Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
Hollie
I glanced over my shoulder to check I was going unnoticed in the ballroom full of men in tuxedos and women wearing dresses that cost more than our trailer back home in Oregon. I’d only ever seen scenes like this in movies, yet here I was, one of the guests.
I didn’t belong here.
My new colleagues had disappeared as soon as we’d entered this vast room, and given the number of people here tonight, I’d probably never see them again.
That was okay. The bus to take us back to the office was leaving at eleven, which meant I had limited time to study the incredible royal jewelry on display.
A tall waiter thrust a tray of drinks under my nose, like being offered free champagne was just completely normal.
I’d never tasted champagne before, and was determined to keep a clear head, but if my sister, Autumn, was here, she’d tell me I shouldn’t miss out.
I took a glass and headed toward one of the displays of jewelry from the Finnish royal family.
I was here to work. Learn. Invest in my future.
My three-month internship was my one shot—my opportunity to escape the life my parents had led, a trailer-park existence I was ready to quit.
“Wow,” I said out loud as I came to the first of the display cases dotted throughout the room. I took in the two-tiered tiara, not quite believing what was right in front of me.
I’d seen it online. The queen of Finland had worn it on her wedding day.
Seeing it up close and personal was an entirely different thing.
It was almost overwhelming, there was so much to look at.
The bottom layer was a headband of huge solitaire diamonds, each one as big as my knuckle.
The top was like a string of bunting of alternating rubies and diamonds.
From a distance, just the bigger stones were visible, but as I got closer, I could see a top string of small stones that had been strung together with even smaller stones.
It was so unusual I wanted to pull out a sketch pad and start to make drawings.
I had a notebook and pen stashed in my bag, but I couldn’t see anyone else writing anything down and I didn’t need to draw attention to myself tonight.
I stood out as it was. If I didn’t keep my head down, I’d probably get arrested by the plain Jane police likely patrolling here tonight.
I was wearing a cheap, slightly too big A-line white dress my sister had loaned me.
I’d sewn a line of black sequins around the collar in the hope of passing it off as cocktail attire.
I’d even borrowed Autumn’s slightly too small shoes and had newly formed blisters to prove it.
Blistered feet were a small price to pay for being in this room. I was the intern for a jewelry house that had a real chance at winning the competition. The sheer luck of it all was enough to dull any pain I might otherwise have felt.
The thought of being part of the team that would bejewel the princess of Finland on her wedding day was the cherry on top of the cake.
I’d have been happy with three months’ experience with one of the most successful jewelers in London.
This was the push I needed to get a job in New York at one of the big jewelry houses.
A dozen job applications had sent the message loud and clear—no experience, no job.
But a letter of recommendation from Charles Ledwin, CEO of Sparkle, would open every door that had been slammed in my face.
It was my ticket out of my dead-end life in Oregon.
I glanced around at the display cases dotted throughout the room before clocking the burly security guys at every exit point.
There was a lot of money here tonight. A lot of talent.
It was intimidating and completely exhilarating at the same time.
It felt as if I was about to start a supermarket sweep of knowledge.
I’d have three months to grab as much as possible and then the buzzer would sound and my fate would be sealed.
Hopefully I’d have done enough, seen enough, learned enough to change my future.
Why wasn’t there a line to see this tiara?
It was so freaking beautiful that I wanted to shout at the top of my voice for people to come see.
I guess this way I had it all to myself.
I glanced around to ensure no one was paying any attention to me—of course they weren’t—abandoned my champagne glass on a nearby table, pulled out my notebook and scribbled down some ideas.
The next display case contained a silver hair comb incrusted with pavé diamonds.
Another tall waiter hovered next to me with a tray of champagne.
Jiminy Cricket, I must have left my glass behind at the tiara display.
I never even got to taste it. Could I just take another one?
I glanced at the waiter but he wasn’t taking any notice, so I swiped another glass and turned back to the display.
The comb must have been Victorian, from the date written on a card placed discreetly beside it, but the design was so simple it seemed much more modern.
If I’d been to art school or any kind of college, perhaps I’d recognize the jeweler.
I’d done my research these last few years, but I barely had time to make and sell the few pieces I could afford to make—let alone find time to study the history of jewelry design.
The designs I’d come up with had started as doodles in my break time at the factory.
At some point I’d found a soldering kit on eBay, and when I drew something I loved so much I couldn’t just leave it on the page, I saved up for some silver and made my first piece.
When I hung that first pendant I’d made—a silver oak leaf—around my neck, something took hold of me.
For the first time in my life, I had a goal that was just about me—not making sure my parents made the rent on their trailer or my sister’s tuition was paid.
This was a desire for me and me alone. Jewelry was my thing.
I made a few notes and sketched out a couple ideas. I knew Sparkle wouldn’t consider any of my designs for the competition, but I wanted to learn how to create my ideas on the company’s specialty software.
This room was full of inspiration, and I wanted to soak it all in while the opportunity lasted. I’d missed out on a lot by not going to college, but I was determined to get as much of an education as I could out of my time in London, squeeze out every last drop of experience.
I ducked and weaved through the canapes, crystal glasses and cummerbunds to the next case, and then the next and the next. If heaven turned out to be just like this, I wouldn’t be surprised.
As I circled a display containing three bracelets, I overheard a group of people standing to my left, whispering about Dexter Daniels.
Daniels entering the competition had been a huge deal.
He was a virtual recluse and as famous for not having a London store as he was for being incredibly successful despite his youth.
He was one of the favorites to win and, I’d heard, devastatingly handsome.
He’d obviously inherited the family genes—his parents had designed the tiara I’d been ogling.
Meanwhile, my family business was dodging landlords and skipping out on rent.
To have come from a family who made their mark in history by designing jewels for royalty .
. . Dexter must be so . . . Did he even know how lucky he was?
To grow up with all this? No wonder he was so successful.
As I sketched in my notepad, someone on the other side of the display case nudged her friend and stage-whispered, “Over there by the bar. The tall one. That’s him. Dexter Daniels.”
I glanced up and followed the woman’s pointed finger as a man on the far side of the room turned in our direction.
His furrowed brow and pained expression came as a shock.
What on earth could make someone so miserable on a night like this, in a place full of beautiful things?
He pinched the bridge of his nose, the exasperation of being uber-successful obviously too much to bear.
He was the most handsome man in the room.
Perhaps the entire city of London.
His thick, wavy, almost black hair was the perfect length—long enough to thread fingers through, but not so long it could be tied in a ponytail or even worse, a man bun.
He seemed to be the only man in the room who wasn’t wearing a tie with his suit, the open shirt displaying a bronzed v at the notch in his throat.
He stood out but not because he lived in a trailer park or was wearing borrowed shoes a size too small.
It wasn’t how tall he was, or how confidence seemed to radiate from him, or how his jaw was shadowed by a couple days’ worth of stubble.
He stood out because rather than looking like he was among colleagues, he looked like he was a client of the jewelers in this room.
He seemed like the guy who could throw a couple mill’ down on a necklace for his wife and pick up something for his girlfriend at the same time.
Someone came up to greet him and the pain drained from his face, replaced by a wide grin.
It was a smile that could close a deal, make someone feel like the most special person in the room and no doubt had panties falling to the ground.
Not my panties though. Mine were staying firmly on. I dropped my gaze back to the bracelets and resumed sketching.
I finished off my notes and scanned the room to see if there were any display cases I’d missed.
In the far corner there looked to be a smaller case I could have sworn wasn’t there earlier.
I wasn’t sure how I could have skipped it.
I checked my watch—still a few minutes before I had to meet the bus.
As I got to the case I froze and nearly dropped my notepad.
Inside was the most beautiful ring I’d ever seen.
Far simpler than most of the pieces here tonight, it boasted a large emerald flanked by baguette diamonds.
While most of the jewelry on display had demonstrated original designs or brilliant engineering, this ring did neither.
It was a classic design with a straightforward setting, but it was quite simply stand-out gorgeous.
It must have been an engagement ring. But it was huge.
I put my hand next to it to get some perspective on its size.
The contrast was almost alarming—my rough hands, subjected to a home manicure, and this elegant, dignified, perfectly polished ring.
A week ago, I’d been home at the Sunshine Trailer Park, with an Etsy shop that brought in a couple of necklace orders a month.
Now I was across the world, surrounded by beautiful people and more-beautiful jewelry, at the start of a three-month internship for one of the best jewelers in the world.
Even if hands like mine would never be graced by jewelry this fine, I could still use them to make something beautiful.