other, and a pair of eyeglasses perched on top of her head. Carly shoved away from the wall. “Oh my God, Ms. McNeil,” she said, and extended her hand.
“My hands are full.”
“Right,” Carly said, and dropped her hand. “It’s such a pleasure to meet you.”
“So you’re Carly Kennedy of Carly Kennedy Public Relations?”
“Yes!” Carly said, smiling.
Ramona slipped a folder under her arm then yanked her glasses down to her nose to give Carly a good once-over. She looked to be around sixty-five or maybe seventy. She was impeccably dressed in a Chanel suit and flawless makeup, including the eyeliner that swooped out from the corners of her eyes. And she’d had so much Botox that her expression was completely unreadable.
“What did you think of the show?” Carly asked.
Ramona looked across the room to Victor.
“His aesthetic is very avant-garde, wouldn’t you say?” Carly asked. “The thing about Victor is that whatever he comes up with will be editorial. And you have to admit that no one is doing work quite like him, besides, maybe, Christian Siriano, which is why, frankly, I think Victor is so interesting. He has this fantastic, unique ability to take something ordinary and turn it into very high fashion. This could be a great opportunity for you.”
Ramona snorted and looked at Carly again. “For me?” she drawled.
“Well, sure. After the show today, everyone is going to want a piece of what he’s got.”
Ramona chuckled. “Carly, you have an annoying tendency to oversell things. His show was good, but it wasn’t that good. I’m surprised you got him here, frankly.”
“He’s had a small crisis of faith. But he’s back on track.”
“Hmm,” Ramona said, looking Carly over. “Must be hard to work with an artist who doesn’t believe in himself.”
That sounded very much like Megan Monroe. First and foremost, believe in yourself! “I’m a big fan of his work. I really am. And he is so stupidly young that I couldn’t let him blow this opportunity. He doesn’t know yet that it would be something he’d regret all his life.”
Ramona leaned forward. “Nevertheless, I ought to kick you out of here for wasting so much of my time with him. And yet, I like you, Carly Kennedy. You’ve got some grit.”
Was that what she had? All she knew was that she liked solving problems like Victor. “Yeah, I guess maybe I do.” She smiled as she hoisted her bag onto her shoulder. “I am so very sorry for wasting your time. That was never my intent.”
“Don’t waste more of it now. You have an application in our publicity department.”
Carly sighed. “I do. I’ll withdraw it as soon as I get to a computer.”
“I don’t want you to withdraw it. I want to talk to you about it. Can you be in my office by four today?”
Carly was certain she’d misunderstood. “What?”
“You don’t give up, and I like that. We could use someone like you. Someone who would go out and find the young talent for us. But talent that will deliver,” she said, pointing her coffee cup at her.
Carly’s brain couldn’t compute. Was Ramona McNeil offering her a job? “But . . . but I live in Austin.”
“You can’t move to New York? You applied, so I assumed you’d be interested in moving here. What have you got to lose by talking, Carly Kennedy? Four o’clock. My office. And, for the love of God, do not be late.” She walked away.
Carly stared after her, her mouth agape. Was this really happening? Was her dream really going to come true? She couldn’t even absorb it—she’d been working so long and hard toward this, and here it was, on a silver platter. She was . . . flabbergasted. Stunned. And . . . and something felt a little off in her chest.
She was walking without realizing it, trying to make sense of it all.
“Carly!”
She paused at the sound of Victor’s voice and turned around. “Hey! Great show, Victor! See? I knew you could do it.” A lie, but it seemed appropriate in the moment.
“Thank you,” he said and smiled sheepishly. “Hey . . . I’ve been a jerk. I’m sorry. But I wouldn’t have made it if you hadn’t, like, hounded me every day. I owe you, man.”
Carly blinked. Something else she hadn’t expected and couldn’t quite grasp. “Oh. Wow!” She grinned. “You’re welcome, but you were the one who overcame your fears and put on this amazing show. It must feel fantastic.”