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“I’m Riva Waring. I’m from Yorkshire.” She offered nothing more and quickly sank into her chair.
As we moved around the group, I was floored by the diverse range of people they’d gathered here. From a handsome South African man named Musa to the Danish beauty, Henriette. The Australian surfer chick, Nicole, to Chung Cha, the Korean girl with the burden of her entire family on her shoulders. It seemed a lot of the world was represented in this room. At twenty-nine, it was also apparent that I was by far the oldest person here except for Linda.
“Now, this is today’s itinerary.”
I picked up one of the papers Linda passed around.
“We’ll be doing everything as a group today. I’ll be taking you on a tour of these offices. We’ll be seeing one of the storefronts less than a block away. You’ll also be involved in helping with a photo shoot and organizing a small fashion show.”
A round of excited chatting circled the room. I was excited, too, of course. But I was older, more refined, more comfortable in my skin. I could keep my cool.
We followed Linda out of the conference room and through the halls of the Estate Styles’offices. She showed us where they made the prototypes of each design from conceptual drawings to the actual putting together of garments. We saw accounting and distribution and learned about fulfilling orders for each store worldwide.
Considering my long stint in the mailroom of Rawlins Industries, I felt distribution was where I could shine, and I hoped I would be considered for a position there. Sure, it wasn’t exciting, but it was something I thought I could be good at.
“We currently have stores throughout mainland Europe, the UK, and in New York City. We are now beginning to expand to the West Coast of America with our head offices opening in the smaller, exclusive city of Wayborough Shores, California, in case any of you are interested in a position in the land of sun and surf.”
I snickered. They were in for a rude shock if they thought Wayborough Shores was all fun and sun at this time of year. While not quite as cold as England, it wasn’t far off, having the same kind of weather, right along with winter snow which often fell further inland. My parents’ farm wasn’t a stranger to blizzards.
“You might not have heard of Wayborough Shores, so you might be wondering why we didn’t decide to open in LA or San Francisco. Wayborough Shores is a niche market with a large population of wealthy entrepreneurs, and it’s full of tourists and other discerning clientele.”
I nodded my agreement. “Surfers in the summer, folks on their way to the ski slopes in winter, and a few billionaires scattered here and there.”
“How do you know?” Musa asked.
“I’m from there, and I worked for one of them.” I kept from mentioning too many details, including how Tate basically helped me get this job.
That’s why I’d initially applied to work as a distribution manager in their new head office back home. Then I’d received an email from Sonja, the company owner’s personal assistant telling me I’d been selected to come to London for a special five-month internship.
“I want to go somewhere like America.” Riva sighed.
Linda pointed her finger in the young woman’s direction. “Perhaps you will, Riva. The sky’s the limit from here.”
“When do you expect to open in Sydney?” Nicole asked.
“The Bondi Junction store will be open within the next six months. We’re heading to Australia’s fashion capital of Melbourne first and moving right into Bourke Street Mall, I believe.”
“Sign me up for Sydney,” Nicole said excitedly, and her eyes lit up.
Linda folded her hands. “You all seem to be tying yourselves to one ideal. Don’t do that. It’s a crusher of creativity. Keep an open mind and see where this five-month gig takes you. You might end up anywhere.”
I smiled. “What a nice sentiment.”
“It’s more than a sentiment but a fact. I’ve known people who wanted to be the manager of their own store or area, say here in the UK, for example, who then come to this training and end up in New York as photographers. One became Sonja’s personal assistant, though I wouldn’t wish such a position on any of you. I love the woman, but blimey, is she overbearing.”
We all laughed.
“The point is, don’t close your mind off to possibilities. Remember what I said. You nine delightful people are the chosen few who get to go through this, so embrace it.”
Linda’s speech was inspiring. I still felt I was best suited to distribution, though, given my past mailroom experience.
I should’ve listened to her.
Because my world was about to tip on its axis.
CHAPTERONE
The mansion looked no different from all the other mansions lining Hampstead Lane, and I had to double-check the house number to make sure I had the right one. I doubted any of the wealthy neighbors here would appreciate me pounding on their door and screaming at them to get a fucking move on. No, I was reasonably sure that would result in a call to the police for a neighborhood disturbance. What a wonderful welcome this would be to the city I’d moved to three weeks ago from five thousand plus miles away.
