Business In Milan

It was the perfect spring afternoon when Diane Sawyer stepped out of her Porsche and made her way down the familiar sidewalk of Via Montenapoleone. As she strutted down the street in her Jimmy Choo heels, she took in the rich scent of Milan. To her it reeked of opulence and power, not to mention the Chanel No.5 worn by every second woman passing her by.

Her hazel eyes lit up as her destination came into sight. Snowy white marble exteriors that spelt elegance greeted her, as she passed the windows displaying luxuriant leather handbags with hardly a glance. She turned in at the door. “I know what I have to buy”, she thought.

With the clinking of her footsteps announcing her arrival, the gray haired man at the counter looked up.  Recognition twinkled in his watery blue eyes as he stepped forward to greet Diane. “Ciao, Signora Sawyer!” he exclaimed. “It has been too long, has it not?” he said in heavily-accented English, kissing the lady on each cheek. “Bella! Time does you well. As pretty as ever”, he said looking her up and down.

“Oh! Adolfo. You flatter me too much, darling”, she gushed, though her eyes never divulged the affection her voice staged. “Now let’s get down to business. Presto, Adolfo, let’s have that bag I saw last time”, she said in her cold even voice.

“Never one for chit-chat, are we? Of course, I’ll have it right out. Apollonia!” he called out to the olive skinned girl who stood at the back of the shop.”Apollonia, that bag we had reserved for Signora. Yes, yes, the Hermes, calf leather. Quick. “

Turning back to Diane, “And how is Nathan Ford? It is Nathan, isn’t it? Delightful man”, he said, not bothering to veil the obvious distaste he held for the man.”Nathan? I left him a while back. Not quite the right man for me, you know“, she replied.

“He never seemed like the right kind. I can say that now”, said Adolfo. “And there’s your bag, Signora. Quite a beauty, isn’t it?”

“It is a beauty”, she said quietly, grazing an appreciative hand over the smooth calf-leather. Sighing, she said, “The billing, Adolfo?”

“Apollonia will help you with that, of course,” said Adolfo, before heading towards another well-dressed lady who had just entered.

The olive skinned girl took the bag and headed towards the rosewood billing desk, Diane in tow. After a few minutes of scrambling through paperwork and filling out details, she looked up and enquired, “Signora, the billing will be in name of?”

“Poison Ivy“, she said smoothly. Apollonia’s head jerked up instantly.”I’m sorry. Did I hear that right, Signora?” Diane looked back confidently into her gray-flecked eyes and said, “Yes. You heard that right. The billing is to be done in the name of Poison Ivy.” After a brief freeze, the Italian girl gave a quick nod and continued to write down the name.

Fifteen minutes later, Diane was walking up the Via Montenapoleone again, this time her prized new purchase in hand.

-o-o-o-o-

She walked into the kitchen and grabbed a small Swiss Army knife from the shelf and headed back to the lobby. Sitting on the tan leather couch, she gingerly began to cut open the inner seam of the bag, slitting open the smooth skin. Peering inside, she emptied the contents on the coffee-table, smiling satisfactorily.

The phone rang and she frowned when she saw who it was. “Hullo”, she said sharply. “Yeah, it is fine, Benito. Just make sure it isn’t a Hermes next time, will you? I hate to cut up those beauties. And the name for next time is Cat Woman. Meet me at ‘Da Abele’, 3 sharp. We’ll talk payment”, she said icily before snapping her phone shut.

She relaxed back on the couch for a moment. Sighing with relief, she headed to the kitchen to pour out some champagne. The deal had been a success. On the coffee table lay two white packets of weed.