It was 7am, and Olivia’s plane had finally landed in Paris. Charles de Gaulle was as busy as she had remembered. She made her way down to the baggage claim area and collected her luggage. Olivia then walked to the customs area and with no trouble at all, she cleared customs and went to the arrival area to meet her driver.
Standing to the side was a very tall man dressed in a dark blue suit. In his hands he held a sign that read “Ms. Olivia Greene”.
The first thing Olivia noticed was the misspelling of her last name. It was a typical mistake that she was used to seeing. She walked up to the man and introduced herself. The driver immediately offered his assistance with Olivia’s luggage and escorted her to the car parked just outside.
The driver opened the door of the car and Olivia got in. She was surprised to see the quality of the service thus far. She had never had a private limo pick her up at the airport on any of her trips-she normally used public transportation.
With her luggage secured in the trunk, the driver got in and headed for the city center. Olivia was staying at the Park Hyatt on the Rue de La Paix, a five star property that she had recommended on numerous occasions to her clients. She had previously visited the hotel, but she was excited to actually spend a night there.
They arrived at the hotel and the driver opened the door for Olivia. He then went to the back of the car and retrieved her luggage from the trunk. Olivia thanked him for his kind assistance and offered him a tip, but he graciously declined.
Olivia entered the hotel and approached the front desk. She was quickly checked in and shown to her room. As she walked into the room she was happy with her surroundings. She walked further into the room and noticed an envelope on the night table that had her name on the front. Beneath her name read “Message Enclosed”.
Olivia anxiously opened the envelope and took out the paper inside. It was a message from Brian; he had apparently called about a half hour before she arrived at the hotel. All the note said was that he called, and said “hope you had a good flight, enjoy your time there-I miss you already”. The note put her a little more at ease about the whole cheating conspiracy building in her mind, but she couldn’t quite shake that feeling completely.
It was now 9am, and Olivia had taken a shower and got dressed. She needed to get to the Gare du Nord soon as she was supposed to be traveling on a Thalys train departing at 9:55am. She would be going to Antwerp for the day. Diamondland was the destination awaiting her arrival in Antwerp.
Calling down to the front desk, Olivia requested a taxi to meet her to take her to the train station. She went down to the lobby and asked if the car had arrived yet. The concierge escorted her outside and there was a taxi waiting for her.
It was a quick trip to the station, when they got there, she asked how much she owed for the ride, the driver said there was no charge. Olivia thought perhaps he did not understand what she had asked him, so she repeated the question.
“How much is the fare?” She asked.
Again, the driver refused to give her an amount, and she thanked him and exited the vehicle.
With her ticket in hand, Olivia found the track her train was departing from. She had her ticket checked and then entered the car of the train to find her seat.
Pleased with her single window seat, Olivia got comfortable and was ready for the two-hour trip to the diamond-rich city of Antwerp.
This was Olivia's first trip to Antwerp and the excitement was building inside of her. She always got a feeling of anticipation when she was venturing to new cities and towns. It gave her a chance to meet new people and speak with the locals. She loved talking with the locals, through her conversations she acquired a better sense and understanding of what the destination had to offer.
She sat on the train for now, enjoying her ride. The large, first class seat provided her with the comfort a traveler would hope for after a transatlantic flight. The staff on-board the train was most pleasant, and so far the only complaint Olivia could think of was that it was only a two hour trip-she would have liked to have sat there longer and watch the scenery pass by.
Nonetheless, two hours had gone by and the train arrived into the Antwerp-Berchem station. Olivia collected her purse and walked off the train. After a quick photo with her and one of the Thalys crew members, she was on her way.
Once more Olivia found herself in the back of a taxi. She was headed to Diamondland, one of the largest diamond exchanges in Antwerp-and in Europe for that matter.
The taxi arrived around the corner from Diamondland and let Olivia out. She got out of the car and began to walk down the street. She was startled by the beeping of a horn and quickly looked back. There before her she saw the taxi driver waving her down.
The past two cab rides she had not needed to pay for and she forgot to even ask what the fare was. She ran back and apologized profusely. She gave the driver the cab fare along with a very generous tip.
Now back on route to the diamond exchange, Olivia walked briskly. She had a 12:30pm appointment, and it was already 12:20pm. Moments later she reached her destination. As Olivia walked through the doors of Diamondland she was in awe. Everything was so shiny and sparkly!
Olivia found the information booth and was beginning to ask the kind woman behind the desk for her assistance in finding Mr. Josef Visser. Just as she was inquiring about Mr. Visser’s whereabouts, he walked up behind her.
“Good afternoon Ms. Green; what a pleasure to meet your acquaintance. My name is Josef Visser, and we will be spending the day together.”
Olivia extended her hand out to Josef’s, and they exchanged friendly smiles.
After the introductions, the diamond tour began. Josef gave facts about the exchange’s history and Olivia was intrigued.
“We receive over 120,000 guests here annually, and they come from all over the world.” Josef explained.
She listened to stories of milestone anniversaries that had been celebrated within the walls of the exchange, as well as birthdays and engagements. The tour was very interesting and informative and Olivia was very happy with it.
Josef then took Olivia to a less traveled area of the exchange.
“This room is where we house several hundred karats of exclusive diamonds.” He told Olivia.
This exchange, Olivia learned, employed some of the world’s best Polishers and Cutters of the prestigious stone. The diamonds that Olivia was about to view were the best of the best.
Josef led Olivia to a small round table in the middle of the room. There on the table before her were seven of the most exquisite diamonds Olivia had ever laid eyes on.
“The diamonds you see before you are the finest diamonds within our exchange. They range between 2 and 4.75 karats.”
Olivia was thinking that surely a 4.75-karat diamond, while nothing to sneeze at, couldn’t be one of the finest diamonds. “There must be bigger ones,” she thought to herself.
Olivia then learned that sometimes size isn’t all that matters. The clarity, cut, and color of a diamond can count equally, if not more, than just the mere size of a diamond.
The round cut stone grabbed Olivia’s attention. It was gorgeous!
“Ah, you like that one? That is a 2.50-karat round cut stone. It is flawless, and the cut and color is perfect.” Said Josef.
“This diamond is amazing, I’ve never really paid too much attention to diamonds, but this stone stares at you as if to say “look at me, I will not be ignored!”” Olivia commented.
Josef chuckled. He explained to Olivia that typically that particular stone would be set and made into a solitaire ring, or perhaps a very nice pendant.
“What do you think of the Princess cut there?” Josef asked, pointing to the square shaped stone.
“Normally that would be set as a ring too, but with diamond accents on either side of the stone-this is the more trendy style ring, couples seem to be moving away from the more traditional Solitaire ring.” He said.
Olivia thought for a moment and explained how she preferred the single diamond, Solitaire ring. She told Josef how she felt the single diamond was an expression symbolizing that you are your loved one’s “one and only”, and she liked to stick to tradition!
It was 4:45pm when the tour came to an end. Olivia was taking a 5:55pm Thalys train back to Paris. Josef treated Olivia to a quick bite to eat at a café nearby. After they ate, he hailed a taxi for them to return to the Berchem station. He escorted her to the track and they said their goodbyes.
“Thank you so much for the wonderful tour, it truly was fascinating.” Olivia said, shaking Josef’s hand.
“You are quite welcome, thank you for visiting us, and I do hope you’ll come back soon.”
Olivia got onto the train and prepared for her journey back to Paris. The entire ride back she kept envisioning that diamond and all its lustrous beauty. She could only imagine how much a diamond of that size would go for; she figured it would be worth about her yearly salary!
Josef returned to the exchange and finished his work. He had several stones he needed to have shipped out.
Olivia returned to her hotel room at 9pm and tried calling Brian. There was no answer. She lay in bed now, her mind wandering. She was paranoid once more now thinking about what Brian might be doing and if he was alone, or with the mystery woman. Olivia eventually exhausted herself in thought and drifted off to sleep. |
