Fashionista (5 page)

Inside the restaurant, Grace and Allegra ordered the house-made lemongrass soda and
“
fat rice
”
to share. Allegra also ordered some chili prawns to take back to Sina because that was her favorite thing to order at Fat Rice. As soon as the waiter left them alone, Allegra reached into her tote and pulled out a tissue-wrapped object she handed it across the table to Grace.

“
What
’
s this?
”
Grace asked, already smiling.

“
Just a small token of my appreciation,
”
Allegra said.
“
Thanks for coming out in the snow.
”

After hanging up with Grace, Allegra had gone to the sample room in the office basement to look for something she could bring her. One of her design assistants had been playing around with some lovely burnt-orange suede and had created a retro clutch purse with an asymmetrical flap and faux tortoise-shell trimmings. The minute Allegra saw it, she knew Grace would love it.

“
Ooh, shiny,
”
Grace said as she unwrapped the purse, stroking it like a pet.
“
Thank you!
”

Allegra enjoyed her friend
’
s enjoyment. She
’
d often wondered if Grace had a little bit of a fetish because she loved, loved, loved her leather goods. And although the clothing culture at her father
’
s law firm was sedate to the point of being frumpy, Grace always paired her sober gray and black suits with sexy pumps and bright silk blouses that added splashes of color that made her skin glow.

After a few moments more spent in admiration of the lovely accessory, Grace put it on the chair next to her and fixed her gaze on Allegra.
“
So what
’
s going on?
”
she asked.

Allegra took a big sip of her soda.
“
I think Mariella
’
s going to move House of Zangari to China.
”

“
Will she go with them?
”
Grace asked, sounding hopeful.

“
I
’
m serious,
”
Allegra said.

“
Are you sure?
”
Grace asked.

“
I haven
’
t talked to her yet,
”
Allegra admitted,
“
But the foreman of the factory has heard rumors and this morning Sina confirmed it.
”

“
Mariella told Sina?
”
Grace was surprised. She knew Sina was a terrible gossip.

“
Probably not on purpose,
”
Allegra said.
“
But Mariella still treats her like she
’
s six years old and doesn
’
t understand what the grown-ups are talking about.
”

“
What about Julia?
”
Grace asked.
“
Has the mean stepsister said anything to you?
”

“
Like she
’
d tell me anything,
”
Allegra said.
“
The only time I see her is in staff meetings and the only thing she says to me is
‘
Good morning Allegra. Would you mind pouring me some coffee?
’”

“
Bitch,
”
Grace said. Julia had never bothered to be nice to Grace, considering her even more of a nuisance than Allegra and Sina.

“
Your father really should have made a will,
”
Grace added.

“
I know.
”

“
You want me to get dad into it?
”

“
That could get sticky since your father technically represents the company. Is there anyone else who might be able to help if I have to go to the mat with Mariella?
”

Grace thought about it for a minute and then smiled faintly.
“
I could consult with Iain.
”

“
Consult?
”
Allegra said, teasing her friend. She
’
d heard a lot about Iain with the extra I. He was a rising star at the firm who was responsible for overseeing their international business. His father had worked for a hotel conglomerate and Iain spoke four languages, including Kiswahili, which he
’
d learned when his father ran a hotel in Dar es Salaam.
“
You can imagine how many points that scored him with my father,
”
Grace had said when Iain first joined the firm.
“
Maybe he could give you lessons,
”
Allegra had teased at the time because it was obvious to her that Grace had fallen head over Prada heels for Iain with the extra I.

“
Have you thought any more about the possibility of going out on your own?
”
Grace asked.
“
I know you talked about it before your father died.
”

“
I know,
”
Allegra admitted.
“
But my plan was to branch out not break off. If I leave Zangari now, it will feel like giving up. It will feel like a betrayal.
”

“
I
’
m not saying give up. I
’
m just saying you might need a plan B. I know you
’
ve got a good relationship with Sina, but do you really want her to have to choose between you and her mother?
”

Allegra sighed.

“
Do you have a will?
”
Grace asked.

“
I
’
m 26,
”
Allegra protested.

“
You could get hit by an Uber driver,
”
Grace said.
“
You could choke on a chili prawn.
”
Grace lifted another morsel of rice with her chopsticks.
“
Just don
’
t wait, is all I
’
m saying.
”

The snow was coming down hard by the time Bailey and Hugo got back to the store. Still, the floors were full of after-Christmas shoppers and the customer service department was busy with sales associates processing returns. Hugo was pleased. Beginning with Black Friday, Prince
’
s had had a good holiday season everywhere but in their Tokyo store. He sighed, knowing a trip to Tokyo was in his future. His father had never had the patience to do business in Japan, but Hugo rather enjoyed it. He never doubted that a current of cut-throat competition ran underneath the culture of politeness, but he liked the civility and formality of the way business was conducted. His father had been slow to expand into the Asian markets, and he was still wary of the extravagant shopping mall theme parks found in Dubai, but Hugo had convinced him that going truly global was the key to keeping Prince
’
s Department Stores from becoming cultural dinosaurs. They had to evolve or die. And that meant having a robust digital presence as well.
“
Catalogue shopping,
”
his father had scoffed when Hugo had first mentioned the idea back when he was in high school.

“
It words for Harrods,
”
Hugo said.

“
They sell souvenirs at Harrods,
”
his father had said, just barely keeping a sneer out of his voice.
“
Stuffed animals wearing Harrods
’
sweaters.
”
Still, as the century turned, his father had finally been convinced to create a website. Hugo just hoped it wouldn
’
t take another decade and a half for him to come on board with some of the other changes he had in mind.

A pretty sales associate saw Hugo and Bailey and made a beeline for them, only to be hip-checked by another associate who was closer.

“
May I help you Mr. Prince?
”
she asked, her voice a sexy growl.

“
No thanks Courtney,
”
he said.

Of course he knows her name
, Bailey thought as Courtney gave Hugo a smile over her shoulder. Hugo wasn
’
t looking; he
’
d already turned his attention to a boot on the nearest display rack. He picked it up to examine the stitching on the sole.
“
How
’
s the House of Zangari doing under the new management?
”
he asked.

“
The brand
’
s holding up,
”
Bailey said.
“
I can
’
t vouch for the morale.
”

Hugo returned the boot to the display.
“
We should do a little due diligence,
”
he said, thinking that it might be a good excuse to see Allegra again, not that she had seemed all that happy to see him in their brief encounter outside Fat Rice.

Allegra Zangari,
he thought again,
all grown up.

“
What is it Allegra?
”
Mariella Zangari demanded when Allegra knocked on her office door that afternoon.
“
I
’
m too busy to chat.
”

As if
, Allegra scoffed to herself but she couldn
’
t help feeling just a bit defensive. There she was in her jeans and sweater and as usual, Mariella was perfectly dressed and coiffed, her makeup perhaps a little more dramatic than a day job warranted but that was part of her style.

Allegra decided the best defense was a good offense, so without preamble she blurted out,
“
Gary Wisnicki came to see me this morning.
”

If Mariella
’
s brow hadn
’
t been frozen by Botox, she would have furrowed it as she tried to puzzle out who Gary Wisnicki might be.

“
The factory foreman,
”
Allegra said helpfully.

“
If the foreman has a problem, he knows there is a chain of command,
”
Mariella said tartly.
“
He should not be tattling to you. Unless he is somehow under the misapprehension that
you
are the one running things.
”

“
Strega
,
”
Ginevra
’
s ghost hissed in Allegra
’
s ear, and then she followed the epithet with a string of Italian curses as Allegra tried to focus on the conversation she was having with her stepmother.

“
I
’
m not trying to take over your job,
”
Allegra said and realized as she said it that it was exactly the
wrong
thing to say.
“
Mr. Wisnicki is just worried about rumors the plant
’
s relocating. He
’
s noticed that you
’
ve been having a lot of meetings with Mr. Chu.

“
Rumors,
”
Mariella snorted and waved her elegant hands dismissively.
“
Factory gossip.
”

“
She
’
s lying,
”
Ginevra said.
“
You can tell because her mouth
’
s moving.
”

“
So I can assure him that everyone
’
s job is secure?
”
Allegra persisted.

The question gave her stepmother pause.
“
I wouldn
’
t say that,
”
she said.
“
Julia has been looking for ways to make Zangari more efficient and she tells me there
’
s a lot of redundancy in jobs. I suspect there will be layoffs coming before much longer.
”

This news rocked Allegra.
“
Layoffs? I
’
d like to be consulted on that,
”
she said.

“
It
’
s not your job,
”
Mariella said, smiling sweetly.
“
But if you want to get more involved in the day-to-day of Zangari, you can start by getting those refugees out of my conference room.
”

Allegra stared at her a moment, then simply turned and walked out.

“
I told you father not to marry her,
”
Ginevra said, blithely ignoring the reality that she
’
d been dead for a decade before Mariella had even entered the picture.
“
Nobody listens to me,
”
she added.

“
Because they think you
’
re a figment of their imagination,
”
Allegra said.

“
Don
’
t be silly,
”
Ginevra said.

Because it
’
s not at all silly to believe in ghosts
, Allegra thought.

Ginevra had been appearing to Allegra since she was four. She
’
d been playing in her father
’
s office one day when Ginevra popped in and Allegra had instantly known that she wasn
’
t a real woman because she was barefoot and it was the middle of winter.

“
Are you a fairy?
”
she
’
d asked.

“
No
cara
, I
’
m your great-grandmother.
”

“
Why are you barefooted?
”
Allegra had asked.

“
Because I was buried without shoes,
”
her great-grandmother had replied and that was the first and last time she
’
d ever addressed her status as a ghost, at least with Allegra.

Allegra had once asked her father if he
’
d ever seen Ginevra and he
’
d told her yes, that she was a fixture in his life until he
’
d displeased her by marrying Mariella.
“
The woman can hold a grudge,
”
he said.
“
Say hello for me next time you see her.
”

Allegra had relayed the message and Ginevra had been pleased but her father had never told her if he
’
d resumed his conversations with the family ghost.

Back in her own office, Allegra wondered what she was going to say to Gary Wisnicki. She decided to postpone that conversation until the next day. Outside it was getting colder and darker by the minute and she still wanted to go through her mother
’
s storage unit before she went home.

“
I
’
m off,
”
she said to Severine.
“
It if looks like the snow is going to stick, you should leave early too.
”

“
I will,
”
Severine said in a tone that Allegra knew meant
“
I have work to do and I
’
ll leave when it
’
s done.
”
Allegra worried about Severine sometimes. She had an iron-clad work ethic that Allegra appreciated but she was always the first person to arrive at the office and the last to leave. She was also a person who valued her privacy so the few times Allegra had asked questions about her after-hours life, Severine had gracefully but forcefully deflected them.

Allegra saw Amira and Nabil were still hard at work in the conference room. She had set up a sewing machine on one end of the table while at the other end, Nabil was studying something through a massive magnifying glass. He saw her and smiled.

She smiled back.

At least somebody doesn
’
t have to worry about the business moving to China
, she thought.