Fashionista by Kat Parrish

fed Gary Wisnicki every scrap of information that came her way, but even Ginevra didn ’ t know what was going on.
    Allegra tried to carry on as if things were normal and began sketching out new designs for Zangari ’ s line of fall shoes.
    She was working on her latest, a loafer in leather embossed with what looked like puzzle pieces, when Julia came into her office, looking more self-important than usual.
    “ Sorry to bother you, ” she said, not sounding sorry at all, and sat down in the office ’ s guest chair. She craned her neck to see what Allegra was working on.
    “ Is that new for fall? ”
    Allegra turned her sketch pad so Julia could see the shoe.
    “ Interesting, ” Julia said and then added without pausing for breath, “ You need to get Sina ’ s little friends out of the conference room. ”
    “ Tell Sina yourself, ” Allegra said.
    “ I ’ m not the one who said they could work here, ” Julia said pointedly. “ They ’ re your problem. ”
    She stood up to go as Sina appeared in the doorway looking tense.
    “ We don ’ t need the conference room, ” Sina said to Julia.
    “ Mother wants them out of here, ” Julia said.
    Sina looked like she was about to cry.
    “ Nabil ’ s been designing buckles for the new Ottoman line, ” Allegra said. “ It ’ s part of our autumn collection. ”
    Sina looked confused for a second, then her face cleared as she realized what Allegra was doing.
    “ Ottoman line? ” Julia raised her eyebrows. “ I didn ’ t know we were doing an Ottoman line. ”
    “ Something I ’ ve been working on, ” Allegra lied smoothly. “ I saw an article on Pop Sugar about the kind of business Boutique Ottoman is doing and realized that as a design concept, the Ottoman aesthetic would fit right into Mariella ’ s vision for making Zangari truly global. ”
    Julia didn ’ t look like she was totally buying what Allegra was selling but she was engaged enough she didn ’ t notice Sina slipping out — no doubt to fill Nabil in on the existence of the “ Ottoman Line, ” so that if asked, his story would synch up with Allegra ’ s.
    “ I was thinking camel skin, ” Allegra improvised. “ Line the handbags with silk printed like Turkish carpets. Have tissue paper printed with the same design to line the shoeboxes. ”
    Julia nodded thoughtfully. She knew Allegra loved pretty wrappings for the merchandise.
    “ He understands we own the rights to any design he comes up with, right? ”
    “ Of course, ” Allegra assured her blandly. “ Grace has drawn up a contract. ”
    “ Okay, ” she said. “ I ’ ll let mother know. ”
    “ Thanks Julia, ” Allegra said.
    As soon as she was gone, Sina came rushing back into Allegra ’ s office.
    You are the best, ” she said.
    “ I am, ” Allegra said, but she knew she needed to talk to Sina about Amira and Nabil because she ’ d only bought them a small reprieve.
    “ Where did you meet Nabil and Amira anyway? ” she asked.
    “ Amira introduced me to him. ”
    “ And you met her where? ”
    Sina narrowed her eyes. “ Why are you going all Homeland Security? ”
    “ I ’ m just curious. ”
    “ She was working at Starbucks. You don ’ t need that much English to understand when someone ’ s ordering a flat white. ”
    “ Must be hard living on a barrista ’ s salary. ”
    “ Yeah, she and Nabil live with some lady who ’ s renting out her basement. They get a break on the rent because Amira makes clothes for the kids. ”
    “ Does Nabil work? ”
    Now Sina looked really annoyed. “ Of course he works. He ’ s an orderly at Roseland. ”
    Allegra winced. Sina noticed. “ Yeah, they ’ re not too picky. ”
    She looked at Allegra earnestly. “ They ’ re good people Allegra. They just need a break, just like Great-grandpa Joe did. ”
    Allegra could hear Ginevra snort. “ Giuseppe would have liked this one, ” she said, “ but she ’ s no kin of his. ”
    “ I know, ” Allegra said, not sure