The lighting had been positioned to make every diamond sparkle perfectly.
Running this flagship location was Patricia Wittmann.
Patricia was 38 years old, with perfectly styled hair and a wardrobe that screamed old money.
She had grown up in Connecticut in one of those families where wealth wasn't new or flashy.
It was just a fact of life, like having blue eyes or brown hair.
Patricia had seen her new job as more than just managing a store.
In her mind, she had been elevating the brand.
She had been bringing a level of sophistication and exclusivity that she felt the company needed.
Patricia had genuinely believed that not every customer was right for Luminous Designs, and she had taken it upon herself to decide who was worthy of the full Luminous experience.
Working under Patricia had been 26-year-old Kevin Taus, the assistant manager, who was everything Patricia wasn't.
Then there had been Ashley Chen, the 23-year-old sales associate who represented everything beautiful about Diana's vision for her company.
And finally, there had been Marcus Johnson, the 45-year-old security guard who had needed this job more than anyone else in the store.
On this particular morning, Diana had decided to make one of her surprise visits to the Beverly Hills store.
She had climbed into her Honda Civic, the same car that always got strange looks when she parked it in front of luxury stores, and had driven through the streets of Beverly Hills toward the store that represented everything she had worked for.
When Diana had walked through the front door of her Beverly Hills flagship store, the first thing she had noticed wasn't the gleaming displays or the soft classical music.
It had been that one of the display cases was slightly crooked.
But Diana hadn't said anything about it.
This had been supposed to be an unannounced visit to observe how her store operated when the CEO wasn't expected.
She had straightened her navy blazer, touched her grandmother's bracelet for luck, and walked deeper into the store she had designed from the ground up.
Diana had headed straight for the centerpiece of the entire store, the Aurora Collection.
This hadn't been just any jewelry display.
This had been Diana's personal masterpiece, a $2 million collection of rare diamonds that represented the absolute pinnacle of her company's craftsmanship.
The Aurora necklace had been priced at $350,000, and Diana had considered it one of the most beautiful pieces she had ever seen.
As Diana had approached the Aurora display, Patricia had noticed her and walked over with what appeared to be a friendly smile.
But if you had looked closely, you could have seen that Patricia's smile hadn't quite reached her eyes.
She had already sized up Diana based on her appearance and made assumptions about what kind of customer she was dealing with.
"Hi there," Patricia had said in a voice that was just a little too cheerful, a little too condescending. "Are you looking for something special today?"
Diana, who had had no idea that she was being judged, had responded with genuine enthusiasm.
"Yes, I'd like to see the Aurora Collection."
The moment Diana had said those words, Patricia's fake smile had faltered.
The Aurora Collection hadn't been something you showed to casual browsers.
These had been museum-quality pieces that required serious buyers with serious money.
Patricia's voice had taken on a different tone as she said, "Oh, those are our premium pieces. They start at $200,000."