“No, Paul, we couldn’t,” she said gently, but firmly. She was a woman who knew her own mind. And Paul knew her well enough to know he wouldn’t change it. He left her office looking dejected. Mike Weston was such a great opportunity to turn down. He was huge.
An hour later, Beau rolled a rack in with five dresses for her to try. She eliminated two immediately. One was bright pink, and he loved it, but he had been almost sure she wouldn’t. The second one was black and looked too severe. The other three were more her style. She was immediately drawn to a soft brushed gold gown, which hung simply and draped from one shoulder and molded her figure. It would have to be shortened, but their alterations department could do it in an hour. She tried it on, and it looked as though it had been made for her.
“You look like a goddess,” Beau said, smiling at her. “It’s perfect.” He had brought shoes for her to try with it. And she had a gold evening bag at home that would be a perfect match. There was a soft gold-colored wrap she could wear if she got cold. She had some beautiful pieces in her own wardrobe, which she seldom wore. She had hardly gone to formal parties since her divorce. It was no longer part of her lifestyle. She went to work and spent weekends with her sons. She didn’t need an evening gown to have dinner with Bill Kelly. They rarely went anywhere, except to the Italian restaurant near her house. “You look incredible,” Beau said, admiring her. “You should get dressed up more often.”
“I’d look silly coming to work in a ball gown, and it’s a little over the top for the playground with the boys.” She smiled at him.
“We have to do something to jazz up your life,” he said.
“This is all the jazz I need.” But she had to admit the dress was beautiful, and wearing it was going to be fun.
Beau pinned the hem for her and took the dress to alterations, and she called Bill and apologized for the night before. “I need a favor,” she said. “Will you go to a black-tie event at the Met with me tomorrow night? I have to go for the store.” He only hesitated for an instant, still a little miffed that she hadn’t seen him the night before, but it sounded like fun to him too.
“Sure.”
“We don’t have to stay late.” He promised to pick her up, and she went back to her desk. She was all set for the Met. She had a dress and a date. She wasn’t going to make a big evening of it. She’d had a long week. All she had to do was put in an appearance for the store, and the dress was a knockout. Maybe it would be a fun evening after all.
Chapter 5
Spencer worked with Marcy and Beau in her office the day of the charity event at the Met. They were confirming their winter buy for the store. The orders had already been placed several months before, but Spencer liked to go over them in detail. Beau had added three new up-and-coming designers from France, and the same high-end luxury brands they always ordered. He was diligent about coming in under the budget, and he had done it again. Marcy, having bought for the store for thirty years before becoming president, always joined Spencer and Beau for their meetings to offer advice and an overview of the coming season. The three of them worked well together. Spencer had learned a great deal from Marcy, and Beau had been a big success as their fashion director since Spencer had hired him away from Neiman Marcus seven years before. Their future winter buy looked exciting to all three of them.
Marcy had just turned sixty-two, but she was as chic and youthful as ever, with her short snow-white hair. She was full of energy and represented them well as president of the store. She was always cooperative and willing to take direction from Spencer as CEO, despite the fact that she had known her as a little girl. At thirty-seven, Spencer was no longer a child and ran the store with a gentle but firm hand, with her eye on the future, and made responsible decisions which had served them well. Brooke’s under Spencer’s guidance was even more profitable than it had been when her grandfather ran it. She had learned her lessons well in business school.
She mentioned some of the ideas that she and Paul Trask had discussed recently, including long-term expansion and an annex nearby, and Marcy looked concerned.
“Do you ever think about moving out of the neighborhood?” she asked Spencer, and Beau nodded. He had thought of it too. He knew how attached Spencer was to the building they were in because of her grandfather, but there were increasing numbers of homeless people sleeping in front of the building at night, and they got police reports of muggings, petty thefts, and more recently the rape of a woman who lived nearby. “I think it’s getting worse,” Marcy added.