Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 81 - Chapitre 90

"If the editorial director from Conde Nast calls one more time before I finish formatting this high-resolution photo asset, I am going to throw this entire dual-monitor setup right into the East River," Theo shouted, his fingers flying across his mechanical keyboard like an elite esports player in the grand finals.I tilted my head back against the exposed iron pillar of our Brooklyn headquarters, completely unfazed. "Let it ring, Theo... Vogue Digital doesn't get to dictate my calendar just because they finally realized old-money legacy luxury is actively tanking.""She’s literally in her unbothered era, and I am completely obsessed with it," Aria remarked, sliding a polished sterling silver chiseled choker across the workbench toward the two new design apprentices. "Nessa, secure the micro-pave diamonds on the southern edge... Chloe, keep the laser welder steady because we are not sending anything less than absolute perfection to the biggest press feature of the decade."The gritty

"I want her completely erased from every press wire before midnight, and I don't care how many publicists you have to bribe to make it happen!"The sound of shattering crystal echoed through the sleek glass hallway outside the greenroom corridor. I paused near the corner, my hand freezing on the brass handle of my velvet-lined garment bag. Aria stepped up right behind me, her fingers digging into my elbow with a fierce, warning pressure as we both peered through the slight gap in the heavy double doors.Emma Brookes was standing in the center of a private holding suite, looking like a demonic angel wrapped in fifty thousand dollars worth of white silk. Her face was contorted into an absolute, unhinged mask of pure, unadulterated fury, her eyes glaring at a wall-mounted monitor that was still replaying my live television broadcast. On screen, my face was frozen mid-sentence, looking straight through the camera lens as the ticker scrolled beneath my chin: Sabrina Mendoza: No Masters, No

"Sign the ten-year commercial lease right now, Sabrina, before my hand starts shaking so violently I ruin this custom Montblanc pen," Aria breathed, her voice echoing off the sprawling, raw marble floors of the vacant Fifth Avenue storefront.I took the sleek pen from her fingers, my hand completely steady as I pressed the nib to the thick parchment contract resting on the brass counter. "I’m not signing for ten years, Aria... I’m securing twenty. We aren't testing the waters on Fifth Avenue. We are claiming sovereign ownership of this block.""Twenty years?" the high-profile commercial broker choked out, wiping a bead of cold sweat from his forehead as he stared at the signed document in disbelief. "Miss Mendoza... this is prime real estate. You’re literally four doors down from the main corporate headquarters of the Peterson Luxe Group. The lease commitments alone run into seven figures annually.""Then it’s a good thing my quarterly digital revenue cleared eight figures yesterday,

"If you don't step out of this fitting suite right now, Sabrina, I am personally going to break into tears because this dress is an actual crime against humanity," Aria gasped, her hands clasped over her mouth as the private dressing room door slid open.I adjusted the liquid emerald silk of my floor-length gown, letting the heavy fabric drape effortlessly over my hips. The cut was bold, backless, and dangerously sharp... a radical departure from the muted, high-collared secretary suits I used to wear when I was forced to stand three steps behind Drake Peterson at high-society events. Clamped tightly around my throat was my piece de resistance... an original Mendoza Luxe choker forged from brutalist black titanium and set with a single, massive, unpolished emerald stone that caught the suite lights like a threat."She looks like she owns the Metropolitan Museum," Theo whispered, checking the digital invitation pass on his phone with an awestruck shake of his head. "The press line outs

"Look at these disgusting, lazy knockoffs right now before I go full scorched-earth on their entire Madison Avenue storefront," Aria spat, slamming a heavy velvet display tray directly onto my glass executive desk.I didn't flinch. I slowly set down my cup of black espresso, my eyes locking onto the row of silver and gold chokers resting on the velvet. They were cheap, shameless imitations of Mendoza Luxe’s signature geometric cuts... raw angles smoothed over into weak, flimsy brass, jagged quartz replaced by low-tier resin, and the prices slashed by sixty percent."Vance & Co. launched the line two hours ago," Theo said, stepping into my Fifth Avenue office while tapping furiously on his tablet. "They’re running a massive digital blitz across Manhattan with the tag: 'Elegance Without The Aggression.' They’re explicitly targeting our foot traffic, Sabrina. They dropped their price points to undercut our core line, and their PR team is circulating press releases calling our brutalist d