Where everyone is looking for something
In the morning, I had a pile of missed calls. Has Ella gone crazy? Had she nothing better to do? I pushed the pillow away. It was surprisingly cloudy outside. "I wonder if it will rain?" - a thought flickered through my mind. My robe didn’t shield me from the gusts of wind on the balcony, but the tea was gifting me hot steam, causing my cheeks to sweat. Before the beeps on my phone could even begin, Elizabeth was already yelling at me through the receiver:
— Levitska Adelina Maria! I’m going to kill you right now! — I moved the phone away from my ear. How loud she was. But if Ella used my full name, then she was probably really angry with me.
— And good morning to you too, dear Ella. What happened? — my voice was as calm as possible.
— What happened? Oh-oh-oh, now she’s curious about what happened! — Ella took a breath and dived back into battle. — Well, first of all, I’d like to know what’s up with you, because I called a hundred times, if not more, and you didn’t even send me a tiny message. How do I know if you made it home?
— Sorry, — I genuinely felt bad, — I think I overdid it with alcohol yesterday, you know it always puts me to sleep.
— I know, — the girl replied indifferently. I entered the living room with a deep exhale and shut the balcony door, — but you have no idea what happened when you left, — now she seemed cheerful and that scared me even more.
I didn't want to tell her that I had a suspicion about what might have happened.
— Nikolia... — with that name, she scattered all my doubts.
— What happened between you and him? — I sharply asked, interrupting my friend and sitting in the cocoon chair.
— Nothing like what you might think, — Elizabeth immediately denied, but I wasn’t too reassured by her words. — After you left, everyone else started dispersing too. Nik picked up my shawl and put it around my shoulders, then he asked to give me a ride home. You should have seen his car! Not a car, but a dream. Pure delight! — her emotions overflowed, which made me remain tense: had she never seen a nice car before?
— He offered me his hand to help me sit down easily, can you imagine?!!
— As if he could act otherwise, — there was nothing remarkable about Nik offering her his hand, but such a reaction to this simple action made me think.
Why was Nik behaving like that? Of course, he is a gentleman, but what interested him about Ella in particular? There are always hundreds of charming women around guys like him. Why Ella? Yes, she’s attractive, has a good sense of humor, but she doesn’t belong to his circle. She is too... Simple?
— Adele, are you even listening to me?
— Yes, yes, I’m sorry, what were you saying? — I hadn’t been listening.
— Not listening, but whatever, I can repeat, — I didn’t doubt that. — I’m saying that later he asked for my number and suggested we have lunch together sometime, and I agreed, — she chirped.
Oh no! This definitely won’t end well.
— Sorry, don’t you think that seems suspicious? He’s Leo’s best friend and we are just the next girls for them, — I hadn’t planned to say that.
— And don’t you think you’re being too biased, Dell? A nice guy with a good heart and substantial wealth is interested in you.
— Do you think I’m that concerned about money?
— That's not the point! You’re still pushing him away! You’re too detached. You should’ve thought about your happiness a long time ago, but not only do you not do that, you’re trying to pull me away from my happiness too, — well, who pulled my tongue? — I don’t want to talk about it anymore. I’ll see you at work, — and she hung up again before I could respond.
I remembered that our classes were canceled and sighed. At least I wouldn’t have to face her outraged glances. Ella was in the same year as me, so our lessons lined up perfectly. Madame Miranda had been ill for the second week, so the art classes were called off.
I put on a black turtleneck and dark blue jeans, high over-the-knee boots, a leather belt, and a blazer. A big leather bag with sketches and some things on hand gave the look integrity. I looked in the mirror. Not too bad. The elevator wasn’t working (what in this building actually works?), I had to walk down from the fifth floor. After yesterday, even that task was tricky.
I rushed to Damiano’s place, but he wasn’t at work. "So, it’s not just me recovering from last night," - a thought crossed my mind. The coffee from the bartender filling in for him wasn’t that delicious, but I didn’t complain. The subway was as crowded as always, I pulled out a book to look at some materials and noticed something. There was no handkerchief in my bag. That handkerchief with De Villa’s initials. For a second, I thought I’d left it at home, in another bag I took to the estate yesterday, but I remembered that while transferring things from one bag to another today, I didn’t see it there. Oh, Holy Merlin, what if it fell out somewhere at home? I tried to recall last night’s events in my head and realized that I only took the handkerchief out once, when I wanted to wipe off my lipstick. Of course, when I put it back, I might have gotten flustered with the arrival of new guests and didn’t notice when it fell out. I prayed to all the gods I knew and didn’t know that it wasn’t so. Leo would surely notice it and understand that I had been keeping it with me all this time. And why didn’t my silly head think of just handing the handkerchief back? No, I even wiped my lipstick with it.
I was irritated when I left the station, but I had to forget everything when I entered the old house past the burly guard.
— Good morning, Madame Levitska, they are already waiting for you in the conference room. This is about the new show, — greeted me the girl at the front desk, she stubbornly spoke to me in English for some reason, although I stubbornly responded to her in Italian. Well, the first two weeks... And then I gave in.
— Good morning, Valensiya, can you tell me if Elizabeth is already here?
— Since early morning, she arrived before everyone else and has been in Miss Lynette’s office for an hour.
— Thank you, — curious, what is she doing there?
I knocked on the large glass doors.
— Venire, — I heard and pushed the handle.
— A-a-a, Adeline, entra in casa, — Madame Lynette surprisingly was in a good mood. She was Italian with an English upbringing and didn’t like when things didn’t go according to plan, and before any show, things usually didn’t go according to plan.
— Buongiorno! — I greeted her.
— We have catastrophically little time left, let’s get to work right away! — another trait of Madame Lynette — she is the biggest panicker I know, but the woman hides it very skillfully.
— I brought more sketches, just as you requested, — I pulled my drawings, which I had been working on the past week, out onto the table.
— Benissimo! — exclaimed Madame Lynette and began to examine my papers closely. I didn’t even notice how she took a pencil and started to fix something in my sketches, then asked Ella to help her. I was left only to sit and watch as they edited the work I had dedicated all my time to. After a few minutes, Madame Lynette joyfully said:
— Now we have all the looks for our autumn show! Grazie, bravo, Adeline! — I felt a little relieved by her praise.
— As I understand it, you’ve already started working on the looks we approved? — Yes, of course, madame, as you requested, — I assured her, still a bit bewildered that everything had gone so smoothly.
— Molto bene. I would like you, Ella, and Vivienne to divide the work, — Vivienne had been working here for seven years, she was a mentor to newcomers and at the same time the assistant to the chief designer — Mrs. Patricia Lombardi.
— Work on the look you started; I’ll give instructions to the seamstresses, and they will take on the bulk of the work. Ella, I ask you to take the lead on this outfit. She placed a sketch on the table in front of us. This drawing style was recognizable anywhere. Sharp lines, a tall model, muted colors, and an incredible dress — the main look of the evening.
Patricia had outdone herself. From the sketch, it was clear that the dress would need to be sewn by hand, pearls and golden details couldn’t be sewn on a machine, which meant the amount of work was multiplied fourfold.