Page 12 of Palazzo
“I assumed as much, which is why I wanted to speak to you, and I didn’t want to give you news like this on the phone.”
“That’s very kind of you,” she said, still looking shocked and dazed. “I’ll check, but I’m sure he’s wrong and he needs our consent.”
“If he doesn’t, what worried me is that he could sell them to anyone disreputable, and just to the highest bidder, if he needs money. Gambling is a very dangerous thing. I had an uncle who was a gambler. He ruined his family and left them destitute.”
“My brother is irresponsible in every possible way,” she said with a sigh. “Thank you, Olivier, for telling me. What do you suggest I do?” She felt at a loss just thinking about it, and she knew Olivier was an honest man, since he had come to warn her, and hadn’t seized the opportunity. “What did you tell him?”
“I told my son to tell him I would think about it. I didn’t want him running off to sell to someone else, so I didn’t close the door on the deal. I wanted to speak to you first, and I said I wanted to see documentary proof that he doesn’t need the other heirs’ consent, i.e., you. I think the first thing you need to do is check the will carefully and see if he’s right and telling the truth. And then you need to confront him, and maybe make some kind of deal with him preventing him from selling to an outsider in future, but that might cost you, if he’s greedy. Can you buy him out?” He felt sorry for her. She looked devastated.
“I can’t afford to,” she said honestly. “Everything is tied up in the business. Our operating costs are enormous. I suppose I’ll have to buy him out at some point, but I can’t do it yet and I can’t believe he doesn’t need our consent. I have to make sure my sister doesn’t signanything she shouldn’t. She’s young, and she loves him. He can be very convincing, particularly if he tells her his life is at risk in some way. She’s an artist, not a businesswoman, she has a kind heart, and she’s naive. I’m at my wits’ end with him, especially after his recent disaster. He owed two hundred thousand euros to the casino. I agreed to sell the palazzo to the Johnsons. I had no other way to cover his debt.” She looked sad as she said it, and he felt terrible for her. He understood now what the palazzo and the business meant to her. They were her heritage, and she had dedicated her life and soul to preserving them for future generations that didn’t even exist yet.
“Well, take a good look at the will, and call your lawyer.”
“I’m actually a lawyer, or almost. One semester short of being one. I went to law school, but I didn’t finish. My parents died and I came into the business. I never thought I would do that.”
As they were talking, there was a knock on the door, and a beautiful young girl in a wheelchair rolled in. She was wearing a red sweater and jeans, and had long dark hair cascading past her shoulders and a beautiful face. She looked vaguely like Cosima, with a wide friendly smile and big blue eyes. She looked startled as soon as she saw Olivier and Cosima deep in conversation on the couch, and she thought her sister looked upset.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. Your secretary is out, I didn’t know you were in a meeting.” She started to roll her chair away and Cosima smiled and indicated for her to stay.
She turned to Olivier. “This is my sister, Allegra. She works with me, she’s a designer.”
“All I do is dust off our classic models and modernize the hardware a little,” Allegra said modestly, but it was in great part true. Sheleaned over to shake Olivier’s hand, and Cosima explained that he owned Bayard Bags. Allegra knew instantly what they were and her face lit up.
“They’re fantastic! I buy a new one every season. I get them sent from the Bon Marché in Paris, and Harrods in London. They’re my favorite bags, other than ours, of course,” she said with a glance at her sister. “Are we going to do some kind of collaboration?” she asked hopefully, and Olivier laughed.
“Not if your sister has anything to say about it. I’m just an admirer of everything you do. But I’m glad you like our bags. I’ll send you some of our new ones, for the fall line.” She was exactly their market, young, chic working women, millennials who wanted fashion that changed frequently but not at insane prices. They didn’t want bags that would last a lifetime, although that was Olivier’s preference, and why he loved Saverio and Hermès. Allegra left them a few minutes later, and Olivier looked at Cosima. “She’s a lovely girl and incredibly beautiful.”
“She’s fantastic, and a brilliant designer. She’s wasted here, but I love having her in the business.” She could see the question in Olivier’s eyes that he was too polite to ask, what had happened to her to put her in a wheelchair. She was so vital and enthusiastic that she didn’t look as though she belonged there. “She was in the boating accident with my parents and another family. Six people died. She was the only one who survived, with third-degree burns and a severed spinal cord. She’s amazing, and incredibly brave. She was fourteen when it happened. She leads a full, busy life, but the damage isn’t reparable. She never complains about it, and never has. She’s twenty-nine now. I always feel guilty not giving her a free hand withher designs, but that’s just not what we do. She’s wasting her talent here, but it’s a family business.”
“Are you going to tell her what your brother is up to?” he asked, curious, impressed by both women.
“I will warn her not to sign anything. She still has some illusions about our brother. I don’t. I know who he is, especially now, after what you told me.” It was a shocking, dishonorable thing for Luca to do, and probably dishonest too.
“You have a lot on your shoulders. I’m sorry if I added to it, but I thought you should know as soon as possible. You have to stop him from selling to anyone who’ll pay. I can string him along for a while if you want me to, so he doesn’t go out shopping for other buyers. My son told him I would do anything to participate in your brand, so he thought I was a sure thing. I can keep it that way for a while. And I want you to know that under no circumstances will I buy his shares from him. I respect what you’ve done, and your philosophy, and I won’t do anything to violate that.” He stood up as he said it, and she stood too. He was an honorable man. He had just demonstrated that to her, and she trusted him.
“Thank you, Olivier.” He had proven that he was a friend and an ally. “I’m going to get the will out and read it carefully and call my father’s lawyer. There has to be a way to stop my brother. We’ll find it.” He hoped she was right, because if not, an outsider could cheapen, commercialize, and destroy her business and the legend she had protected so carefully for fifteen years. He thought of something then.
“As long as I’m here, I’m going to go to Florence tomorrow to see our factories. We’ve had some production problems. Would you like to have dinner tonight if you’re free?” He didn’t want to be intrusive,but every time he saw her, he wanted to know more about her. She gave up no personal information, only about the business and the family. She was very discreet. She hesitated for an instant and then nodded. He had done her a huge favor and she felt as though she owed him a debt, or at least dinner.
“Why don’t you come for a drink before dinner? Allegra and I live above the store, in our own apartments. I have a rather nice view from mine,” she said shyly. “We grew up in this building, in the apartment I live in now. My brother has a house on the Appian Way, but Allegra and I stayed here.”
“I’d love to see it,” he said, fascinated by their history. The sisters were steeped in the traditions of past generations and yet were strong, modern women with minds of their own. He was intrigued that Cosima had studied law, and that her sister was a talented designer. It was a shame that their brother wasn’t as decent as they were. Luca seemed to have taken a wrong turn somewhere along the way. Olivier worried about Max doing something like that, out of greed or weakness, by following someone else’s lead or poor advice. Neither of them seemed to have a strong sense of morality, and it was odd that they had found each other at the casino, two spoiled young men with families that indulged them and their weaknesses. Max’s mother had been cut from the same cloth, but apparently not Cosima’s parents.
They agreed that Olivier would come for a drink at seven-thirty, and she explained to him how to access her apartment via the private elevator, from a side door with a code, and up a short circular stairway at the top. It sounded very romantic to him, although Cosima wasn’t seductive. She didn’t flirt with him. She wasstraightforward and friendly, but businesslike. It made him wonder if there was a man in her life. She didn’t send out vibes that said she was available. He wondered if she was married to the business, or if there was someone or something else. Everything about her intrigued him. She was so attractive but seemed just out of reach. He was looking forward to spending the evening with her. He was staying at the Hassler, in walking distance from the store.
They shook hands when he left, and she went straight to the safe in her office, dug through some papers in a folder, and pulled out her father’s will.
She sat down at her desk and read it carefully. Her stomach was in a knot as she did. Luca was right. There was absolutely nothing in the will that would forbid him from selling his shares to whomever he wanted, any stranger, at fair market value. She couldn’t understand why there was no protection in the will, and had never noticed that before. She picked up her phone as soon as she had read it carefully, twice. She called Gian Battista, who had been her father’s attorney. He would know why the will was written that way, and how to stop Luca. Gian Battista always knew the answer to everything. When he saw that Cosima was calling, he answered on the first ring.
Chapter 6
Cosima told Gian Battista what Luca had tried to do, and that Olivier Bayard had come to warn her.
“He sounds like a decent human being,” the lawyer said quietly. “He could have just bought Luca’s shares.”
“Could he? Is that right? Why in God’s name didn’t Papa write some language in to prevent that? How is it possible that Luca can sell to any stranger who comes along?”
“Because your father was an honorable man, and he assumed his son was too. We talked about that language in the will, and I wanted him to add a clause just as you said, and he told me it was completely unnecessary and even insulting, that no one in the family would ever sell their share of the business to an outsider. He wouldn’t let me write it. I was afraid of just such a scenario as this one day. If one of you went bad, or got involved with a bad spouse or partner, you could be influenced to sell your part to a stranger. And now that’s exactly what Luca wants to do.” He didn’t sound happy to be right.
