Page 67 of Since the Night We Met
Shyamlal hesitated briefly, and she felt suspicion tick in her pulse. His lips tightened but he eagerly said, ‘The gems speak for themselves, my dear, I assure you. They’re beyond reproach. I don’t usually need to go through such verification procedures.’
‘I respect the relationship you have built with my father-in-law, but that doesn’t mean we skip out on due diligence over it. It’s not optional for us, Mr Sisodia. This is a deal breaker,’ Abhay said his final word on the matter.
‘Of course, of course,’ Shyamlal said, casually waving his hand. ‘Though, I won’t lie, I’m surprised to see such formalities. Kartik and I have been friends for decades, and we never bothered with such useless details.’
‘Then you can count this as an exception,’ Abhay suggested.
Reluctantly, Shyamlal reached into his briefcase and began sifting through documents. Siya noticed Abhay angle away, tapping at his phone. A second later, her phone buzzed.
Does something smell a little fishy to you too, wifey?
She didn’t look down as her fingers flew across the message keyboard beneath the table, and that was the reason she added that word at the end. At least that’s what she told herself.
Yes, patidev.
Another ping.
Haw, don’t tempt me with dirty talk. We’re in public.
She shook her head and found it safer to not reply, but he wouldn’t let up.
Maybe he is jacking up the prices on fake stones to afford more jewellery and surpass Bappi Lehri in that discounted Bond villain suit.
Siya lowered her head and adjusted a page in her file to hide her smile. She discreetly sent a response.
Behave.
His reply popped up almost instantly.
Make me.
Her gaze snapped up just in time to find him staring at her, his expression maddeningly innocent, like he wasn’t flirting with her in a room full of high-level executives.
Shyamlal slid out a black wooden case and opened it. On a plush velvet tray lay deep green emeralds. The colour, dark and seductive, cast reflections on the ceiling.
Abhay snapped on a glove and braced his forearms against the table as he reached for one of the stones. He tilted the stone under the table light, studying it under a mini microscope. His thumb ran over its smooth texture and a slight crease formed in between his brows.
‘Which lab tested these stones, and how long ago were they tested?’ he inquired.
Shyamlal stuttered in his response. ‘I think sometime last month, but just look at them. The deep hue of these emeralds will elevate your jewellery line beyond competition.’
Abhay was frowning as he studied the stone with a tiny microscope, and it raised Siya’s guards. She turned her attention to the certificates laid out in front of her. Even before she got to the analysis, she could identify red flags.
The date stamps for the inspection were very recent, and there was no mention of whether any treatments were done on them.
The edges of the laminated certificate were glossy and barely creased. She picked up one document titled “Natural Untreated Colombian Origin” and after a thorough look, found several inconsistencies.
These certificates were the best forged work she’d seen. They could fool a small-time jeweller, but wouldn’t withstand against a civil lawyer who dealt with forgery cases for a living.
In that moment, her eyes locked with Abhay and he discreetly shook his head once. She understood that she wasn’t the only one struggling with suspicion. It seemed he’d come to the same conclusion.
Her phone buzzed next minute with his text.
When was the last time you saw rare, uncut gemstones being in transit in an unlocked wooden box?
Siya glanced at the box and sure enough, there was no lock on it. It was unheard of to travel with such luxury stones with no security at all.
‘Well, Mr Sisodia,’ Abhay began, his tone light. ‘At a preliminary glance, everything looks to be in place. I hope you understand that we’ll still require the stones to be verified independently with a full spectrum of tests.’
