Gemscentric

Written by Julian Robov


Thirty seven


Next day at eleven, Rudy joined Seri at the Window-on-Silom restaurant. It was a buffet lunch. There weren’t that many people, but a few strange-looking guests from the hotel stared at them as they proceeded to fill the plate—especially, two men.
“You see the fucking asshole,” Seri said in a low tone looking behind. “Do you know him?”
“Me? What are you talking about?” Rudy replied quickly, puzzled.
“I don’t like the way he is staring at me,” Seri said, as he moved to fill in some Thai delicacies.
Now, Rudy knew what was going on. He identified the two blond men sitting in the corner.
“Take it easy, Seri. You look handsome today. That’s why he is staring at you. He is a farang (foreigner). Be understanding,” Rudy added. He was joking and Seri liked the comment. They chose a window seat for convenience.
“So getting back to business, do you think this partnership will work?” Seri asked.
That was a rather strange question from Seri after collecting the money dutifully.
“What do you mean? Is there anything wrong?” Rudy asked.
“I was joking. Are you scared?” Seri said laughingly.
This was no joke. Rudy knew Seri was after something but pretended innocence.
“Of course, not. How is the food?” Rudy asked.
“It’s good. I am enjoying it. Ah, I forgot to tell you this. I had a serious discussion with the guys at the Ministry of Science and Technology—rather interesting and visionary. In fact, they were talking about some blue sapphire deposits in the Northeastern part of Thailand. It would be interesting to follow-up when their research is over. You know something? Thais are the best in the world for sapphire treatment. Americans are no match. We have proven it and its going to continue. I am proud of it,” Seri commented.
Rudy decided to remain silent. Seri was lampooning Rudy in a rather strange way.
“Do you have any strategy for the future? I mean, we are partners now, and we have created an altogether new world of marketing blue sapphires and what not. May be we should go into rubies, emeralds, and diamonds as well knowing the uncertain landscape of the industry,” Rudy said, changing the topic.
“You know something? I had this new customer the other day. One fucking George Hu from New York. I think you should meet him. He is still in town. In fact, he was in my office to buy some of my chick cut stones—you know, blue sapphires,” Seri said amusingly.
“Hmm, what’s strange about George Hu?” Rudy asked. “I think we should go for another round. The food is great.”
“I think so. By the way, I know a broker, a reliable one. I think we should meet his client who is looking for good quality blue sapphires. If I understood correctly, the client is an American. May be you should handle this one. It’s going to be a big account,” Seri explained.
As they were walking back to their seat, the farang (foreigner)approached Seri to make a comment.
“You look handsome. Hi, my name is Marc Andersen, from Sweden.”
Seri was utterly surprised but confused by the sudden introduction. Rudy decided to remain quiet watching the natural act rather amusingly.
“Hi, my name is Seri. How do you do?” As if in a trance, Seri fished out his name card from his jacket for the Swede.
“Thank you. I’ll be in touch.” The Swede left the table, and was back in his seat with his friend.
“You’re famous, Seri. I can’t believe my eyes,” Rudy said rather humorously.
“The fuck, no. This must be a mistake. Do you think he is serious?” Seri asked sheepishly.
“You don’t believe me, do you? You look handsome, and that’s what I said before and look what has happened. I am enjoying the day,” Rudy said.
“Let’s get back to our business, shall we?” Seri continued. “Back to blue sapphires. We are talking about 500 pieces, anywhere from 1 to10carats. My broker insists that the stones are natural. How are we going to meet the demand? That too in one week. The American should be in town pretty soon. We are talking about a several million dollar transaction. After the successful deal, we both should go on a vacation.”
“North Korea. That’s where I want to go for vacation, if the request is genuine,” Rudy commented.
“Do you speak Korean? No. Do you look Korean? No. Do you want to become a Communist? No. Do you want to sleep with the Great Leader Kim? No. Do you want to eat dead roots and eroded sand? No. Do you want to get shot because you said hi to a peasant in Korean—the only word you memorized before the trip? Fucking No. Now you can forget it,” Seri continued, changing the topic.
“This one is real. I know the broker too well. He wouldn’t come to me if he wasn’t serious. He too should make a bundle, I mean, his cut (commission).” Rudy just laughed.
They went together for the third round, and this time Seri did look at the Swede, and in turn the two Swedes waved at him. Rudy laughed quietly. This was not the old Seri. And all it took was a split-second for Seri to change.
“I think we should be able to find the 500 pieces. What we don’t know is the shape and the price range. Once that is confirmed, we should get into the act pretty soon,” Rudy said after taking their seats. Seri was still in an uneasy mood. He was looking back at the Swede again.
“You know what? I think we should invite them to eat lunch with us. Is that okay with you?” Seri asked hurriedly.
“I have no problem. What are you waiting for?”
But it was too late. They were gone after paying the bills. Seri looked disappointed.
“Are you okay?” Rudy asked.
“That’s bad. Why did they do that? I wanted to have a good time and they have gone,” Seri said.
Rudy was watching Seri closely. The incident reminded him of ‘Mood Stone’, a name given to an unusual type of imitation gem. It was a triplet made either from quartz, glass or plastic with a thin layer of liquid crystal inside, and liquid crystal changed its color in response to small changes in its temperature. And due to its inherent property, mood stone had a tendency to change color as the person wore it—and Seri looked no different.