1976.”
Two months after he’d been stolen. No wonder she looked miserable. And Howard, being the self-absorbed bastard he was, had probably convinced her to dress up and show off the diamonds anyway.
Despite himself, his chest tightened. Dammit. He dropped the magazine with a scowl, cursing himself for allowing that small weakness to take up space in his head. Emotion and business did not mix.
Holly’s low, husky voice suddenly broke through and with the effort it took to flip a switch, he refocused. He turned back to face her, his face expressionless, as she continued.
“The Blackstone Rose came from a diamond called the Heart of the Outback. Jeb Hammond—that’s Ryan and Kimberley’s grandfather and Howard’s father-in-law—gifted the stone to his daughter Ursula to celebrate the birth of James Blackstone, his first grandchild, in 1974. Howard then had it made into the Blackstone Rose necklace the following year.” She paused. “Do you know much about diamonds?”
“Aren’t they a girl’s best friend?”
She gave him a smile that struck him as slightly patronizing. “Not this one.”
“I thought every woman liked diamonds.”
“I’m more of a sapphire girl,” she admitted coolly. She shifted and straightened her back against the leather seat. “Diamonds are commonly judged by the ‘four Cs’—cut, clarity, color and carat. The cut—”
“Determines its brilliance. Most gemmologists consider cut the most important diamond characteristic.”
“Yes. There’s no single measurement to define it…” Holly stopped. “But you’re best mates with Quinn Everard. You probably know this already.”
He nodded. “Some. Go on.”
“Am I being graded on this?” She frowned. “Because if you’re not happy with the information I’m giving you—”
“I am, Holly,” he said curtly. “Please continue.” After the briefest of pauses, she turned the page and showed him a studio shot of the Blackstone Rose sitting elegantly on black velvet. The camera flash had captured the reflection against one of the stone’s polished surfaces, creating a starry burst of light.
He’d never understood the female obsession with jewellery but these were… “Impressive. The Blackstone Rose necklace was stolen on Ursula’s thirtieth birthday, right?”
“It went missing around that time,” she corrected him.
Jake eased his long legs forward, crossing them at the ankles. “A moot point now they’ve been found. For whatever reason, Howard bequeathed the stones to Marise, and now that she’s dead, they’re Matt Hammond’s.”
Holly paused at the mention of Matt. She’d read about the long-standing Blackstone-Hammond feud like everyone else, had pored over the numerous articles about their complicated history with a mixture of sadness and amazement. Matt’s father and Kimberley’s mother were brother and sister, yet because of greed, power and jealousy, the branches of the family tree had grown acres apart.
With a frown, Holly recalled the last few months that had been publicly played out in the media. Whatever the families’ grievances, Matt didn’t deserve to have his dead wife linked with notorious womaniser Howard Blackstone, to have her die in Howard’s plane crash off the Pacific coast. His son Blake didn’t deserve to have the memory of his mother tainted by salacious gossip.
Jake waited for her to comment, to echo what the press had feverishly dubbed the “Howard-and-Marise affair”, but she remained silent. “And…?” he finally prompted.
“And what?” she replied calmly. “Look, Mr Vance, I’m not entirely sure what you want to know—”
“Dynamics.”
“Sorry?”
“I’m interested in family dynamics. The mark of a successful family company depends on that family working together in a harmonious environment.”
“The Blackstones have grown and thrived for over thirty years. You can’t get more successful than that.”
“It’s not about monetary success. It’s about respect, both for each other and their employees.”
“What makes you think they don’t have respect?”
“Howard Blackstone was a dictator. That much I do know. He was petty, vengeful and treated his employees and family like crap. He also relied on cronyism to stay on top of the heap.” He suddenly leaned forward and Holly instinctively pulled back. “What I want to know is why people continued to work with him if he was such a bastard?”
Her eyes flashed, the first real display of anger escaping her cool businesslike facade. “I don’t know. Why do people still work for you?”
The air stilled.
Holly’s breath hitched as her stomach plummeted. She’d done it now, offended the great Jake Vance to the soles of his imported leather shoes. With a pounding heart, she braced herself for the icy reprimand, a potent display of authority designed to put her right back into her place. Instead…
He smiled.
And what a smile it was.
Amusement creased his eyes, softening his jawline and bringing forth a dimple to his cheek. A dimple. As if the man didn’t have enough swooning power over the female population. It transformed his striking, almost harsh, features into something warm and touchable.
“I find it very interesting,” he murmured, “that I irritate you so much. Is it about the way I do business?”
“No,” she lied.
“So it’s personal.”
She blinked nervously. He was close but not close enough to invade her space. Yet she could sense the warmth from his broad, impeccably suited body, the single-minded focus as his eyes freely roamed over her face, coming to rest at a spot dangerously close to her mouth.
She tried to swallow but it felt like dust clogged her throat. “I’m just here to do my job, Mr Vance.”
“Really.”
His scepticism irritated: it was obvious he trusted her as much as she did him. Still, she met his considering look with one of her own, willing calm into every inch of her humming body. “Yes. Shall we get back to your investment, Mr Vance?”
“Jake.” In an echo of his movements in the Blackstone’s basement, he pulled his phone out and checked the screen. “I need to know how the family interacts,” he said as he pushed a few buttons. “I’m not going to invest in Blackstone’s if they can’t control their in-fighting. And then there’s Matt Hammond, a man who’s publicly and repeatedly voiced his hatred of Blackstone’s and who now owns ten percent of the shares.”
Holly paused, see-sawing between honesty and loyalty. This was another test. He already knew the answers but wanted to see how far she’d go.
Damn the man.
“You
