Shades of Fortune by Stephen; Birmingham Read Free Book Online Page B

venture. We’re about to launch our first perfume, and you are the first people outside our boardroom to be exposed to it. You are my special guinea pigs. Sample bottles are at each of your places at the dinner table, but this is the premiere. Now I need you to tell me, honestly, what you think.”
    All noses now are poised in the air to catch the scent.
    â€œWoodsy,” someone says.
    â€œYes, piney.”
    â€œNo, more floral, I’d say.”
    â€œBeautiful.”
    There is more ooh-ing and ah-ing, and then, led by Mimi’s husband, there is a loud round of applause followed by congratulatory noises.
    â€œWhat’s in it?” someone asks.
    â€œOh, a bit of vetiver, a touch of clove, verbena, some lemon. But I’m not going to give you the complete formula. That’s a secret, locked in the boardroom safe.”
    â€œI think it’s more exciting than Giorgio!”
    â€œDo you? Well, that’s one of the big guns out there that we’re hoping to take on.”
    â€œWhat are you going to call it, Mimi?”
    â€œWe experimented with literally hundreds of different names. And in the end we ended up deciding to call it … Mireille.”
    â€œLovely!”
    â€œThat’s her real name, you know, Mireille,” Granny Flo says to no one in particular. “Mireille Myerson. She was named after my husband’s company. Miray—Mireille. Get it? I gave her the nickname Mimi when she was a tiny baby because she made a little sound that was like mi-mi-mi-mi-mi! ”
    â€œNow that’s not true, Granny,” Mimi says. “I renamed myself Mimi when I was fourteen, after seeing a performance of La Bohème .”
    â€œShe’s lying,” Granny Flo says cheerfully. “I named her because she was always going ‘ mi-mi-mi-mi-mi .’”
    â€œWell, it doesn’t matter, does it?” Mimi says. “What matters is that we—you, me, all of us who are stockholders—are going to be in the fragrance business for the first time. And Dirk and Sherrill, who are our special guests tonight, are going to be the Mireille Woman and the Mireille Man in all our print advertising and television commercials.”
    There are more congratulatory sounds.
    â€œFrankly, it smells a little cheap , if you ask me,” Edwee whispers to his sister.
    â€œBut knowing Mimi, it’ll have a fancy price tag.”
    â€œOh, we can be sure of that .”
    Now the conversation becomes general again, with much emphasis on analyzing the new scent.
    â€œI smell the lemon in it.”
    â€œAnd cinnamon, too, I suspect.”
    â€œRose oil, too.”
    Mimi finds her mother, who has been standing alone and somewhat apart from the others, and says, “Now, aren’t you glad you came, Mother? Isn’t this turning out to be a nice sort of family reunion?”
    â€œI hate all sorts of family reunions,” Alice says. “I hate this one no less than all the others. No less and no more.”
    The reporter, Jim Greenway, turns to Mimi and touches his glass to hers. “I wish you luck—no, not luck, success—with your new fragrance,” he says.
    â€œThank you, Mr. Greenway.”
    â€œPlease call me Jim. And tell me, when you took over the company twenty-five years ago, after your father’s death, did you ever think you’d be so successful?”
    â€œNever. I was terrified. Just as I’m terrified now.”
    He laughs. “Then terror is the secret of your success?”
    â€œAbsolutely. Terror is the secret of every success. The opposite of terror is complacency, and complacency is the secret of every failure.”
    â€œI like that,” he says.
    â€œAnd you may quote me,” she says, touching his elbow and laughing the pebbly laugh.
    From the doorway, Felix announces, “Dinner is served, madam.”
    Entering the dining room, Mimi immediately notices that the place cards have been