Fashionista (10 page)

It was only 2:30 and Hugo was already reaching the end of his patience. It felt like he was part of some endless reality show. Bailey seemed to be able to keep everything straight but after ten different people had shown up with ten Raku pottery plant pots, he was starting to lose focus.

“
They all look great,
”
he said.
“
How are you planning to pick a winner?
”

She
’
d just smiled at him.
“
There are no losers here,
”
she said.
“
Anyone who doesn
’
t make the final cut will get a chance to pitch again in the fall, before we open the contest back up again.
”

“
Again?
”
he said.
“
Are you kidding me?
”

“
Embrace the change Hugo.
”

“
We
’
re crowd-sourcing our inventory.
”

“
Exactly,
”
she said.
“
So many creative people in Chicago.
”

“
What about that guy with the funky body jewelry?
”

“
I don
’
t think his work is for us, but I gave him the name of a guy I know who runs a piercing place on Milwaukee Ave. He
’
s got a huge following on Twitter, so maybe he can help him out.
”

“
I don
’
t even want to know how you know a guy who runs a piercing place,
”
Hugo said.
“
Who
’
s next?
”

“
AZ,
”
she said and raised her eyebrows.

Hugo straightened in his seat.
“
Good,
”
he said, so softly he might have been speaking to himself.

Bailey gave Jerry Izquierdo a nod and the chief of security opened the door to let in the next contestant. To Hugo
’
s surprise, it was not Allegra who walked in but Mariella Zangari.

He heard Bailey draw a surprised breath.

“
Hello Hugo,
”
Mariella said.
“
It
’
s nice to see you again.
”
Then she turned to face Bailey and went into her pitch.

“
I
’
m Mariella Zangari and I
’
m here for AZ shoes, a new brand that we
’
re starting at the House of Zangari.
”
She smiled at them coyly.
“
You may have heard of us,
”
she said, batting her eyes at Hugo.
”

Is she flirting with me
? he wondered. He was so stunned that Allegra would send her stepmother in her place that he barely listened to Mariella
’
s pitch.

He could tell from the studiously neutral look on Bailey
’
s face that she wasn
’
t impressed with the woman
’
s sales pitch. As Mariella finished her spiel, Bailey leaned forward.

“
Thank you Ms. Zangari. I have a few questions.
”

“
Of course,
”
Mariella said, sure she
’
d nailed the contract.

“
Who designed this shoe?
”
she asked.

“
Why I did,
”
she said.

“
I thought Allegra Zangari was the designer for your brand,
”
Hugo said.

“
My husband indulged his daughter
’
s creative whims,
”
she said.
“
I was content to stay in the shadows as long as he was alive.
”

“
But now?
”

“
But now I have a business to run,
”
she said.
“
And Allegra and I have had
…
creative differences.
”

I
’
ll bet,
Hugo thought.
She
’
s creative and you
’
re
…
different.

“
Allegra and the House of Zangari will be parting ways,
”
Mariella said with feigned sadness. Hugo tensed but before he could say anything he heard Bailey ask a question.

“
It
’
s a beautiful shoe,
”
Bailey said,
“
but a very odd size.
”

Mariella gave a sour smile.

“
It
’
s a quaint tradition in my company,
”
she said.
“
We always fit shoes to a last that was modeled after the matriarch
’
s foot.
”

As she spoke, Bailey pulled out her iPad and started typing.

“
This last?
”
she asked, showing Hugo a photograph of the shoemaker
’
s last from the House of Zangari website.

“
Yes,
”
Mariella said tightly.

And right then Hugo had a feeling. He didn
’
t have them often but he
’
d learned to trust them when he did.

“
Bailey and I have more people to see this afternoon, but we are prepared to offer AZ a contract to provide shoes for our store.
”

Bailey looked at him without expression but her eyes said,
“
What are you doing?
”

“
Fantastic,
”
Mariella said as if their meeting could have had no other outcome. She gathered up her things and turned to leave.

“
On one condition,
”
Hugo said.

“
Condition?
”
Mariella echoed.

“
That you can produce the mate of the shoe.
”

“
It
’
s a prototype,
”
she said, thinking fast.
“
We only do the one shoe.
”

“
Then I want to see the last,
”
Bailey interposed.
“
The famous Zangari last.
”

“
Fine,
”
Mariella said through gritted teeth.
“
I
’
ll send it over.
”

“
Oh that
’
s all right,
”
Bailey said.
“
We
’
ve got a dinner planned tonight and we
’
ll be going right by House of Zangari. We
’
ll see you around six?
”
Mariella struggled to keep the furious frustration out of her voice.

“
See you then,
”
she said and flounced out.

“
She so doesn
’
t have the last,
”
Bailey said.

“
But who does?
”
Hugo said.

Mariella did not go straight back to the office. Stopping off at a bar, she
’
d ordered a Campari and soda and sat in a booth by herself considering her options. She vividly remembered throwing out the shoemaker
’
s last when she cleaned out Enzo
’
s office, but she didn
’
t know what had happened after that.

If she were still married to Brian, she could have had him sculpt a fake out of one of the hunks of old wood he always seemed to have lying around, but she hadn
’
t talked to him in years and didn
’
t think he
’
d be glad to hear from her now.

She tried to think if there was anyone at the factory who might be willing to help her but she couldn
’
t think of anyone who didn
’
t still resent her for cutting the Christmas bonuses.

She dialed Julia
’
s number.

“
How did it go?
”
her daughter asked.

“
Shut up,
”
Mariella said.
“
Do you know what happened to that stupid shoemaker
’
s last that Enzo was so fond of?
”

Julia was silent a moment, wondering if it was a trick question.

“
You threw it out,
”
she said finally.

“
I know I threw it out,
”
Mariella yelled, then lowered her voice as she realized the bartender and everyone else in the bar was staring at her.

“
I know I threw it out, Julia. What happened to it after that?
”

“
The garbage men picked it up?
”
Julia said uncertainly.

“
Ask Sina if she knows,
”
Mariella ordered,
“
and call me back.
”
She hit the end call button and drained her drink.

“
May I buy you another?
”
a fifty-ish barfly asked her with what he probably thought was a rakish grin.

“
Go away,
”
she snarled.

“
Bitch,
”
he muttered, but he walked away. She saw him say something to the bartender, but was too far away to hear the exchange.

Her phone rang. It was Julia.

“
What?
”
Mariella said.

“
Sina says she doesn
’
t know, that you should probably ask Allegra.
”

“
And where is Allegra?
”

“
Still in the sample closet,
”
Julia said.
“
Unless she managed to pick the lock with a bobby pin.
”

“
Don
’
t get snippy with me,
”
Mariella said.
“
Go let her out and ask her if she knows where it is. Tell her the future of the House of Zangari depends on it.
”

“
Are you coming back soon?
”
Julia asked, her voice on the edge of panic.

“
I
’
ll be there shortly,
”
Mariella said.

It took Mariella nearly an hour to get back to the office, fighting rush hour traffic all the way. She walked in to find everyone still at their desks but not even pretending to work as Julia stood at Allegra
’
s office door, pleading with her to just stop packing things in boxes and answer her question.

Julia cringed as Mariella shouldered her aside.
“
She won
’
t tell me where it is,
”
she whined.

Allegra didn
’
t even look up as her stepmother glowered at her.

“
Where
’
s Ginevra
’
s last?
”
Mariella asked.

“
I have no idea,
”
Allegra said.

“
You
’
re fired,
”
Mariella said.
“
And you have a non-compete clause in your contract.
”

“
No, I don
’
t actually,
”
Allegra said.
“
Grace redlined my contract and took it out.
”

Mariella locked eyes with her stepdaughter.

“
I
’
m going to fight you,
”
Allegra said.

“
You
’
re going to lose,
”
Mariella said,
“
I have lawyers too.
”

“
Then you
’
d better give them a call,
”
Allegra said.
“
Tell them I
’
m pressing charges for false imprisonment. Tell them I
’
m going to ask for an audit. Tell them I
’
m very curious to know what
’
s going on with you and Mr. Chu and your new villa on Lake Como.
”

“
I
’
m calling security,
”
Mariella said and flounced away, so furious she was vibrating.
“
Watch her,
”
she called out to Julia.
“
Make sure she doesn
’
t take anything that doesn
’
t belong to her.
”

Julia stood in the doorway uncertainly and watched Allegra as she continued to pack.

A security guard arrived three minutes later. He was apologetic but all business.
“
I
’
m sorry Allegra, but I have to escort you out of the building,
”
he said.

“
I just need another fifteen minutes,
”
Allegra said.

He shook his head sheepishly.
“
It
’
s my job,
”
he said miserably.

“
Time to go,
”
Julia said, brave now that she had back-up.

“
I
’
ll see your things get to you,
”
Severine promised.

Julia turned to her.
“
You
’
re fired too.
”

Severine looked at Julia and said something in French.

Julia, who had taken a year of French in high school and had only passed because she was sleeping with her teacher, mimicked Severine
’
s words because she didn
’
t have a ready comeback.

And just then, Sina came running over.
“
They
’
re here,
”
Sina said.

“
Who?
”
Allegra asked.

“
Hugo. Prince,
”
Sina said.
“
And his father. And Bailey Wilkinson.
”

Everyone in the office froze, including Severine, whose eyes had found John Morgan
’
s.

“
Good evening,
”
he said.
“
I hope we
’
re not intruding.
”

Mariella came slithering out of her office to meet them.
“
Welcome to the House of Zangari,
”
she said grandly.
“
I don
’
t believe we
’
ve met,
”
she said to John Morgan.

He nodded to her courteously but did not introduce himself.

Mariella said,
“
Would you care for something to drink? We have coffee, water? Perhaps a glass of wine?
”

“
Thank you, no,
”
John Morgan said.
“
We
’
re just here to see the Ginevra last, to make certain that our new business partnership starts out on the right foot, so to speak.
”

Julia laughed nervously.
“
On the right foot,
”
she chortled, then throttled her laughter as Mariella gave her a lethal look.

“
It seems the last has disappeared,
”
Mariella admitted. She looked around the office as if daring anyone to contradict her lie.
“
Not everyone has been happy with the way the business has been run since Enzo
’
s death. I fear we have a saboteur among us.
”

“
That
’
s not true,
”
Sina burst out but subsided as her mother turned her fiery eyes on her.

Enough,
Allegra thought and stepped out of her office. Looking straight at Hugo she said,
“
I have the last. It
’
s in my apartment.
”

“
So that
’
s where it went,
”
Mariella said.
“
I can
’
t believe you stole such an important part of the Zangari legacy.
”

“
Don
’
t even try that,
”
Gary Wisnicki said. Allegra turned, surprised. She hadn
’
t seen him come in to the office.
“
We all know what you thought of it,
”
he added.

“
I believe you called it a
“
worm-eaten piece of rotten wood that smelled bad,
”
Severine said.

“
She did?
”
Ginevra said, and then let loose another string of colorful curses.

“
Severine, you
’
re fired,
”
Mariella said.

“
Come work for me,
”
John Monroe Prince said at once.

“
Non
,
”
she said.
“
I never mix business with pleasure.
”

Mariella looked from one to another, baffled by the turn the conversation had taken.

“
Hah,
”
Ginevra said.

“
I
’
d like to see this famous shoe last,
”
Hugo said.

“
I
’
ll meet you in the parking garage,
”
Allegra said.

“
Wait for me,
”
Severine said, gathering up her purse but nothing else.

“
You don
’
t want to take anything?
”
Allegra said.

Severine shrugged.
“
This is a job, not my life,
”
she said.

“
I
’
d like to take you to dinner,
”
John Morgan said.
“
If you don
’
t have other plans.
”

“
Let
’
s go for a drink first,
”
she said.

“
Let
’
s,
”
John Morgan said, and followed her out the door.

Allegra had to pass her stepmother to reach the elevator and as she did, Mariella sprang at her with her fingers outstretched like talons.