Lauren's Designs - By Elizabeth Chater Page 0,3

and the wide, soft mouth, she suddenly saw, imposed between her and her image, the mocking smile of the dark man in the blazer.

She had never been so instantly aware of a man before. His half-teasing salute was a challenge that had sparked every nerve in her body to alert response. Even now, she was conscious of every detail of his splendid body: his broad shoulders, the strong, full column of his throat, the thick, shining dark hair, the amazing gray eyes that shone like silver. . . .

Cool off, she advised herself. Smiling wryly, she stepped into the shower, then dressed in the violet sheer wool she had chosen to wear for the first night’s dinner. The next half-hour was spent in coaxing her models into their dresses and soothing Nella’s fears. One thing she said made Lauren very angry. Apparently, Herbert Masen had given poor Nella dire warnings of the agonies and hazards to be expected upon the high seas. So he had been trying to sabotage her showing. A minute’s thought told Lauren why. If the show was a disaster, she would be more amenable to his offer of marriage and a sale of the boutique and the September Song name. Or so Herbert probably figured. Well, she’d show Mr. Masen. She praised the models lavishly enough to soothe their deep insecurities, then outlined the evening’s events clearly for them.

“First we are to go to the captain’s dayroom for cocktails. All the other designers and their models will be there, so we will have to keep very quiet about what we are going to show.”

Nella and Dani nodded solemnly; they knew more than she did about the rivalries and dirty tricks in the fashion business.

Lauren resumed, “Then we go to our own dining room for dinner. There are four dining rooms on the QE II, you know.” They hadn’t, but they nodded again, eyes bright with interest. “After dinner, we meet with the cruise director, who will tell us all the details we need to know about the different presentations, especially our own. Then he’ll take us to the lounge where we’ll be putting on our show and let us look at the dressing rooms, runway, and stage. They have some scenery if we wish it, also props.”

Dani sighed. “Wouldn’t it be super if that gorgeous officer we met on deck was the cruise director? I know he fell for me.”

In spite of Lauren’s fears, Nella and Dani behaved with perfect propriety during the cocktail hour, both nursing a Perrier as they had been instructed. The cruise director turned out to be a woman, to Dani’s disappointment. She seemed competent and friendly, and made clear and careful explanations. It was not too surprising to discover that the other six designers had assistants to deal with their models and with the mechanics of the presentations. One or two of them spoke to Lauren, but the rest either ignored her completely or accepted their introduction to her with a patronizing air.

“Who’s she?” she heard someone ask Carlos de Sevile, the dark, insolent Spaniard who was chief designer for the expensive, exclusive C. M. Landrill chain of department stores based in Los Angeles. Lauren had been introduced to Carlos on several occasions. She lingered behind the two, waiting to hear what de Sevile would say about her.

“Some cheap little dressmaker,” Carlos drawled with a heavy accent, which made Lauren smile because she knew he had been born and educated in Los Angeles. “No competition to us, I assure you.” The two men laughed as they accepted a drink from a passing steward.

Lauren walked away without anger. She knew that Landrill’s had tried twice to secure her own designing skill, to put September Song garments and accessories under contract exclusively for their chain of stores. Al had always refused, ranting about conglomerates and big business destroying the small, quality boutiques. Lauren had often wondered what his real reasons were.

She had never really understood Al. Her marriage had been a mistake, although she had tried very hard to make it work. Al had always preferred his nights out with the boys, his trips to Vegas or Mexico or Canada with his special male friends. He seemed to have some deep grudge against the world, and in the last few years his anger and resentment had turned against her also. But she must not waste time thinking of that now, she told herself. She collected Nella and Dani to take them to dinner.

They