Gemsicuted

Written by Julian Robov

Thirteen

Den, Ris’s only brother, a gem dealer on his own specializing in 5 to 10carat rubies of top quality brought with him a few miners from Kenya who had requested a meeting with Ris. The Kenyan miners stood in awe mesmerized by the lavishly decorated office, and the beautiful women walking in and out from one room to another in their miniskirts. They had never seen anything like this in their country.

Lapis lazuli slabs from Afghanistan scaled the walls while authentic and superior Persian carpets covered the entire office floor of Ris Rubyhall Towers. The nephrite carved tables matched by fossilized wood chairs were there to be occupied by the exclusive and privileged gem dealers from around the world. They had the power to make or break any deal in this little grand palace where handshakes and a simple nod meant a zillion word.

Ris, the real gem, stood quietly behind the opaque lapis lazuli wall inhaling and exhaling each transaction with absolute concentration and humor with no room for mistakes. Each powerful handshake meant real and solid commitment, and he made sure they were practiced without fail. His sharp observant eyes instantly recorded its personality traits, and when settled with a beautiful gemstone, he would not indulge first talking about its value, but about its natural origin, its relationship with the almighty earth. He would talk about the fortunate hands that picked God’s gift with a desperate passion for exoticism and adventure. He never traded this privileged exuberance with any other environment. Infrared cameras worked stealthily recording and scanning every passionate transaction, and one of his addictive hobbies was to watch their emotional gestures in privacy, analyzing and extracting the necessary clues for his future acquisitions of collectable and investment grade rubies. As he sat in his chair, he glanced at his simulated grand palace, mentally calibrating asking, bidding, and transaction conversations in different combination and programmed and stored in his three gram brain for an important awaiting deal, 37CARAT RUBY!

Ris was not in a mood to meet the Kenyan miners. Den conveyed the message, as he emerged from Ris’s office. The Kenyan miners left the office disappointed. Ris Rubyhall was the king. And they were willing to wait.
“Lot of rumors about you in the trade?” Den sat closer to the window to get a glimpse of the tower block under construction across the road.
“Yeah. A lot, in fact, many. Bloody hell! The fight this time is with Winston,” Ris said angrily.
“Winston? Our good friend? What happened? What did he do?” Den asked in utter amazement.
“Ah, that copper deal. I had to cut him off. He hasn’t forgiven me. But you know his terms were too unacceptable. I had to do it that way to protect our interests,” Ris said bluntly.
“So that’s the rumor,” Den chuckled.
“No. It’s ruby this time. My ruby! It didn’t come to my office for the first look. In fact, the Qwah Qwah family asked that I obtain a big one. Now that has slipped through my fingers just like that, because of one man. Winston Lord! He is out this time publicly to declare me for the first time a loser. I am not giving up. I’ll nail him on a crucifix, tattoo his hands first, and explode him to eternity with Russian missiles.” Ris vented his anger by thumping his foot on the floor.

Ruby epilepsy! Den knew too well his elder brother. On the other hand, cooperation not confrontation was his style. Age and tradition were taking a toll on his family. Ris felt it privileged to portray himself as the John Wayne of the ruby business. Once upon a time he ruled and was still ruling. Ris hated newcomers entering the trade with new ideas to change the age-old traditional landscape. He had many enemies around. But somehow he survived among his enemies due to luck, money and timing.
“Good day, Ris,” Den continued. “Nothing to say further. If you have decided your course, then make sure you don’t regret it sometime later. Good luck to you. Don’t disappoint those Kenyan miners again. They had come all the way from Nakuru to talk to you. They don’t understand your problems, but I do. So keep your word when they see you in two days.”
“Den! Where you are going? Stay with me for a while,” Ris pleaded in vain.
Den left the office in an unhappy mood.