Crystal is cunning, Avery thinks. She knows just how to manipulate everyone around her, and she must be planning something now. I'm sure she knows something about this ring that I don't. If I agree to look at it, she might find a way to blame it all on me. But if I refuse, she'll say it's because I'm not qualified and don't know what I'm doing.
"This is Avery's first day here," Emily says, calmly stepping into the middle of the room. "She may know a lot, but she still has much to learn. I hardly think she's the best choice for this task."
"I think she'll be fine," Crystal says. "Come on, let's see her professional skill. Let's see what makes her so special to Sophie."
"I'll do it for her," Emily says, shooting a serious look at Crystal.
"Do you think you can do a better job than me?" Crystal asks, flipping her curly hair over her shoulder. "You act like you're the boss around here, but we have the same title in this company, you know."
"A second opinion is always useful in matters like these," Emily says calmly. "I'll look at the ring, and then we can discuss it together, Crystal."
"Fine," Crystal says, huffily. She hands the ring back to the customer and says, "Emily seems to think she has this all under control, so why don't you talk to her about this?"
"It's all the same to me," the customer says. "I just want someone around here to take responsibility."
Avery watches Emily look at the ring, and she feels her stomach clench with nervousness for the other woman. Emily's face doesn't give anything away, but Crystal's nasty smirk seems to tell the whole story.
Crystal must know that the ring is a fake, Avery thinks. That probably means she's guilty. But she also knows that Emily can't do anything about it. If Emily admits that the ring is fake, the entire company will lose face. But if she insists it's real, the customer can ask another jeweler to look at it and catch her in the lie.
"Have you finished yet?" the impatient customer asks. "How hard can it be to look at one stone?"
"I think we need to ask Sophie first," Emily says, clearly stalling for time. "After all, she's the master."
"I guess we could call her and ask her to hurry back," Crystal says. "But why should we make Mrs. Smith wait any longer than she already has? Aren't Avery and Sophie really close anyway? I'm sure Sophie trusts Avery's judgment."
Emily shoots Crystal a warning look and shakes her head, "We'll call Sophie and ask her to rush over here."
"You seriously expect me to wait for your boss to come back here?" the customer asks in an outraged voice. "Are you crazy? Give me my ring back. If you don't admit to what you've done, I'm going to another jeweler. And then after that, I'm going straight to the police."
"Mrs. Smith, only our boss, can make the decision for sure," Emily says. "Besides, if it turns out that there has been a mistake, only Sophie has the authority to compensate you properly."
"Do you have any idea how busy I am?" Mrs. Smith asks. "I don't have time to wait around here all day."
"Can I ask who made the ring for you?" Emily asks. "We keep very careful records here, so if something happened to the stone, we should be able to find out who is responsible."
"I designed the ring," a woman Avery recognizes as Zola Taylor says. "As soon as I got the gemstone, I sent it to the production department, I swear."
"Okay, Mrs. Smith, I will look into this immediately," Emily says. "In the meantime, I've just received news that Sophie will be here in less than half an hour."
"What don't you people understand?" Mrs. Smith shouts, waving her hands wildly in the air. "I don't have any more time for this nonsense. You people have all but admitted to stealing the stone. Why can't you just give me my compensation and let me leave? Do I have to come back here with the police?"
Emily frowns anxiously and tries to approach the angry customer, but Mrs. Smith waves her away with an angry flick of her wrist. She takes the ring, drops it into a small silk pouch, and puts the pouch into her handbag. She turns on her heel and walks toward the door, pausing dramatically in the doorway.
"I'll be back with the police," Mrs. Smith says over her shoulder.
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"Okay, I'll look at the ring," Avery says loudly.
Everyone turns to stare at her, including Mrs. Smith. Emily shakes her head slightly, but Avery pretends not to see. She walks toward Mrs. Smith with her hand held out. Mrs. Smith looks her up and down and rolls her eyes.
"Who do you think you are?" Mrs. Smith asks. "You're just some newcomer. Why should I trust you to make a decision about my ring?"
"I'm sure she'll have some brilliant idea," Crystal says, almost jumping with glee. "Our boss Sophie seems to think that Avery is so much better than us. Surely, Sophie can't be wrong. Let's see what Avery has to stay."
"I don't care who you are," Mrs. Smith says to Avery. "Can you make a real decision about my ring? If not, I've already wasted enough time here—I'll be very angry if you make me waste more."
The other designers whisper among themselves, and some of the older ones laugh and make bets. The whole thing seems very unprofessional to Avery, and she hopes that Mrs. Smith can't hear them. Avery smiles, politely at Mrs. Smith and squares her shoulders.
"Actually, I'll cover your losses myself," Avery says. "As a gesture of goodwill, I'll pay for the value of the stone, and I hope that will restore your faith in the company."
Avery hears the laughter grow louder. Mrs. Smith's eyebrows shoot halfway up her forehead, and her mouth falls open in disbelief. Avery patiently waits for everyone to calm down and then repeats her offer.
"You foolish girl—you have no idea what you're talking about," Mrs. Smith says with a sneer. "You could work your entire life at this company, and you wouldn't come close to covering the cost of my stone."
"Well, how much is it worth?" Avery asks calmly, knowing that red coral can't be worth that much.
"Four million," Mrs. Smith answers with a little sniff.
"Alright, if the next jeweler agrees that the stone in the ring is a fake, I'll cover the loss myself," Avery says calmly.
"I don't know what kind of scam this is, but I'm offended," Mrs. Smith says. "Some little working girl like you can't possibly afford something so valuable."
Avery sees Emily trying to catch her eye, and she smiles reassuringly at the dark-haired woman. Emily just shakes her head over and over. Avery nods once and turns back to Mrs. Smith. The designers have all gathered around, and they're staring at the scene like fans at a boxing match.
"Avery sounds so confident, so why don't you let her see the ring, Mrs. Smith?" Crystal says. "You have nothing to lose at this point."
Mrs. Smith curls her lip and says, "You want me to trust her? Nonsense! That girl is playing some sort of game. I'm sick of you all and your lies. I'm going straight to the media with this. You'll never sell another piece of jewelry again!"
"Why are you in such a rush, Mrs. Smith?" Avery asks. "At least wait and have the ring properly examined first."
"Your company is inefficient, and you're all thieves," Mrs. Smith yells. "But alright, have a look. You promised me that you'd pay me for the value of the stone, and I'm holding you to that."
Avery grabs a magnifying glass from one of the worktables and squinted down at the ring. She's less interested in the stone than the silver setting. She looks carefully at the small markings and lines in the silver. Suddenly a large, blurry tan object shoots into her vision. Then the tan shape and the ring disappear. Avery lowers the magnifying glass and sees that Mrs. Smith has snatched the ring back.
"Stop pretending," Mrs. Smith says. "It's clear you have no idea how to identify a stone."
"Actually, I can confirm that the ring has been switched," Avery says.