Fashionista (4 page)

Grace was waiting outside texting as Allegra arrived at Fat Rice. They
’
d just said hello when a couple exited the restaurant and practically ran over them.

“
Ms. Makaidi,
”
said a husky male voice.
“
I
’
ve been meaning to call you.
”
Before Grace had a chance to even return his greeting, he continued.
“
We
’
re getting the runaround from customs on a shipment of goods to the Tokyo store. I need you to find out what
’
s going on. The man looked at Grace as if he expected her to start work immediately.

He
’
s certainly full of himself
, Allegra thought.
“
Do you mind?
”
she said in her best grown-up voice.
“
My lawyer and I were about to have lunch.
”

The man turned to her then and looked at her for the first time, irritation clear on his handsome face. But then another expression replaced the irritation and his lips curved in a smirk.

“
Allegra Zangari,
”
he said.
“
All grown up and playing dress up with your mommy
’
s Hermes scarf.
”

What? Who is this guy?
Allegra thought. To stall, she said,
“
I wouldn
’
t wear a Hermes scarf if you gave it to me and I was freezing to death.
”

“
Why not?
”
asked the woman who was apparently with the rude stranger. She was tall and slim and wearing a long burgundy coat and a pair of beautifully crafted boots that looked like they were freshly polished.
“
Really,
”
the woman added.
“
I
’
m interested.
”

Because they sell their scarves for almost $400 and I think that
’
s ridiculous
, Allegra thought.
The only way I
’
d pay $400 for a scarf is if it was woven from magic spider silk.

“
Because their colors are garish and their designs are ugly,
”
Allegra said.
“
And if I
’
m going to spend $400 on a single item of clothing, it
’
s going to be shoes.
”

“
Spoken like a shoemaker
’
s daughter,
”
the man said, and the smirk widened into a genuine smile.

Dimples
, Allegra thought.
Of course he has dimples
. And she suddenly remembered a boy of 19 grinning her like that and flashing his dimples.

The woman shot a glance at her companion.
“
I told you Hugo. Beautiful young women
are
interested in luxury, just not in their grandmother
’
s brands.
”
Except for Chanel, which is a legacy brand Kendall Jenner wears.
”

“
I
’
m sure Coco is turning in her grave,
”
he said. Grace laughed.

Oh my God
, Allegra thought.
Hugo.

“
Hugo Prince,
”
she said.
“
All grown up and wearing Stefano Beamer lace-up oxfords handcrafted out of camel skin.
”

He shrugged good-naturedly.
“
I didn
’
t think Converse would work with the suit.
”

“
Those
are
nice shoes,
”
Grace commented. She looked at Allegra.
“
You remember Hugo Prince from BIS? He was a senior when we were freshmen.
”

“
Of course. Hello Hugo,
”
Allegra said with a curt nod in his direction.
I remember you all right
, she thought and hoped she wasn
’
t blushing.

“
And this is Ms. Wilkinson, Prince
’
s Department Store
’
s in-house tastemaker,
”
Grace said.

The woman gave Grace a smile before extending a gloved hand toward Allegra.

“
Bailey,
”
the woman said warmly.
“
It
’
s nice to meet you.
”
She turned back to Hugo.
“
Let
’
s leave the ladies to their lunch.
”

“
I
’
ll call you,
”
he said to Grace but his eyes were on Allegra.
“
Enjoy your lunch,
”
he added, and then he and Bailey walked away. Allegra
’
s eyes followed them up the sidewalk.

“
You
’
re blushing,
”
Grace observed.

“
No I
’
m not,
”
Allegra retorted and then caught sight of her red-cheeked reflection in the restaurant
’
s windows.
“
I
’
m just cold,
”
she said.

“
Sure,
”
Grace said.

“
Please tell me I
’
ve changed since I was fourteen,
”
Allegra said, looking at her wind-blown hair and beet-red face.

“
You
’
re taller,
”
Grace said.
“
Was that the last time you saw him, freshman year?
”

I wish
, Allegra thought, remembering the last time she
’
d seen Hugo Prince. Instead of answering, she changed the subject.

“
Why didn
’
t you tell me you represented Hugo?
”

“
Technically I don
’
t,
”
Grace said.
“
The firm represents the stores.
”

The stores
, Allegra thought.
That
’
s one way of describing the global force that was Prince
’
s Department stores with eighteen locations worldwide.

“
I can
’
t believe you didn
’
t recognize him,
”
Grace said.
“
He pretty much looks like he looked back in the day. Only better,
”
she added with a sly glance at her friend.

“
I didn
’
t expect to see him,
”
Allegra said, but didn
’
t add,
and not with a gorgeous woman
.

As if reading her mind, Grace said,
“
They
’
re not an item.
”

“
Who?
”
Allegra said, knowing she wasn
’
t fooling anybody.

“
Bailey Wilkinson is gay. She
’
s living with a dancer who used to be with the Joffrey. We saw her in
Nutcracker
that year we took Sina because Mariella was dead set on her being a ballerina.
”

“
Then
Black Swan
came out and she decided maybe being a ballerina wasn
’
t such a great idea after all,
”
Allegra said.

“
That and Sina has two left feet,
”
Grace said, but not in a mean way. She got a kick out of Allegra
’
s little sister.
“
Hugo
’
s picture is in the paper all the time.
”

“
I read the news online,
”
Allegra said primly.
“
And I don
’
t read society gossip,
”
she added.

“
I read the news online,
”
Grace mimicked teasingly as she pushed the restaurant door open. Allegra wasn
’
t listening. She was thinking about how good Hugo had looked with snow on his thick dark hair and a smile in his hazel eyes.

“
Allegra Zangari?
”
Bailey asked Hugo as they walked away.

“
I knew her in school,
”
Hugo said.

Bailey raised her eyebrows.

“
BIS housed all the grades together on one campus. I used to see her around.
”

“
She must have made quite an impression.
”

“
She was a pretty kid,
”
he said.
“
I dated her older sister for a while. Allegra was always hanging around. Her and the chubby little one.
”

“
That would be Orsina,
”
Bailey said.
“
And she
’
s not chubby any more.
”
She gave him the side eye.
“
So you dated Julia Zangari? Yikes.
”

“
You know her?
”

“
I
’
ve met her.
”

Bailey did not like Julia Zangari. They
’
d crossed paths at a number of events staged at the Chicago store and she
’
d always thought Julia was a social climber and a career mean girl. She
’
d also heard stories of the romantic wreckage Julia left in her wake. If she
’
d dated Hugo, it explained a lot about his reluctance to get involved in a serious relationship.

“
She must have been disappointed when you dumped her,
”
Bailey said, probing.
“
I bet she
’
s had a Prince
’
s charge card since she was 16.
”
Hugo didn
’
t want to talk about it. Instead he asked,
“
Do
you
think Hermes scarves are ugly?
”

Bailey allowed herself to be sidetracked and shrugged.
“
They
’
re not my style,
”
she said.
“
But there are other up and coming designers who do great things with scarves. We ought to be selling those designers. We need to be thinking beyond Europe. We need to be thinking locally.
”

“
Locally?
”
Hugo repeated, though he knew exactly what she was thinking.

“
Brands like Zangari,
”
Bailey said.
“
They make their shoes right here in Chicago.
”

“
They make Vienna sausages here too, but that doesn
’
t mean I
’
m going to feature them in the food hall.
”

Bailey gave him a narrow look.
“
You never had pigs in a blanket did you?
”

“
God no,
”
he said.

“
Snob,
”
Bailey said.

“
White trash,
”
he shot back.

“
Like someone who ate bangers and mash and spotted dick can talk,
”
she said.

“
You got me there,
”
Hugo said, thinking of the times when his mother was feeling nostalgic for her London childhood and whipped up snacks like baked beans on toast and bacon sandwiches.
“
But there was also sticky toffee pudding,
”
he said.

“
Yum,
”
Bailey said. She had a southerner
’
s sweet tooth and a taste for the comfort food of her own childhood, treats like bread pudding, chocolate pecan pie, and coconut cake. She loved sticky toffee pudding.

“
I want to launch a competition,
”
she said.
“
Chicago wide. To bring hometown luxury home. Open to anyone in the city who makes specialty items to wear or consume.
”

Hugo looked pained.
“
You know we
’
re going to get stuff from every Etsy crafter, home baker, and hobbyist knitter in Chicago,
”
he said.

“
I know. It
’
ll be great!
”

Hugo looked unconvinced, so Bailey added,
“
Maybe we
’
ll find the next Mrs. Field
’
s cookies. Maybe we
’
ll discover the next David Yurman or Paloma Picasso.
”
She threaded her arm through his elbow. In her boots, she was nearly as tall as he was.
“
It
’
ll be great publicity.
”

Her eyes widened as an idea suddenly struck her.
“
We
’
ll put your father in charge of judging. John Morgan will love it.
”

“
He
’
ll say he
’
s too busy,
”
Hugo predicted.
“
He
’
ll say he was thinking of taking up landscape painting or cycling.
”

“
I
’
d like to see that,
”
Bailey said, picturing the aristocratic John Morgan Prince in neon-colored biking gear.

Hugo sighed, knowing that if Bailey was intent on executing her idea he might as well agree to it and avoid the humiliation of having her wear him down eventually.

“
When would you announce the competition?
”

“
First of the year.
”

“
You mean
…
next week? How long have you been working on this idea?
”

“
Little while,
”
she said with a smile.
“
It
’
ll run one month. Entries only in person, no proxies. We
’
ll set up a kiosk at the store to register the entries and do rolling evaluations so on February first we can announce the finalists. That way we can put the new products in the goodie bags for the Bleeding Heart Ball.
”

Hugo didn
’
t even want to think about the Bleeding Heart Ball, Bailey
’
s in-your-face name for the annual Valentine
’
s Night fete she
’
d created as part of her year-long calendar of events sponsored by Prince
’
s. Last year he
’
d escorted a woman he
’
d been dating for four months and she had gotten the impression the invitation was a prelude to a proposal. The evening had not ended well.

“
You
’
re scowling,
”
Bailey said as she saw his expression darkening.
“
Don
’
t you like the idea?
”

It
’
s going to play hell with the traffic flow on the floor.
”

‘
I
’
ve already got a flow-chart prepared.
”

Of course you do
, he thought.

“
That
’
s a lot of extra people coming into the store. Security is not going to be happy.
”

“
Did you know that Jerry Izquierdo
’
s daughter is at RISD, studying graphic design?
”

“
No,
”
Hugo said, wondering what his head of security
’
s daughter had to do with anything and also wondering how it was that Bailey even knew that Jerry had a daughter.

“
She designed the logo we
’
re using for the competition. Which is called, by the way,
‘
the Chicago Cinderella Competition
’
.
”

“
Catchy. But that
’
s still a lot of people in the store who aren
’
t there to buy.
”

Bailey gave Hugo the pitying smile she used to give him back in college when she thought he was too slow to grasp one of her brilliant ideas.

“
That
’
s why we
’
re going to offer each entrant a special sales code that will entitle them to a 25 percent discount on anything they buy in the store the same day they enter the competition.
”

“
That
’
s a generous discount.
”

“
Everything must go,
”
Bailey said.
“
We
’
ll make sure the entrants know the sale is just for them and not related to any other sales that might be going on at the time.
”

“
So just to be clear, if they pick up a sale item, they can take another 25 percent off that?
”

Bailey nodded.
“
But the code expires the minute they walk out the door. It
’
s a one-time only deal.
”

Hugo looked at his friend.
“
You
’
re scaring me,
”
he said.

“
I only use my powers for good,
”
she said.