Chapter One
“Thank you so much for taking a chance on me, Mr. Sutton,” Tim Reyes said as he withdrew his head from the large pressure chamber.
Patrick Sutton leaned against the wall of his lab and watched with genuine interest as his newest employee sorted through the fresh batch of orange lab made diamonds.
“You passed all the background checks, Tim. I don’t think a good man should have to suffer because of my father’s sins.” He stepped forward to get a closer look at the stones.
“Will any of these work for the pumpkin?”
Tim slid a jeweler’s lamp onto his head and flipped the lens over his eye, switching the light on as he sat on a stool. “Let’s have a look,” he said as he pulled the first of the diamonds from the vessel.
“I think they’re a good color, but the orange still isn’t quite right for the pumpkin diamond if you ask me.” He set one diamond aside and picked up the next. “Maybe once we cut and polish them, we’ll find what you’re looking for.”
Patrick tried not to hover as the man checked the raw gems for impurities. One of the many good things about lab produced diamonds was that most of them came out with a lot more clarity than mined diamonds did.
Tim motioned for him to come closer. “This one is gorgeous, boss. Your techs are top-notch. I would never have believed this was a possibility without seeing it for myself.”
The tech chuckled to himself as Patrick held the diamond up. “If your father could see me now, he would probably have a coronary.”
Patrick stiffened and passed the diamond back to Tim. “I would rather we not talk about him if it’s all the same to you.”
Tim nodded as he lifted another diamond into his light. “You got it, boss. I know things were tense between you two. I just appreciate having work again.”
Patrick clapped him on the shoulder. “From what I can tell, you do great work. Speaking of my father, I need to get out of here if I’m going to make it to his trial on time. Let me know if there are any in there that you think will work to recreate the pumpkin diamond.”
Tim agreed that he would, and Patrick strode out of the room towards the elevator to ride up to the main floor of the still shiny building. It had been rebuilt several months ago after someone from his father’s organization had torched it. Thanks to his partnership with Elijah Barrett, a prominent businessman in the city, they had been able to get back up and running quickly.
He shuddered as he thought of Troy Wilson, the man who had kidnapped his sister and nearly killed her on this very property. The fact that the man was rotting in jail definitely didn’t make him lose any sleep at night.
Now, he was on his way to pick up his sister from the Barrett Corporation so they could hear the opening arguments in his father’s federal trial. She would soon be Holly Barrett instead of Holly Sutton, and Patrick had half a mind to change his name right along with her when she got married. Being a Sutton was not something he relished. There had been thoughts of using his mother’s maiden name, but the constant reminder of her murder would have been too much for Patrick, so he stuck with Sutton for now, hoping that one day he could make something of the name while his father died in prison.
The ride to the Barrett Corporation was short, and Holly was waiting for him when he pulled up to the curb.
“Go, hurry, while Elijah is still in his meeting,” she said with a giggle when she climbed into the car.
Patrick just shook his head as they rode in the back of a town car across Los Angeles to the courthouse.
“I hope you know I’m not going to feel one bit sorry for you when Elijah spanks the hell out of you later. I can’t believe you didn’t tell him what you were doing,” Patrick said with a glare at his sister as they stood outside the courtroom.
“Oh hush. Elijah isn’t unreasonable. He’ll forgive me. I just needed to be here for this, Patrick. It’s important to me.”
Patrick sighed and pulled open the doors to the courtroom where his father’s trial would be held. He’d been arrested only four months earlier but given the amount of media attention the case was getting, the lawyers and judges involved had agreed that it was better to speed things along. A typical case of this magnitude often took more than a year to go to trial. Patrick was glad it was happening quickly.
“I’m scared,” Holly whispered as they sat on a bench in the very back.
He slung an arm around her and kissed the top of her head. “It will be fine. It’s not like he can attack you. The bailiff is armed, and Nicholas has been in jail for months.”
Holly leaned on his shoulder. “It’s just the first time I’ve seen him since before his arrest. Elijah arranged for me to visit him, but I chickened out.”
Patrick was secretly glad she’d chickened out, but there was no way in hell he was telling her that.
“Let’s just see what happens, OK? You’re allowed to have mixed-up feelings about all of this.”
They were early, but the courtroom was already packed. No cameras were permitted, but plenty of reporters sat ready to take notes. Photographers and journalists with microphones had ambushed them as soon as they stepped out of the car and onto the courthouse steps earlier though. They were going to have to come up with an exit strategy later.
When the lawyers for both sides entered the courtroom, all eyes were on them. Patrick’s arm tightened around his sister as Nicholas Sutton made his way to the defense table, escorted by a guard.
“He looks so old,” Holly whispered.
