A week before the Starlight Charity Gala, the most photographed red-carpet event of the year, Mia sent me three messages in capital letters.
*THEY'RE DOING IT. THEY'RE ACTUALLY DOING IT.*
She attached a leaked memo from Hale Group's finance department. Derrick had liquidated nearly all available assets to buy the experimental silk outright and secure a private collection of South African diamonds.
The memo listed rushed transfers, cancelled reserves and exclusive supplier agreements. Derrick had paid extra to prevent another fashion house from buying either material before the Gala.
The company now depended on one dress.
If the reveal succeeded, the publicity could carry the IPO. If it failed, Hale would be left with no cash reserve and materials purchased for a design it could not se
