Poly Print brought a pot, nodded at Laura, and slipped back into the crowded front of the café. The office was as dark as night, even in the daytime, and the red-shaded lamp had to be turned on. Jeremy sat in the chair to the side and slightly behind her and leaned back, elbow on the arm in a posture that so obviously told her he had no intention of stepping on her toes that it was almost toe-treading in its intensity.“You were an adorable little girl,” Soso said, pouring espresso. “You are a somewhat more intimidating beautiful woman.”Flattery seemed to be the man’s default setting, so she thought nothing of it. “Thank you for the compliment. You know, I remember nothing from that time but swallowing a pin at the Scaasi studio.”“Yes! I remember that, as well.”“I couldn’t tell if that dress was real if I didn’t know how my mother puts things together. Those beads were sewn on all wrong. That dress is completely fake, and the Lloyd’s report is probably going to reflect that.”“This will be a shame.”“Unless we can find the real dress.”“Or if we can convince Lloyd’s that the dress we have is the real one.
