Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 75770 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75770 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
“You’ve got what?”
“Keep your voice down. Jesus.”
“You can’t be serious. You want to sneak Ipecac into the others’ dishes? We have to eat them too, you know. Maybe you want to cast your biscuits over a date, but I certainly don’t.”
“It was just an idea. I’m open to suggestions.”
“My suggestion to you, Misty, is to get a life.”
“I’m trying to!” Her whisper has turned whiny. Even desperate. “Can’t you see that?”
I shake my head. “You need help.”
“That’s right. I do. I need your help, Emily.”
Clearly she missed my point.
“We’re not going to win this thing with this green sludge we’re making. I’ve eaten the best Jamaican food in the world, created by the best chefs, and—”
“Wait, wait, wait,” I interrupt her. “You’re familiar with Jamaican cuisine, but you didn’t know what callaloo was?”
“Not by name. When Katie described it, I realized what it was. It’s the green dish that Jamaican chefs always serve. It’s good, but it’s a side dish, first of all. And it’s greens. It’s not memorable, Emily. Everything else is always better than greens. The dessert will beat greens for sure. And River and June are making lobster with the jerk chicken, for God’s sake. Lobster will beat greens every time.”
“Maybe not,” I say, playing the devil’s advocate. “I’m not a huge fan of lobster.”
“Then you’re the only one who doesn’t like it.”
“I didn’t say I didn’t like it. I only meant there are other foods I’d choose over it.”
She scoffs. “Would you choose callaloo over lobster?”
She’s got me there. I enjoy vegetables, and I know I’ll like the callaloo, but Misty is correct. A veggie dish isn’t going to win. Not unless we throw a shitload of cheese on top of it, and even then, it’s not going to beat lobster.
“I’ll take that as a ‘no’,” Misty continues, her whisper becoming more urgent. “You’re close to the others. You can throw Ariel off her game. She’ll listen to you.”
“I’m certainly not doing that by spiking her dish with Ipecac.”
“Fine, fine. I told you, I’m open to suggestions.”
“Misty, this whole thing is your idea. You figure it out.” I turn back to the tomato I’m dicing.
She grabs my arm then. Grabs it so harshly that I yank it back.
“Watch yourself.” I look around. “We’re not alone here.”
Everyone else seems dedicated to their work. No one is watching us that I can see. Good.
“I can’t do this on my own, Emily. I need your help.”
“Sorry.”
“I’ll do anything you ask. Anything. Just help me win this thing. We have to sabotage the others. It’s the only way.”
Her words send me flashing back to my last days at Elizabeth Harrington London. Several of the designers decided to band together to sabotage Jake Bosworth, grandson of the company’s namesake, whose designs always got chosen for Paris Fashion Week despite the fact that they were lackluster.
“Come on, Emily,” one of the designers said to me. “We can’t do this without you. We’re all in this together, and nothing will change if we don’t work as a team.”
“Then we need to approach Charlotte as a team,” I told him. “Tell her our concerns. The answer isn’t to sabotage another designer.”
He scoffed at me. “You really call him a designer?”
“Not really, but it is what it is. I won’t take part in any sabotage. It’s not right.”
“But what Charlotte is doing isn’t right either.”
“No, it’s not. But the answer isn’t to try to take Jake down. It’s to go to Charlotte and demand equal treatment for all the designers. Demand that she make her choices based on merit and not nepotism.”
“We’re doing this with or without you,” he said to me.
“Then it’s without.”
I gave my notice the next day and cemented my plans to leave London and try for a career in another fashion capital of the world. I chose New York.
But while the conversation I’m having with Misty is similar, the situation is not. In London, we were worried about our careers, about our meritorious designs being overlooked in favor of inferior work by someone with the right connections. It was a valid concern, and one I didn’t take lightly, even though I was against the nefarious plan. The way to the top isn’t by cheating, and it’s never by damaging someone else.
Before I can respond to Misty, she continues. “June is the biggest threat. She and River are making the lobster.”
The only threat June is to Misty is that she has River’s attention at the moment, but I keep this tidbit to myself. Misty is clearly not able to think rationally where River is concerned.
“And Ariel,” Misty goes on. “She and Sebastian are making some shrimp thing, and everyone loves shrimp. I’m not too concerned about Heather.”
“Not concerned about Heather?” I shake my head. “She and Alex are making dessert. You don’t think dessert will trump callaloo greens?”