Pursued(12)

"What's impossible? That we've uncovered the evidence or-"

"That you think you can prove such a thing when it is blatantly untrue. I'm going to ask you again. What's your source?"

"It's the policy of the Times to never reveal a source. Am I correct in understanding that you dispute our findings, then?"

"Damn right I dispute them. Bijoux deals only in conflict-free diamonds  and has for the ten years that Marc Durand and I have been in charge of  this company. And it's Bijoux's policy to sue anyone who commits libel  by printing otherwise."

"I see. Do you have any proof to back up your claims that your diamonds are conflict-free?"

"Are you serious with this? You're the one accusing me of lying and  cheating and, more importantly, of buying diamonds from countries that  allow the enslavement and murder of children as long as it results in  gems for them to sell. I feel like you're the one who needs to provide  the proof in this situation."

Next to him, Ollie changed from red to a very unbecoming shade of  purple even as he waved his arms as if he was trying to attract the  attention of a rescue plane. More to prevent his top PR guy from having a  stroke in the middle of what promised to be the mother of all PR crises  than because Nic wanted his help at that moment, Nic hit Mute on the  phone and then asked, "What do you want me to say?"

"I want you to get the article," Ollie demanded. "There's no way they run that article without you seeing it first. Tell her-"                       
       
           



       

"I know what to tell her. You go get Hollister." He wanted Bijoux's head counsel in here, stat.

Nic unmuted the phone, this time hitting the button so hard that the  entire device skidded a foot across his desk. Son of a bitch. He was  going to get that article and then he was going to tear it-and the  reporter who wrote it-apart with his bare hands. "I need to tell you,  Darlene, that if you run that article as is, without giving me a chance  to vet it first and debunk your obvious misinformation, you will be  facing a lawsuit the likes of which the Los Angeles Times has never  seen."

"Our information is good."

"Your information is wrong, that much I guarantee you."

"It comes from an insider at Bijoux. One who has proof that the company  has systematically bought conflict diamonds and passed them off as  conflict-free diamonds for at least seven of the last ten years."

"Let me get this straight. You're claiming that one of my people came  to you and gave you information implicating us in not only buying  conflict diamonds but then in conspiring to defraud consumers by  claiming the gems are conflict-free."

"Essentially, yes, that is what the source has provided us proof of."

"And again, this came from one of our people?"

"That is correct."

"And you think you're going to run this article in three days."

"We are going to run this article in three days,"

Over his dead body they were. "Yeah, well, Darlene, that just isn't going to happen."

"With all due respect, Nic-"

"With all due respect, Darlene, you've been taken for a ride."

"The Los Angeles Times does not get taken for a ride, Mr. Durand. We triple-check our sources-"

"Well, you didn't in this case. This is the first time either Marc or  myself has heard of these allegations, and in a situation like this, no  one else is in a position to know more about our diamonds, and where  they come from, than we do. I know where every single shipment comes  from. Marc personally inspects every mine on a regular basis. The  certification numbers on the stones come straight to us, and only our  in-house diamond experts ever get near those numbers. All of our  diamonds are conflict-free. All of them. Now, you are welcome to come in  and tour our facilities and see all of the safeguards we have in place  to ensure that what you're accusing us of doesn't happen. In the  meantime, I'll be happy to courier over all of our PR materials so you  can see where our diamonds really do come from."

"Our reporter tried to come for a tour on two separate occasions while  she was researching this article. Both times she was turned away by your  PR office."

He ground his teeth together, wondering what the hell Ollie had been  thinking. Probably that he didn't have time to babysit a reporter on a  puff piece, what with the sudden uptick in business and philanthropy-and  the publicity both generated. But if she had told him what the story  was about, there was no way Ollie would have turned her away. And no way  this information wouldn't have been brought to Nic's attention a hell  of a lot sooner than three days before the article was supposed to run.

Which, he figured, was exactly why the reporter hadn't told anyone the  nature of the story she was writing. And now they were all paying for  it …

"Your reporter's inability to explain her article idea to my PR department is not my fault."

"Of course not. But your PR department's secrecy and inability to deal  with the community when necessary is not our fault, either."

He ground his teeth, counted to ten to keep from spewing onto her all  the vitriol that was racing through his brain. When he could finally  speak again without fear of telling the managing editor of the Los  Angeles Times to go to hell and take her newspaper with her, he said,  "I'll courier over that information to you right away. In the meantime,  you can email or fax a copy of that article to my office."

"We are under no obligation to do so, Mr. Durand." Her voice was firm,  with absolutely no uncertainty whatsoever. Which seemed impossible to  him considering the claims she was making-and the proof he had to refute  them.

Who was her source? he wondered again. He went through a list of all  the employees who had left recently and couldn't think of one who would  do this-or who could do this. All of them had left on good terms, and  not one of them had access to the kind of information that would  convince the Times to run such a negative story. Largely because that  information didn't exist, but still. If it did, no way any of them would  have been able to access it.                       
       
           



       

"You may not be under any obligation, Darlene, but you're going to do  it anyway. Because if you don't, my attorneys will be filing for  injunctions today against your paper, you and the reporter who wrote  this drivel. And if you run this article as is, without getting to the  truth of the matter, I will sue you. By the time we're done, Bijoux will  own the Los Angeles Times and all of your assets. Now, you have until  eleven o'clock to provide me with a copy of that article. Or the Los  Angeles civil court system will be hearing from us."

He hung up the phone without giving her the chance to say another word. He'd heard more than enough.

For long seconds, Nic could do nothing but stand there, staring into  space and imagining the worst-case scenario if this thing went to print.  Bijoux would lose everything it had gained under Marc and Nic's  leadership. They'd be crucified in the press-and in the international  human rights community. They'd be sued by God only knew how many  consumer groups and diamond retailers. And they'd be investigated by  numerous federal and international law agencies. Not to mention the fact  that if any of that happened, it would break his brother's heart.

Which was why Nic was going to make sure that it didn't. He and Marc  had worked too hard to build up this company after they'd taken it over  ten years before. They'd faced their father's disapproval, their board's  disapproval. Hell, even the industry had frowned on Marc and Nic's  determination to use only responsibly sourced diamonds.

In the interim years, the industry had grown much more supportive of  what he and his brother were doing-largely because of the growing  interest from human rights groups in places like Sierra Leone and  Liberia. New laws had been passed making trading in conflict diamonds  illegal, but just because it was illegal didn't mean that less reputable  companies didn't still buy up conflict diamonds. It only meant they did  it in secret instead of on the open market as they used to.

He and Marc did not do that. They did not buy conflict diamonds. They  didn't work with anyone who dealt in conflict diamonds. And they sure as  hell didn't cover up their illegal activity by passing the diamonds off  to consumers at a jacked-up price.

The accusation was absurd, completely and totally ludicrous. But that  didn't matter. Once it was out there, once the general public got hold  of it, Bijoux's brand would be annihilated and everything he and Marc  had worked so hard for would be destroyed right along with it.