It was only then that Lauren realized how little time she had spent with her family lately. Her mother, Diana, had been working overtime on the Chilton apartment project. Lauren wondered if they would miss some of the springtime rituals they had enjoyed in years past: taking walks down Park Avenue and admiring the first tulip blooms, strolling through Central Park and watching the first boats go out on the freshly thawed pond.
A day after her sister arrived home, Lauren took the subway down to Giroux New York. Sebastian was on the sales floor and had just finished conferring with Sabrina about a floor display.
“Can I talk to you?” Lauren asked. Her mouth had gone dry. She and Sebastian had become so familiar in recent months, and now he already felt like a stranger.
“Of course,” he said. “Come with me. How’s my favorite designer? Are you packing for Paris?”
Lauren took a deep breath. His charm was making this difficult. “Sebastian,” she finally said, “I can’t go on the trip.”
“No-Lauren! You must! You’d be missing such an opportunity.”
“I understand that,” Lauren said calmly. “I just-”
They entered his office, and she sat down. Sebastian looked at her sternly over his desk that was strewn with papers and sketches.
“The Colette people will be so disappointed. Can I ask why? Did something happen?”
“Sort of,” she said. “I just feel like I need to focus on my schoolwork.” It was a weak excuse, but she didn’t know how to voice her real feelings.
“But, Lauren, my dear, you’re already on break,” Sebastian said. “What kind of schoolwork would you possibly have?”
“It’s not only that. I need to start feeling like a real person again,” Lauren said. “People my age don’t fly to Paris to launch a jewelry line. I don’t need all the stress in my life. I thought that I wanted it, but I don’t. I know that I can do it, and I have the rest of my life to try, but I’m never going to get this time back again.”
“Lauren, you’re losing out on a tremendous chance. Don’t you realize what other people would give to be able to do this?”
“Yes,” Lauren said, nodding. “I do.” That was exactly the point: she knew what she had needed to give up.
“The buyers at Colette were so pleased with your designs. But I can’t guarantee that they’ll be so happy if they know that you can’t attend the unveiling.”
“I guess that’s a risk I’m going to have to take,” Lauren said. “I’ll pay for the airline ticket, if it’s not refundable. It’s the right thing to do.” She thought about how Thad wouldn’t be able to go, either. But he would understand. As long as she was tied up with Giroux New York and with Sebastian, she would be connected to the Society. As much as she tried to pretend that wasn’t the case, she couldn’t deny it.
“It’s not about money!” Sebastian said. “It’s about the experience. What about the rest of the line?”
“That’s another thing,” Lauren said. “I love doing the line. I really do. But I need to take a break. The work doesn’t feel original anymore, not to me. It’s inspired by earlier pieces, tweaked with my own touches. That may sell because people like it, but that’s not what I want to be doing.”
Sebastian was silent for a moment. “Well, this is certainly unexpected. I had no idea. I don’t really have a choice except to drop the line.”
Lauren nodded. “I understand.”
Sebastian buzzed Sabrina on the intercom, asking her to come to his office.
“Lauren, we’re going to have to ask you to clear out your office,” he said. “We’ll have a town car waiting. I’ll be in touch with our legal team tomorrow so that we can sever the relationship.”
“Thank you, Sebastian,” she said.
An hour later, she walked out of the building on 14th Street, followed by two security guards carrying boxes filled with her sketches, notebooks, and personal effects.
In the fashion world, she may have lost everything, but at that moment, she had never felt more free.
Chapter Fifty-Eight
After the conversation with his father at the town house, Nick spent the night at Patch’s apartment, as he figured it was the only safe place for him to be. Once Nick and his friends were officially released from the Society, he hoped he would feel secure going back to his parents’ place, but until then, he wanted to stay out of their apartment. He had removed his computer and any significant personal belongings from his bedroom, and he was camped out in Patch’s living room.
Most of all, it felt important to be close to his brother.
The following morning passed slowly. Genie didn’t feel the boys should leave the apartment until they knew what was going to happen. As of noon, word still hadn’t come.
“This is just like them,” Patch said. “Everything at the last minute.”
“At least we’re prepared,” Nick said. “I’ve called Lauren and Thad. If the Council doesn’t comply, we send out the DVDs and the emails.”
“What about Phoebe?” Patch asked.
Nick shrugged. “I don’t know where she is. Lauren said she was out of town, but she couldn’t say where.”
“Girls,” Patch said, groaning. “I haven’t told Lia anything since you spoke with Parker. I didn’t want to scare her.” He paced around the living room. “God, why can I not call him my father?”
Genie stood at the door to the kitchen. “Because he’s not, Patch. Your father is the man who raised you. Parker may be your father in a technical sense, but not in the emotional one.”
Patch nodded sadly and looked at Nick. They both wanted so much to have a connection with their father, and yet he had made it impossible. Perhaps all they would ever really have as family was each other and Genie.
The phone rang in the apartment, and Genie answered it crisply. “I believe it’s for you,” she said to Nick.
Nick answered the phone.
It was Charles, asking them to meet at the town house at two o’clock.
In front of the town house was a security camera aimed at the front door. Patch pointed it out first.
“I didn’t notice that yesterday,” Nick said, “but maybe I wasn’t paying attention.”
“I’m surprised,” Patch said. “What’s the purpose of it? I thought they specifically didn’t want a record of people’s comings and goings.”
Nick shook his head. He was tired of trying to speculate on the Society’s methods.
Up the street, Thad and Lauren were walking east toward the building. The four of them had agreed that they would enter together. They had told Genie that if they didn’t report back to her in two hours at a specific meeting place, she should call the police as well as drop all the DVDs in a mailbox.
Nick had a sinking feeling as they ascended the steps of the sandstone building. He had hoped that Phoebe would return, that she wasn’t really still out of town.
“Hold on,” he said to Lauren. “Phoebe. Is she still away?”
Lauren nodded. “I’m sorry, Nick. I’ll tell you where she is after this is all over. I promised her I wouldn’t, but you deserve to know.”
It sounded so grave. Where was she? Had she met someone else? The thought sickened him.
When they reached the top step, the door was opened by Charles Lawrence. The lion’s head knocker rattled slightly in the breeze as he held it open for everyone.
Two of the Guardians, members of the Society’s private security force, stood in the vestibule of the town house on its kilim runner.
“We’re going to need to check each one of you,” one of them said. “No recording devices, you understand?”
Nick nodded to the others. “It’s going to be fine,” he whispered to Lauren and Thad. He didn’t really know, though, if it would be.
Patch was looking around frantically, as if trying to figure out what was going on. Nick gave him a friendly squeeze on the arm as they each were patted down by the Guardians.
“Come with me,” Charles said. He led them down a hallway, past the main staircase. After pressing a panel in the wall, a door opened, leading to an elevator.