Adam had now been working with IDD for over five years, making good money from the small number of stones they would supply, but always wanting more. Then, a couple of weeks ago, he had received a call from Laurent.
“You’ve been bugging me for a larger supply of stones.”
“I’ll take as many as you can deliver.”
“Even if it’s as many as a thousand, possibly more?”
Adam was nonplussed. For five years he’d been trying to squeeze more stones out of IDD. He’d already had his year’s supply of one hundred stones and now they wanted to flood the market. Where the hell do these diamonds come from?
“It’s possible, but I’ll have to check with my channels. How many carats?”
“About a thousand. Between half a carat and two carats per stone as usual. Same purity, colour and cut.”
“What price are we talking?”
“We’re prepared to sell to you at a flat rate. The whole shipment at the same price, irrespective of stone size. This is actually a hell of a deal for whoever comes up with the cash.” Bonneville quoted a price, putting on a bad impression of a Jewish accent. To you, my boy.
Adam did the maths. This could be the deal of a lifetime. “That might work,” he said. “Are they on the market?”
“Not yet, you’ve got first shot. You’ve been a solid partner for quite a few years. We’ve done good business together.”
“When you say “done” does that mean this is the end?”
“Look, Adam, IDD has been in this business for over thirty years. Don’t quote me, but we’re looking to close it down.”
“Right, I understand. So, I’d better take this stock ‘cos I won’t get any more. Correct?”
“That’s about the size of it.”
“How long do I have to respond?”
“Call me by the end of the month with a yes, no, or maybe and we’ll try to work it out. I want to have this tied up by January, latest.”
“Trust me, I’ll come back with a yes.”
Adam spent the next month working the telephones. He knew that to suddenly push out a thousand top quality Angolan stones into the market place would cause a few ripples and IDD had always wanted to avoid that, so he had to find a more subtle solution. In addition, he knew that the price was very keen. He could make a margin of twenty percent and probably more, but it would require finessing. And of course, he wondered why IDD suddenly wanted to cash in all their remaining merchandise. And how come they still have a thousand stones in stock after thirty years? If he knew the answer to that, maybe there was an even better deal to be done. Whatever the answer, he wanted to get control of those gems.
He called Bonneville back at the end of November. “I think there’s a deal to be done. Can we meet in Geneva?” They fixed an appointment at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, next to the airport, on December 10th.
Laurent called Nick, in Florida. “You were right about Adam Peterson, he’s very interested and he’s just the profile we need. Good volume of business, doesn’t attract attention and pays on the nose. I’m going to see him in Geneva next week.”
Nick breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s perfect. I’m expecting the last batch of stones back from the Brazilian processing outfit at about the same time. Everything should be in the safety deposit in Geneva by the time you get there. I’m pissed that we’re running a bit late, but last week I was down in Rio again, for the fourth time this year. We’ve had a lot of problems since they lost their chief cutter.”
“Don’t stress over it Nick, it’s not your fault, you’re travelling too much as it is. We’ve shipped all my sales for the year now, just got to collect from the usual late payers, and there’s a hundred stones left in the vault. So, if you’re right, we should still be able to close everything out by the April deadline. Do you have a final count yet?”
“The last batch will be a thousand stones, so, with what’s left in Geneva it’s going to be just about what we expected, eleven hundred stones, twelve hundred carats.”
“Anything I can do to help?”
“I’ve arranged with Charlie to fly up and get things sorted. He was going anyway to see the banks, because he hasn’t been since October. He’s just waiting for the word. If Peterson’s for real, we should be able to do a deal by the end of the year.”
Nick prayed silently that Adam would turn out to be for real.
“If Charlie’s coming up then I’ll help him to sort out the new batch and the stones in the safety deposit and he can help me in the meeting with Adam. Two heads are better than one.”
“Perfect. Team work, I like it. I’ll ask Charlie to get there at the same time as you and Adam, and I’ll make sure that the stones are there for you. I’ll be at home all through the holidays, so call me when you have something definite. Just one thing. Don’t tell Adam anything he doesn’t need to know. We need to get this done quickly, but confidentially. It’s the biggest deal we’ve ever done or likely to do, so let’s play it close to the chest.”
“Understood. And if you need me, I’ll be in Monaco until New Year, then I’m going skiing.”
“Sounds cold.”
“How are things in Miami?”
“Hot.”
“The weather or the girls?”
“Both.”
Nick sounded tired and coughed a lot during the conversation. Running about getting the diamonds finished, Laurent assumed. He can take a holiday soon. We all can, when we finish.
The courtesy coach dropped Adam off at the hotel at one thirty am. He managed a few hours sleep before going down to meet Laurent at ten thirty.
“So, how was the flight? Or I should say the flights.”
“They don’t get any shorter, that’s for sure.”
“Too many people flying. All the security, the waiting in line. It’s no fun any longer.”
The two men sat in a small conference room on the first floor of the hotel. After the usual small talk, Laurent produced, as usual, several stones of different weights.
“A random sample, from half a carat to just over two, as good as always. The final count is twelve hundred carats. Our word is our bond. What about you, Adam?”
The South African admired the Angolan diamonds. They were magnificent. He knew that he had to have the whole allotment, but there was just one problem. He had to play on Laurent’s strongest characteristic, his trust.
“I have a proposal to make and it relies upon trust from both sides. I’ve flown up here to demonstrate my total commitment, but I need your help.”
Laurent, sanguine as ever, said only, “Go on.”
“I’ve placed the diamonds with four buyers, guaranteed, but..” He pulled a notebook from his pocket. “Today is December 10th, it’s Christmas in two weeks, so we’ve missed the end of year buying season.”
The Frenchman saw the logic in this argument, but he said nothing.
“My buyers are finished business for this year. There’s no cash around for the minute.”
“So why fly all the way up here if that’s the case?”
“Listen, Laurent, everyone except the big boys is going to tell you the same thing and I understand that you don’t want to deal with them. Right?”
“Right.”
“Remember, I said I’ve got four guaranteed buyers. That’s what I want to work out with you, guarantees. So that you know you’ve sold the stones and you’ll get paid. And I know that I’ll get the stones when I pay.”
“So what are the guarantees?”
Adam counted on his fingers. “Number one, I’ll pay you a million dollars to seal the deal.
“Number two, you place the cash in escrow with your bank and it’s forfeited if I don’t complete.
“Number three, I take down all the stones by latest 30th April, either in batches, or all in one lot. I pay cash each time and you keep the escrow money until I’ve taken all the stones and paid for them. Then you release it.
“Number four, I’ll show you copies of my commit
ments from my customers. You know the companies anyway. The conditions are basically the same, but I’ve blanked out the prices.”
The Frenchman smiled at this. He didn’t expect Adam to be doing this for charity. He knew that there was a nice margin to be made, but he didn’t mind and neither did his partners. That was why they’d been successful for so many years. No need to change it now.
The South African had one condition to add to his list. “Number five. I have sight of the diamonds, but they stay with you until I complete. And I get twenty stones of my choice to present to my customers as soon as we sign the contract and I transfer the million dollars.”
Laurent asked him for a few more details. He had no need to take notes, he had the memory of an elephant.
“So, what do you say, Laurent? Can we do a deal?”
“I can’t decide alone. It’s a decent offer, but I need my partners to agree.”
While Adam took an afternoon nap, Laurent went up to Charlie’s room. They called Nick on the speakerphone and Laurent summarised Adam’s offer. After discussing it for a while, they decided to let Charlie hammer out a secure deal. Surprisingly, Nick insisted that he wanted to meet the buyer and sign the final contract. The other two agreed, this was his baby and so far he hadn’t dropped it. They would have to explain this to Adam. That was their decision.
Nick changed the subject, “Is everything OK at the banks, Charlie?”
“I presume so. But I came up to see Schneider and Brigitte Aeschiman about the accounts, and there’s nobody here.” Aeschiman was the manager of IDD’s bank in Geneva. “She’s still on maternity leave. Now they’ve had an early snowfall and everybody else’s gone skiing, Kurt Vogel’s gone off as well. It’s incredible! In England, if you have any snow they close the country. The problem is that I have to go back tomorrow after the diamond delivery, for, er, a birthday.” He bit his tongue. He’d almost said, for Leticia’s birthday.
“I’ll have to get back here again before the annual meeting to check on everything and get ready for the distributions. I called Kurt on his mobile and everything seems to be under control. I got the whole situation up to date when I came here in October, so it’s no big deal to check the transactions since then. We’ll be in good shape for the next meeting. Especially if this deal with Peterson is for real”
Before ringing off, Charlie asked, “Are you feeling OK, Nick?”
“I’m fine. Why?”
“You sound terrible, really tired. You sure you’re fine?”
“Charlie, I’m in great shape. Too much travelling down to bloody Brazil and feeling the stress of getting this deal done is all. Just send Adam over here and we can all relax.”
“What do you think?” Charlie asked Laurent after they closed the call.
“He sounds tired. But after thirty years at this game, it’s to be expected.”
The two men met Adam in the hotel bar before dinner. They sat in a quiet corner to talk.
“This is my partner, Charlie Bishop, the cleverest man I know. He wants to haggle. OK?”
“Ready, willing and able.” Adam eyed the Englishman up. About five eleven, a large imposing man, full of quiet confidence, a certain aura. Charlie looked in charge. Adam wished he could appear so in control of things.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Adam. You’ve been a good customer for some years, so my job here isn’t to screw up the deal, it’s to try to make it safer for everyone concerned. OK?”
“Go right ahead, Charlie. I’m sure you’ve got a lot more experience than me in this field, so I’m all ears.”
“Right. Basically, we’ve decided to close up IDD. We’ve been running it for thirty years and we’re getting tired. We still have a stock of diamonds that Laurent has described to you, and our deadline to sell them was December 31st, but we’ve missed that, so our new date is 31st March. For reasons of our own, we want the cash in the bank by April 1st. OK?”
Adam nodded his understanding and said nothing, he saw that Charlie was a man who built a platform of logic, so it was best to let him get on with it. In any case, he thought to himself, it still gives me three clear months to execute. That should be no problem.
“Under your offer we may have to wait three months to know if we have sold either a part, or all of the stones. But they are ready for delivery now. You want us to take a risk on timing and completion. Why would we take that risk?”
Again Adam waited for him to answer his rhetorical question.
“First, because we have commitments from your clients.
“Second, because we have fixed a firm price today, irrespective of what might happen during the next three months.
“And third, you are offering us an insurance policy of a million dollars.”
Adam murmured his agreement with Charlie’s summing up.
“I want to agree one more condition and I think we can move forward.”
“Alright, I’m listening. What is it?”
“If you don’t succeed in completing by 31st March, it will probably be because of a falling market. Your margin might screw the deal.”
Adam moved uneasily on his seat. He didn’t care for the direction this discussion was taking. “Go on.”
“We need clearance to approach your customers directly if you don’t complete by that date. Our price will still be competitive, because we have your margin to play with. If we can sell directly to your customers we can probably still do the deal we want, at the price we want.”
“But what happens to me in that case? All the work I’ve put in. I can’t be held accountable for a falling market.” Adam was panicked by the proposal.
“But that’s what would happen anyway under your proposal. If the market tanks then you either drop your price or you lose a million dollars. We still have our diamonds.”
Adam looked at Laurent, who had said nothing. “This is too hard, guys. I can’t turn my customers over to you and get nothing in return.”
Now Charlie had him exactly where he wanted him. “OK, I agree. If that happens and we sell directly to your customers, you get a commission of five per cent on the total proceeds.”
“And I get my million back?”
“Fine, we’re not looking to steal your money.”
“How about ten per cent? Nobody makes five per cent in the jewellery business.”
The three men finally agreed to this formula, but Adam was shaken. Charlie had manipulated him like an amateur.
Laurent spoke for the first time. “There’s one more thing we’d like you to do. Our third partner is the guy who has created these stones and these are his last, so we’d like you to go and meet him. You take the contract and sign it with him. It’s just a formality, but it’s our way of showing our respect for his work in the partnership over all these years.”
“Florida!” Adam had never heard of any of the other IDD partners. Now, he learned that they lived in Marbella, Monaco and Miami. “I’ve never been there. I’ll probably have to fly through London, but I need to check it out. Tell me when I have to go and who I have to meet.”
“You’re going to meet Nick Martinez, a gem expert and mining engineer. We’ve been working together for over thirty years. You’ll like him, he’s a great guy.”
“Is he flexible, I mean for the date when I go over?”
“Well, Christmas is just around the corner, so it’s got to be just after New Year. We need to make time to get this deal signed with you, or go to one of our other customers.”
“You won’t need to do that, I promise. Let me get home and arrange the travel and I’ll call you immediately. Let’s fix provisionally for the second week of January.”
Over dinner, Adam asked a lot of questions about the partnership, but the others revealed virtually nothing. He was also very interested in Laurent’s life in Monaco and his skiing seasons in Verbier. He’d love to go sometime. Like Bonneville, he was a keen skier.
He talked about his family and his schooling and college in the UK and C
harlie mentioned that his son Ron, lived with his wife, Jenny, in Ipswich.
“I love England,” Adam said, “Great memories, despite the crap weather. Actually, I’ll be in London for a few days on my way home.” He sipped his wine. “Is Ipswich near London? If you give me Ron’s address, I could try to pop round and say hello. I’d like to meet him.”
The men finished their wine and retired early, they had an important deal to complete.
The next morning Laurent and Charlie met the Securitas van at the IDD office. Kurt Vogel was on a week’s skiing holiday, and it was Gloria’s day off, so they had the place to themselves.
“It’s typical.” Charlie was irritated. Everybody’s gone skiing. What a bloody shambles!”
Laurent signed for the parcel from Rio and they took it inside. They took out the eight pouches and sprinkled the contents onto a leather mat on Gloria’s desk. There were no surprises. Eight piles of exquisite diamonds, sparkling and shimmering in the overhead light. They replaced everything in Charlie’s old briefcase then took a cab to Klein, Fellay. In the safety deposit vault they opened the box and took out a key. They closed it again and left with the diamonds still in the briefcase. They took a bus to the Place du Molard then a taxi to Ramseyer, Haldemann & Company’s offices, as they had done for the past thirty-odd years.
Gilles didn’t appear and Monsieur Jolidon introduced himself to them as the new Directeur. He accompanied them to the circular room, where they put their two keys into the locks of box no. 72. He opened the third lock, then left them. They removed the two pouches of diamonds and pooled them with the new delivery, leaving five bags and taking the other five with them in the briefcase.
After escorting them out of the building, the directeur went back down to the vault. He had a small pad with him and wrote down the number of the box, together with a few notes, underlining the word briefcase a couple of times.
In the cab, Charlie explained, “Either Adam will complete or he’ll have to drop his price if the market turns. In any event, we’re covered with the escrow money. I’ve already drafted the contract, but we’ll wait and send it by email. Mustn’t appear too keen to deal.”
[African Diamonds 01.0] The Angolan Clan Page 42
