The Cherry Blossoms (3 page)

She looked at him slyly and in a soft sexy voice told him,
“A lady doesn’t kiss and tell.”

Michal laughed, “Why are you not at the office?”

“I’m working hard to let my staff do its job without my hovering over them.  I thought I’d go to work when you left for work this morning.”

“Ah, I see.  I need to leave soon since I have a staff meeting.  It
is a shame, since I would like to take you back to bed.”

When Daniella entered her shop, she found Grant pacing the lobby floor.  “Grant, is there something wrong?”

“No, I did not know when you would arrive.  I have ten models scheduled for you to interview this morning.”

Daniella chortled, “It sounds as though you were a very busy man yesterday.  Let me grab a cup of coffee then I’ll join you in the conference room.”

Grant sent the models in
to the conference room one at a time.  Daniella asked a number of the standard questions such as, how long have you modeled?  Do you have runway experience?  Which modeling agency has you under contract?  Daniella took notes from each model.  At the conclusion of the interview, she asked the young women to walk alongside the conference table as if that space were the runway.

When the ten models left the conference room, Daniella went to her office where she waited for Grant.  When he entered her office Daniella stood, “Where in the fuck did you find those models?  Out of ten models, I saw only three as possibilities.  I thought I was quite clear that I need
ed eight.”

Sheepishly he spoke, “Daniella, all the good models have been hired by the other designers.”

She knew he was telling her the truth.  Most designers used the same agencies for their models, but Daniella wasn’t about to let him off the hook  She paid Grant very well and expected nothing less than perfection from him.  “If you knew that, did you have a contingency plan in place?”

“
Non je ne l'ai pas.”

“Then you’ll have to develop one now.”

“Daniella, I beg you to forgive me.  What do I do to find models?  If you were in my shoes, what would you do?”

Daniella adored her loyal office manager.  She could not justify one good reason to drag him across the rug as if he were a dead raccoon.  Her Irish temper had gotten the best of her.  “Give me a minute to think.”

“Daniella shall I leave and return when you have completed your thinking?”

She giggled.  The French could mangle the English language as well as she mangled French.  “Get us both fresh cups of coffee while I complete my thinking.”  That one statement about fresh cups of coffee solidified the direction her design house would take.  When Grant returned to her office, she wrapped her arms around him nearly spilling hot coffee across the two of them.

Grant held the cups tightly and was certain his boss had just gone over the edge.  “Mademoiselle, êtes-vous d’accord ?”

“I haven’t a clue what you just said, but listen to this and then tell me what you think.  Grant
, our spring show designs are new and fresh.  It’s likely mine will present differently than the competition.  I think we could consider a new and fresh look to our models as well.  Instead of contacting agencies looking for models, why can’t we advertise for them?”

Grant gave her a pensive look, “We’ll end up with all the models that no one else wants.  They will be inexperienced and we will end up being laughed at.”

“Listen to me for a moment.  Women come in all shapes and sizes.  Paris tends to use tall, skinny models.  What if we broke away from that standard and chose models that the average woman could identify with?”

“Daniella, I think I see where you are going with this thought.  You would be the only designer creating outfits that flattered any woman.  I think that is a brilliant idea
Mon ami.”

Daniella’s outlook changed dramatically, she was no longer angry; but excited about her spring line up.  “Grant, before you go can you please send Annette and Charlene in.”

When they entered Daniella’s office, they both looked as though they were ready for a likely thrashing from her for something they weren’t aware of.  “Come and sit.  I think I will need to re-sketch the show designs, so throw away what Grant gave you.”

Charlene flashed a motherly look at Daniella, “
Enfant vous êtes d'accord ?  The designs Grant gave me are spectacular.”

“Thank you for the compliment.  We’ll use those designs; however, I plan to make some changes to them.  The other houses have contracted with the best modeling agencies, so Grant is going to advertise for models.  So, until I know what we have to work with, I’m going to ask that everyone put their work on hold.” 

Michele, who was shyer than her colleague, didn’t say a word.  There wasn’t a shy bone in Charlene’s short, trim body, so she asked her boss without hesitation, “Daniella, are you saying that there was not one professional model available?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.  I interviewed three very inadequate candidates yesterday, so I told Grant to advertise for some.”

Charlene looked dumbfounded, “I do not believe I know where you are going with this advertising for models, but I will throw your designs into the trash.”

“Great, so we’ll get started once Grant finds models.  Take the rest of the day off and go enjoy the afternoon.”

Annette and Charlene looked at one another.  Annette in her low shy voice asked, “Daniella, you are saying we should take the afternoon off with the show so close?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.  Let me share something with you.  Michal tells me my stress passes to those around me.  He suggested that I chill out.  We have a great deal of hard work ahead of us, so I don’t want you tired and stressed before that work begins.”

Charlene asked, “Are you saying the entire staff may take the remainder of the day off?”

“Yes, everyone gets the rest of the day off, except for Grant, who needs to find new models.”

As they left her office, Daniella knew Charlene and Annette thought she’d lost her mind.  If the out of the box plan worked, she’d reach her goal.  If it didn’t work, she’d be considered a failure.  If Daniella stayed in the office, she knew she would start the sketches too early, so she called Michal to see if he could meet for lunch.

His
secretary answered the phone, “IL s'agit de Lisette, comment puis-je aider vous ?”

“
Lisette, this is Daniella, is Michal available?”

Lisette
sounded shocked when Daniella asked to speak to Michal.  “Daniella il est disponible pour vous.  Veuillez tenir un instant ce que je peux lui.”

Daniella had no idea what Michal’s secretary just said, so she responded with, “
Merci”.  If the line went dead, it meant he wasn’t available.

Lisette
must have said he was available since he laughed as he answered.  “What a wonderful delight to speak with you in the middle of the day.”

“I was calling to see if you are available to have lunch with me?”

“It would be my pleasure.  I have one more meeting for the magazine’s layout team, and then I can be all yours.  What did you have in mind?”

“I didn’t have anything in mind.”

“Then we’ll meet at the café around the corner from your office.  Go now and order a drink.  I will be there shortly.”

It was amazing that Daniella found an outside table on such a beautiful day.  It was still chilly, but the sun warmed the air along with the outside heaters.  She had just taken her first sip of wine when Michal joined her.  After giving her a kiss hello, he took the chair beside her.  “Tell me have I corrupted my hard working girl?”

“You have not, but I gave the staff the afternoon off.”

“Then, surely I have corrupted you.”

“I’d asked Grant to interview twenty models and bring his top ten choices.  I found that three of them might work, but the rest would never do.”  She took another sip of her wine, “Grant told me that the other design houses have entered into contracts with all the available modeling agencies.”

Michal looked into her blue eyes searching them to see how disappointed she may be.  “Are you going to drop out of the show?”

Daniella laughed, “Not on your life.  Grant and I talked about the design industry at length.  Michal, we designers pay high prices for the best models we can find, yet our real target isn’t the model, it’s the average everyday women who buy our clothes.  Everyday women who come in all shapes and sizes, and that’s what our designs should be promoting.  Grant is running an advertisement for models.  Once we have selected the eight I require, I will re-sketch my current designs to make the clothes flatter the model.”

“My darling that is an ingenious idea and I assume that I cannot see the new designs until the show?”

“You absolutely cannot.  I also would prefer that you speak to no one about what we’re planning to do.”

“I will tell no one.  I promise, Mon amour.  Do you have a plan if this idea does not work?”

“No, which means this has to work or I’m done in Paris.  I’ll end up designing clothes for the Dollar Stores.”

“What are dollar stores?”

“In the States, there are stores that sell items for one dollar.  I think that they buy overstocked or out of circulation items.”

Michal howled, “Then it is essential that you do well in the show.”

Daniella was in the office by 6:30 the following morning.  She put on the coffee and waited anxiously for Grant to arrive.  When he finally showed up in the kitchen, he casually poured a cup of coffee, and sat across the kitchen table from her.

“Grant, I’m hoping that smug look on your face means you found models.”

“Mon chéri, I did not find the twenty models you requested.”  Grant watched as Daniella’s face transformed from hopeful to despair. “Daniella, eighty women applied.”

The look of pure shock on his boss’ face made Grant laugh aloud, “You should see your face.”

“Grant, did you just say eighty, like eight, zero?”

“
Oui Mademoiselle j'ai fait.”

“Oh my God, let me think.  When are they coming in?”

“Today around 10:00 this morning.”

“
There will be eighty women in the shop today
?”

“
Oui Mademoiselle, there will be eighty women arriving this morning.  Is that bad?”

“No it is not.  It’s marvelous.  It’s actually beyond marvelous.  When Charlene, Michele, and Annette arrive, please bring them to my office. We need to develop a plan to evaluate these women.”

“Oui, Mademoiselle, je vais.”

When Grant left her office, Daniella jumped for joy.  Eighty models to choose from couldn’t be better.  When she finally drifted back to earth, she went to her desk to write up some criteria for her staff to follow as they helped with the interview process.  To get through eighty interviews, the staff needed to work in teams.  She and Grant typically interviewed models, so she paired herself with Michele and Grant with Charlene.  If they needed to bring in the seamstresses, she’d work something out.  Daniella wrote a note that she was looking for happy women.  She wanted women who enjoyed their lives and were comfortable in their own skin.

Next, she jotted notes for the four designs.  The business attire was first.  To carry the full jacket, the model needed to be taller than five feet, six inches.  The model’s girth wasn’t important, just the height.

The beach outfit may need a total redesign but Daniella would design it for the selected woman who would model it.  In the end, Daniella realized she didn’t need to write requirements for any of the outfits.  She was a designer and if she had to redo all the sketches to personalize each, that was her job.

Grant brought Michele, Charlene and Annette into her office as soon as they had arrived to the shop.

Once they were seated, she told them, “Ladies, we have a task that we need to complete as efficiently as we can.”

Michele and Charlene looked to one another to confirm they were going to pay dearly for Daniella letting them take yesterday off.

“The two of you look as though I’m going to drag you across the rug.  This is going to be fun.  I have done a 180 on my thoughts for the show.  All the other design houses have contracted with the best agencies, leaving us without a decent model to work with.  If we are to succeed in our firm, we must stop designing clothes for tall, skinny models.  We will make our mark on the world with designs created for all shapes and sizes.
Every design house we know creates clothes for tall thin models to display on a runway.  We are going to break that mold and design clothes not for a model, but for women like the two of you and me.  Look at me.  I certainly do not have that tall thin model look.  The average woman is condemned to buying her clothes in a department store unless she’s wealthy and can sign a contract with a designer.  Not even I can afford to do that.”

Daniella waited a moment for Michele and Charlene to grasp what she’d told them.  She winked at Grant, who giggled.

Charlene spoke, “Does that also include all age groups?”