Downtown Bar
Larry hurried into the bar and caught sight of Xander drinking away.
"Hey, man. How was the meeting with him?" He asked and Xander let out a sigh.
"He never loved her"Xander mumbled and Larry let out a sigh. "He found out about the investigation and he is defending his wife" Xander added.
Larry gasped and turned sharply to look at Xander. "So what are we going to do?"
"Continue and hasten it" Came the reply and Larry sighed downing a glass of wine.
30 minutes later, Xander layed on the couch half conscious.
"Shit" Larry cursed and supported Xander out of the bar into his car before speeding off.
Sinclair penthouse.
Emma and her family sat round the table in an happy dinner after three months.
"Eat more" Lara urged as she piled food on Emma's plate.
"Mum, I'm going to choke at this rate" Emma teased with a smile.
"So how's the project going?" Fred asked.
"It's fine, tomorrow he will be inspecting" Emma said.
"You should be careful"Fred said concernedly and Emma nodded.
Next morning.
Xander walked into the site and scanned the area before his eyes landed on Emma who was on protective wears.
"Mr Royce" She greeted politely but was meet with silence and she followed him as he started walking ahead.
Suddenly, Xander stopped and placed his hand on a rod. He bent down and felt the surface of the woods used.
"Substandard" He frowned and glared sharply at Emma. "What's this?" He asked the tongue-tied Emma.
"What do you mean?" She managed to ask when she found her voice.
"These are kickoffs, they won't even last up to six months" Xander snapped at her.
"But…"
"But what?" He asked. "Not having control over your staffs is one thing but watching them buy kickoffs under your nose is another thing"
Emma looked away as her lips trembled violently.
"This is a government contract, I would advise you supervise this yourself" He took one last look at her and walked away.
Emma stood stupefied before she dragged her legs to her car speeding down to the company.
Sinclair Corps.
Emma marched towards her office and slumped on her chair taking off her coat before buzzing Maya.
"Summon all department heads for an emergency meeting now" She ordered and after Malia replied, she hung up with a sigh.
Sinclair Corps - Boardroom
Emma pushed the door open strolling in with Malia following behind, her eyes swept the room before landing at the head of the department of purchase, Mr Parker.
She took her seat and fixed her eyes on him before clearing her throat to speak.
"I just got hold of the information that the materials used for the Royce Empire contract are kickoffs" She said coldly before locking her gaze on Mr Parker.
"Ma…" He was saying but was interrupted harshly by Emma.
"Provide receipts from the procurement"She demanded her eyes fixed on him.
"Ma…" He stuttered visibly shaken but Emma turned her eyes to the assistant head of the department Lalita.
"The receipts" She demanded again and Lalita moved to get them from the department and handed it to her with shaken hands.
Emma scanned through it and a frown settled on her forehead.
"These receipts shows that this materials were not purchased from JBL company" Emma said matter of factly and her cold eyes swept the room causing Mr Parker to tremble violently.
"Mr Parker and Lalita Jones, you both have been fired from this company without any entitlement and the sum of thirty million dollars should be paid for damages within two weeks or face the law" She said in her usual cold voice and stood to leave.
"Ma please" Lalita called but Emma walked decisively out of the room.
Back in her office, she closed her eyes as she leaned against her chair.
His sharp eyes noticing details she never saw in her own company.
She let out a soft sigh and picked up her computer sending an email to Royce Empire.
Evening - Sinclair penthouse.
Lara placed the meal on the table but could not see Emma.
"Where is your sister?" She nudged Reid.
"I think she is still in her room, I will go get her" Reid said and headed upstairs returning with Emma.
"My God, Emma what's wrong with you?" Lara exclaimed as she took in her daughter pale face and the dark circles under her eyes.
"Mum,they bought kickoffs and… And… He was the one that noticed it… The failure on my part to keep my staffs loyal"Emma stuttered.
"What exactly do you mean, princess?" Her father asked and Emma told them everything that happened into the office and how she handled it.
"You did great. In every company, there are always the black sheep"Fred reassured and she nodded with a slight smile.
Xander opened his eyes slowly sitting up on the bed. He let out a sigh when he realized he was back to his house. Picking up his phone, he glanced at the time and he was late for work. Heaving another sigh, he headed to the bathroom to freshen up.
Royce Empire.
Xander stood looking down at the city through his large glass window with a cup of wine in his hand and his other hand in his pocket.
"Any news from Sinclair corps?" He asked.
"No boss but I think Ms Sinclair would be working hard to make sure everything works out fine, she wouldn't want to pay the fine for breaching of contract" Theo said thoughtfully.
"I won't be back today" Xander said and picked up his coat strolling out of the office.
Sinclair Corps
Lara walked into the CEO office and met Emma working behind her desks.
"Dear, there is a audition at Hung Hotel today and Roses would be featured, I don't want to miss any of their works" Lara chimed.
"Mum, who is this Roses, I've not heard of any company with that kind of weird name" Emma commented looking up from her work.
"You won't know as you are not much interested in jewelries. Anyway, they are the new giant in the jewelry industry, in less than 7 years, they had made a name for themselves starting from the scratch and they are now the black horse in the industry" Lara said.
"Hmm.." Emma mumbled.
"You have to follow me there" Lara added.
"So which family is behind this Roses company?" Emma asked with a grimace, the name sounded so weird to be given to a company.
"No one knows the real boss but his assistant usually shows his face but they love to keep it low key" Lara said. "Enough of that, the audition would soon begin, let's go change" she added and pulled Emma away from work, not that Emma could deny her that tho.
Hung Hotel
Lara and Emma came down from the car that dropped them off with the driver leaving to pack the car away.
"Madam, please your ticket?" The guard asked politely and Lara brought out two golden tickets which the guard scanned before allowing them inside.
The duo, mother and daughter got good seats at the front of the hall and Emma eyes swept the hall before landing at the back view of a figure dressed in black.
"What was he doing here?" She wondered but in split seconds she could not find the figure and when she saw it again, it was an unfamiliar face.
The audition started with the host getting on the podium.
"So my dear ladies and gentlemen, we have got a collection drawn from reputable jewelry companies and we managed to secure three different jewelries made by the legendary Roses Jewelry company" The host began.
He started by introducing the first jewelry, a jade bracelet which was first auctioned at a hundred thousand dollars and the prices kept climbing as more jewelries were introduced and sold.
"Now to the climax of this auction, the three jewelries from Roses are next up and the last three" The host started.
The first one was brought out in a carved silver box and was opened magnified on the screen.
"Made from Auxi Plant seen only in the polar areas of the wood, the company made it for our middle aged ladies, it have a medicinal effect and the wood from the plant faded into the skin giving a natural glow" He started. "Soaked in the liquid gotten from the plant, it adds natural nutrients to the skin preventing diseases" He continued "But what is even more eye catching is the designs, ladies and gentlemen, fill your eyes "He gave a bow and the jewelry was magnified an the screen for viewers.
The wooden beads that was made from the plant had been polished giving reflections like a mirror. Carved to be the size of pearls it could be mistaken for jade. Simple and low key but also expensive, Emma interest was piqued.
"Mum, let's get this for you" She said as she took a look at her mother's hand, it would look good on her white skin.
"Okay, going for ten million dollars" The host said and immediately someone raised the bidding.
"Fifteen million"
"Twenty million"
"Thirty million"
"Fifty million"
"Sixty million"
"Sixty five million"
When it crossed the hundred million mark, the hall erupted into an uproar, it was so hard to get hands on Roses jewelries normally so the crowd was pretty determined to go home with one using the audition as the best place.
In a dark room, a tall figure watched the hall through a big screen.
"Going well" A smile crept into his face.
"One hundred and one million"
"One hundred and seven million"
As it crossed one hundred and fifty million, the bidding died down, there were few that was willing to use such amount on jewelries.
"One hundred and sixty million" Someone said and waited with no one bidding again.
"One hundred and sixty million going one, going two…"
"One hundred and eighty million" Emma raised the bid and the host looked around for any opposing person.
"One hundred and eighty million going one, going two, going three, one hundred and eighty million sold, congratulations Ms. Sinclair" The host said.
"Moving on to the next" The host continued. And the screen showed the next jewelry, a thin silver ring.
"Ring of light, the silver used for the production of this ring passed through ten different manufacturing process and was iced for half a year. Ladies and gentlemen" He gave a bow again and the ring was magnified on the screen.
Looking at the ring from different directions gave off different colors, it had a shade of red, blue and green but it was silver. A light red diamond, one of the rarest type of diamond carved into a rose was sitted on the ring.
"It's so pretty" Emma muttered.
"Then get it" Lara urged.
"I don't really like it let's see the last one" Emma replied.
"Going on a starting bid of fifty million dollars" The host said.
"Seventy million"
"Eighty million"
"One hundred million"
"One hundred and fifty million"
And it was sold at a staggering price of two hundred million.
"The last, a black carbonado diamond bracelet" The host said and Gasps were heard. The black diamond was the rarest type of diamond but it was not just the diamond, it was the designs.
The bracelet was designed to look like a flowing sea, a black flowing sea giving off a low key vibe but on closer look was a flowing sea with black roses carved at the sides of the sea, thorns could be seen choking the carved roses but the roses prevailed as they growed strong. It looked like a painting but was designed on the bracelet.
"Wow, I want this one, I love it" Emma said.
"Starting at the bid of Eighty million" The host announced.
The bids escalated fast breaking the two hundred million mark and was sold to Emma at two hundred and seventy million dollars.
At the car, Emma was driving whem she turned to look at Lara.
"This designer is so good and talented" She commented.
"Yes she is" Lara said.
"Do you know her?" Emma asked feeling surprised.
"No, I don't, no one know the CEO of the company or the designer, I'm guessing the CEO is still the designer and maybe she is a secret apprentice of Rose Moretti" Lara said with a sigh.
"Who is Rose Moretti?" Emma asked.
"The best jewelry designer the world had ever produced, you know that boy, Xander Royce, she was his mother" Lara said.
"Was?"
"Yes, she is dead" Lara said and Emma turned sharply to look at her with a frown.