Chapter 20

Sydney told Ed about meeting Bob’s children the next day while they set up the benefit together, checked the room, did a sound check, and went through the rehearsal with the models.

“You were right, they’re adorable,” she said, looking totally pleased with the evening. She was still coasting on it, and had seen Charlotte at breakfast before she went back to Shanghai. She had come to Hong Kong just to meet Sydney, and said she was glad she had. She gave her a big hug before Sydney left for work, and told her that she had to come to her next art show.

“I told you so,” Ed said, pleased with himself. “They’re a terrific family. They’re all regular people. There isn’t a snob in the bunch. Bob isn’t a snob either. He’s just a very successful guy, and he likes the good life more than they do. You should see the cars they drive. Dorian drove a ten-year-old mail truck all through school. They’re all kind of hippies. Maybe it’s a reaction to the money.” But she liked that about them, and Ed did too. It made them seem younger than they were. There was an honesty about them that was very appealing. And Sydney complimented Bob on them again that night before the benefit. She had come back to the apartment to change, and was wearing a beautiful evening gown Ed had made for her for the event. It looked like vintage Chanel. It was finely pleated black silk with pale pink satin panels, and was spectacular on her slim figure.

Everything had gone smoothly at the hotel that afternoon, and was in good order when she went backstage before the show. Ed was wearing a tuxedo and looked very elegant, and Kevin was wearing one too. The guests had started arriving. Ed and Sydney checked all the models themselves. His mother came backstage a couple of times. And then everyone was seated at the tables, and the show started. They had rolled out a carpet for the models to walk on, which wended through the room, so everyone could see the clothes. It was perfect, even better than the New York show, because it was more relaxed. Ed and Sydney got a standing ovation when they took their bows, which were always quick.

And then dinner started and an orchestra played and people danced. They had paid a fortune for their seats, for a good cause, and they got their money’s worth. Sydney enjoyed meeting Bob’s friends, more than she’d expected to, and had a good time with them at dinner. He had invited four couples, bankers, lawyers, a doctor, and a journalist. They were accomplished people, and warm and welcoming to her. And when Bob danced with her, she was pleased to discover he was a wonderful dancer. They were among the last to leave the event at two A.M. The assistants had already packed up the clothes, with Kevin’s supervision. And from then on, Sydney was on vacation and had nothing to do except play tourist with Bob around Hong Kong.

They sat on his terrace again until three in the morning and talked about what a success the benefit had been and then went to bed. In the morning, he was dressed when she got up, and anxious to show her around. They took the tram up Victoria Peak, above the Chins’ home. He took her to the famous Ladies’ Market, and shopping at Causeway Bay, where all the best stores were. They went to the best restaurants for lunch and dinner. Finally, after four days of visiting Hong Kong, he got up the courage to ask her what he had wanted to since Valentine’s Day, and before. They were having dinner at Caprice, and were drinking champagne. He didn’t want to wait till the last night to ask her.

“I want to ask you something, Sydney,” he said cautiously, and she could see that he was nervous. She hoped that he didn’t give her an ultimatum, or offer her something she couldn’t accept. She had a feeling she knew what he wanted. “I know what happened and how badly your life has been shaken up for two years, but I have to ask you this, so I know where we stand.” She almost winced when he said it, not wanting to hurt him or turn him down. “Is there any chance that you would ever consider retiring again, leaving New York and moving to Hong Kong with me, with or without marriage, your choice?” She looked at him sadly after he asked her. She didn’t want her refusal to end what they had. It was too precious to her to lose. But she couldn’t lose herself again either. She couldn’t ever let that happen, even for him.

“No, there isn’t,” she said gently. She wanted to be honest with him. “I don’t want to give up my career again. I love what Ed and I are doing, and I don’t want to lose that. But I don’t want to lose you either. I just can’t do what I did before, give up working, become dependent on a man, and risk everything I am. If anything went wrong with us, I’d be screwed all over again.” He nodded, and understood. It was the answer he had expected, and the question he felt compelled to ask, in case her response was different from what he thought.

“I would never let that happen to you,” he said kindly. He didn’t want to be critical of Andrew, but they were very different men, and he would never leave the future to chance. He was even slightly younger than Andrew had been. He told her that he knew that one day he would die, and he wanted to leave his affairs in order, and those he loved well cared for, and even protected from each other, if necessary. “I can promise you that.”

“I’m sure you would. But if I give up my job for you, I’d be totally dependent on you. If I didn’t work, I’d have no money. I did that once. I can’t do it again. It would be a terrible mistake. And I don’t want to be beholden to you. I want to be with you because I love you, not because you support me.” She had loved Andrew too, but he had supported her completely and very generously. And when he died, it all ended. She didn’t want to be in that situation again. “I’m not even fully back on my feet yet. I’m just getting there. I want to make my own money, not live on yours. I’d only marry again if I could be responsible for myself. It doesn’t have to be equal, but I have to make enough to take care of myself.” She had never realized how important that was until she lost everything.

“I understand,” he said quietly. And then he thought of another question he had been wondering. “Could you work from here?”

“Maybe,” she said honestly, but she didn’t tell him that Ed had told her she could and even suggested it on the plane over. She didn’t want to move to Hong Kong just for him. It was too much to do for a man. She wanted to make her own choices. She loved him, and knew she wanted to be with him. She just didn’t know where, or how, or under what circumstances. She wanted to let it unfold between them, not force it or make huge sacrifices for him, like giving up New York and no longer living in the same city with her daughters, or retiring, as he had asked her. It could all blow up in her face if something went wrong. She knew instinctively that if one of them made all the sacrifices, it wouldn’t work. And she was too afraid of the risks now. Life was too uncertain. But she didn’t want to be unfair to him either. She wanted fate to make some of the decisions for them, not create them all herself, or for him to dictate the terms. But she recognized that he wasn’t dictating. He was asking. “It’s possible,” she answered his question about her working in Hong Kong. “It will depend how the business develops. It’s too soon to know.”

That made sense to him, and she had left the door open. He liked that. It wasn’t the answer he had wanted, but she hadn’t turned him down flat either, which he had feared she might if he pushed her. He had tried to be careful not to, and to be respectful of her. They both needed a relationship based on mutual respect, which they’d had so far.

“I love you,” she said, looking at him intently. “I’m certain of it. I just don’t want to make any big mistakes this time. Or overlook something important. You wouldn’t give up your business and move to New York. I don’t want to give up mine after we just started it. I think I would always regret it if I did.” And he knew she was right. She was a smart, sensible woman, who had learned a hard lesson and paid a high price for it. And he respected her career, and her talent, as much as his own.

“Would you spend time with me here? Maybe if we take turns traveling, it will work better in the long run.” But he had business in New York frequently, and Hong Kong was far for her to come, and more difficult if she wasn’t working there.

“I’ll try,” she said honestly. “I love being here with you. It’s a wonderful place. It’s just a long way from New York.” He nodded and smiled at her, and kissed her fingertips.

“I love you, Sydney. We’ll find a way to make this work for the long haul. I want it to,” he said, and she nodded. She did too. She just didn’t know how.

“Let’s give fate a chance,” she said softly. He kissed her on the lips then, and they went home a little while later and made love. A lot had been said that evening. They didn’t need to say more for now.

Ed called her in the morning when they got up, and asked if she had time to see him that afternoon.

“Anything wrong?”

“No, the orders are going great in New York. I just want to ask you something.”

“Do you want to come here?” she suggested.

“To be honest, I’d rather see you alone. How about Felix at the Peninsula at five o’clock?” It was a chic bar she’d been to with Bob.

“That’s fine. I’ll have Bob drop me off.”

“I’ll take you home afterward.”

She told Bob, and she had no idea what Ed had on his mind or what he was going to say. She thought about it all day, and Bob kissed her when he dropped her off.

“I hope everything’s okay.” He could tell that she was worried.

“He said it was.” She smiled at him and hoped so too. The purpose of the meeting was a total mystery to her.

Ed was waiting for her at a quiet table. They both ordered white wine and chatted for a few minutes and then Ed looked at her seriously. “I have a proposal for you, and a question. I had a long talk with my parents this week. They have an idea, and I think it’s a good one. It wasn’t what I had in mind. But the more I think about it, the more I like it. I wanted to open a store in New York once we’re established, and I still want to. They want me to open a flagship here, and then open New York a year later. I thought it was crazy at first, but it’s not. It would get us a lot of attention. As you know, many of the big-name fashion brands have opened flagships in Beijing. I don’t want to. If we’re going to do China, which I think we should eventually, I want to do it here, at Causeway Bay.”

“Wow,” she said, thinking about what he had just shared with her. She didn’t think it was crazy at all, and he had terrific connections here. A store in Hong Kong could be a huge success, and position them a little differently from everyone else, which she liked. “When are you thinking? In about a year?”

“Now,” he said, and stunned her again. “We’re hot now. We’re new. If we start now, we could be open here in six months. And do a flagship in New York a year later. My father owns a piece of real estate that would be perfect for a flagship here. It would be the hottest store in the city.” It was an ambitious project, but she could see why he was excited about it. She was too. It could be a brilliant move for them, especially with his family behind them, who were so powerful locally.

“Do you really think we could have it open in six months?” It was a lot to ask. They were both based in New York.

“I do, with the right person in charge of the project and opening it, I think it’s realistic. Hard work, but possible.”

“We’d have to find someone,” she said, considering what he’d said.

“There’s only one person I know who could do that,” he said earnestly. “You. You don’t have to stay here forever if you don’t like it. You could stay for six months, and then come back to New York, if you still want to. That’s what I wanted to ask you today. Would you do it, Syd? You’re the only person I would trust to open here.” He was looking straight at her and she felt as though he had just blown her across the room and knocked the wind out of her. But she could see what it could do for their business. It might be the smartest move they’d ever make. He was right, and his family weren’t fools either. A flagship in Hong Kong, followed by one in New York, could send them into the stratosphere, and if they had the real estate and he had their backing, how could they lose? But was she ready to move to Hong Kong for six months? That was the big question for her.

“How soon do you want to know?” she asked, looking at him intently. “It’s not forever, but it’s still a big move for me, even for six months.”

“Apparently, my father’s been sitting on this piece of property for a while. I didn’t know about it till yesterday. He has a chance to sell it now, with a big offer. But he’ll give it to us if we want it. I really do,” he said honestly. “But I can’t do it without you.” She nodded. “He wants to know by tomorrow. And I’m serious, all you have to do is be here for six months to open it. And after that, go back to New York if you want to, or you don’t. It’s up to you. I think we could be a big presence here.”

“I don’t know if I’d want to stay here,” she said thoughtfully.

“You don’t have to. We could find someone. But right now, we don’t have time to find someone to open. It has to be one of us. And I think I should be in New York.” She agreed with him. He knew more about the technical side of the business than she did.

“I could do it for six months,” she said, trying to think of everything at once. “How fast would you want me here?”

“We’d have construction to do on the site, not a lot, but some. And I want to find a great architect to design it. They work fast here. You could go back to New York with me. Could you come back here in two weeks?” Sydney laughed at him as she thought about it.

“You don’t fool around, do you?”

“No, I don’t.” He was dead serious, and so was she. But she loved his idea, and she liked the offer and the idea of being there for six months with Bob, without throwing her whole life out the window to do it. And she had a valid reason of her own to be here now. Fate had stepped in, just as she’d hoped. It was what she had told Bob she wanted the night before. The hand of fate to help make the decisions. And fate had just taken a hand with the piece of property Ed’s father was giving them. What more could one ask? She looked Ed in the eye and she knew it was right. This was her destiny. She had been meant to meet him at Lady Louise. It was the only good thing that had come out of it. And she had been meant to meet Paul Zeller on the plane, even if he was a crook and she got arrested and stuck in her apartment for three months. She had lost everything after Andrew, and now she had a chance to build something herself, with Ed. And maybe with Bob. She had met him through Ed too. It was all a chain linked together.

“I’m probably insane, but I’ll do it,” she answered him. “Six months. That’s all I’m promising for now. We’ll talk about it again in six months, and I’ll come back to New York if I want. I’ll need to be in New York for a couple of weeks to do Sabrina’s wedding,” she reminded him.

“Of course,” he agreed easily. She stuck out a hand, and he shook it as his face broke into a broad grin. She had thought about her daughters too, but they were old enough to manage without her for six months. They were grown women with good jobs, and they could visit her in Hong Kong. And she’d fly back to New York to see them.

“Are we crazy?” she asked Ed with a stunned expression.

“Maybe, but I don’t think so. My father’s the smartest businessman I know, and he thinks it’s a great idea.”

“So do I,” she said. She felt sure of it in her gut. She wasn’t even scared. It felt right. He paid the check and they left the restaurant. He dropped her off at Bob’s a few minutes later, and she went upstairs, amazed by what she’d just done, but excited and pleased too. She knew it was the right move.

Bob was working at his computer when she walked in, and he greeted her with a smile. “Welcome home.” And he looked at her questioningly. “What did he want?” he asked, and she didn’t know where to start for a minute. She walked toward him with an expression he’d never seen her with before. It was strength and determination, courage and excitement all at once. “What’s up?”

“I’m moving to Hong Kong in two weeks, for six months. We’re opening a flagship store here. His father is giving him the location, and I’m opening it for him,” she said, as a slow smile spread across her face, and he looked at her and realized what it meant for them. “I only promised him six months here. We’ll see after that.” Fate had taken a hand, right from the first. For the business, for Ed, for her, for Bob, and for their relationship. And it all started with Andrew leaving her out of his will and leaving her destitute, meeting Paul Zeller on a plane that almost crashed in the Atlantic off Nova Scotia, and meeting Ed Chin, and Bob through him.

“Welcome home,” he said softly again. “Thank you.” He wasn’t sure if he was thanking her or the Fates, who had just blessed them with an incredible opportunity. Anything was possible. Anything could happen now. The dice had been rolled. For all of them. The rest remained to be seen.

She smiled at him, as he put his arms around her. He knew just how amazing she was. She had fallen, and survived it, stronger than ever before. And just when she thought all was lost, she had won. And now so had he. The Fates had been extremely kind to them. And Sydney was brave enough to reach out and seize the opportunity. They both were. He knew, looking at her, that great things were going to happen. He was sure of it. They already were. This was just the beginning. Their time had come.