TWO WEEKS LATER
YAEL DIAMONDS, ANTWERP, BELGIUM—OCTOBER 27, 2020—14:40 / 2:40 P.M. CET
Squeezing the tweezers in his hand, Nir lifted a dark-green gemstone and placed it on a small, black-velvet pad.
“That one doesn’t look as bright as those other two,” said Nicole, leaning close to the table. “Is it a lesser-quality stone?”
Alicia Marcos was also examining the gemstones. “I don’t think so. The richness of this emerald is pretty remarkable. The others are glossier, more transparent, but… I don’t know. It’s like with the other two, God said, ‘I’m going to show you green.’ Then with this one, He leaned in and whispered, ‘Okay, now I’m really going to show you green.’”
Nir laughed. “I need to hire you as a salesperson. And you’re exactly right about the stones. Each of them is just under 9 carats. Those two will cost you about €45,000 each. That third one will set you back €100,000.”
Nicole pulled back as if afraid of some unspoken You break it, you buy it rule. “You have got to be kidding me. Why? What makes it so special?”
“A couple of reasons.” Nir lifted the emerald with the tweezers again, then positioned it under a large bronze-rimmed magnifying glass mounted above the table. Adjusting the light, he encouraged the women to lean in. “First, it’s an untreated emerald, which means no oil or resin has been used on it. That keeps it pure with no foreign substances absorbing into it. Most every emerald is thoroughly worked over, so an untreated emerald is rare.”
“If cleaning it up makes it less valuable, why do it?” Alicia asked.
“Because most emeralds need it. They need the sparkle and the shine—the glossy, as you say—because inside they’re filled with inclusions.” Using his left hand, he tweezed up one of the other two stones. “Can you see inside there? All the little flaws? Those are the inclusions. Often we call them the garden because they look like little plants or moss.”
Both women indicated they could see them.
“Now look inside the untreated emerald.”
“Hardly any inclusions,” Alicia said. “It’s like it’s been cleaned inside.”
“Exactly, but the clean is natural. Every now and then a stone comes along with so few flaws that the gemologist will pull it out for special treatment—or special lack of treatment, as the case may be. I’ve seen less than a dozen untreated emeralds in my career, and this is the first Yael has owned.”
“Fascinating,” Nicole said. “So what will be done with the stone?”
“I was thinking of making it into a ring for this girl I know,” Nir said with a grin.
“Yeah, right. You do that, you can expect to see it on eBay the next day.”
“Nicole.” But Alicia’s scolding had come with a laugh.
“I actually have a buyer for it already. It’s arranged for transport to an Indian city that will remain nameless.”
“You and your secrets,” Nicole said as Nir stowed away the gemstones. The three exited the vault, which Nir proceeded to seal tight. When they entered his office, a heavenly scent reached their noses. Three mugs of Aunt Mila’s cocoa sat on Nir’s desk.
Nicole turned toward the open door that led to the foyer and Mila’s station. “Mila, I told you I can’t indulge in this kind of stuff.”
“I heard you,” his assistant called from the other room. “I just disagreed. All three of you could stand to have a little more meat on your bones.”
“It’s useless arguing with her,” Nir said. “She’s going to win, so just accept it.”
Alicia gave no such complaint. She looked like she’d been gifted with one of those metabolisms that allowed people to eat or drink whatever they wanted without gaining an ounce. Lifting one of the mugs, she returned to the leather chair where she’d been sitting before their vault excursion and settled in.
After taking a sip, she called, “Mila, this is amazing. What is that in there? A little touch of nutmeg?”
Mila walked to the doorway. “Well, yes it is, and thanks for noticing.” She nodded toward Nir. “That one on the other side of the desk guessed my secret ingredient was Christmas spirit.” Then muttering loud enough for all to hear, she said, “Gracious, he’s helpless as a whelp.”
“Thank you, Mila,” Nir said. “Now, please close the door behind you.”
“Thank you, Mila,” the ladies chimed as the door closed.
“Sorry. You can’t get good help these days.”
“Oh, please.” Nicole rolled her eyes. “You’d be lost without her. She’s the best thing you have going for you in Antwerp.”
Nir chuckled. “Yeah, she kind of is. So, ready for business?”
Alicia spoke up. “First, let me say thank you for flying me here all the way from Texas. This was my first time crossing the ocean on a private jet.”
“It was nothing at all,” Nir said, thinking she really should be thanking the Israeli government for her transatlantic flight. “I appreciate your taking the time to come here and listen to my proposal. Am I right that you have business in Milan after this?”
“I do. I’m going to visit the owner of the gallery where you saw my Marilyn Monroe painting.”
“Excellent. Well, you and Nicole can share the Gulfstream down to Italy. Then when you’re ready, I’ll arrange a first-class seat on a commercial airway for your trip home. Just give Mila your details before you leave. Is that amenable?”
“It is. In fact, if I can speak freely…”
Nir nodded.
Alicia seemed as if she was gathering her thoughts, then spoke. “Okay, not only is it amenable, but it’s a little too amenable. Honestly, if Nicole wasn’t part of this, I would have bugged out a while ago. My daddy always told me if something looks too good to be true, it probably is. And this whole thing looks just way too good to be true.”
Nicole looked ready to speak, but Nir gave her a quick glance. He knew how to handle this. He was the businessman. “I get it. Sometimes I come on a little too strong. Maybe it’s from growing up on a kibbutz in Israel where hard work was always expected of us. Or maybe it’s just me following the advice my dad ingrained in me.”
“Which was…”
“If something is worth having, then go out and get it and don’t stop until it’s yours.”
Now Alicia appeared to be thinking about Nir’s words. Meanwhile, Nicole stared at him with wide eyes like he’d just put his foot into his mouth and then deep into his throat. Before he could figure out what terrible thing he’d said, though, Alicia leaned forward, and when she spoke it sounded like the depth of her Texas accent had been turned up to ten.
“Well, I’m not sure if I should be flattered or horrified. But one thing I can tell you is that no one will ever have this Texas girl. I’m not some little gem you can tuck away in your vault, Mr. Tavor. I’ve never considered having a business partner. I don’t need a business partner. And if you think you can fly me here in your private jet and show me your pretty rocks and I’ll just swoon and sign whatever papers you have, you can kiss that little fantasy goodbye.”
Finished, the intense look in her dark eyes making it clear she’d meant every word, Alicia leaned back and took a sip of her cocoa. But when she pulled the mug away, a little dot of Mila’s homemade whipped cream sat on her nose.
Nir knew he should be reeling from her tirade and apologizing profusely for choosing his words so poorly. But instead, he was in a desperate struggle not to laugh. Yet if he so much as giggled after she’d just poured out her emotions like that, the whole operation could be tanked. Still, that little white dot sat there on the end of her pert little nose, taunting him.
He glanced at Nicole, who was so focused on shooting daggers at him that she obviously hadn’t noticed the offending cream. He looked back at Alicia. The visual was so absurd, so incongruous with the situation, that he was powerless to hold back.
Nir put his elbows on his desk and his head in his hands. Then his whole body convulsed, and it all poured out.