unfair.â
âWhat are you, standing up for her now?â Daphne sneered. I could almost picture her angry face, nostrils aflare. I bet people rarely challenged her.
âSheâs really cool, Daphne. Sheâs not a thief.â
âHow the hell do you know?â
âI know. Sheâs not the type to steal. Sheâs one of the good guys,â he said, almost quietly.
Daphne sounded incensed. âWell listen, James, you can take your good feelings and kiss off. I donât need this bullshit. Iâll have you know I met Ralph Laurenâs middle sonâs best friend at a party last night and he was dying to hook up with me.â
âWell, thatâs great news,â James said, almost laughing. âHappy polo playing.â I heard him walk out, and then there was a pin-drop silence.
âOh my God, total craziness,â Jane said nervously.
âWhatever,â Daphne said defensively. âHis stepdad is, like, so over anyway. I mean he hasnât shot a cover for us in, like, months . Câmon, letâs go hit Remi for lunch.â
With that, the trio, including a seemingly unwounded Daphne, took off in their five-inchers. I still had chills from the emotional arrows shot through me but was healed at the thought of Jamesâs valiant protestations. It was all very Sir Galahad. What I had overheard, though, made it very clear that Daphne had it in for me after yesterdayâs lunch. I wasnât looking forward to being an enemy of the head Trumpette.
Chapter Thirteen
I t was time.
All of the interns were gathered around the conference room table over which Alida presided. Everyone sat nervously as other announcements were made. (âPlease, guys, do not flush tampons!â)
âAnd now, the moment some of you have been waiting for these past two weeksââ
The door opened and in walked the elusive Genevieve West. We had never seen her before; she was either at the couturecollections in Paris or at shoots or Valentinoâs yacht or Karlâs house in Biarritz, so seeing her in person for the first time was like having one of the characters in your favorite book come alive. She was smaller than I had imagined, but of course that was sillyâeveryone at Skirt was tiny, and she should be no different. But she was only like five foot two and had not one extra ounce of fat on her. She had the straightest black hair I had ever seen, which fell to her shoulders and was cut off in a perfect line, with bangs cut just above her smallish dark eyes. Her lips were painted very red, and it appeared as if a smudge wouldnât dare happen on her face. Her nose was a little pointy, and actually, truth be told, she looked kind of like a witch, but she was so stylishly dressed in a perfect Chanel suit with delicate Manolo Blahnik heels, accessorized with a delicate diamond bracelet and earrings, that you didnât really notice her individual features and instead focused on the entire package, which spelled out success and power.
âHelloâ was all she said as she looked us over. As her eyes hit mine, I looked down, suddenly bashful. She seemed remote and cool but not as scary as some had made her out to be.
âSo interns, Genevieveââ Alida said. âAfter consulting with all the editors about the work done in the last two weeks, we have decided upon a girl who has gone above and beyond the call of dutyââ
At that moment, James walked in carrying materials that Alida needed to sign off on. He quietly stood off to the side.
ââ¦she has an exemplary work ethic, style, and, most of all,she is not afraid to be proactive and seek work,â Alida continued in a measured, sober meter as Genevieve, James, and the whole office looked on. âIn other words, she aims to please and succeeds. And that is why our head intern this summer, chosen by our editor in chief, will beââ
I felt heat rise in my cheeks as
Shannon Delany, Judith Graves, Heather Kenealy, et al., Kitty Keswick, Candace Havens, Linda Joy Singleton, Jill Williamson, Maria V. Snyder