It makes my blood boil that he would touch anything at Peery Diamonds. He’s unworthy. He only married Mom for her money and couldn’t even bring himself to stay faithful to her for giving him the lavish lifestyle he so desperately dreamed of. He’s been trying to find me a spineless husband he can control so he can leech off me for the rest of his life. He’s still pissed that Darren and I broke things off because he considers the CFO of Peery Diamonds eminently manipulatable. But Darren couldn’t keep his penis to himself either.
I squint a little.Are Mom and I both cursed with cheating men?
“Barbaric,” Sebastian mutters.
“Yes. Precisely. Anyway, there are a lot of things I want to do once I’m in charge. There are multiple projects on hold because I’m not able to spearhead them properly.” I lean forward as excitement builds over all the possibilities. “I know we can grow so much bigger. Peery Diamonds can become more than just a jewelry company. I want our employees to feel proud to work there. When people hear our name, they’ll think of beautiful things that can make them feel inspired and special.”
Grudging respect flickers in his gaze as he listens. “When do you find the time to do all that and party?”
“I don’t party. Not nearly as much as the gossip sites make it sound like.”
He grunts. “Must not. Or maybe you have the vision, but not the will to work through it.”
I pull back. “What’s the point of having a vision if you don’t work to make it happen?”
He shrugs. “Some people think it’s enough to just have the vision.”
“An ‘idea guy’? Yeah, I’m not one of them. You’ll see.”
“I look forward to it.” A corner of his mouth quirks up in amusement. The shutter in his eyes disappears, revealing a glimpse of warmth.
My heart starts to pound. Although the restaurant is cool, my cheeks grow heated.
“By the way, if you don’t mind, I’d like to have our civil ceremony in San Francisco,” I say.
He looks slightly suspicious. “Why there?”
“Because that’s where Mom and I had our last mother-daughter trip. It’s sentimental.” We went a few months before she died, just the two of us. She was nice to me, like she wanted to make up for being neglectful. Although it was too late, I appreciated the gesture. And we had a good time without Roderick, Karl and Vonnie around to create issues.
His expression softens. “That’s fine.”
“Thank you.” Thank God he gave in without a fight. “And can we have a party and invite people after our elopement to celebrate our wedding? And a couple of photographers, too?”
Quick annoyance replaces the sympathy. “Is that going to be in San Francisco as well?” He probably thinks I’m trying to circumvent his edict about a boring civil ceremony.
“No, L.A. It’ll be good for publicity before launching our Korean collaboration. You should’ve received a preliminary report on the venture.”
“I didn’t.” He taps the table with a small frown. “Explain it to me.”
Did he really not get it?Bianca told me she sent everything Sebastian needed for the collaboration. Or…this could be some kind of test to see if I can pitch the idea without fumbling. He might have doubts about my capacity as an executive. Guess I’ll have to reassure him, just like everyone else who doubts my abilities.
I start as soon as our waiter finishes serving our second course: fish and vegetable tempura. “The Sebastian Peery venture will target couples. Korea is a small but lucrative market. Their per-cap expenditure on luxury goods is the highest in the world, over three hundred dollars according to Morgan Stanley. It went up twenty-four percent last year, and many experts expect the trend to continue. In addition, they spend more on wedding jewelry than many other countries.”
“It’s just a couple of rings,” he says dismissively.
He either really hasn’t read the report or he’s being difficult. My money’s on the latter. He’s too good an executive. “Actually, it’s not. The bride receives a set of diamonds and a set of pearls, each consisting of a ring, necklace and earrings, in addition to the wedding band and a watch. The groom in return is given a ring, watch, tie pin and cuff links, possibly a bracelet as well. The bride’s mother is gifted with a pearl set or a high-end purse. The groom’s mother gets a high-end purse. We can create special pendants and loops for those bags.”
His eyebrows pinch in surprise. “You’ve done a lot of research.”
“Of course. I wouldn’t have approached Sebastian Jewelry without solid market data. Just so you know, not all couples follow this custom, since it’s expensive to buy all of that on top of paying for the ceremony and honeymoon. But many do, and they love to splurge.”
His eyes defocus slightly. “I can see possibilities.”
“Plus, we can also add what Koreans call ‘couple rings’ to our offerings.”
“‘Couple rings’?”
“The locals buy a set of matching rings to wear as a couple while dating. Just imagine the double-dipping we can do as we sell them their ‘couple rings’ and then the wedding sets. Anyway, since these are the kind of products we’re launching, I want to make sure we have the proper publicity lined up. You’re a handsome man. You’ll look fabulous in photos.”
