The boutique door chimed softly as a customer stepped inside to browse the racks of silk scarves, and I greeted her with the warm professionalism my mother taught me decades earlier.
Aubrey leaned closer to Tyler and whispered loudly enough for me to hear, “She still thinks she is a shop clerk instead of admitting she failed.”
I finished assisting the customer and wrapped her purchase carefully before returning to the counter where my family still waited.
My phone vibrated quietly in my pocket with a message from my executive assistant informing me that the board meeting at Havencrest Tower had concluded exactly as planned.
The modeling agency representing Aubrey had received notice that her contract ended immediately due to a restructuring decision by the parent company.
The parent company happened to belong to me.
I slipped the phone back into my pocket while keeping my expression calm because the truth would reveal itself soon enough without my help.
Gregory cleared his throat awkwardly and said, “Victoria, your mother left the boutique to you, but perhaps it would be wiser if we discussed selling it because maintaining property in this district cannot be cheap.”
I looked directly at him while answering gently, “The property will remain exactly where it stands because this place is the foundation of something far greater than any of you ever realized.”
Tyler laughed again and said, “Foundation for what exactly, Victoria, a charity for failed designers who cannot pay their rent?”
I met his gaze calmly before replying, “Something like that, although the scale might surprise you.”
Aubrey’s phone suddenly rang and she answered with the careless confidence of someone who believed the world existed solely to admire her.
Her expression changed within seconds and the color drained from her face as she listened to the frantic voice on the other end explaining that her contract had vanished without warning.
“What do you mean terminated?” she shouted while turning away from us, and she continued speaking rapidly while panic replaced arrogance in her tone.
Tyler frowned and asked impatiently, “What happened?”
Aubrey lowered the phone slowly before whispering in disbelief, “My agency says the parent company canceled the contract during a corporate restructuring this morning.”