Fashionista (8 page)

The last person Hugo expected to see at Fat Rice was Allegra Zangari. She scowled when she saw him, her look so fierce he put up his hands in mock surrender.

“
I
’
m just waiting for a takeout order,
”
he said.

“
Me too,
”
she said, looking like she would flee if she could but was too hungry to leave without her order.

“
So, I hear congratulations are in order?
”

“
What are you talking about?
”
Allegra said.

“
The sale,
”
Hugo said.

“
What sale?
”
Allegra demanded.

“
The sale of your company?
”

Allegra
’
s jaw tightened and her blue eyes went steely gray.
“
Those are just rumors,
”
she said.

I don
’
t think so
, Hugo thought, wondering if it was possible that she didn
’
t know.

She caught his expression.
“
What is it you
’
ve heard?
”
She looked so stricken it shook Hugo. But then he thought about what it would be like if he found out someone was selling his family
’
s company.
“
Sorry, I guess I
’
m mistaken,
”
he said.

Why do I feel so protective towards her?
he wondered.
It
’
s her company, if she doesn
’
t know what
’
s going on, she deserves what she gets.

Allegra reached out and put her hand on his arm.
“
Seriously Hugo, I need to know.
”

He looked at her hand, so small and pale against the dark cashmere of his overcoat. She wasn
’
t wearing gloves.

Her hands must be so cold,
he thought.
I
’
d like to warm them up,
he thought.

“
How well is Zangari doing?
”
he asked bluntly.

She stiffened and pulled her hand away.

“
We
’
re doing fine,
”
she said.

“
Are you sure?
”

“
I am.
”

“
Fine enough to buy a villa on Lake Como? Fine enough to bid on a Picasso at Sotheby
’
s?

Allegra shook her head.
“
I suppose there
’
s money for that,
”
she said.
“
But it would empty the accounts.
”

“
Who does your books?
”
Hugo asked.

“
We have an in-house accountant,
”
Allegra said, then trailed off as she realized that Margot was being phased out in favor of a firm that Julia had picked to do the accounting.

“
Why?
”

Hugo hesitated, knowing that if he told her what he knew and what he suspected, it might shatter her. But in checking into Zangari, Bailey had stumbled across some troubling things, some pieces that didn
’
t seem to fit the puzzle.

“
Mariella and Julia are buying stuff,
”
she said had told him,
“
stuff they shouldn
’
t be able to afford.
”

“
How do you know?
”
he
’
d asked.

“
Julia
’
s bragging about it,
”
she
’
d said and shown him an interview with Julia that referenced the real estate acquisitions and the art-buying spree.

“
Hugo?
”
Allegra prompted.
“
Who
’
s spreading rumors about Zangari?
”

“
Julia likes to talk,
”
he said.

“
Pillow talk?
”
Allegra asked bitterly,
entirely missing the point,
Hugo thought.

“
That was a long time ago,
”
he said.
“
You know, that Christmas night
…”

“
I don
’
t want to talk about it.
”

“
But we should have.
”

“
What was there to say?
”
Allegra said.
“
I kissed you and Julia got mad and she dumped you and that was that.
”

“
Is that what she told you happened?
”

“
You never spoke to me again,
”
Allegra said, her color rising.

“
You were fifteen Allegra. I never should have kissed you.
”

“
I kissed you first.
”

“
And I kissed you back,
”
Hugo said, really wishing that they weren
’
t having this conversation within earshot of everyone waiting for their take-out orders.

“
You couldn
’
t wait to get away.
”

Is that what you think?

“
I didn
’
t want to leave,
”
he said.
“
I had to leave. You were so lovely. And I wanted you so much. But you were fifteen.
”

“
So, why didn
’
t you call me when you and Julia broke up?
”

“
You were fifteen,
”
he said, frustrated.

“
You do realize we live in the 21
^st
century?
”

“
You weren
’
t a virgin?
”
he asked.

Allegra hesitated.
“
I was then,
”
she admitted finally, not adding that she
’
d wanted him to be her first, had fantasized it so often that sometimes it almost felt like that
’
s the way it had happened.
But I
’
m not going to tell him that
, she thought.

“
It was a long time ago,
”
he repeated, knowing that it was probably not the right thing to say.

“
Right,
”
she said.
“
And besides, you probably had random teenagers throwing themselves at you all the time,
”
she said.

He looked at her for a long moment.
“
You were never random, Allegra. Never
”
He couldn
’
t read the expression on her face as her wide eyes searched his.
“
Forgive me?
”

“
Now you
’
re patronizing me,
”
Allegra said, angry again.

He blew out an exasperated breath.
“
I can
’
t win.
”

“
I didn
’
t realize we were playing a game.
”

Hugo was about to reply when he heard his name called and saw his take-out order was ready. Grateful for the interruption, he picked up the sack, then turned back to Allegra for a final word.

“
You really need to bring in an independent auditor,
”
he said.
“
There
’
s a lot more money leaving Zangari than coming in.
”

She was shaking her head in denial as he left the restaurant.

She
’
s not fifteen any more,
Hugo thought to himself.

Allegra returned to the House of Zangari and immediately closeted herself in her office and did some Googling.

Two hours later she
’
d discovered enough to suggest that there really was something rotten in the House of Zangari and it had nothing to do with selling the business to China.

She called Grace.

“
Do you know any private investigators?
”
she asked.

“
The firm has one we use,
”
she said.
“
You need his number?
”

“
Yes.
”

“
Does it have anything to do with the business?
”
“
Yes,
”
Allegra said.

“
Don
’
t tell me any more or it
’
ll be a conflict of interest,
”
Grace said.
“
Ask for Christine. Tell her I sent you.
”

“
You
’
re the best.
”

“
Good luck.
”

Unsettled by her conversation with Hugo and what she had learned online, Allegra had a hard time concentrating on her drawing. She was about to give up when Sina and Amira appeared at her office door.

Amira was holding a garment bag and looking hesitant, Sina was smiling broadly.

“
Amira made a dress for you as a thank you present for letting her and Nabil stay here.
”

Wow
Allegra thought.
“
Thank you Amira.
”

“
It is my pleasure,
”
Amira said.

“
I
’
m teaching her English,
”
Sina said.

Amira held out the garment bag. Allegra unzipped it to find a gorgeous gown with a black velvet scooped neck bodice and a crimson satin skirt.

It was beautiful

“
Amira, thank you,
”
Allegra said and impulsively hugged her. Though Amira was startled, she hugged Allegra back.

“
And these are from Nabil,
”
Sina said.
“
To go with the dress.
”
She held out a pair of delicate, leaf-shaped golden earrings with Plique-
à
-jour enameling in shades of wine and gold and purple. The detail was breathtaking.

“
Please thank him for me,
”
she said.

Amira said something to Sina in Arabic.

“
She wants you to put it on,
”
she said, indicating the dress.

“
I don
’
t know,
”
Allegra said, and the she thought,
Oh why not?

“
Close the door, Sina.
”

Sina smiled and closed the door, positioning herself in front of it as Allegra shimmied out of the chunky knit sweater dress was wearing. Amira
’
s eyes widened when she realized that Allegra wasn
’
t wearing a bra.

She probably thinks I
’
m a slut
, Allegra thought.
She and Hugo should compare notes.

But she didn
’
t want to think about Hugo Prince right now. She had bigger problems.

Amira pulled the dress over Allegra
’
s head and smoothed it down.

“
You look like a princess,
”
Sina said. Allegra twirled around, loving the way the luxurious fabric swirled around her.
“
I feel like a princess,
”
she said. Amira blushed.

And then someone knocked on the office door.

“
Allegra, are you in there?
”
It was Julia.

Allegra and Sina exchanged looks and Allegra gestured for her to move out of the way.

“
Come in,
”
she called.

Julia entered and took in the scene
—
Allegra in the ball gown, her street clothes on the floor.

“
I didn
’
t know we were playing dress-up,
”
she said snottily.
“
I would have brought my tiara.
”

“
What do you need Julia?
”
Allegra answered.

“
We
’
re going to be reorganizing the design department,
”
she said.
“
It
’
s going to be just you and whichever assistant you can
’
t live without. Everyone else has to go.
”

“
I need everyone in my design department,
”
Allegra said.

“
One other,
”
Julia said.
“
If you can
’
t handle the design chores yourself, we
’
ll find someone who can.
”

“
You can
’
t do that,
”
Sina protested.

Julia rounded on her sister.
“
We
’
re a leather goods company, Sina, not a jewelry design atelier. The only reason you have a job here is your name is Zangari.
”
She looked over at Amira.
“
She
’
s not named Zangari and neither is her brother. Mother wants them gone by month
’
s end.
”

Sina looked rebellious but didn
’
t say anything.

Julia locked eyes with Allegra.
“
You and one other,
”
she said.
“
If you don
’
t make the choice, we
’
ll make it for you.
”

“
Get out of my office,
”
Allegra said. Julia gave her a superior glance, turned on her heel and left.

“
Julia is a mean girl,
”
Amira said.

Oh yes,
Allegra thought.
She certainly is.

Allegra changed back out of the dress and hung it on a hook on the back of her office door. Then she asked Severine to come in for a conference.

“
I
’
m leaving Zangari,
”
she said after she shut the door.

“
Thank God,
”
Severine said.

“
I
’
m going to enter the Chicago Cinderella Contest
”
because if I win, we
’
ll have a contract with Prince
’
s and that
’
ll give me collateral to get a loan to get me started. Are you with me?
”

“
Yes,
”
Severine said.

“
Then let
’
s take an early lunch.
”

“
Didn
’
t you just bring lunch in?
”

Allegra gave her a look.
“
I
’
m still hungry.
”

“