Let Me Call You Madame

Conniving Consensus

Conniving Consensus

CHILLS rushed through Jane’s sister’s veins as her gaze fixed mainly on her. She hid the sensation of fearful squirm while she downed her red wine serving.

“Did anybody hear me?” she calmly reaffirmed. “Shall I ask you one by one?”

All of her aunts and uncles, their children, even her father dared not to look elsewhere.

“Very well, since no one apart from my mother had the guts to tell me what I should do with my life, this dinner is off,” she dismissed as she wiped the grease on the corners of her lips. “One thing, if I plan to marry soon, I will let you know. No worries. If no one wills to marry me, I will chase a guy I like, myself. So, instead of trying to chain me into some random person, why don’t you take care of your own shares in the company first before I decide to have it rechecked for the annual financial report?”

Thunder inside the elderlies’ chests grumbled into an unsettling threat but no one dared to even swallow the lumps that formed at the back of their throats.

“See you in the board meeting tomorrow. I expect you not to come empty-handed. The design team greatly relies on the insights of Lacenoir bloodline. Do not disappoint our ancestors.”

“THE THEME for this season is Outlier,” the head designer explained with his presentation. “This revolves around the idea of fusing two complete outliers of our premium cut jewels. For example, the lower outlier which is composed of mainly the opal, peridot, and aquamarine family will be incorporated into high outlier families like musgravite, rubies, and black pearls to form pieces that represent our clients’ widened potentials and temperament.”

A hand shot from the seats and one of Jane’s uncles asked, “I understand the concept but is it not going to spark controversy this time around since the prince is about to marry a commoner? How prepared are we to face such speculations?”

Jane shut the question with another question.

“And how, perchance, would the concept give bad image to the royal wedding? If people insist that Lvcien created an underlying meaning behind the theme, then let them be. Free publicity means lesser marketing efforts and lesser advertisement costs. I welcome both good controversy and open-ended subtle support from the prince since we support his marriage that much.”

“Fair enough,” one of the directors interjected. “I have been waiting for a moment to open this matter up for some time now and since we are talking about outliers, allow me to present a heated talk across the jewel industry.”

Several murmurs swirled across the walls of the room and Jane trained her eyes on the man’s assistant who approached the projector to have a drive inserted to the computer.

“I assume that some of you here in this room must have heard about this rumour that originated from French geologic labs a few days ago but for the benefit of everyone, allow me to relay what we have received regarding the potential rich lode of the rare Kashmir Sapphire on a secluded island on the Far East.”

A photograph of the gemstone’s sample appeared on the projection and the audience marvelled on its mesmerizing, velvety blue luminosity.

“As you know, even our research and development team could not advance on the pattern of excavation spots for this rare specimen. For the past decades, we have been lucky enough to produce a number of pieces that some of our rivals even had us sued for allegedly stealing their specimens. Some companies even tried to produce manmade alternatives and of course, for a cheaper price, but it became an insult and a scandal to the luxury jewellery industry. Until now, no amount of technology could properly execute the superior cornflower blue tint quality within Kashmir Sapphire.”

Roi Lacenoir was all-ears and did not leave his daughter’s face while the woman watched the speaker proceed. Drumming his finger on the table, the man kept tattling until he closed the presentation.

“Now, if you would allow me to extend my boldness, shall we have a try in hunting the lode before other jewellers find it? If we could bring it to a success, we might be able to bring it to the Outlier collection next season as the muse of the show.”

Almost the entire hall roared into a thrilled hush of whispers and murmurings. Jane silently watched them while Roi’s mouth formed into a conniving pull. Later on, he opened his mouth and stole the show.

“My darling daughter,” he began while his body tilted from side to side using the swivel chair. “It is no doubt that you are one of the most capable jewel hunters in our company. In fact, that has been what your grandfather saw in you that is why he trusted Lvcien over you. Why don’t you lead the hunt to assure success this time?”

Another director seconded the motion.

“I agree, Miss Jane. I heard that you are also skilled enough to survive tricky landmines and for this expedition, we need someone who has the degree of expertise as you.”

A scoff ejected out of her nostrils as soon as she saw how nearly everyone nodded to the proposals.

“This is a one-time opportunity, isn’t it, my daughter?” Roi mused and intoned.

“How amusing,” she clapped which abruptly turned the uproar down. “I commend your enthusiasm regarding such thing that our member here even initially regarded as a mere rumour. I guess we need to convince the HR department of developing more situation analytical skills over our superiors so we would not risk failure due to gullibility anytime soon, yes?” she sweetly told her assistant, Mary, who affirmatively nodded at her.

“Good. Arrange it as soon as possible.”

“Jane,” interrupted one of her aunts. “I believe you are not taking into consideration the weight of doubt in the world of business.”

“What do you mean?”

“Whether it is a rumour or not, is it still not worth giving things a shot instead of regretting it in case it is true? Did we not increase the number of our jewel hunters for this very same reason, to deploy units when necessary and that competition is at stake.”

“I agree with Madame Blair. It would be a shame for us to let go of this opportunity for letting someone else take the lode despite our obvious advantages with your skill and our available resources.”

“That’s quite fair enough. Then what do you suggest we do?”

“I suggest,” her father immediately boomed and smiled, “that we initiate a fair vote in the name of consensus. I move that Miss Jane Lacenoir, the best jewel hunter in all of Lvcien, be deployed to the Far East to seek the rumoured Kashmir Sapphire lode. Those who are not in favour, you can now leave the room.”

No one even blinked.