Page 86 of The Best of Friends

She turned to Rebecca. “You brought this on yourself. I’m not going to help you fix it.”

With that, she left. Rebecca didn’t watch her go. Instead, she turned to her father. “Dad, you really need to think about finding someone else.”

Blaine bent over and kissed the top of her head. “I’ll get right on that.”

David took the chair next to her and grabbed her hand. “What’s with the two of you?”

“She’s a bitch and can’t stand my perfection.”

He squeezed her fingers. “That must be it.”

She pulled back her hand. “I’m okay. She’s always been like this. It’s not new.”

“No, it’s not,” Blaine said, sitting on her other side. “I’m sorry.”

Andrew Tannin, the aging family attorney, walked into the conference room.

He greeted them all, then took a seat opposite and put down several sheets of paper.

“Well, young lady,” he said, smiling at Rebecca, “you’re in a bit of a pickle.”

Despite everything, she laughed. “That’s one way to describe it.”

“Conflict diamonds are a serious business. Very serious. The government is likely to get involved. So why don’t you tell me what happened?”

Andrew Tannin was about a hundred and eight, Rebecca thought. Would talking about sex kill him?

“My daughter ended a relationship,” Blaine said, surprising her by speaking first. “The man in question was angry. He knew about her work as a jewelry designer, knew she worked in diamonds, and planted the story.”

“Hardly gentlemanly behavior,” Andrew said, then tutted. “Do you have documentation on the diamonds?”

She pulled the folders out of her large tote and set them on the table. “No one wants to be accused of selling conflict diamonds,” she said. “Customers don’t want to think they’re supporting terrorism. I get my white diamonds from Canada and my colored diamonds from Australia. They’re more expensive, but we know exactly where each stone came from. The Canadian diamonds have a microscopic etching of a polar bear or a maple leaf on them. The Australian diamonds are numbered.”

She pushed the folders toward Andrew. He pulled a pair of glasses out of his suit jacket pocket and put them on.

“Like a dog pedigree,” he said, flipping through the papers.

“Sort of.” She tried not to smile. “I would never use conflict diamonds. I haven’t done anything wrong.”

Andrew looked up. “Don’t you worry, young lady. This is all fixable.” He glanced at Blaine. “Do you want to sue for damages?”

“David and I will handle that.”

“I won’t ask any questions.” Andrew put his glasses back in his pocket and rose. “I’ll get started on this right away. Rebecca, make sure my staff knows how to get in touch with you. You’re not planning on leaving the country anytime soon, are you?”

“No. But I’ll want to eventually.”

“We should have this cleared up in a matter of weeks. I know people.” He winked, then left.

“He’s a weird little man,” she said when the door closed behind him. “But I like him.”

“He’s the best.” Blaine stood. “I think that’s everything.”

Rebecca thought about her safe at home and the hidden blue diamond Nigel would do just about anything to get back.

“Not exactly,” she said, and told Blaine and David about the stone. “It was my consolation prize,” she said. “Now Nigel’s in L.A., and he’s made it clear he wants the diamond back.”

She didn’t mention the sex in the garden. It wasn’t something either her father or her brother would want to know.