Chasing Harry Winston

‘Of course he does,’ Jesse said smoothly, standing to envelop her right hand between both of his. ‘And that’s why we all adore him. Please, will you join us?’ He waved his hand toward the empty space beside him on the love seat and looked at her.

‘Oh, well, actually, I was just—’

‘She’d love to,’ Henry said.

Leigh resisted the urge to glare at him while she settled into the ancient couch. Bye-bye, blowout, she thought. Bye-bye, Barneys. It would be a miracle if Russell ever spoke to her again after the disaster that tonight would surely be.

Henry cleared his throat. ‘Jesse and I were just discussing his last novel. I was saying how we all – really, the entire publishing industry – thought theTimes’ attack was inexcusable. Embarrassing for them, really, with its obvious agenda. Absolutely no one took it seriously. It was complete and—’

Smiling again, this time with the slightest expression of amusement, Jesse turned to Leigh. ‘And what did you think, dear? Did you think the review was warranted?’

Leigh was shocked by his assuredness that she had not only read but remembered both the book and this particular review. Which, irritatingly, she did. It had been the cover of the Sunday Book Review six years earlier, and the viciousness of it still resonated. She actually remembered wondering what it must be like for the author to read something like that about his work, had wondered where Jesse Chapman was when he first laid eyes on those brutal ten paragraphs. She would have read the book regardless – she’d studied Jesse’s earlier novels in countless college lit classes – but the sheer meanness of the review had propelled her to buy it in hardcover and devour it that same week.

Leigh spoke, as she often did, without thinking. It was a habit at direct odds with her methodical personality, but she just couldn’t help herself. She could meticulously organize an apartment or schedule a day or create a work plan, but she couldn’t seem to master the concept that not all thoughts need to be spoken. The girls and Russell claimed they found it charming, but it could be downright mortifying sometimes. Like in a meeting with your boss, for instance. Something about Jesse’s gaze – interested yet still aloof – made her forget that she was in Henry’s office, talking to one of the greatest writing talents of the twenty-first century, and she barreled ahead. ‘The review was petty, to be sure. It was vindictive and unprofessional, a hit job if I’ve ever seen one. That said, I think Rancor was your weakest effort. It didn’t deserve a review like that, but it wasn’t nearly on par with The Moon’s Defeat or, of course, Disenchantment.’

Henry inhaled and instinctively placed his hand over his mouth.

Leigh felt faint; her heart began to race at top speed and she could feel the sweat starting to dampen her palms and feet.

Jesse grinned. ‘Telling it straight. No bullshit. That’s rare these days, wouldn’t you say?’

Not sure whether this was an actual question, Leigh stared at her hands, which she was wringing with a frightening ferocity.

‘A regular charm school here, isn’t it?’ Henry laughed. His voice sounded hollow and more than a little nervous. ‘Well, thank you for sharing your opinion with Mr Chapman, Leigh. Your solo opinion, of course.’ He smiled wanly at Jesse.

Leigh took this as her cue to leave and was positively ecstatic to oblige. ‘I, uh, I’m so … I meant no offense, of course. I’m a really huge fan and, it’s just that—’

‘Please don’t apologize. It was a pleasure meeting you.’

With tremendous effort, Leigh resisted the urge to apologize again and managed to get herself off the couch, past Jesse, and out of Henry’s office without further humiliation, but one look at Henry’s assistant’s face and she knew she was screwed.

‘Was it really that bad?’ she asked, gripping the girl’s desk.

‘Whoa. That was ballsy.’

‘Ballsy? I didn’t intend to be ballsy. I was trying to be diplomatic! I’m such an idiot. I can’t believe I said that. Ohmigod, eight years of work and it’s all down the drain because I can’t keep my mouth shut. Was it really that bad?’ Leigh asked again.

There was a pause. The assistant opened her mouth as if to say something, then closed it again. ‘It wasn’t good.’

Leigh checked her watch and grudgingly acknowledged to herself that there was no chance of making her appointment or getting back in time for the calls she had scheduled all afternoon with various agents. Back in her office, she began to work the phones. Her first call was to cancel with Gilles and the second was to Barneys. A pleasant-sounding salesclerk in the men’s department agreed to messenger a gift to her office before six. Leigh was baffled when he asked what she’d like; unable to think clearly and not particularly caring, she instructed him to make it in the $200 range and charge her American Express.

By the time the gift-wrapped box arrived at five-thirty, Leigh was close to tears. She hadn’t heard another word from Henry, who usually couldn’t make it an hour without multiple phone calls or stop-ins. She’d managed to run to the gym briefly – no workout, just a quick shower – but she didn’t realize until she was standing under the blessedly hot water that she’d left her gym bag in the office, the one with her cosmetics, a change of underwear, and, most important, her hairdryer. Although she would have thought it impossible, the mini-dryer attached to the gym wall with what seemed like a two-inch cord actually left her hair looking significantly worse than it had before the shower. Russell and her mother called her cell phone during the walk back to her office, but she screened both of them.

I am a vile human being, Leigh thought as she examined herself in the ladies room closest to her office. It was almost seven and she’d only just ended her final phone call with one of her least favorite agents. Her hair hung in limp, frizzy strands, its flatness accentuated by the dark bags under eyes and the angry redness of a forehead pimple that had neither hair nor foundation to conceal it. She’d forgotten that Russell had once joked that she looked ‘lesbian chic’ in the blazer she was wearing, and although she’d always loved its shrunken fit and its chunky gold chains and the fact that it was Chanel – the only article of haute couture she owned – she had never noticed until this very moment that it made her look like a linebacker. ‘Don’t worry,’ she mumbled, unaware that she was talking to herself. ‘Russell’s a sports commentator. He works for ESPN. He dedicates his life to professional sports. Russell loves football players!’ And with that, clutching the gorgeously wrapped gift box from Barneys, trying not to worry about the fact that its contents were a complete mystery, she gathered her unkempt self and hustled downstairs to hail a cab.

Russell stood outside Daniel, looking relaxed and fit and happy. Like he’d just returned from a month in the Caribbean, where he’d done nothing but treat his body like a temple. His charcoal gray suit hugged every toned muscle. His skin glowed with the health of someone who runs six miles a day; he was freshly washed and shaven. Even his shoes – a pair of black lace-ups that he’d bought on their last trip to Milan – literally shined. He was groomed to perfection, and Leigh resented him for it. Who on earth managed to work a full day and keep their tie that clean or their shirt that crisp? How was it always possible to match that well, to have coordinated cuff links with trouser socks, shoes with briefcases?

‘Hi, gorgeous. I was starting to worry.’

She pecked him on the lips but moved away before he could open his mouth. ‘Worry? Why? I’m right on time.’

‘Well, you know, I just hadn’t heard from you all day. You did get the orchid, right? I know the purple ones are your favorite.’

‘I did. It was beautiful. Thank you so much.’ Her voice sounded strange to her own ears – it was the higher-pitched, polite tone she used with her doorman or dry cleaner.

Russell placed his hand in the small of her back and guided her through the front doors. They were immediately greeted by a tuxedoed man nearing the end of middle age who appeared to recognize Russell. They conferred momentarily in whispers, the maître d’ leaning in toward Russell, the two men clapping each other on the shoulders. A moment later, he motioned for a young girl in a tight but conservative pantsuit to show them to their table.

‘Football fan?’ Leigh asked, more to appear interested than because she actually was.

‘What? Oh, the maître d’? Yeah, he must have recognized me from the show. What else could explain this table, right?’