Thank you to everybody who read or left kudos for the last chapter. Fashion Week chaos continues.
This is one of the first chapters I muddled through after my mother died. I appreciate all the encouragement I can get.
Chapter 73: NYC FW 2010: part two
Wednesday, September 15, 2010, 6:43 AM
The boyfriend: It is way too early to be up and fully dressed. Especially because I didn't get back home until midnight, and it was totally your fault.
Austin: I'm not sorry. Although I already had a latte and an espresso.
The boyfriend: I'm getting one as soon as I get to the office. Are you already there?
Austin: No. I'm at the deli right now, picking up breakfast for everyone. Monique is catering breakfast for the crew and models. Yes, there will be lots of coffee. I'm bringing your favorite.
The boyfriend: Bless you. It's probably good that she's bringing food.
Austin: I think she's doing it because I told her Cassandra forgot to eat yesterday.
The boyfriend: She would. I would've also starved without Skye making me.
Austin: Also, these are models that actually eat.
The boyfriend: At least the fruit cups. Do we have fruit cups?
Austin: Of course we do. We also have spinach and egg white sandwiches on low-carb flatbread in addition to multigrain muffins and bagels.
Austin: Yes, I've saved you one already. I also snuck in a piece of bacon because I know you still like bacon.
The boyfriend: Even though it goes straight to my hips.
Austin: That's a bonus. More to grab.
The boyfriend: Don't say things like that to me when I'm with my mom and stepdad.
Austin: Again, not sorry.
The boyfriend: We will be up there soon. Bobby just dropped us off.
Austin: That's good. We're now in transport to Mode. We have so much food.
The boyfriend: I hope you brought chocolate. Mom is currently screaming at someone on the phone.
Austin: Why?
The boyfriend: We've lost a member of the hair team.
The boyfriend: Apparently, they have the flu.
The boyfriend: Or pneumonia. They've changed stories twice.
Austin: Oh, that's not good.
The boyfriend: Mom just got her to confess that Isabella is paying her triple to bail on us last minute.
Austin: What did your mom say?
The boyfriend: That she should've just been upfront about the money. She can at least respect that.
The boyfriend: Also, if they're able to pay that much to the hair and makeup people, they should have offered Marc something reasonable. I had to point out that Marc was being paid more than average at Mode.
Austin: Sorry, I missed it. Will you be helping with preshow chaos, or will you be doing other things?
The boyfriend: That was the plan initially, but I just ran into Megan. One of the junior writers who was supposed to cover one of the lower-level shows at 8:30 AM took a job at Isabella immediately. So, guess who needs to be in a town car in 10 minutes?
Austin: I'm so sorry. We're in the parking lot. I'm going to go to your car and drop off your food.
The boyfriend: Thank you. Can you wait? I want at least a good morning kiss.
Austin: I have a few minutes before I need to set up the buffet. Who is going with you?
The boyfriend: Monique's new assistant. I haven't done shows with her yet. I think they're rotating me.
Austin: Possibly. Also, Skye will need to take care of the babies, and Tamika is better at wrangling everybody.
The boyfriend: Probably. I see you.
Xxxx
Austin quickly placed his phone in his pocket as Justin wrapped his arms around him and kissed him.
"Your outfit is cute," Justin commented as he finally pulled away.
"The aunt sent it. Thank you for not adding any wrinkles." Austin joked.
"Because she anticipated you pushing your boyfriend up against a town car way too early in the morning," Monique commented from behind with several bags of goodies in her hands. A few staff members from the restaurant were behind her, pushing a cart with most of the breakfast spread.
"Thankfully, I have pictures and will send them to Bree," Antonella added. Of course, she had her hands free so she could take pictures.
"She did ask for all the behind-the-scenes chaos," Monique commented. "I'm sorry you can't stay and continue making out with your boyfriend. But thank you for agreeing to fill in last minute for Alberto."
"It's OK, and I'm happy to help," Justin said cheerily. He's probably happy that he will not have to help with model wrangling.
"I appreciate it. I think we will be losing more people to Isabella. Especially now that they've broken out the checkbook."
"You should know I got a call last night from Isabella HR," Justin told the group. Monique sighed.
"What did you do?" Austin asked his boyfriend.
"I handed them over to my mom since I'm just 16." Justin answered, smirking. "They hung up very quickly. Although that might be why they retaliated by stealing members of the hair and makeup team."
"I am not surprised. I'll talk to your mom when I get upstairs. It looks like my plan to go home after my rousing speech will not happen."
"You definitely should've stayed home," Justin told her as he opened the door to the town car.
"Probably," Austin leaned over to kiss him.
"I'll see you at the Mode show this afternoon." Justin pulled away reluctantly.
"Are you going to be in the audience or the back with the rest of us peasants?" Austin asked.
"Wherever you are." That answer got one final kiss. Unfortunately, that's when Monique's assistant pulled Justin into the car.
"I know you're sad. But he'll be back in a few hours." Breanna said a few moments later as the car pulled away.
"We will also be so busy that you won't think about it," Antonella added.
"She's right. Let's get everything up to the conference room.
"Fine." Austin grabbed the bags he put down while he was kissing his boyfriend. "Did you let anyone know that we're doing this?"
"I'll text from the elevator," Monique said as she led the group to the elevators.
Xxx
Big boss Monique: I heard nobody's eating, so I brought breakfast for everybody. We're setting up in the conference room.
Big boss Monique: I also brought several gallons of coffee.
Marc: Bless you.
Megan: I'm already on my 3rd cup. I need a refill. I didn't actually go home last night. The couches here aren't horrible.
Marc: Wilhelmina wanted something comfortable for personal activities.
Big boss Monique: Anyway, I promise I brought the good stuff. Can you and Megan gather the staff already here into the conference room in 15 minutes for food and for me to give a pep talk? I feel like we're going to need a pep talk.
Marc: I'll have Tamika send an email. I'll make it voluntary because chaos has already ensued.
Big boss Monique: What happened? I already know about the hairdresser sick out and Alberto leaving.
Megan: We lost another designer.
Big boss Monique: How?
Megan: Isabella promised them a four-page spread in the Christmas issue.
Marc: Which is heading to the stands in a month. So, I am wondering if she'll actually keep that promise.
Big boss Monique: No, it makes sense because she's probably throwing out all the content of her predecessor. That's perhaps why they are going after some of our lower-level people that have not already been burned by Isabella. In addition to poaching Alberto and blackmailing Marc, they approached Justin. He had Hilda take care of it for him.
Marc: Thankfully, a lot of people have been burned by Isabella. They approached my number two after I told Leslie hell no yesterday. He did similarly, but with more laughing. Honestly, they're going to have trouble getting people from us, which is why they are already bringing in people from the London offices.
Megan: How do you know that?
Marc: Amanda made friends in the cafeteria when she was temping for Betty. When Kate C and Kate D found out they must be in New York in a week, they sent emergency text messages to Amanda. She sent me screenshots this morning.
Big boss Monique: Amanda really is the best. Does she know how many people they're bringing in and their specialties?
Marc: Two senior editors and the junior creative Director. Also, Betty's ex-assistant is coming as a junior writer. There may be a few other people being brought in from London Hub, but you'll need to ask Betty. She might not even know until Lindsay reassigned them behind her back.
Big boss Monique: I am not even surprised. Come to the conference room for a muffin. I'll call Brianna to see if she has any suggestions on dealing with the fact that we are a designer short. She might know somebody ready to participate in a mini showcase with about four hours notice.
Megan: I don't know if even she could pull off that miracle.
Marc: Cliff just pointed out that we could not add another designer. We can make it work with nine. I'm sure all of them have another design or two to show off, so the show would be the same length.
Megan: It could work. It would definitely be the easiest solution. Initially, didn't you just want this to be the Mode design showcase?
Big boss Monique: Yes, but we also decided to add a few other designers. Suddenly, we had 10 again until we had to fire that one designer for making a pass at my sister-in-law.
Marc: Oh, that's why Megan fired him.
Megan: He also made a pass at Cassandra and me. However, the underage was where I drew the line.
Big boss Monique: Remember, you always have the right to fire people like that as quickly as possible. Thank you for doing so, Megan. It's why I forgive you for making Antonella your go-for last week. I assume it might've been to protect her from assholes.
Megan: Yep. Your mom is working on blacklisting the guy.
Marc: Good for her.
Big boss Monique: I think it might be easier just to rebrand the show again.
Marc: I will work with the team to get the graphics changed. We will keep things ambiguous just in case anyone else pulls out.
Big boss Monique: See crisis averted. Come get pastries and coffee.
Xxx
Monique isn't sure what type of reception she expected when she returned to Mode. It definitely wasn't Megan coming to play with the baby.
"Is that Jamie? They're so cute." Monique passed the baby to Megan.
"Jamie is wearing a West Hartley original that Breanna made specifically for fashion week. Marc, you should also get another box soon with a matching outfit."
"Like she needs more clothes from her pseudo-aunt. I thought you hated babies. You always avoid me whenever I have Jade." Marc looked directly at Megan as she passed the baby back to Monique.
"Your daughter threw a pacifier at me twice. Jamie has yet to do that."
"We will work on that." She heard Marc whisper to Jamie as he grabbed the latte that Austin handed to him.
"I really wish we could take you from Cory. You got my order right and everything." Marc said as he sat next to Monique at the front of the conference table. Megan went to her other side. Others started coming into the room and took seats without grabbing food first.
"I promise it's OK to have a muffin. Or a fruit cup. Jamie will be available for cuddles afterward once you sanitize your hands."
"She is definitely a brand-new mom," Monique heard Cassandra say from behind her. She was currently the only one grabbing food.
"Oh, I am absolutely a new mom, and I have the best baby. The only one who disagrees with me is Marc, who believes Jade is better." Several people chuckled at that.
"So I brought food to tell you how grateful I am that all of you gave me time with this little one." She said, pointing to Jamie. "I know it was the absolute worst time to adopt a child with me just starting and fashion week season fast approaching. However, all of you allowed me the time I needed to bond with my little snuggle bunny. Especially Marc and Megan, who had led you through this fashion week process. This is their show this afternoon. And from what I've seen, it will be great."
"Even if we keep losing designers." Monique is not sure who said that; probably one of the Hudson transplants. She hates that the transition happened while she was on maternity leave. So there are a lot of people she doesn't know yet.
"Even though I've been in the baby zone, I've been keeping an eye on things, and you have all been doing great work. Despite a few setbacks."
"Victoria Hartley being a witch," Megan whispered next to her.
"I know that you will continue doing great work when I officially come back part-time Monday." People actually clapped. She heard at least one whisper, "thank God we don't have to deal with Megan being in charge anymore."
"I know we're encountering some difficulties right now because Isabella is pissed at us for taking Alexandria Lingerie."
"And our president fucked her husband." That was said by the person sitting next to Austin, causing the teenager to put his head down on the table. Poor kid. Unfortunately, that's when someone whispered, "Tyler." Monique is very grateful nobody knows about Austin yet.
"Thanks to the Mode rumor mill, I'm sure all of you are aware that the new owners of Isabella Press have many reasons to hate us. Unfortunately, not all of them are actually business related. And it's already obvious that they are trying to get back at us by various means," some of which may or may not be legal. "But that's not us. We will beat them by being better, not nastier. Because that's who we are now. I know every one of you will make this the best fashion magazine possible." That led to more clapping.
"OK, everybody eat. You'll need your energy because today will be chaos, and we still have a black-and-white ball to get through this week."
Xx
A little while later.
Brianna: I'm sorry for texting everybody way too early this morning. I got an update from the PI. They're sending someone to Chicago to do a welfare check. In the meantime, they will get access to Tiffany's phone records and check her credit card usage.
Daniel: Is that legal?
Breanna: It's best for all involved that I don't answer that question.
Matt burn phone nine: You should have the investigators look at George's records too.
Breanna: The team is already looking into that. Matt, were you able to get the postcards?
Vivian: I have them. I'm working with my legal team to get writing samples. They have contacted Tiffany's lawyers to see if they have additional samples. That was the first time they'd spoken to Tiffany's legal team since she signed the custody papers.
Brianna: Has Tiffany's legal team heard from her?
Vivian: They said they can't give that answer to my legal team, but they will to the cops. I will interpret that as they have yet to hear from her either.
Hilda: Obviously, we have a reason to be concerned.
Brianna: Very concerned, especially if the phone or credit records do not show any recent activities.
Matt: When do I tell Austin what's going on? I don't know how long I can keep this from him. He knows that someone went through his dresser drawer, but I convinced him it was Esmeralda refolding his clothes. I don't know if he believes me.
Hilda: Let the PIs do a welfare check and look into her phone records before we tell Austin. Maybe we are just being paranoid.
Vivian: I agree not to tell Austin yet. However, we'll have to tell him if we file a missing persons report for both her and George.
Hilda: Do we have to put in the report for George?
Vivian: Yes, if there's no activity on his phone or credit cards.
Brianna: I don't want to tell anyone until we have more evidence that something has gone wrong. For all we know, George decided that he and Tiffany were starting a new life and tossed all their credit cards and cell phones in a ditch. Let's give the investigators time to figure out what happened. We'll tell the others later when things are less chaotic, and we're sure. There's a reason why Monique, Marc, and Cliff are all absent from this conversation.
Hilda: Good call; it's already chaos here.
Two members of the hair team called in sick this morning. One of them eventually confessed that they were hired by Victoria. I'm calling in favors from old cosmetology school friends.
Matt Burn phone nine: Victoria would do that.
Brianna: It wouldn't be the first time my former sister-in-law tried sabotaging a fashion show.
Wilhelmina: She was the one who had people spill paint on your dresses for your first show?
Brianna: Yes, not that I could actually prove it.
Vivian: That is very unsurprising.
Wilhelmina: At this point, it's important to gather evidence that she is engaging in criminal activity. I have a visitation with Connor tomorrow. I will ask for his opinion on the situation.
Daniel: He might actually find something out in white-collar prison. (message not sent.)
Vivian: Her ex-assistant is willing to talk to the investigators. Ryan has already scheduled the interview.
Wilhelmina: That might be useful. God knows I had Marc involved in my many stunts. She may know a lot.
Breanna: Matt, do you remember who was your mom's personal assistant when Austin was born? I know she still had an office as part of the group. Big brother haven't yet moved her fully to the foundation.
Matt burn phone nine: Jamel Henderson. Unfortunately, if I remember correctly, he died about a year later.
Daniel: Do you remember why?
Matt burn phone nine: Death by suicide.
Matt burn phone nine: Or at least that's what the cops wrote it off as.
Brianna: I will add it to the list of things for the investigator to look into.
Daniel: Seriously, Matt, you told Betty that your mom was the nice one?
Matt burn phone nine: In my defense, that was before I realized she was the homicidal one.
Vivian: Mercedes and I are having lunch with Cal today. I'll see what he knows.
Breanna: And I will follow up tomorrow. Can we have breakfast at Ross? I just realized that if we go anywhere else, we're going to be hounded by paparazzi before the eggs even show up at the table.
Vivian: We usually don't do breakfast on weekdays, but we will make an exception for you.
Hilda: I need to go do someone's hair. Keep me posted.
Breanna: We will.
Daniel: Just to let the rest of the group know, I have increased Amanda's security. She also agreed not to leave the house until Christine's show Monday.
Matt burn phone nine: They're going to go after her for the article, aren't they?
Daniel: Possibly. The tabloids are extra nasty in the UK. Unlike in the US, they're not confined to supermarket shelves.
Matt burn phone nine: Now I'm wondering if I should have waited until after the babies were born.
Breanna: No, this needs to come out now. You should get to live your own life. We just will have more security.
Vivian: Hillary already has a team in place for Cory.
Matt burn phone nine: Of course, she does.
Vivian: My sister is arriving tomorrow, and I've briefed her on the situation. She has connections and can arrange for additional security if you need more.
Daniel: That would be good. Amanda is afraid she's going to get kicked out.
Vivian: Not at all. My sister understands the situation better than I do. Her first husband was an abusive piece of shit. Thankfully because of our connections, it was easy to get rid of him. However, she has made it her mission to help others.
Matt burn phone nine: My mother is as bad as any abusive boyfriend.
Breanna: It's worse because she's terrorizing everyone, including you. Be careful.
Matt burn phone nine: We will be.
Xxxxx
Austin love: How's the show?
Justin: Awful. I understand why Alberto decided to work with the bitch instead. I'm hoping for better tomorrow.
Justin: How are things at Mode right now?
Austin love: High chaos. One of the designers has yet to show up. We need to do backstage shots for the article and the blog. Thankfully, this is no longer the ten designers to watch, so it doesn't matter if we lose another one.
Justin: Which is good.
Austin love: Although Megan is convinced Victoria is responsible for this one as well.
Justin: That would not surprise me. She is here, by the way.
Austin love: Of course she is. Please tell me she was tackled by security.
Justin: No such luck.
Austin: Pity.
Justin: Although she gave Monique's assistant her business card and mentioned that she was in the market for a new assistant again.
Austin love: She absolutely would try to poach Monique's new assistant. And it would backfire on her spectacularly.
Justin: It would, and now I'm trying to talk Ms. Sanchez into taking a meeting.
Austin love: She would be a good double agent.
Justin: Absolutely.
Austin love: Megan just made someone cry.
Justin: Is it someone we hate?
Austin love: The new guy from Hudson that thought you were Marc's sugar baby until he found out you were one of the owner's future brother-in-law. He spilled coffee on one of the outfits.
Justin: Wait, they're saying I am Daniel's brother-in-law?
Austin love: Sometimes. Other times they go with nephew. There is also the occasional stepson. The rumor mill is really mixed up on it, and we've all collectively agreed not to correct it.
Justin: I just groaned out loud.
Austin love: It's better than everybody thinking I'm Matt's son. That's just super creepy.
Justin: At least they realize you're related.
Justin: We'll have to pass by Betty's boss to get out of here. Wish me luck.
Austin love: Don't throw anything at him.
xxxx
"I'm so glad you could fit me into your schedule." Cal Hartley said as he slid in the seed across from Mercedes. They were once again in the private dining room at Ross. She wanted to be on neutral ground for this.
"I'm happy that you agreed to have lunch with me. It's so chaotic right now with everything going on. Plus, I wanted to cheer Monique on this afternoon. Mom will be here soon to escort me to Monique's big show. I hope you don't mind her joining us for lunch too." She should've been here by now, but she was on the phone with the private investigator. Things are not looking good with Tiffany.
"That's fine. I owe her an apology as well," Cal said as he placed his napkin in his lap.
"You're not responsible for the stupidity of your ex-wife."
"Tell that to my sister. I've been trying to make amends for a lot of the things Victoria has done. I'm not sure I ever will be able to fix everything."
"So why are you actually here? My answer is still no on Singapore. Also, you could have sent an apology gift basket for the unpleasantness at the Labor Day soirée."
"I'm not sure even I can afford the gift basket to apologize for that." Cal joked.
"Well, for us. At least your ex-wife didn't threaten to get my estranged, abusive parent to challenge me for custody of my children."
"I am aware of how my ex-wife threatened your sister's number two."
"Just to get him to Isabella to do her dirty work. She wants to be the head of the company, but she doesn't actually want to get her hands dirty," Mercedes commented.
"You're not wrong. Victoria prefers being the socialite wife more than being someone like you." At that moment, the door opened. Mercedes was hoping for the server, but it was her mom.
"It's lovely to see you, Vivian. I'm so sad we really didn't get to talk at the Labor Day party." Cal said as he got up to kiss her mother on the cheek.
"I couldn't let Matt spend that much time with your ex-wife. Especially when she was trying to keep him from his boyfriend." Vivian commented as she quickly went to her seat. "Tatyana will be up with drinks in a moment." That was good because they would need a lot of alcohol.
"I'm sure whatever you choose would be fine."
"They have an excellent collection here. I asked Tatyana to send up what pairs best with the menu for today. I hope you don't mind we're doing a pre-selected menu based on the food preferences we got from Corbin. We must leave within the hour to get to the Mode show on time."
"It's fine. I've heard good things about this place from my sister. Apparently, we're having brunch here tomorrow. I didn't know Ross did brunch on weekdays."
"We don't, but the October issue of Player hit stands at midnight tonight. Breanna thought it would be best if your breakfast would be somewhere private. We agreed to her suggestion, and Chef Carlo is putting a special menu together." She's jealous. She's sure Chef Carlo's brunch would be fabulous.
"So you know about that?" Cal asked.
"Matt and I became friends after my marriage imploded in front of him and he protected my kids from Chad. He is an excellent babysitter." Mercedes answered.
"Good to know," Cal answered. "I've already warned my assistant to be on the watch for Victoria tomorrow. Corbin also warned security. I'll have them be on the lookout for the press."
"It will probably be ugly. You should let PR know as well." Vivian suggested.
"I will confirm with Breanna. I'm certain she already did that."
"That's highly probable. I'm sure we are not here to discuss your son's pending coming out."
"Or maybe we are?" Mercedes raised an eyebrow.
"No, not after making sure that Breanna already hired additional security."
"Monique did as well," Vivian added.
"Good."
"I'm still not going to change my mind about Singapore. So I hope you're not here to talk about that because it's useless.
"I am aware."
"So why are we here?" Her mother asked, taking a sip of her water.
"Last week, during Calista's exit interview, Victoria's former assistant mentioned that you asked her to keep me away from Austin. Also, that his mom used to work for me about nine months before he was born."
"Oh," Mercedes commented as she drank the rest of her water, wishing Tatiana would hurry up with the alcohol.
"So, you know?" Her mother asked.
"I suspected, which is why I had an investigator try to track Tiffany down. Imagine my surprise when nobody has seen her since she left Manhattan last month." Her mother sighed.
"You don't look surprised?" Cal commented.
"We've had our suspicions for a few days. I was late because I was speaking with our private investigator. There's been no movement on her credit cards or phone since leaving New York. Our detective is still working on the husband. Austin has received two postcards from Tiffany. We don't think they're her signature, but we need additional handwriting samples to prove it." Vivian explained.
"I have something I can give to your investigator." Mercedes wondered if Cal was giving them old love letters. What else would he keep for 17 years? She doubts the Hartley group keeps their records that long.
"Good."
"Is Austin my son?" Mercedes has decided that her mom is the one answering that question.
"So far, the DNA test has proven that he is a relative of Matt, Brianna, and Tyler. You're the common link between the three, but that doesn't necessarily mean you're the father." Vivian answered diplomatically.
"I am sure my sister has a sample of my DNA on file," Cal added.
"She does, but I rather do a fresh test."
"I would like to do it again as well in case…." Cal started, but he was cut off by Vivian.
"I have custody of Austin right now. And honestly, I'd rather keep it that way. I don't think Austin will want to spend time with you if it turns out your ex-wife was responsible for the deaths of his mom and stepfather." even if Austin truly despised his stepfather.
"You have a point. But Brianna could be an option." Cal suggested.
"I was brought in because your sister is already dealing with a lot, and Matt, as a foster parent, would be a problem for many reasons." And Antonella begged her to save her best friend from Chicago. Now Mercedes wonders if her mom saved him from something else much worse.
"Alexis is getting better. Alexis is getting better?" Cal asked, concerned.
"That's a conversation to have with your sister at brunch tomorrow." Her mother answered quietly.
Thankfully at that moment, Tatiana brought in the food and alcohol. Bless her mom for sending up French fries. And bourbon. She had two shots.
To be continued