Page 111 of The Wrong Vintage
I’m both amused and awed by the way she walks—like she owns every gilded dome and rust-colored roof of the city.
The afternoon sun glances off her high cheekbones, the river breeze teasing loose strands of her dark hair. She looks nothing like Alessia. Side by side, you wouldn’t think them sisters at all—until you notice their eyes.
Same eyes.
Same fire.
Same steel.
Alba likes her designer wear—Alessia warned me about that. And considering her outfit probably clocks in at around three hundred thousand euros, she wears it with an ease that suggests she’s not flaunting anything at all.
A Loro Piana camel cashmere coat.
Ferragamo boots.
A Brunello Cucinelli power suit in rich chocolate brown.
A large Bottega Veneta bag that can hold a laptop.
Diamond studs, substantial but restrained. Probably Cartier.
An intricate white-gold bracelet. Chanel?
And on her wrist, a vintage Bulgari watch—one I suspect is sentimental rather than strategic.
Her heels strike the flagstones in a crisp staccato that echoes through the vaulted corridors—stone that has intimidated far more seasoned executives than she.
“Nico.”
We exchange air kisses.
“I didn’t know you were coming by,” I say pleasantly.
She gives me a knowing look, lips quirking. “You mean Alessia didn’t mention it.”
“No,” I reply. “She didn’t.”
“That’s because she doesn’t know,” Alba says breezily. “I’m a surprise.”
She most definitely is.
Before I can interrogate that further, employees begin streaming in from various wings of the Palazzo.
Alba is intercepted—hugs, kisses, questions flying from every direction.
“How long are you staying?”
“Are you excited about the Tokyo opening?”
“You look incredible—are you seeing someone?”
People know Alba. And she knows them right back—by name, by project, by detail. She responds in French, Italian, Spanish, and English, effortlessly covering, by language, about ninety percent of our workforce.
Alessia knows her people at Pietra Alta.
Alba knowseveryoneat the House of Alighieri.
Alessia is an introvert; and she told me that Alba is an extrovert, and Toni somewhere in between.
