Power & Beauty (23 page)

By the time the plane landed, Beauty had gone over this story again and again. She was dying to meet Soo in person. When she did, she was convinced that Miss Kim was the most composed woman in the world. Like her line of clothing, Soo was calm and cool.

At the Ritz-Carlton apartment, she greeted Beauty with measured warmth. The expansive living room had a breathtaking view of the glittering skyscrapers of downtown Los Angeles, just blocks away.

“Primo is in China for the week,” she said, “but he told me to let you know that he welcomes you to our home. We both adore Anita and are thrilled that she has turned you over to our care. She says you are an extremely talented young lady.”

“She thinks you’re wonderful. She’s really proud of you, Miss Kim.”

Soo smiled and said, “Please call me Soo. Let me show you your room.”

The room, in the far rear of the apartment, had been built for a maid, but the view, looking down on L.A. Live, a complex comprised of the Staples Center, the Nokia Theatre, the Grammy Museum, and a slew of restaurants and nightclubs, gave off a luminous neon glow. There was an enormous color screen in the center of the action that alternately advertised a Prince concert and the Lakers-Knicks game.

“Some say it reminds them of Times Square,” said Soo as she looked below. “But to me it’s more like a slice of Tokyo or Seoul. In fact, they built L.A. Live at the eastern edge of Koreatown. If you look farther east you’ll see the fashion district, where we have our warehouse and office. I’ll take you there tomorrow.”

“I can’t wait.”

“They say that L.A. is a city without a center, but situated where we are, I think you’ll feel extremely centered.”

That feeling never came to pass.

Beauty spent her senior year in a magnet high school feeling especially uncentered. Her part-time work at Calm and Cool Clothing was instructive, and she learned a great deal, but after sensing Primo’s attraction to Beauty, Soo turned guarded and distant. She saw Beauty as competition. Not only was the teenager a fine seamstress, but she also showed promise as a designer. When Beauty presented Soo with some initial sketches, though, Soo rejected them as frivolous and immature. Beauty was hurt. The criticism was not at all instructive. What had begun as a warm relationship between the two women soon turned cold.

Complicating matters even more was the romantic tension involving Beauty, Noah Sanchez, and Lee Kim, Soo’s brother. Noah continued to pursue Beauty, who, although she would see him on occasion, did not want to be reminded of his resemblance to Power. She had had enough of those incessant dreams about Power and wanted to avoid anyone or anything remotely connected to that emotional and sexual energy. Ultimately, she made it plain to Noah that while they could remain friends, romance was out. Seeing the opening, Lee Kim who, like Noah, played freshman basketball for UCLA, tried to step in. Soo encouraged the move. She felt that if her brother won over Beauty, body and soul, her husband might lose interest in the teenager. She wanted to see Beauty attached to a man who was age appropriate. To that end, Soo invited her brother to dinner at the penthouse at least once a week. Afterward, she never failed to leave the couple alone in the apartment. If Primo was in L.A.—which wasn’t more often than one week out of seven or eight—Soo made sure that they had after-dinner plans. As they walked out the door, leaving the young people behind, Soo noticed Primo looking at Beauty with an unmistakable longing in his eyes.

Lee had that same longing. He was good-looking—tall, engaging dark eyes, a well-groomed crew cut that gave him the appearance of an earlier era, the fifties. He was pleasant. He liked science fiction novels and loved the movies. Like Soo, he was devoted to his parents and, after undergraduate school, had plans to become an engineer. There was no reason in the world for Beauty not to like Lee, and she did. But it stopped there. She lacked even the slightest sense of romantic love for him. And beyond that, although she’d told Noah that she did not want to be a girlfriend, she also did not want to hurt Noah by dating his roommate. At the same time, she did not want to hurt Soo’s feelings by rejecting her brother. After all, it was Soo who was allowing her to live in L.A. rent-free and apprentice in her company. In short, at every turn Beauty was navigating tricky and even treacherous waters.

Every day there were text messages from either Lee or Noah. Mostly she ignored them, hoping they’d get the message. But neither guy gave up. Lee and Noah’s relationship suffered and one day during basketball practice they went after each other. The coach didn’t know they were, in fact, fighting over a woman. That happened in June. Then in July, two months after graduating from high school, Beauty learned that Soo was flying to Seoul the next day on business. The day after Soo’s departure, Primo turned up at the apartment. This had never happened before. Beauty was somewhat alarmed, but Primo was reassuring. He told her that he was leaving for China in a few hours and asked if she would like to join him for dinner at the Palm, directly across from L.A. Live. She agreed. She had never before been alone with Primo and was curious to see what that was like. She also felt safe knowing that he would not be spending the night in the apartment.

At the restaurant, Beauty ordered pasta and Primo ordered steak. He began talking about his business exploits. He said it was unfortunate that his interests kept him from being in L.A. more often, but his international dealings kept him on the move.

“I haven’t told Soo that we’re having dinner,” he said. “In fact, she doesn’t know I’m in L.A. This has all happened quite suddenly. You see, I’m on the verge of buying Bloom’s. As you know, they have stores in San Francisco, Chicago, and Dallas as well as the flagship store in New York. You’ve been living out here how long? Seven months?”

“Ten months.”

“And you’re seventeen?”

“About to turn eighteen.”

“I see,” said Primo as his phone buzzed. He reached into his Oxford three-piece blue pinstriped suit for his Vertu Signature M Design eighteen-karat-gold cell phone, which he’d purchased the week before in Berlin for $35,000. “Yes,” he told his caller, “I arrive in Beijing tomorrow, and then I’m off to a private meeting with the Chinese minister of finance. Immediately afterward, he’s honoring me at a state dinner. So this will have to wait till Saturday when I arrive at the Mandarin Oriental in Tokyo. I’ll call you when I get to Japan.” Primo clicked off and apologized to Beauty. “This schedule of mine gets crazier every day.”

“It sounds exciting.”

“It’s exhausting. A treadmill without an ‘off’ button. But we were talking about you, not me.”

“You said you wanted to buy Bloom’s.”

“I
am
buying Bloom’s. The deal should be done by month’s end.”

“And I’m not sure what all this has to do with me.”

“I think you’re incredibly talented, Beauty. Anita has said so. And looking over Soo’s shoulder, I’ve seen some of your designs. Fabulous. Daring. I think you have the potential to be a star in this industry. But I also think that Soo—a perfectly wonderful woman—is like so many other women when it comes to other talented females. She’s competitive. Of course that’s good. Without the competitive spirit, she wouldn’t be where she is. But that can be bad when it comes to supporting younger talent. When it comes to you, I’m afraid that she feels threatened. To be candid, I see her holding you back. And in that regard, I think you’d be better off in New York. Once the deal goes through, my plan is to make Anita executive vice president and merchandise manager of the entire chain. You’ll be working directly under her. My plan is to eventually have you develop your own line of casual wear. I recently bought a large apartment in the Plaza Hotel where you’ll be quite comfortable. And of course you’ll have a generous monthly check for your living expenditures. You’ll have absolutely nothing to worry about.”

Beauty was astounded. She felt repelled, excited, afraid, eager, cautious, and confused by this offer. Clearly, the man was setting her up to be his mistress.

“What would I possibly tell Soo?”

“I have all that worked out. You see, Soo hasn’t been all that comfortable with you living with us, and she too has suggested that you might be better off back in New York with Anita.”

“But I won’t be with Anita. I’ll be in your apartment in the Plaza.”

“A detail that’s of no concern to Soo.”

“And what about Anita?”

“Anita and I are coarchitects of the plan.”

“The plan to buy Bloom’s or the plan to move me to New York?”

“Both.”

“I’m not sure,” said Beauty.

“I am,” said Primo. “I am quite positive that there is no downside to this arrangement—for you or me. I can change your life. You will require a couple of years of training, and to that end Anita and I will put you with the most brilliant designers in New York. The future is all yours, Beauty, and nothing can stand in the way.”

“I need time to think . . .”

“Of course. You’ll want to call Anita.”

“I will.”

“And you’ll want to keep this between yourself and Anita—no one else.”

“I understand.”

The next evening, when Beauty reached Anita at home, she realized that Anita had been drinking. That wasn’t unusual, of course. On most nights by ten
P.M
. Anita had polished off a bottle of expensive wine. When she drank, she spoke in great torrents of words. She gushed.

“Oh, Beauty,” she said, “I’m so glad you called, my dear. I’d been expecting to hear from you. Primo called me. He’s something, isn’t he?”

“He told me that you know the plan.”

“I’ve been working on the plan for ten years. That man is exceedingly more cautious than he appears. Dear God, how I have worked on that plan!”

“He’s talking about buying Bloom’s.”

“Of course. It’s the perfect marriage. Finally he sees that. Finally! For a shrewd man, he can be a slow man.”

“He doesn’t seem slow to me at all.”

“You mustn’t look at it that way, my dear. You see, he’s a European, and European men have a different outlook on women.”

“I feel like he wants to buy me.”

“No, no, no . . . you misunderstand, Beauty. He wants to help you. He wants to nurture you, train you, prepare you—the same as I do.”

“He wants me to be his mistress.”

“An old-fashioned term,” said Anita.

“What would you call it?”

“He wants you to be his friend.”

“Please, Anita . . .”

“You told me you have been with several boys. Well, now it’s time for you to be with a man.”

“A married man three times my age?”

“An unconventional man for whom marriage might have been an impulsive mistake. But a good man nonetheless. And the perfect man to get you what you want. A perfect opportunity. I see no downside.”

“That’s just what he said.”

“We think the same.”

“I don’t think of myself as a prostitute, Anita.”

“Let me be blunt, Beauty. Primo Dalla Torre is a man not unaccustomed to patronizing prostitutes. He has had the most expensive and discreet prostitutes the world over. Prostitutes who charge tens of thousands of dollars. Prostitutes who make Halle Berry look ordinary. Prostitutes who have been with sheikhs, princes, and kings. If he wanted a prostitute, he would flip open his phone, hit a button, and buy a prostitute. But this man, my dear, this extraordinary man does not see you as a prostitute. He sees you as a talent, as a flower he wishes to grow. He wishes to place you in a garden where you are protected, cultivated, and cared for. He sees deep into your soul. He has endless appreciation for your talent. Don’t you see that?”

“I see he wants to sleep with me,” said Beauty. “I’ve seen that ever since I met him.”

Beauty heard Anita slurping a large quantity of wine. “Who you sleep with, my dear,” said the older woman, “is strictly your own affair. In that regard, I have seen you make mistakes. Your judgment is not infallible. You chose to sleep with the seamstress’s son, and you yourself have told me that it led nowhere. When he followed you to California, all that did was cause you further agitation. Am I right? Speak your mind, dear Beauty, am I describing the situation accurately?”

“One thing doesn’t have to do with the other. What does Noah have to do with Primo?”

“Both men desire you. Both men seek to impact your life. The contrast is telling. The choices we make are critical. You are at a critical juncture.”

“And if I tell both to go away?” asked Beauty.

“Then that too is a choice. In my estimation, it would be a catastrophic choice. But one that is entirely up to you. Excuse me while I look for that other bottle of wine. It was around here somewhere.”

“I don’t know what else to say,” said Beauty.

“You don’t have to say a thing. You’ll either come back here with Primo or you won’t. I trust you to make the right decision, my dear. You’re too clever a girl to undermine your life over some notion of conventional morality.”

Anita’s last comment stung. Beauty took it to mean:
Don’t be stupid; let this man buy you if he wants to buy you; it’s the shortest way to success
. Beauty put down the phone and looked out the window of her bedroom in Soo’s Ritz-Carlton apartment. The lights from L.A. Live were blazing. Lady Gaga was giving a sold-out concert at the Staples Center that very night. Lee Kim had bought tickets and invited Beauty. Beauty liked Lady Gaga. She admired her originality and style. She considered her audacious and cunning. She admired how Lady Gaga had made an impact on the crowded field of pop music and pop fashion. Beauty liked how the entertainer had the courage of her ambition. She liked her drive. Beauty considered her own drive. She thought about the crowded field of design. She thought about a phrase that Wanda Washington had used in justifying her working for Slim Simmons. “Opportunity,” she had said, “only knocks once.”

When Lee arrived to pick up Beauty, she thought he was dressed all wrong. He was preppy in every detail. You don’t dress preppy for a Lady Gaga concert. Beauty was dressed vintage. Her flowered dress was from the forties and her hat, an enormous violet affair adorned with white feathers, looked like it came out of an MGM musical of an earlier era. Lee was stunned and delighted by her look. He loved Beauty and wanted to please her in every way possible. He indulged her with flattery as they walked across the plaza to the Staples Center. She accepted the flattery and also the fact that this perfectly nice guy bored her to tears. Lady Gaga did not bore her for a second. The show was a marvel of invention and imagination. Lady Gaga came out as Marie Antoinette, then an Aztec princess, then a creature from outer space. Her outfits were brilliant. Beams of red light exploded from her breasts. Fireworks shot off the top of her cotton-candy-shaped pink wig. She sang her heart out. She danced on stilts. She flew over the audience, harnessed by invisible ropes. She did it all.