The next morning, a nurse was waiting to escort Victoria to Holly’s room. He remained stoically silent the whole journey and merely gestured to Holly’s door before walking away. Something didn’t seem right, but she didn’t have time to think about it right now. She had a limited amount of time to get Holly to the courtroom.
She knocked and entered the room, the empty Louis Vuitton holdall that she had picked up the evening before in her hand.
“You!” Holly exclaimed. She sat at her desk, fire dancing in her eyes.
“Me?” Victoria questioned. She placed the empty holdall on the bed.
“You! There is no way that I am going anywhere with you!” Holly shouted. She jumped to her feet and swiped the holdall off the bed, throwing it towards Victoria.
Victoria caught the bag before it hit her face. She glowered at Holly, wondering what kind of insanity she’d walked into.
“We don’t throw Louis Vuitton, Holly,” she said in her coldest tone. “Now, would you mind enlightening me as to what the hell is going on?”
“You are what is going on.” Holly pointed at her. “You are such a fraud.”
Victoria opened her mouth to again ask what was happening, but Holly cut her off before she could.
“I looked you up! Thank god I did before I was stuck on a plane with you! Did you think that they don’t have the Internet in backwards old France? Huh? Well, they do! Ice Queen, that’s what they call you. And the Dragon. No one has a single nice word to say about you. I read article after article. They all say that you are a backstabbing, manipulative, cold-hearted witch who only cares about herself.”
Victoria looked down at the floor, trying to keep a lid on her irritation.
“And you’ve been here, acting like you’re my best friend,” Holly continued. “Being nice and charming, but that’s not you at all, is it?”
Victoria sucked in a quick breath.
“Not going to deny it then?” The triumph in Holly’s tone was clear.
Victoria looked up, pinning Holly with a stare. “Are you finished?” she asked.
“For now,” Holly said.
“Good. Then allow me to reply in regards to my denial. Am I going to deny that journalists, competitors, ex-employees, and even my ex-husband have called me the Ice Queen or the Dragon? No. Am I going to deny that the press enjoys printing tales of my difficult nature, my inability to hold down a personal relationship, and my struggle to be heard as a powerful woman in a male-dominated corporate environment? No. Have I been called backstabbing? Yes. Manipulative? Yes. I haven’t seen cold-hearted in print, but I’d be happy to take your word for it.”
She threw the bag onto the bed and took a step closer to Holly.
“I’m aloof. Difficult to be around. I don’t suffer fools gladly, or indeed at all. I have exacting standards, and punish those who cannot reach them. Arrival is not some high school newspaper, it’s a critically acclaimed, multinational magazine published in twenty-three countries every single month. I am the editor-in-chief of the American edition and every other editor around the world looks to me to set an example. Arrival is valued at more than three hundred and fifty million dollars and, with no word of exaggeration, that is because of me. I carry the company on my shoulders. So, no, I’m sorry, but I don’t have the luxury of being a sweet, approachable best pal to the world and I make no apology for that.
“Am I the best person to care for you? Absolutely not. Do I wish you any harm? No. Will I do my best to ensure you are looked after and provided with everything you need to make a full and speedy recovery? You bet I will. I may be cold-hearted, but I am all you have at the moment. And, if you wish to go your own way once we reach New York, then you have my word that I will assist you in doing just that. I’ll do my best to continue to maintain my nice and charming act as best I can, but now you’ll know the truth of the dragon beneath the mask.”
She hadn’t raised her voice once. She’d maintained an even tone, stood less than a metre away from Holly, and never let her gaze waver.
Holly stared at her for a long while, shock and horror clear on her face.
“I… I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me,” Holly took a step back and fell into her chair. “I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that.”
“I think perhaps you’re remembering me and who I am.” Victoria sniffed and took a step back.
“No, not at all. You’re a complete mystery to me, I don’t remember a thing,” Holly confessed. “I think that’s why I went off the deep end like that. I thought that you were tricking me somehow. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said those things. Of course, the fashion world must be very cutthroat, people will say things like that. There’s bound to be gossip. Especially about someone like you.”
Victoria cocked her head to the side. “Well, some of it may be gossip, but most of it is rather accurate…”
Holly licked her chapped lips nervously. “You should leave me here,” she said. “I think this is probably just an indication of how much trouble I’m going to cause you.”
Victoria nodded. “True, but I’m sure you’ll be much more trouble as time progresses. Just as you were before.” She offered a small smirk to Holly to show that she was joking.
Holly grinned. “That bad, huh?”
“Utterly abysmal, you wouldn’t believe how long it took you to get coffee,” Victoria deadpanned.
She picked up the holdall and held it towards Holly.
“Now, pack your bag with whatever you’re bringing, and meet me in reception in five minutes.”
“Are you sure?” Holly asked.
“Are you?” Victoria returned.
Holly looked at the holdall and then up at Victoria. She quickly nodded her head. “Yes, I’m sure.”
“Then so am I. Five minutes, Holly.” Victoria spun on her heel and left the room.
Victoria paced the reception area. Her mind was running wild following the confrontation with Holly. She knew about the countless articles online that spoke ill of her. Some of them were fabricated, but many of them were accurate. In a way, she enjoyed the notoriety. Having people quake in their Louboutins wasn’t a bad thing when you were making outrageous demands.
Of course, she’d had long conversations with her children about the lies they may uncover online. And even sometimes when the articles weren’t lies. Having work acquaintances think she was a monster was one thing, her son and her daughter were another matter entirely.
Explaining herself wasn’t something she did often, but when she did, it was to a loved one. To her children, her parents, her husband… now ex-husband. And now she found herself doing the same for Holly. Extenuating circumstances, she reminded herself.
“Victoria,” Charlotte Fontaine caught her attention and stood beside her to prevent her pacing.
Victoria stopped her patrol and nodded her greeting to the doctor.
“I have just spoken with Holly,” Charlotte explained. “She is very upset about her outburst.”
“It’s water under the bridge.” Victoria waved her hand to end the conversation.
Charlotte frowned, clearly not understanding the expression.
“We discussed it, and we agreed to move on,” Victoria corrected.
“Good, I’m very pleased to hear that,” Charlotte said. “Would you say that Holly’s behaviour was usual for her?”
Victoria shook her head. “No, Holly would never have spoken to me like that.”
Charlotte nodded. “Interesting. We’ve never experienced an outburst like that from Holly. As we have no benchmark, it is difficult for us to tell if her behaviour is normal, stress-related, or from damage to her frontal lobe.”
Victoria considered the statement for a moment. Holly would never have dared to have spoken like that to her face. But behind her back, Victoria wouldn’t have blamed her one bit.
“I hope it is simply stress,” Victoria noted.
“Agreed. As I say, we have never seen that kind of outburst before, so it is most likely that it was stress. But if it was something more, I’m sure her American doctors will pick up on it.”
“They will,” Victoria agreed. She’d called her contacts and found the best doctors in New York. They were standing by and ready to receive Holly’s medical reports.
Holly walked into reception in a pair of skinny black jeans with a casual white t-shirt and a fashionably ripped pale blue sweater over the top. She held her newly acquired, and apparently sparsely filled, holdall loosely by her side.
She looked nervous, wide eyes flitting around the reception area like a child on her first day of school.
A nurse walked into reception and swept her into a hug. Before long there were more nurses pouring into the small reception area to wish her farewell. Small gifts and cards were handed over. Holly had tears in her eyes, and she hugged them all goodbye.
One of the nurses took the holdall from her and placed the presents and envelopes inside. Holly made her way to Charlotte, who also pulled her into an embrace.
“Holly, it has been a real pleasure getting to know you,” Charlotte said. “You must take good care of yourself. I want you to stay in touch and tell me everything about New York, oui?”
The pair parted but held hands.
“Oui, I will write to you as soon as I can,” Holly promised.
A nurse held out Holly’s holdall for her. She took it, offering a huge smile of gratitude as she did.
“We need to go,” Victoria prompted. She wanted to get away from the claustrophobic overflow of emotions.
Holly nodded. She turned around, waved, and said a final farewell. Victoria was already retreating down the steps and towards the waiting limousine, knowing that Holly would follow her.
Things were returning to normal.