, processing what he’s telling me. I didn’t realize I was allowing Darren to create a bad environment for me because he’s been impossible since he got caught with his assistant. But my grandfather let it go, and back then, whatever Grandfather wanted was the law. And I didn’t have the courage to demand that he fire Darren.
But Grandfather isn’t in the picture anymore. Sebastian’s right. Peery Diamonds is my kingdom. I have to defend it.
His advice from eleven years ago flashes through my head. Fight for what’s yours.
I should fight. No. I should fight harder. I did all the work to be independent, but that isn’t enough if I let others treat me rudely. “You’re right,” I say calmly. “I’ll look into our employment contract with him and see what I need to do to get rid of him.”
Sebastian looks slightly taken aback.
“Why are you so shocked?”
“You agreed so readily.”
I have to laugh. “You sound suspicious.”
“Well, you have to admit—”
“Look, I’m not dumb enough to stay on the wrong path when somebody points out a better one. Pride matters, but it isn’t that important.”
He relaxes and reaches out to squeeze my hand. “I’m proud of you.”
I grin. “Thank you. I’m proud of myself, too.”
Three knocks come from the door. It’s exactly nine. The design people from Peery Diamonds and Sebastian Jewelry come in, followed by Bianca. She’s taking notes so we can distribute them to all attendees once the meeting’s over.
“I didn’t know you were going to be here,” Selena, one of the leads from Peery Diamonds, says, glancing at Sebastian.
“I wanted to see for myself how it’s going,” he responds, smoothing his tie.
The leads from Peery Diamonds get to the point quickly. It’s an old corporate habit from my grandfather’s era. “I’m not paying them to say hello. I’m paying them to do their job,” he would always say.
The new designs are gorgeous and romantic. Although I’m not personally a fan of pink, they’ve included a lot of pink gold and pink gemstones, including pink diamonds. The supply is limited, though. Selena’s certain we can charge a premium for some of the colored diamonds.
“And for our launch year, we’re going to try a Korean Flower Language Collection,” Mo says. She’s the design lead from Sebastian Jewelry.
Sebastian cocks his head. “Korean flower language?”
“It’s something Eugene mentioned as being popular,” I say. “Many flowers and trees have secondary meanings, which can be used to convey unspoken messages.”
“Interesting,” he says.
“I’ll send you some literature on it,” Mo says. “Anyway, the launch is going to feature purple hydrangeas, which mean ‘a sincere heart’ or ‘earnest emotion.’ Like that. Here are some of the preliminary designs.” She puts them up.
The design is fairly complex, but the flower will look gorgeous once the proper stones are set. The facets will reflect the light perfectly. I can see it in my mind.
“They need to be cut and set very carefully. But they can be turned into lots of different things, like brooches, hairpins, pendants and so on. It’ll be too big for rings and bracelets, though.”
“I love it,” I say with a smile. Sebastian nods.
“Everything for the launch is going to be customizable,” Selena adds. “We did it that way on purpose.”
Patrick from Sebastian Jewelry points at a set of stunning bracelets. “And these bracelets, for couples who are dating but aren’t thinking marriage quite yet, are pretty cute.”
“What about these ‘couple rings’?” Sebastian asks.
“We have those, but these are extra. Apparently, bracelets are popular, too,” Patrick says.
The diamond and platinum bracelets come with locks instead of the usual clasps. You have to have the matching diamond and platinum key to put it on and take it off. And the key is a pendant that goes around your neck. So the girl puts the bracelet on the guy and keeps the key, and vice versa.
I can see how young couples might enjoy that. Excitement fills me as some preliminary ideas to market the products start to stir. I’m going to have to schedule a marketing meeting soon, too.
“What if you lose the key?” Sebastian asks, ever practical.
“Then you bring the bracelet to the store, and we can make another key based on the serial number,” Patrick answers.
“Perfect.” I smile, then turn to Sebastian. “What do you think?”
The corners of his eyes crinkle. “Very interesting. I see the potential.”
“What’s the feedback from the Hae Min Group?” I ask.
“I haven’t heard back,” Bianca says. “I emailed them last Wednesday and marked it urgent. I requested their feedback by Monday their time.”
Korea’s sixteen hours ahead. Somebody from Hae Min should’ve sent their feedback. “Follow up with them again then,” I say.
“Got it.” She types away furiously on her laptop.
After the design people and Bianca leave, Sebastian turns to me. “Is it common for Hae Min to be late?”
“Sadly, yes. This is the third time they missed a deadline,” I say. It’s like they’ve lost all their enthusiasm for some reason.
He frowns. “Was there a change in the management?”
“No. I was careful to pick a stable company with excellent executives.” For a second, I wonder if I should contact Yuna and ask if anything’s going on at the Hae Min Group…but no. If it’s some family issue, she’s not going to tell me. And I don’t want this deal to color our friendship. I’m loath to taint it when I’ve finally made my first new friend in ages.
“How long have you been working with them to finalize the deal?” Sebastian asks.
“Over six months. But it’s been one mix-up and mishap after another since my visit to Korea.”
His eyebrows pinch. “Are they jerking you around?”
“I never got that feeling. It’s just…they seem unable to make up their minds at times. On top of that, some of their people talk in circles, so it can get a bit confusing. I learned recently that if they say something is ‘difficult,’ what they’re really saying is that’s impossible. So—maybe something cultural? But even then, I feel like it’s taking longer than it needs to.”
He considers for a moment. “Do you want me to handle it?”
“Thanks for the offer, but you don’t have to. My bringing this deal to the table is part of the contract I signed with your family. I can’t let you do what’s essentially my job. But I swear, it’s all going to be fine.”
“Why don’t you send me all the documents for the collaboration? I want to take a closer look and see what I can do to hurry it along.”
