Annihilate Me (Vol. 4) (The Annihilate Me Series) (16 page)

“Hear,
hear,” Addy said.

“Maybe
my set is just a bit more conservative,” Tootie said.
 
“We always have been.
 
We tend to err on the side of caution
when it comes to fashion.”

“Just
fashion?” I asked.

“Oh,
probably other things as well.
 
We
never want to be viewed as gauche.”

“What
a shame,” I said.
 
“So many
limitations, Tootie.
 
So much
holding you back.
 
All of that
weight must show on a scale.”

“It
must show on a what?”

“A
scale, but only figuratively.
 
Your
set misses out on so much.
 
Fashion
is one of the great liberators of our time.
 
You should embrace it.
 
Take risks with it.
 
Let the devil inside you expose itself
in Prada, for instance.
 
I think
you’d be perfect for that.
 
Now,” I
said, “Alex and I are going to the bar to order a martini.
 
Addy, it was great to see you.
 
I always love seeing you.
 
Tootie, at the very least, it’s always a
lesson in good manners.”
 
I started
to lead Alex away as Tootie’s mouth tightened into a thin line of hatred.
 
“Good night,” I said to them.

Tootie
said nothing.
  
But Addy, with
a mischievous smile, said, “Good night, Jennifer.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

At
the bar, Alex pressed his way through the crowd.
 
He said hello to a few people he knew,
but he didn’t stop to chat.
 
Once a
bartender saw him, recognition flashed upon his face and the gentleman was
immediately attentive.
 

I
don’t think that I’d ever wrap my head around celebrity, but Alex had it in
spades, and at this point in the evening, with my nerves fried, I was happy
that he had the ability to get us a drink faster than most.
 
Our martinis were mixed to ice-cold
perfection and we were able to enjoy them while we scanned the crowd for
Adrianna Bomba.

Alex
dipped his head to my ear.
 
“Remember the last time we were here?”

I
brought my hand to my chest.
 
“Oh,
yes.
 
I believe you took me over
there, Mr. Wenn, on the far wall to my left.”

“And
we made Blackwell so proud because of it.”

“I
think she burned as many issues of the
Post
as she could that day.”

He
lifted his martini to mine and we touched glasses.
 
“She’s recovered nicely.”

“I
think she can recover from anything.”
 
I sipped my drink.
 
“Have you
seen the Bomba yet?”

“Not
yet.
 
But I’ve seen Kobus and
Immaculata.”

That
surprised me.
 
“Immaculata is here?”

“Right
over there.
 
Just beneath that
mirror.
 
See?”

“I
see her.
 
I’m surprised Peachy
invited her since I essentially slapped the shit out of her the last time we
were here.”

“Apparently,
Peachy likes to keep her parties interesting.”

“Are
brawls interesting in your set?”

“My
set?”

“You
know what I mean.”

“People
will say otherwise if you ask them, but who doesn’t like a good public
brawl?
 
Especially when someone as
deserving as Immaculata is on the receiving end of it?
 
Nobody likes her.
 
They just tolerate her.
 
I actually think you won a few fans that
night.”

“Where’s
Kobus?”

“Can’t
see him now, but I saw him a moment ago with his son.
 
I’m sure we’ll run into them at some
point, which will be tense.
 
He’s
putting up a pretty fierce fight, but Wenn will take Kobus Airlines from him
because he’s been a disappointment to too many of his shareholders for too long.
 
He’ll make a fortune out of the deal,
but here’s the thing.
 
When you own
a major airline, people know that you have money.
 
When you no longer have that airline,
your net worth is left in question, isn’t it?
 
In other words, your name isn’t out
there for the world to see so they can attach an imaginary figure to it.
 
He’s going to lose that card.
 
That will hurt him for many reasons, but
mostly because he’s a playboy.
 
One
of these days, he’s going to hear ‘Kobus who?’ from some random hot blonde in
Vegas.
 
Not good for Gordon’s sex
life, but not my problem.
 
Business
is business.”
 
He paused, and then
lifted his drink.
 
“And there’s
Adrianna Bomba.”

“Where?”

He
pretended to take a sip, but instead said to me, “That would be the
fortysomething brunette coming our way.
 
Come with me.
 
We need to
make sure that we’re out in the open so this is caught on camera.”

I
followed him, and looked at the woman coming in our direction.
 
She was petite, pretty, and as stylish
as I’d expect for someone who once owned a cosmetic empire.
 
Her features were as sharp as the clip
in her step.
 
She wore her dark hair
pulled tightly behind her face in a chignon.
 
I had to admire her dress—it was
silver, came just to her knees, and shimmered when she moved.

“Alex,”
she said when she stopped in front of us.
 
“I thought that was you.”

“How
are you, Adrianna?”

“I’m
excellent.
 
Perfect.
 
Into all sorts of trouble, as you can
imagine.
 
Thank you for asking.”
 
She turned to me.
 
“Who is this?”

“My
fiancée, Jennifer Kent.”

“Oh,
the one I’ve read about.
 
The one
from Maine who managed to land Alexander Wenn.
 
Of course.”
 
She extended her hand to me, and when I
shook it, I was surprised to find that it was slightly moist.
 
“My dear, how did you ever pull that
off?”

“How
did I pull what off?”

“Landing
Alex.
 
That’s quite a feat.”

“Is
it?”

“I
think we all know that it is.”

“I’ve
never looked at it that way, Adrianna.”

“Haven’t
you?”

“Sorry,
no.”

“That’s
interesting.”

I
was supposed to provoke her, but she was provoking me.
 
“Maybe for some it is.
 
For me, I just happened to find my soul
mate.
 
It’s nice to finally meet
you.
 
I have to say that I’ve
wondered who the woman is behind all of those words.”

“All
of what words?”

“I’ve
read a great deal about you.”

“Why
would you do that?”

“Part
of my job at Wenn is to oversee the success of our more recent acquisitions,
such as Bomba Cosmetic.
 
It will
soon become one of Wenn’s more successful takeovers.
 
You took it to one level.
 
We’re about to take it to the level it
deserves.”

“Alex’s
money has a way of doing things like that.”

“Oh,
no.
 
It’s not just about the
money.
 
Though naturally, it
helps.
 
It’s mostly about the change
in philosophy.
 
The restructuring.
 
It’s changing everything you created,
and forming a new brand from it—Wenn Cosmetic.”

“Wenn
what?”

“Wenn
Cosmetic.
 
Soon, Bomba Cosmetic will
no longer exist.
 
We’re wiping it
away.
 
We’ve struck fresh deals with
all major retailers and department stores, we have an exciting new website that
underscores the sea changes, and within a few months, we’ll offer two new
perfumes to add to your initial collection of nine.”

The
hatred that emptied into her eyes was revealing.
 
Was she the one who was behind
this?
 
Looking at her now, I had to
wonder.
 
She looked as if she was
about to combust into flames, so I pressed on.

“And
there’s more,” I said.
 
“Since part of
Wenn’s mission is to care for the world in which we live, we are throwing out
your entire cosmetic line because it wasn’t environmentally conscious.”

“It
wasn’t what?”

“Good
for the planet.
 
We found that some
of the ingredients you used were toxic.
 
And harmful to the animals on which you tested all of your
products.
 
Wenn is of a different
mindset.
 
We want to set ourselves
apart from other cosmetic lines by setting an example.
 
We plan to offer products that come from
sustainable resources.
 
Shortly, everything
under the Wenn Cosmetic name will be naturally derived.
 
Our commitment is to deliver botanically
based products that are kinder to the planet.
 
People will respond to that.
 
We’re in an era where these things
matter, from the ingredients we put into our cosmetics and perfumes straight
down to the packaging, which soon will be one-hundred-percent post-consumer
recycled PET.
 
We’re also in the
process of partnering with nonprofit organizations whose work supports our
commitment to social and environmental improvement.
 
So, it’s kind of exciting.
 
We’ve recently begun working with the
Yawanaw
á
people, who grow and
harvest the Brazilian urukum seed, which is a real find because of all the
things that seed can do.”
 
I shook
my head and sipped my martini.
 
“Anyway, all of this is probably too much information to digest so
quickly, but that’s what we’re up to.
 
We’re moving from an ‘irresponsible’ model to one that’s ‘responsible.’”

“You
think my work was irresponsible?”

“I’m
sorry to say that I do.
 
So did our
scientists.”

“My
customers certainly didn’t.”

“We’re
no longer interested in your customers.
 
Bomba is going away.
 
We’re
expanding the brand.”

“I
don’t—”

Provoke.
 
“You have to admit that as well as you did, getting rid of your
entire product line to ensure that it respects the planet is not just a
wonderful thing to do for the world, but also for our customers, who are more
enlightened now than they were fifteen years ago when you first began in your
thirties—”

“My
twenties.”

“Sorry.
 
Twenties.
 
It’s a new world.
 
People care about our environment more
than ever.
 
This is a win-win for
us.
 
We get to provide better products
and we get to bolster them with a new marketing campaign that caters to a more
advanced consumer.”

She
rolled her eyes.
 
“Finally, the
truth.
 
All of this is just about
marketing.”

“I
suppose that’s the cynical way to view it.
 
But look, I get the undercurrent here.
 
Hostile takeover and all.
 
Actually, if you want to know the whole
truth, I went to Alex and asked if we could go in this direction because it’s
important to me.
 
I don’t believe in
destroying the planet the way your products have.
 
As you noted, I come from Maine.
 
There, I was raised to live a
sustainable life.”

“On
a farm?”

“What
a cute cliché.
 
No, I’m just of a different
generation than you.
 
My generation
thinks ‘holistic.’
 
Alex told me to
run with my ideas, and I did.
 
You’ll see it all in a few months when we launch the new line.
 
Please don’t take it personally, but
getting rid of the Bomba name and all that comes with it has its benefits.
 
We want to start with something
fresh.
 
Something new.
 
Something that gets to the core of our
mission, and removes us from your mission.”