Miracle on Regent Street (22 page)

‘We can’t let that happen!’ calls out Barbara.

‘London
needs
Hardy’s!’ says Gwen passionately.

‘We need Hardy’s,’ adds someone else tearfully.

‘What can we do, Sharon?’ calls out Jenny.

‘Well, we can begin by following Guy’s lead,’ smiles Sharon thinly, waving a long till receipt. Guy looks up from where he is still furiously dabbing at the coffee stain on his
suit. ‘His takings were up a massive five hundred per cent over the weekend. I don’t know what he did or how he did it, but he’s proved that Hardy’s still has a
chance.’

Guy curtsies again and we all laugh. Even Sharon.

‘We can do this, people. We just need a bit of vision and a lot of hard work. Are you all prepared for that?’

Everyone looks at each other as if waiting for someone to agree to the terms: work hard for a few weeks or lose their job for good in a climate where it’s practically impossible to get a
new one.

‘We’ll do it!’ says Barbara, the unofficial spokesperson of the group.

‘I hope we get a pay rise at the end of it, though,’ grumbles Elaine. ‘I didn’t sign up for this when I took this job. I should’ve stayed at Selfridges.’

Sharon ignores her. ‘Well done, ladies, I’m really proud of you. And well done, Gwen, for taking the initiative and following Guy’s lead. It’s a good start, but you and
your team need to work hard today to follow through with sales. And I don’t need to tell the rest of you that we all need to be thinking of the best ways to maximize sales in our departments
and get customers through our doors. I’ll be sending Carly round to each department to help you creatively. After all, she seems to have the right vision for the future of the store.
Although, where is she this morning? Does anyone know?’

Everyone looks around as if noticing for the first time that Carly isn’t here. Whilst she’s not the best timekeeper in the world she doesn’t usually miss the Monday morning
meeting.

Sharon frowns and looks at her watch. ‘Well, I’m sure she’s got a good reason. Carly has been working very hard on her creative vision for the store. Rupert has put his faith
in her that she is going to steer the store in the right direction and I want you all to support her. As assistant manager she is going to be working alongside Rupert to bring a fresh look and
direction to Hardy’s.’

‘Good luck with that,’ yells someone.

‘She’s got a tough few weeks ahead of her,’ says Sharon, ignoring the heckler, ‘so I want you all to support her – even if her ideas for your departments are not
what you expect – although Guy and Gwen have obviously got there first and taken control of their own departments, which is wonderful to see.’ She turns to them and nods her head.
‘Rest assured I will be passing on news of your hard work to Rupert.’

Guy beams at everyone and Gwen smiles uncertainly. She is still battling over whether to take credit for the work or not. I want to catch her eye and telepathically translate to her that she
should. Neither of them knows that their job is the first for the chop this week.

I just hope that what I’ve done is enough to turn that decision round. At least for now.

Sharon dismisses us, and the staff all scatter across the store like mice, squeaking excitedly and nibbling hungrily at the gossip they’ve just received like it’s a particularly
tasty bit of cheese. Whilst the threat of closure is obviously worrying, I know they’re all trying to work out who the secret elf is who’s making such big changes in the store. We all
know Gwen well enough to presume it isn’t her. Guy is more plausible. Everyone always thinks gay men have creative flair.

I wander back to the stockroom, feeling elated. It was so great hearing the staff come together to fight for Hardy’s survival. I just hope it continues. I don’t think I can do this
alone.

I’ve just popped the kettle on and am trying to think up ways to transform the next department when Carly bursts into the stockroom.

‘Morning!’ she gasps as she throws off her red coat and takes off her thick cream snood and cute matching beanie. She looks like a latter-day Ali MacGraw in her
Love
Story
-style preppie winter clothes. She shakes her hair so it pours over her shoulders like melted caramel.

‘What have I missed, babe?’ she says as she throws herself onto the sofa.

‘Just the morning meeting,’ I reply quietly, suddenly regretting the fact that I didn’t make an effort to wear something from The Wardrobe this morning. My old, shapeless Arran
jumper was cosy at five o’clock this morning when I left the house, but now I just feel like a slob. I’m also worried she’s going to ask about the date she helped get me ready
for, and I don’t know what to tell her. Luckily, she doesn’t seem to have remembered.

‘Oh shit, I com
pletely
forgot about that.’ She looks worried for a moment. ‘Did Sharon notice I wasn’t there?’ I nod. ‘Damn.’ I wave a mug in
front of her. ‘Ooh, tea? Yes, please, hon.’ She bites on her lips and then waves her hand dismissively. ‘I’ll just tell Sharon my tube got stuck in the tunnel.’

She claps her hands and her eyes glisten with excitement. ‘Now, you’ve got to promise not tell anyone what I’m about to tell you.’ She pauses and waits for me to agree. I
feel strangely honoured that she should choose me to confide in. But that’s part of what I like about Carly. She makes you feel good purely by choosing you to be her friend. It makes you
think you must be special.

‘Of course,’ I say. ‘You know you can tell me anything.’

Carly smiles gratefully at me and I feel like singing.

‘Well,’ she begins carefully, looking around the stockroom before lowering her voice conspiratorially, ‘the truth is I’ve just had a brilliant meeting with the CEO from
Rumors. Apparently, they’re just waiting to confirm the location of the store and then it’ll be all systems go. Whoever they employ, they want them to be there right from the start,
helping to set up the premises. They might even be sent to New York to be trained! I mean, imagine that!’

I smile and try to be excited for her, but I can’t help but feel she needs to know what’s happening with Hardy’s. After all, it’s more than likely to become Rumors, so
her job won’t be so different after all.

‘So you’ve decided to take the job?’ I ask.

Carly nods. ‘I just can’t let an opportunity like this pass me by. I mean, I’ll miss everyone, but it’s not like Hardy’s is the best place to have on your CV, is
it?’

I hand her a steaming cup of tea. ‘Well, you deserve it. You’re brilliant at your job, but we’ll all really miss you. Not that it matters now anyway . . .’ Carly looks at
me questioningly. ‘Hardy’s is being threatened with closure,’ I say dramatically.

Carly’s eyes widen and her mouth forms a wide O. ‘Really? Shit, that’s awful.’ She shakes her head sadly. ‘Well, I’m just glad that I’ll be able to walk
out of here when it closes and straight into a job at Rumors. What about you, though? What will you do?’

I shrug. I honestly haven’t thought about it. Mainly because I don’t want to.

‘Oh, I’m sure you’ll be all right, hon,’ she says as she settles down with her tea. ‘You’re the best stockroom girl we’ve ever had. Everyone says so.
Sharon even says you were born to work in here.’

‘So what are your plans for today?’ I ask, faux brightly, feeling a sudden urge to change the subject.

She puts her cup of tea down and sits forward in her seat eagerly, clasping her hands together so I get full view of her perfectly varnished fingernails, which are painted a gorgeous soft mink
colour. I look at my own and decide that tonight I’ll give them a polish.

‘I’ve got a hard day in front of me, actually,’ Carly says, ‘in that I’m going to have to actually, you know, do some work! I had a meeting with Rupert on Friday
and today’s the day I’m going to introduce my ideas and concepts into Designers and then roll them out in the rest of the store. Actually, I meant to ask you, did you get the delivery
of my stuff this morning?’

I nod and get up to show her what I’ve unpacked.

‘Fabulous.’ She waves her hands dismissively and makes to leave as I pull out the sexy, daring, slashed, thigh-skimming, cleavage-plunging items that came in Sam’s delivery
this morning. ‘Can you bring them up for me? I’m going to need your help, if that’s OK? I’ll run it past Sharon. I’m sure she’ll be fine with that. It’s
not like there’s going to be many orders on a Monday morning, are there! Although, weirdly, the beauty department looked pretty busy when I walked through just now. Gwen was running around
like a mad thing. Anyway, see you in a minute, hon!’ She disappears out the door.

The beauty department looked pretty busy?
I’m suddenly excited to have a chance to see what’s happening on the shop floor, as well as to spend more time with Carly. It’s
a brilliant opportunity for me to allow her style and personality to rub off on me more. I feel like I subliminally need her help to guide me through the dating process with Joel. The more time I
spend with her at the moment, the better. I know I should feel guilty about what I’ve done, but I don’t. Carly’s got a promotion and another brilliant job offer on the table, a
brilliant social life with lots of friends, and, let’s face it, she’s not exactly lacking in male interest. The last thing she needs is my sympathy. The thought is actually quite
laughable.

I pick up an armful of stock and push the stockroom open with my bum, letting it slam shut behind me as I step out onto the shop floor. I look up as I hear a commotion and nearly drop the entire
pile of clothes I’m holding.

All around me, customers are weaving around the beauty department, grabbing perfume bottles, picking up lip glosses and cooing over the displays. They must have been drawn in by the vintage
products I showcased in the window, held by the female mannequins that I dressed in vintage 1950s clothing, positioned as if they were looking in a mirror to reapply their make-up. It went well
next to the window with the male mannequin proffering the Tiffany box. Anyway, now there are people sitting at the different counters, playing with make-up. Some are being followed by dutiful
husbands, who are nodding robotically as they’re shown yet another pretty product that looks the same as the last to them. I can see from the expression on their faces that they’re
desperate to find an excuse to slip off downstairs to Menswear.

And there is even a handful of customers who appear to be clamouring to buy the soaps from my pyramid display. Gwen and Jenny are run off their feet, but they look completely elated. They have
managed to sort out a system between them, but they clearly need more help. I wave at Becky in Handbags, but she doesn’t see me. I wave again and this time she spots me, puts away her phone
and hurries over.

‘Bloody hell!’ she exclaims, and bombs over to help a customer who is looking around for assistance.

Sharon and Rupert appear in the corner, talking and pointing at Gwen, who is blissfully unaware of her precarious job position. Then Sharon and Rupert jump to help on the tills together, and for
a moment there is a beautiful unity to the team, with everyone fighting hard to serve the customers and, ultimately, to help Hardy’s live to serve another day.

I stand and watch on the sidelines, still grasping my armfuls of Carly’s stock as the customers swarm around me like a fog, making me more invisible than ever. A wave of excitement and
pride fills my body and I allow the startling realization to wash over me completely. I did this. Me. And I’m good at it. I’m really good at it.

D
espite the bustling beauty department downstairs, Designers is a veritable graveyard when I arrive there with the stock. Carly is standing in the
middle of the department, seemingly oblivious to what is happening on the floor below, whilst a grumpy-looking Elaine wheels various rails to different parts of the shop floor. There appears to be
tension in the air.

‘But you’ve tried it over there already,’ Elaine protests when Carly points to the space near the till point, by the far wall.

‘No I haven’t,’ Carly says, rolling her eyes at me as if to say, ‘You can’t get the staff these days.’

‘You bloody well have,’ Elaine grumbles, and sits on the bottom rail stubbornly.

‘What did you say?’ Carly purses her lips and spins round to look at Elaine. I draw back in shock. Elaine folds her arms and sticks her chin in the air. Carly glances at me and her
face softens as she turns back to Elaine. ‘I hope you didn’t swear at me, Elaine. Remember, I’m a manager. Now,’ she clasps her hands and pulls them to her lips as she
ponders for a moment, ‘where was I? Oh, yes, we were going to put the rail over by the back wall, weren’t we, Elaine?’ The last part of the sentence is clearly an order, not a
question.

Elaine stands up and pushes the rail over to the required position, muttering as she passes me. I don’t think she’s even noticed I’m there.

Carly turns to me. ‘Hi, hon, can you put all that down and go and get me another load of stock, please? How much more is there to bring?’

I want to say, ‘Too much for one person to carry and, more importantly, too much for this shop to sell,’ but of course I don’t. The delivery of clothes this morning was
massive, and that was on top of everything that arrived on Thursday. I checked the stock sheets this morning after the meeting and we didn’t sell one of the Florence Gainsbourgs over the
weekend, despite Carly wearing it in the store. I have no idea how we found the money to order all this expensive new stock, or how Carly is planning to shift it.