Page 36 of Palazzo
They talked about more pleasant subjects after that, and went to have a drink at the cozy, lively Hemingway Bar at the Ritz. There was so much for them to do in Paris. Olivier loved having her there, and she enjoyed it with him. She went out much more in Paris than she did in Rome. Rome was a smaller city, and she worked late almost every night. She ended work earlier in Paris and she and Olivier went out a lot. Olivier enjoyed taking her out, introducing her to people he knew, and showing her off.
They had much to talk about now with the new store she was going to open, and she wanted to hire the right people to run it. Her manager in Venice had just quit a few days before, which was one of the hazards of owning a store, and she had to start interviewing for the position now, a headache she didn’t look forward to.
Before she left Paris, Cosima met with an architect Olivier recommended. She walked the store with him, and told him what she had in mind, and the look she wanted. She wanted him to go to Venice and Rome so he could see the atmosphere they tried to create in their stores, combining history and tradition with enough modern beauty to appeal to new generations of customers.
Olivier was flying back to Rome with her. It was always hard for her to leave Allegra in Paris. Cosima hugged her tight and kissed her and Basile.
“Take good care of her,” she admonished him with a lump in her throat.
“I promise,” he said solemnly, and there were tears in Cosima’s eyes on the way to the airport. Olivier put an arm around her and pulled her close. She had made some big decisions while she was in Paris, and her most recent ones had proven to be the right ones. Now she had to convince her derelict brother to sell his shares to her, at a decent price, get a new store in another city ready in seven months, and run her business as usual.
She tried to read a magazine and fell asleep on the plane. Paris had been tiring, but fun too. Now she had to get back to the grind of daily life and running a business. Olivier would be back the following weekend. They had fallen into a comfortable routine, and he liked the idea that she would be spending more time in Paris now.
He brought up the subject of their summer vacation that night again, and Cosima looked blank.
“I have no idea what I’ll be doing, if I’m trying to open the Paris store at the end of September.”
Allegra and Basile were planning to rent a farmhouse in Tuscany with friends.
“I like the beach,” Cosima said vaguely.
“Me too. I’ll figure something out and see what appeals to you.”
“Allegra and I always like Sardinia. My parents used to have a house there. Capri is fun, but it’s so overrun now. All the cruise ships stop there.”
“Do you like boats?” he asked her. There were things about her he still didn’t know.
“I love them.”
“Maybe we should just charter a sailboat and float around.”
“I just want to lie in the sun, swim, and not answer an email for two weeks. And Saint-Tropez is insane in the summer, so not there. Other than that, you’re in charge.” He smiled and wondered if that was true. Knowing her as he did now, his being in charge seemed unlikely.
—
Cosima tried reaching out to Luca and suggested a face-to-face meeting, and he didn’t respond. So she eventually contacted a lawyer she used for the business, outlined what she had in mind, and wrote Luca a letter, saying she hoped he was well. After his silence at Christmas, it was obvious that he still blamed her, Max Bayard, and everyone involved for his time in prison, even though she’d been thevictim of his dishonesty. He thought she should have moved heaven and earth, and used all of Gian Battista’s influence, to get him off completely or at least reduce his prison sentence further. Gian Battista had said that no one could have, and Cosima believed him. Luca had to face the music and pay the penalty for what he’d done. She wondered if he would punish her for it now that she wanted something from him. His silence seemed to indicate that, but she had to wait and see what his response to the lawyer would be.
She didn’t have long to wait. He answered the lawyer’s letter in a week, and told Cosima via her lawyer how much money he wanted to relinquish his shares in the business. He said he had no emotional attachment to it, which she believed, it was strictly a question of money and what the business was worth. He overestimated it dramatically, and asked for an insane amount, which she couldn’t pay him, and wouldn’t have anyway. She thanked him and let it go.
She didn’t tell him she was opening a Paris store, but he would receive his share of the profits at the end of the year, so he would know. He was lucky she worked as hard as she did, and he reaped the benefits of it every year, without lifting a finger. It was the story of his life so far, benefiting from other people’s work, spending whatever he got, and being dishonest so he could get more. It was one way to make a living and had wound him up in prison for setting the palazzo on fire so he could get his share of the insurance money. And now she knew he hadn’t changed. She told Olivier about it when he came for the weekend. He was disappointed for her that Luca hadn’t been more reasonable, but not surprised.
“Max isn’t much better. He doesn’t like anything I lined up for himin the States. He wants fast turnover, big profits, and minimal work. As a convicted felon, he’d be lucky if they gave him a job washing dishes, let alone some highly paid hotshot job. He says he’s looking into some opportunities in Asia. I’m just going to step aside and let him figure it out for himself. It’s the only way he’ll learn, if he ever does. He tried to get some money from Basile, and Basile wouldn’t give it to him, at my request. They’re really both rotten apples, the two of them,” Olivier said, discouraged, referring to Max and Luca. But it was less embarrassing for both of them, since they were in the same boat. Someone else might not have been as understanding about the baggage she brought with her.
—
Cosima went to Paris in June for the opening of Allegra’s store. She was amazed by how great it looked with Basile’s exciting street art murals, with Allegra’s logo, which she had designed herself, integrated into them. The store had an upbeat, youthful feel to it, and the display cases Allegra and Basile had designed showed all the styles available to their advantage and made the bags part of the décor.
Cosima sipped pink champagne at the opening and was proud of her little sister. The shop had opened right on time, and had all the summer styles exhibited, and some advance samples for winter that wholesale customers could preorder for the fall. The fashion press had come and several bloggers were there, taking pictures of everything for social media. Allegra had established a totally modern brand, and already had advance orders for fall/winter. Cosima knew,looking around, that this was what Allegra had been meant to do. Her alliance with Olivier’s company was going to be immensely profitable for both of them. And he’d had the foresight to recognize it.
It was exciting for Cosima to know she’d have her own store there soon, in three months, and she’d see more of Allegra again. She missed her terribly in Rome, but she’d been busy.
—
Cosima flew to Venice on the way home from Paris. She wanted to see her new store manager there in action, interfacing with customers. She had come to them from Hermès in Portofino, but Venice was a bigger store with more merchandise and serious buyers. Olivier went with her, so he could visit Max in prison in Padua. He hadn’t seen him in two months. Max had three months left of his sentence to serve, and said he was taking a job in Bangkok when he got out. Olivier just hoped it was a legitimate job and he wouldn’t be dealing drugs or something just as bad. He was still talking about get-rich-quick schemes, and the job in Thailand was one of them.
Cosima went straight to the store after they landed in Venice. Olivier went to see Max in prison in Padua. They were going to meet at the Piazza San Marco at six o’clock after he got back, have a drink, and go back to the airport to fly to Rome.
He kissed her hurriedly when she got into the water taxi, and a minute later she took off, and he took a cab by land to see his son.
