She pointed toward the showroom.
“What happened tonight is useful if we learn something.”
“If all we do is fire Elliot and congratulate ourselves, it’s theater.”
Victor nodded.
Celeste remained silent near the jewelry table.
Naomi looked toward her.
“You disagree?”
Celeste hesitated.
“I don’t know.”
“That’s allowed.”
Celeste removed her glasses.
“I’m thinking about how often we do versions of this.”
Victor looked at her.
“What do you mean?”
“The atelier.”
She folded the glasses.
“We say appointment-only because the work requires time.”
“True.”
“But we also make assumptions about who deserves appointments.”
Victor frowned.
“Based on referrals.”
“Which come from existing clients.”
“Yes.”
“Who tend to look like existing clients.”
Victor went quiet.
Celeste continued.
“I’m not saying the system is intentionally exclusionary.”
Naomi nodded.
“Intent again.”
Celeste smiled sadly.
“Right.”
Naomi walked toward the velvet case.
“Luxury always has some gatekeeping.”
“Limited materials.”
“Limited craftsmanship.”
“Limited time.”
“What it cannot have is humiliation disguised as discernment.”
Victor looked toward her.
“What do you want to change?”
“Not tonight.”
“You already know.”
“I know some things.”
She opened the velvet case again.
The blue diamond glowed beneath the salon lights.
Victor stood.
“May I?”
Naomi nodded.
He lifted the necklace.
Celeste stepped behind Naomi and carefully moved her hair aside.
The necklace settled against her collarbones.
For a moment nobody spoke.
Naomi looked toward the mirror.
Black feathers framed ivory fabric.
The blue stone rested at the center.
Her grandmother’s brooch had been blue glass.
Worth almost nothing.
Naomi could still remember Evelyn polishing it with the corner of a dish towel before church.
Victor looked at Naomi through the mirror.
“What do you think?”
Naomi touched the stone lightly.
“I think she would have said it was too much.”
Celeste smiled.
“Your grandmother?”
“Yes.”
“What would you say?”
Naomi’s eyes softened.
“I’d tell her she was right.”
Victor smiled.
Then Naomi added:
“And keep it anyway.”
They laughed quietly.
That was the first moment of the night that felt normal.
Monday morning, the acquisition became public.
Financial newspapers focused on the size of the deal.
CARTER MERIDIAN ACQUIRES CONTROLLING STAKE IN MAISON BELLAMY
Business channels discussed Naomi’s expansion from technology infrastructure and hospitality into luxury goods.
Commentators speculated about diversification.
Fashion publications celebrated the acquisition as one of the rare major heritage-jewelry houses to come under Black female control.
Naomi disliked that phrasing.
Not because it was false.
Because “under Black female control” sounded as though she had invaded a country.