“Well, aren’t you lucky you aren’t and you don’t?” Elena peered at his dark skin. “Besides, eighty-nine degrees isn’t a sizzler in that part of the world. And Sapa is two hundred seventeen miles from Hanoi, so that’s hardly relevant to anything, is it?”
He blinked. Then smirked. “How very specific. And right off the top of your head, too.” And he swanned out again.
She’d gritted her teeth. Oh, she knew he was baiting her to trick her into talking about the thing they never discussed. He didn’t know-know what was going on, but he had worked out something was up between them. Add to that, he also was aware that Madeleine was somewhere in Vietnam. (Unsafe.) Off the beaten track. (Taking risks.) So he’d joined a few dots.
Regardless, Madeleine was hers. Elena did not wish to share her with her nosy, well-intentioned best friend or anyone else. So, she kept her thoughts to herself and continued her regular stream of emails, hoping Madeleine would soon check back into a town big enough to have the internet.
Dear Foolish Girl… began all Elena’s missives—she was nothing if not subtle, after all. She would fill Madeleine in on the minutiae, supplying her best unimpressed anecdotes about her life and employees, especially Felicity. God knows, Madeleine likely needed a laugh over there.
After her usual round up of office and personal insights, Elena would conclude her correspondence with a heartfelt signature. Stay safe.—E.
If she could have underlined this seventy times, she would have. She felt she was being clear just putting it into boldface.
Madeleine’s replies, when they came, were always a thing to be treasured. Descriptive and perceptive. She was so observant of the surroundings, pulse, and temperaments of the places and people around her, a trait she had so ably demonstrated as her assistant.
As the weeks drew on, Madeleine’s diplomacy and sweetness had, of late, apparently endeared her to a number of older local women in one remote village. They had formed the view she required fattening up and matrimony. A variety of sons had, therefore, been offered. Madeleine had felt it necessary to include a photo of the wiry young farmers in question with their hopeful grins.
Elena had an unpleasant lurch to her stomach and forced herself to calmness before replying.
Dear Foolish Girl,
How exotic the paramours you attract. I particularly admired the leering charms of suitor number six. Is his tongue supposed to be lolling out like that? His mother must be so proud.
Not long to go, Madeleine. The tenth. We have the next ball to attend in Sydney. Do not force me to take Felicity in your stead. It would end badly. Not only for her but for the editor of Condé Nast Traveller magazine, from whom I would demand to know why his publication is keeping its freelance Vietnam writer from urgent business in Australia.
She filled the remainder of her email with the usual industry insights that she knew Madeleine appreciated. After a moment’s hesitation, she also added an extra paragraph.
Felicity will finally get the promotion to Deputy Chief Operations Officer she deserves. Her business sense is unmatched, although do not quote me, as she takes compliments like unexploded warheads. On a related note, Mark, Elizabeth, and Tony will be duly promoted to fulfil running the various day-to-day operations of Bartell Corp.
She finished with her usual line.
Stay safe—especially from lecherous suitors. E.
Madeleine’s reply a few days later had been as perceptive as she’d anticipated.
Dear Elena,
Is there something you’re not telling me? Either, one, you’re dying; two, you’re a pod person; three, you’re retiring (in which case, see point two); or four, you’re paring down your business workload because you’ve finally seen the light and are about to name yourself to Elizabeth’s job as editor-in-chief of Style International. Which is it? And please know that if it’s number one, I’ll be on the next plane home. And also know that if you fake number one, I will be tempted to kill you myself. I’m really close to getting the recipe for a perfect cá kho tộ. So, just saying—do not get between me and traditional braised fish. I’ll make you some when I get home. Assuming I can find a clay pot.
Maddie.
Elena had smiled as she wrote back.
Fine. It’s not official yet and probably won’t be for some time, but it’s number four. I look forward to tasting your cá kho tộ. I will source a clay pot for you by the time you return.
Stay safe. E.
She sat back, greatly impressed. The woman really knew her far too well. Madeleine had been right when she said erecting soulless shard buildings would not make her happy. All it had given her was headaches and a mounting pile of contract issues she had little interest in. Hudson Shard would be iconic, of course, she’d see to that, but it did not hold her passion. No. Only two things thrilled her these days. And only one of them was the thought of finally, officially, editing a global fashion magazine.
* * *
Dear Elena,
I am so excited for you that you’re finally doing what makes you happy—fashion editing is you. Never doubt that. You come alive at Style’s offices. I really hope you had a well-placed spy to tell me what Emmanuelle Lecoq’s response was to the news her old rival is back on her turf. I’m hoping she did a spit-take of expensive champagne somewhere public in front of twenty photographers.
How did Felicity take her promotion news? Or is she not sure what she’ll do with herself without you flinging orders at her 24/7? I’ll look into some Stockholm syndrome counsellors for her.
Where will you base yourself? With five Style publications, I suppose you have five cities to choose from. I’m hoping Sydney is on the short list, especially since you own a house there. If it’s not, I’ll be earning a lot of frequent flier points. You can’t get rid of me that easily.
I know you’re worried about me over here, which is kind of silly since Vietnam is such a lovely country. But you’re not alone. You should read the emails from Simon and my parents. Simon’s threatening to haul me back home by my hiking boots and hook me up with so much chocolate and alcohol that I’ll never want to leave home again!
God, Elena, it’s incredible being here. It’s so different seeing the world from a non-western perspective, and the air is so fresh and clean outside of the cities, I may never want to leave.
But while I’ve been sent here to showcase the tourism possibilities of Vietnam, I haven’t forgotten my news brain. And I have recently come across a story so heartbreaking that it made me cry every night for a week. Attached is the photo I took. I won’t even say what it’s about. You’ll understand. People say they want the truth, don’t they? The brutal truth? I know you thought you always did. So what will they say when they see this?
Maddie.
* * *
Dear Foolish Girl,
Your photo made my breath catch. The little girl lying on the ground, hugging the dirt drawing of a woman. Was that a sketch she’d created of her mother? She’d lost her mother? I stared at it for a good hour, fretting over what I was seeing. The pain and longing on the child’s face. She looked barely six. This photo is everything I have said you are. You capture raw emotions.
After this, I trust you’ll see that you have nothing left to prove. We may disagree about the “flavor” of writer I envision you to be, but that’s not up to me, is it? I realise that it may have been slightly presumptuous to say otherwise once. But Madeleine, you do not have to be in some crime-ridden, accident-prone place to prove you can do anything. (Have you seen Ho Chi Minh City’s vehicular manslaughter statistics? Eight hundred traffic police for ten million people. You do the math.)
Felicity took the news as I expected. I had an unsettling feeling she wanted to hug me, which would embarrass us both beyond belief. Mercifully, she kept her arms to herself. She has earned it. Not just for her business savvy, but I cannot tell you how long I have waited for her to protest being a pseudo PA. You objected, quite rightly, the second time we met, if I recall.
It has taken Felicity years to demand that she only does her chief of staff role. She finally did so in a spectacular outburst of anger and regret, with my favorite tea mug flung at the far wall of my office. I feel satisfied, at last, that she’s ready and the promotion will be a good fit. And I like the new mug she got me.
