with her! See what she did?”
“Owie!” Renie said in a sympathetic tone. “That’s an oil
base. You’d better not try to spot it or it’ll set and stain.”
“I know,” Margo replied. “I’ll have to change. For now, I
just want to scrape off the garbage.” She went to the big
enamel sink and carefully began removing the raddicchio
from her pinstripe coat dress.
“Basically, I went with your colors for the corporate logo,”
Renie said. “I only tweaked them a little. You’ve got a good
eye, Margo.”
“You can’t go wrong with black on red,” Margo replied,
grimacing as she took in the damage to her outfit. “You
keep that concept, didn’t you?” Her almond eyes pinioned
Renie.
Renie, however, seemed unperturbed. “I reversed it. TIOSE
isn’t a firefighting unit, it’s a telecommunications company.
You use a red background, you’re stuck with it for everything.
It’s too hot, it lacks class. Black is much more versatile. You’ll
like it when you see it. Your basic colors were a great idea.”
If Margo was taken aback, she didn’t show it. “Okay, we’ll
see. I still think red is vivid and eye-catching. I’ve got Ward
Haugland’s vote on that. Max Agasias is in my corner, too.”
Renie chuckled softly. “I didn’t realize it was a democratic
process.”
Margo’s smooth skin darkened. “It should be.” With great
thoroughness, she wiped her hands on a towel. “You’re on
in thirty minutes,” she said to Renie. “I hope you’re ready.”
Renie smiled and inclined her head. Margo left the kitchen.
Judith started putting the puff pastry on dessert plates.
“She’s dangerous, coz,” Judith said. “Don’t these people
scare you?”
“Not anymore. I don’t know what went on out there in
the dining room, but I’d guess that one or more of them was
acting like a big brat. That’s what they are—spoiled children.
You have to treat them like that. Let them have their little
tantrums and allow them to show off a bit and give them an
occasional ego-massage. Then yank the chain. Every so often,
they have to get a dose of reality. If they don’t like it, I peddle
my wares someplace else.”
Judith didn’t try to hide her admiration of Renie. “You
don’t worry about losing clients?”
Renie shook her head. “That’s bound to happen. But the
marketplace is vast these days. If I lose somebody, two more
pop up. Besides, I don’t intend to lose this bunch.
Unless,” she added with a little laugh as she reached for another cigarette, “they die on me.”
It didn’t occur to Judith that Renie’s little joke might not
be so funny.
THREE
