Gemma, alone with Sloan Pierce, felt that there was nothing left for them to discuss. She decided she wouldn’t say anything and would just let Sloan do the talking. And the first thing out of her mouth surprised her.

“I need your word—your professional word—that this is all confidential,” Sloan said.

Gemma hesitated. In her silence, Sloan summoned an assistant and asked for an iced tea.

“Okay,” Gemma said.

Sloan leaned forward. “The night of the Pavlin & Co centennial party, I was surprised to see that the Electric Rose wasn’t included in the exhibit.”

“I know. You mentioned that the day we met at City Bakery.”

“I’ve been making discreet inquiries about it ever since.”

Gemma‘s eyes widened. “And?”

“Do you know that only one percent of all pink diamonds are larger than ten carats?”

Gemma did know this. Her mother had told her everything about the Electric Rose. She nodded impatiently. “Well? What did you find?”

Sloan shook her head. “Nothing. The trail is cold.”

The assistant reappeared with a tall glass of iced tea and lemon. When she retreated, Gemma said, “How is that possible? It’s one of the most famous stones in the entire world. I get it—brokers deal with discretion. But this seems extreme.”

“Pieces do go underground. I’ve seen it happen many times. I have no doubt the Electric Rose will surface again but it could be decades.”

Decades?

“Can you keep looking?” Gemma said, hearing the desperation in her voice.

Sloan stirred the tea with a long spoon.

“I can’t keep putting time and resources into it. Especially if the auction isn’t happening.”

Well, that was direct.

“What are you suggesting?” Gemma asked.

“I’ll keep working my contacts and searching for this diamond if you sign this contract.”

Gemma looked at Sloan and knew she had nothing left to lose. Except one thing.

“I’ll sign on two conditions: You add a stipulation that the Electric Rose will not be included in the auction. Not even if you find it and the new owner is willing to sell.”

Sloan’s pale eyes narrowed.

“And I want a cut of the proceeds.” Gemma didn’t know how much money an auction would make, but she was pretty sure even a fraction of the money would be enough to help her scale up her business.

“You drive a hard bargain.”

“Is that a yes?”

“I need to work out the money part with legal. I think it can be arranged. But I need one more thing: photos of your mother wearing her famous jewels. For the catalogue and other auction promotion. Not photos from the ad campaigns of the 1990s, but candid, never-before-seen images. Do you have anything like that?”