Page 94 of Flare

“Don’t try and mess with me, Rhys. I’ve forgotten more about fashion than you’ll ever know. I’ve been in this industry a long time, and that means something. Do you really think people are going to think I copiedyou? For fuck’s sake, I was designing clothes while you were still learning to wipe your damn arse.”

“Which is exactly why you had to steal his work.” Kip appeared at my shoulder. “You’re not relevant anymore, Gloria. You haven’t been in years. You’ve been riding on your name, but even that isn’t going to cut it anymore.That’swhy you stole Rhys’s ideas. And if you weren’t worried about him or your name, you wouldn’t be here.”

“Kip.” I put a hand on his arm, but he wasn’t having any of it.

“When Rhys left your team, you knew you were screwed. He kept your label afloat for years. He was the best designer you had. And when he left, it hurt you.”

“Kip, enough.”

“Collar your dog, Rhys.” Gloria ignored Kip and eyeballed me. “None of that is true. I was relieved when you left. Mennz needed a fresh approach, new blood.”

“It’s kind of funny then that your best-selling pieces are based on my designs?”

“Rubbish.” She blustered. “I have a ton of other better selling pieces.”

A total lie, according to Kip’s impeccable sources.

Her gaze narrowed. “Just put a stop to this nonsense, Rhys. If you don’t, I’ll be taking this to the organisers of Fashion Week and your label will never get off the ground. Is that clear enough for you? And as for you—” Gloria’s icy blue eyes levelled Kip a killer look. “—you and your boss are not welcome in my store. I’ll be sending you notification of the same, and if either of you break it, I’ll have you for trespass.”

If she thought she could intimidate Kip, it showed how little she knew the man, and I decided to give him a little rein for all his good work. I should’ve ordered popcorn.

Kip pulled himself up to his full five foot seven, a good couple of inches shorter than Gloria, although I figured his hackles took him the distance and then some. “Why in the hell would I want to shop at your store, Gloria? You stole Rhys’s designs, switched them around just enough to scrape past the ignorant masses, and then flicked them off as your own. How fucking washed up does that make you?” He took a step toward her. “Your designs aren’t worth buying let alone stealing. And if you really think your name is gonna protect you from the fallout of all this, then you’re fucking crazy. Newsflash. Your label doesn’t mean what it used to. Not even close. You’re a fading star, sweetheart. Get used to it.”

Wow. How to sucker punch a designer.I stole a glance at Beck who was grinning from ear to ear.

Gloria’s eyes blazed. “How dare you.”

I tugged Kip back by his sleeve. “A rip-off is a rip-off, Gloria. And I’m sure people will still buy your stuff since it’s cheaper and because they like the look.Mylook by the way,notyours. But do you really think the industry will forget the question about its source? Or the major buyers? Or other designers? You can fool the everyday person, but they don’t have the respect you crave. Will anyone ever really trust you again? I hear that Golden Tide has already raised a similar question about one of your designs from last summer that was suspiciously similar to theirs.”

“Shut your mouth.” But she looked worried, and just for a second, I thought she might actually hit me.

But I wasn’t done. “And you might be able to brush aside the similarities between our stock pieces as coincidence, Gloria.” I kept my voice even. “But what about my Regency jacket?”

She blanched and the question hung like a sword between us. “What jacket?” Her eyes darted between us.

“The Regency one you’re about to put on your rackthis weekaccording to one of your staff.”

She visibly startled.

“Surprised that not everyone’s loyal to you? You shouldn’t be. That jacket is almost a direct copy of my core piece for the show. And you know damn well that if you were to feature that jacket in your store first, I’d be the laughingstock of Fashion Week. The jacket wasn’t stolen to make you money, Gloria—you won’t sell enough of them. It was stolen to drive my label under before it even got a chance.” I walked to the rack behind the service desk and pulled my original Fashion Week jacket. “And it still looks better than yours.”

Gloria stared, her mouth opening and closing like a fish.

“So, guess what? I beat you to it. Good luck convincing people about the originality of that knock-off of yours with mine already catalogued, in stock, photographed, and date stamped.”

Kip fired me a startled look, but I ignored him. Gloria didn’t need to know the jacket wasn’t actually for sale yet or that I was improvising on the fly—aka lying through my teeth. Up until now, she wasn’t even aware I knew about her jacket.

I shook my head. “You caused me a fair bit of angst when I found out and it was a pain in the butt to redo my central piece, but I managed. Which means I can now sellthis onebefore you.” I hung the jacket back on the rack and sighed. “Go home, Gloria. Get your own label in order. You were good once. Great. Go find that person again. This is beneath you.”

She gave me a long, hard stare, warring emotions playing in her eyes—fury, fear, frustration, and maybe even embarrassment, though it was well hidden. But she said nothing, and I wondered what was going through her head. Her label was in trouble, it had to be. I almost felt sorry for her.

“This isn’t finished.” She looked between the three of us, clutched her handbag to her hip, and swept out of the store in a veil of bitterness that rivalled the icy breeze whipping up the street and through the open door.

Kip slammed it shut and put his back to it. “Fucking hell. Does anyone have an exorcist on speed dial?” He caught my eye. “And that was amazing, you lying liar who lies.” He beamed and knuckled my head. “My little padawan. I am so fucking proud.”

He pulled me into a hug but quickly let go with a smutty smile when Beck cleared his throat and I spun to find a pair of hungry eyes drilling into me.

“Get up those damn stairs right now so I can kiss you thoroughly, amongst other things.”

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