Page 73 of Secrets (The Sins Trilogy 2)
“Not diamonds, because everyone does diamonds,” I say, thinking of Iris that morning as she got ready for work. And the sweet kiss she blew at me before going into her lobby. I felt it like a physical touch, right over my heart, warm and sweet. “Something exceptionally large and radiant. Glowing, almost. Precious. Beautiful. Irreplaceable. Just like the woman.”
“She must be someone special.”
“Very.”
“Any particular preferences? Traditional? Contemporary? Something classic and timeless?”
“Classic and timeless, but unique. It needs to make a statement.”
“If you don’t like diamonds, but want something classic and timeless, I suggest a large pearl. We recently acquired a sixteen-millimeter—perfectly round. Exceptionally lustrous and virtually flawless. Which is rare. When pearls grow that large, they generally acquire blemishes, you know.” Masako gestures at a clerk. She brings out a velvet box, and Masako opens it for me. “What do you think?”
I lean closer. The single pearl is huge. Almost as big as a dime. It has a faint pink tint that’s gorgeous.
“This is the top one percent,” Masako says. “But a pearl alone can be dull. So I say platinum, small diamonds and maybe sapphires?”
“If you think they’ll work well together.”
“Great. I’ll send you a few sketches by Monday. Once you select the design, we can get started right away.”
“I want it done ASAP.”
“Of course. But with custom work, it will take some time.”
“I don’t want to wait long.” Why can’t people get things done when I want them done, especially when I’m paying top dollar? “Within a week.”
“It won’t be cheap.”
I scoff. She knows people who care about cost don’t commission pieces from her. “I don’t care.”
Brimming with anticipation, I walk out…only to promptly and literally run into Byron Fucking Pearce. He’s carrying a Starbucks cup and curses as the hot brew spills over his hand. I manage to step away just in time. His face twists into pure hatred when he sees it’s me.
“You fucker.”
“Good to run into you too, Pearce,” I say, enjoying the brown stain on his shirt. “How’s business?”
Byron stares at me for a moment as he puts it together. Then he snarls. “Do you know how long I worked on that Hae Min deal?”
I smile smugly. “Told you it could get personal.”
“You petty fuck. That was pure spite.”
Pinching my eyebrows together in an exaggerated frown, I stick my lower lip out. “Aw, what are you going to do? Run to Iris and cry? ‘Your boyfriend is a meanie.’” I wipe at my eyes.
Violence coils within him. I can sense the tension in his muscles, see the darkness filling his eyes. “You aren’t fit to be near Rizzy.”
I hate that he dares give her a nickname, as though their relationship is something more. “That isn’t her name.”
“Really? She answers to it, Tony. You’re just like Sam.”
My teeth clench, and it’s all I can do to not break that perfect nose of his. But Iris would disapprove. “Sam and I are different. I love her. He doesn’t.”
“Oh, of course! That’s what guys like you say until you get bored. Then you toss her away like trash.”
“Shut the fuck up, you son of a bitch. You know nothing about me or my feelings for Iris. Can you say you’re just being her friend when you talk shit about me? Swear you aren’t jealous that she’s in my bed, but not in yours?” I want him to throw the first punch. Publicly. Totally lose control. It’d humiliate him, and satisfy me no end.
“And can you say everything you’re doing is purely for her sake? That you aren’t trying to make her dependent on you like that slimy uncle of hers?”
His words are like bullets, and they hurt. But I’ll be damned if I let him see it. “No,” I say coldly.
