Page 33 of A Private Affair
“I’ve just got better things to do with my time. We’re about to break records with this upcoming show.”
Her father took a seat in one of the guest chairs across from her desk. “That’s exactly what I want to hear. Tell me more about what you’ve done, baby girl.”
Riley was happy to talk about work with her father. She wasn’t thrilled that at twenty-nine years old he was still calling her his baby girl, but there was nothing she could do about that. Ron Gold wasn’t the type to change until he was good and ready.
The idea to construct a runway in the center of an old railway station was brilliant. It was the perfect backdrop for the rebranded King Collection, which was King Designs’s signature men’s collection. Tobias King and his team of designers had always been known for their cutting-edge, streetwise men’s clothes. But in the last two years that line had fallen behind women’s couture and wedding wear. Chaz was aiming to change that.
“It’s important to have the lighting coordinated with the music and the specific beats of the show. I don’t want any lags and every model must be specifically highlighted when they get to the front of the runway.” Chaz had been giving instructions all day while they worked at the venue. It was nearing six in the evening and he was just hitting his stride.
Ram, one of the three show producers, was nodding as he took notes on his tablet.
“Four rows of seats, not five. Three sections of seating and the remaining guests will be standing. We have a lot of room for people to move around, and if they’re standing too far in the back or near the bar during the show, that’s why we have the screens. The idea is to make this feel like a night at the club, not a high-end fashion show.”
“Got it. Alexa’s working with the backstage manager. They were having some deep discussion about where to place the rails and the chairs for the models. The designers are with hair and makeup, going through a hair and makeup test.”
“As soon as that’s complete I want everyone out to do another run-through. Have the designers stand down here and to the sides so we can get an idea of how everything is going to look. What’s the status of the rest of the set? We only have six more days for construction.” Chaz walked the length of one half of the U-shaped runway.
“We normally deal with the show producers.”
Chaz turned at the sound of another man’s voice. He held back a frown when he saw Lenzo Fuchetti, one of King’s top designers.
“I know what’s normally been done, but normal wasn’t working for this particular line. So this time around we’re switching things up.” Chaz normally worked well with the staff, whether at his company or Tobias’s, but Lenzo had a particularly hard time dealing with Chaz’s presence and the amount of impact he had on this upcoming show. Chaz could relate to an extent. Aside from his relationship to Tobias he was an outsider. His specialty was in a totally different industry. Still, Tobias had paid for Chaz’s education, which had given Chaz the tools to create his own multimillion-dollar brand. The least Chaz could do was use some of what he’d learned to help his uncle get back on top. If Lenzo didn’t understand, that was his problem.
“We’ll need sheer drapes at the back, pin lights as well as spotlights,” Lenzo continued.
Chaz nodded to Ram, approving what Lenzo said. Ram made note of it and Lenzo huffed. There was some commotion at the front doors and Lenzo hurried off to assist.
“I have an engagement at seven. We need to get on with the run-through,” Chaz told them.
“I’ll get everyone together,” Ram told him before walking away.
Chaz ran a hand down the back of his head and sighed. This had been a really long day. It had also been the second day of not seeing Riley. He didn’t like that. And when he reached into his back pocket and pulled out his phone, he didn’t like that she hadn’t sent him a text since earlier this morning. He scrolled through his emails quickly, wondering when he’d become so concerned with whether or not a woman had texted him back. Normally women waited for him to return their messages. He frowned down at his phone for a few minutes more, wondering if he should break routine and text her again.
He didn’t have time because they were ready to do the run-through and getting this finished in the next hour was important.
Forty minutes later they were entering the last minutes of the show. The run-through was going smoothly with two other designers on-site making a few suggestions and changes to the models’ hairstyles and positioning on the runway. Chaz happily stood to the back to let them do their thing. His job was the overall picture. Making sure everything he’d been working on with the designers and his team for the last six months had been implemented. All of that made the arrival of four models on the stage wearing wedding gowns even more disconcerting.
He moved closer to the runway, where Lenzo was now directing. The shorter man was clapping his hands and motioning for the models to come to the spots he pointed to immediately. His midnight-black hair was shaved on the sides and left to hang long in a curly strip down the center, and he was constantly pushing the strands out of his eyes.
“This one should be front and center. So you switch places with her. Yes, just like that. And then turn slightly.” Lenzo looked back to the booth where the lighting guys were sitting. “I want the beading to sparkle. Shine the light right on her so that she glitters throughout the room.”
“What the hell is this?” Chaz asked. He’d spent a few seconds trying to come up with a less irritated way to ask why these models wearing dresses he’d never seen were on the runway, but he couldn’t.
Lenzo turned to face Chaz, annoyance evident in the narrowing of his eyes and the smirk of his lips.
“It is high fashion. I don’t know what these others have done to appease you and your specialty branding idea, but this is what we do here at King Designs.”
Chaz didn’t really have a problem with the dresses. They were fine from a cursory glance. What he didn’t like was someone attempting to usurp his authority.
“The first portion of this show is dedicated to the unveiling of the men’s line—fifteen new designs. There are seventeen women’s designs that will follow. We specifically decided to focus on ready-to-wear designs for this showing, waiting until next year to present haute couture pieces. Therefore, King Designs isn’t offering any bridal wear this year.”
Lenzo sighed heavily. “It’s the spring/summer season—that’s precisely when we would unveil such one-of-a-kind bridal designs.”
Again, Lenzo’s logic was not totally wrong, but Chaz’s rebranding plan called for King Designs to do the unexpected. Lenzo turned away from Chaz and continued to instruct the models. Chaz took another moment to gather his thoughts. Then he went into action.
“This run-through is over.” He spoke loud enough so that everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and looked at him. “Thank you, models, stylists, supervisors. We’ll see you again on Monday.” He turned to look at Ram and said, “Shut the place down for the night and make sure it’s locked up tight.”
Lenzo, because the man really was an idiot, continued, “I’m not finished.”
