by Nell Kincaid
The next morning, when Kate arrived at Ivorsen and Shaw a bit before the doors opened to the public, the store was alive with anticipation over the night's party. Saleswomen who lived in other boroughs of the city had brought the dresses they were going to wear that night, and in the elevators, offices, and ladies' rooms, all talk was of the party.
Kate moved through as if in a dream, weighed down by turmoil and confusion. The joy and anticipation in the air meant nothing to her now; all she felt in relation to the party was dread.
Yet she managed to hold her emotions in check enough to get what she had to do over with. In the early afternoon she sent Linda down to Xenon by taxi to make sure that the VIP tables were being properly set off with "reserved" cards and that all the preparations were going smoothly. Though the party was a joint project handled by Kate's department, Blake-Canfield, and Ivorsen and Shaw's
lome entertaining consultant, Kate had the ultimate responsibility for the party's success or failure, and she felt t would be an important act of strength to keep things running smoothly despite the state she was in.
And then, when Kate realized she had managed to forget to call her mother three times already that day, he finally called. The conversation was strained and brief, out Kate managed to stay outwardly calm and unemotional for most of it. The only point when the tension broke out into the open was when her mother—now Mrs. Creasey—asked whether Kate would be coming alone.
"Yes," Kate said evenly.
"Oh." There was a long pause. Then: "No boyfriend?"
"I—yes, I'm involved with someone, Mother," Kate lid, wishing she knew whether that were even true anymore.
"Why don't you bring him, then?"
"Well, I don't think so."
"Oh. So he's just casual, then."
"No, not really," Kate said, her voice slightly raised. "I just don't think I'll bring him."
"It isn't a long drive, Kate. Just an hour and a half."
"I know," Kate said. "That has nothing to do with it, Mother. I'm coming alone. And if I change my mind, I'll let you know, okay?"
"I'd love to meet him, Kate. It's been so long since I've met any of your boyfriends."
"I know," Kate said. "I know." And after another five minutes, she managed—finally—to say good-bye.
Kate hung up and sighed. Everything had changed so quickly, so drastically. The holiday she had looked forward to would now be completely different from what she
had planned, and tonight—a night that was supposed to be a celebration, a night of triumph—was sure to be an evening marked by anger and sadness, awkwardness and uncertainty.
But she managed. Late in the afternoon she met with Pierce and Alexandra to go over their duties for the evening. Alexandra looked exhausted, with dark circle under her eyes that even makeup couldn't hide; and she didn't seem to be getting along with Pierce as well as usual. After Kate had said all she wanted to, she Pierce away and spoke with Alexandra alone.
"What's wrong?" Kate asked. "You look terrible."
Alexandra looked crushed, and Kate hurried to soften her words. "Not terrible, Alexandra, but terrible for you." She paused. "Maybe I can help if you tell me what's wrong."
Alexandra quickly shook her head. "It's just part of tfal business," she said mechanically, as if repeating words she had heard many times before. "I'll take a nap this afternoon and I promise I'll look fine." She stood up. "So actually, I'd better go now."
"Okay," Kate said. "I'll see you at Xenon, then. The cm will pick you up at eight forty-five, so you be ready."
"Okay. Kurt's going to come with me."
"Fine," Kate said. "Just be sure you're on time."
Once home, Kate got ready for the party. She didni want to be overdressed; she had always felt that it was much better to be too casual than too formal. But tonight she had no doubts about what she was wearing. It was something that had just come in to the store along with the first shipments of other resort wear, and it had caught Kate's eye from across the selling floor: sapphire-blue silk
pants with a matching top, which she would wear with low-heeled snakeskin sandals, gold earrings, and extra- thin gold chains.
She had a quick bite to eat and a drink, and then she was off.
CHAPTER TEN
The discotheque was a bit dingy-looking from the outside; it was, after all, a converted old theater. For a second Kate had a moment of dread: no one would show up; the party would be a bust. But after she gave her card to the man outside the door, and was let inside, her mood lifted immediately.
The room was dazzling—dark with soft, pulsating lighting, music that seemed to be coming from everywhere, the smoky, electric excitement of a good party— and Kate was relieved to see that somehow she had missed that beginning-of-a-party stage that was usually particularly awkward at functions like this. But people had come, and come early. The dance floor—down a ramp from the front door—was fairly empty, filled with people talking rather than dancing. But the bar—along the near wall— was packed, and many of the small tables in the VIP area around the dance floor were filled. Kate recognized dozens of people—models, manufacturers, designers, people who worked at Ivorsen and Shaw—but most of the faces were unfamiliar.
Kate went to the bar and managed to get a drink in the
crush, and then made her way over to one of the small tables, where she spotted -Alison.
"This place looks fabulous," Alison said, looking up as Kate sat next to her.
"That wall over there should have the slide show on at any moment," Kate said, pointing to the wall opposite the entrance. "And pretty soon Alexandra and Pierce should be circulating."
"Just walking around, or what?"
"Well, modeling, for one thing. A whole series of outfits we put together—mostly by designers we knew would be here. And handing everyone little cards with different things written on them, like 'Good for one free massage and facial at Ivorsen and Shaw's new beauty and relaxation salon.' Things like that."
"Hey. Sounds great. Drag that girl over here when she comes around."
Kate laughed. "We're not that generous. It all comes out of my paltry ad budget. Alexandra and Pierce are supposed to concentrate on the media people if they can."
"Hell. She doesn't know me. I'll tell her I'm a gossip columnist."
Kate smiled. "Be my guest. But you'll probably fail because if everything is as it has been lately, she won't be taking a step without our dear Kurt."
"Whew. He does turn heads, doesn't he?"
At that moment the music picked up, getting louder und faster. And as Kate looked up, the slide show began. Dramatically spliced pictures of Alexandra and Pierce were flashing in rhythm to the music, and Kate noticed that the spectacle was attracting immediate attention. Kate finished her drink and stood up. "I'm going to circu-
late and try to find Alexandra, Ally. I'll see you later." She pushed through the now-thick crowd, glancing unobtrusively at everyone's nametag and smiling at people she knew. Damn, she thought. For she looked everywhere she could, moving through the crowd and covering the entire floor, and Alexandra was nowhere in sight. Pierce had arrived even before Kate had, and she had spotted him several times already, weaving gracefully through thd crowd and smiling his beautiful smile. But Alexandra was another quantity entirely.
At the bar Kate spent five minutes with Jessica Murphy, a woman who had a new fashion-and-beauty call-in show on WZKZ. "The store looks fabulous," Ms. Murphy gushed. "The salon was incredible. Just divine."
Kate smiled. "I'm glad. I'll have to try it myself one of these days."
"My dear, I'd do nothing else if I worked in that building every day." She nodded at the wall that was at that moment covered with a shot from the lingerie ad. "Where'd you get the girl?" she demanded. "Just gorgeous."
"Oh, we just . . . found her," Kate said vaguely, not wanting to go into the whole story.
"Tell her rep to give me a call," Ms. Murphy said. "I'd love to have her on sometime."
>
"I'll do that," Kate said, thinking she would do it if Alexandra were anywhere to be found. Where on earth was she? "But if you'll excuse me, I have to find someone," she said, and moved off into the crowd.
She bumped right into Joe Brennan, president of Essences, Limited, a cosmetics company that had been among the most enthusiastic supporters of the Ivorsen and
Shaw revitalization. Essences had just redesigned the packaging on their products, and the change had coincided with the redecoration of I and S's ground floor. Brennan—young, handsome, a maverick in the cosmetics field for years—had turned Essences, Limited, from a faltering concern to one of the country's leading cosmetics companies in less than a year, and Kate had read of his success with great admiration and pleasure. The few times she had met him, she had liked him enormously.
"Kate," he cried, smiling and extending a hand.
"Joe. I'm glad you could come."
"So am I. So are we, actually. Kate, I'd like you to meet my wife, Jennifer Preston Brennan."
"Oh, hello," Kate said, shaking hands with the pretty young woman at Brennan's side. "We've talked on the phone several times," she said. "I hadn't realized you two were married."
"Well, I use my maiden name, Preston, at work," Jennifer said, "since that's what I used before I began working at Essences. By the way, Kate, I looked in at the store yesterday, and I was amazed by the difference. And I love the ads, too. We're going to be doing something similar for the new premium we're marketing—a silk cosmetics purse for every ten-dollar purchase."
"Great," Kate said. "Maybe we can talk about it over lunch next week."
As Kate stayed and talked with Jennifer and Joe for several more minutes, she was intrigued and impressed by their relationship: they worked together, they seemed madly in love, and there was an optimism and contentment that seemed to underlie their whole approach to work and to each other. This was what she wished she could have with Ben.
Suddenly there was a commotion down near the entrance. Kate looked across the dance floor, and saw—for a moment only, as the crowd parted—Kurt leading Alexandra down the ramp.
Kate said a quick good-bye to the Brennans and made her way across the dance floor. Through the crowd she could just make the two out: Kurt had Alexandra firmly by the hand, and he was just leading her to one of the few empty VIP tables when Kate caught up to them.
She caught Kurt by the shoulder, and he turned around with a look of surprise that changed instantly to relief—as if, Kate guessed, he was thinking, Oh,, it's only you.
"What time do you think it is?" Kate yelled. She noticed that Alexandra was now sitting down, apparently uninterested in the event going on around her.
Kurt looked blankly at Kate, saying nothing.
Kate was furious. "Alexandra was supposed to be here at nine o'clock," she blazed. "Before I arrived, and before anyone arrived, as a matter of fact. It's now ten o'clock. What the hell happened?"
Kurt smiled lazily. "We're fashionably late," he said.
Kate widened her eyes in anger. "Goddammit, Kurt, Alexandra is a paid model, not some sort of incidental guest. And she's paid to make an appearance—on time— at this party." Kate looked around to see if any attention was being paid to the argument. Luckily, with the crowds, the music, and the models Kate had invited from the Zoli and Ford agencies, no one seemed to be taking any interest in Kate's shouting match with Kurt.
But just as Kate was about to light into Kurt again, she saw Ben across the room. Her stomach contracted in a knot of tension and»she looked quickly away. God, what was going to happen? What approach was she supposed to take? What approach would Ben take?
Against her will she turned again—just to get a glance at him—and she saw he was coming straight toward her. Her heart would have lifted and she would have felt some ray of hope if she hadn't seen the expression on his face. For even at a distance she could see that he was angry. And he looked harried, too, with his dark hair hanging over his forehead and his five o'clock shadow darkly evident. .
As Ben approached, Kate searched his eyes for a clue: How did he feel about seeing her? Had anything changed? Did he want to argue, to soothe, to try to patch things up?
But he didn't even look her in the eye.
And when he spoke, it was to Kurt. Not even a hello to Kate. "What's going on?" he demanded.
"She was late," Kate said, more to get Ben to look at her than to answer his question.
But when his gaze met hers, she wished she had said nothing. His eyes were blazing with anger, looking through her rather than at her. "Again? She hasn't done anything but hold people up since she began. What hap- pened? I thought you were sending a car for her."
"I did," Kate said as calmly as she could. "Apparently it was held up. I don't know. Kurt?"
He shrugged. "Sure we kept it waiting. I had to be sure she looked good."
"I've heard that before," Kate said, and for a moment Ben looked at her almost thoughtfully.
Then he turned his fury on Kurt. "You. Go somewhere
else. I don't want to see your face."Kurt's mouth dropped open. "You can't—"
"I can do whatever the hell I want," Ben warned.
He turned to Kate. "Kate. You get this little dream-girl into gear. If we're lucky no one will have noticed anything wrong."
And he stormed off into the crowd without giving Kate another glance.
Kate could hardly believe it; he hadn't even said hello. He wouldn't even have spoken to her if he hadn't seen her arguing with Kurt. And she realized, as she tried to blink back tears and watch Kurt head for the exit, that in the back of her mind, she had been expecting Ben to make everything right tonight. And it hadn't happened that way.
He could have tried to convince her to come to California after all; he could have said he was sorry for walking out. But he had obviously taken deep offense at what she had said, and he wanted to be away from her.
And now, as she recalled the look of cold hostility in Ben's eyes, she realized there was a very, very good possibility that Ben didn't just want to be away from her for a few days: there was a chance he wanted to be away from her forever.
Kate went up to the bar and got herself another Scotch and soda; she had a long night to get through, and she couldn't break down in tears in the middle of the party. She would have to bear up and forget about Ben for now— put him and his eyes and his cold, hard voice out of her mind for the moment.
And somehow she managed. She instructed Alexandra to pull herself together and start circulating. She then
forced herself to talk to people she knew and people she didn't know, forced herself to smile and listen carefully and laugh and joke and make small talk. And, except for Kate's inner turmoil, the evening went smoothly.
Oscar Ivorsen, president of Ivorsen and Shaw, gave a short, impassioned speech that shocked Kate with its sincerity, optimism, and enthusiasm. At the store Ivorsen was a figurehead more than anything else, a brass name- plate on the door of an office that was usually empty, its occupant on the golf courses of Westchester and Connecticut. But the speech was actually inspiring, and the generous round of applause afterward showed that others had been caught up in Ivorsen's enthusiasm as well. And in terms of morale and the confidence of manufacturers and consignment outfits, the speech was priceless.
The food was excellent, too. Kate got dozens of compliments on the party from guests of all kinds, and she conducted six or seven good, solid interviews with representatives of the media. It was a glittering night of success.
But Ben seemed to be gone.
Kate couldn't be certain. There were over three hundred people there, crammed on to the dance floor, spilling over the banquettes, packed six deep at the bar. But she knew, instinctively, that he was gone.
At one point Kate saw Tommy Sullivan, Ben's art assistant. He was drunk and almost hysterically happy, and when Kate asked him if he had seen Ben, he shrugged wildly, slapping a woman standing next to him in his drunken gesture. K
ate smiled and moved on.
Pierce was doing admirably, moving gracefully through the crowd with his gold mail pouch full of cards. He had
relaxed as time had gone on and the guests had had more to drink, and he was now talking and joking with many— especially the women—as he handed them their cards.
Kate made her way up to him and took him by the elbow. "You're fantastic," she whispered in his ear. "Just great. Keep it up and you'll be the star of the evening."
He smiled, but grew quickly serious. "What happened to Alexandra?" he leaned down and asked. "Is she al| right?"
"She's fine," Kate yelled. "Kurt just got her here late that's all—for no reason other than that he wanted her to look good.'"
Pierce shook his head. "Bastard. But it's her own fault. Kurt doesn't chain her to his side. You've got to learn to take care of yourself in this business or you'll be eaten alive."
Kate nodded. "You're probably right. And keep up the good work, Pierce. You're dazzling the ladies."
"That's what I'm here for," he said, and smiled, waved a lithe hand, and moved off again into the crowd.
Finally, the evening began to wind down. Alexandra and Pierce were still going strong, charming all with whom they spoke, intriguing those they missed. But Kate surveyed the crowd and saw that most of the more important guests had left, and she decided it was finally time to leave. The music was too loud to talk above anyway, sd Kate went downstairs and got her coat, and went out into the cold night air for a taxi.
