Fashion Faux Paw by Judi McCoy Page B

hand over his chin. “Seeing them out there makes me more nervous than I was yesterday.”
    Ellie gave his arm a playful punch. If she remembered correctly, Marcus had yet to act nervous about anything. “Oh, come on. A big boy like you, afraid of a couple of magazine editors?”
    He stuck his hands in his pockets. “They’re not just magazine editors, they are the editors. And guess who’s sitting across from them.”
    She spotted a well-dressed man and woman chatting with each other while they nodded at members of the crowd. Ellie hid a smile when she realized they reminded her of a king and queen. “I haven’t a clue.”
    “Glenda Bailey of Harper’s and Stefano Tonchi, the managing editor of W. With them here, this competition could only get hotter if you poured on the gasoline and lit a match.”
    She recalled Vivian mentioning their names, but never thought she’d actually see these gods of fashion in person. “And since their seats are front and center, I imagine whoever is running this event sat them there as a tribute to their importance in the industry.”
    “ W is the most influential fashion magazine in the world today, so more than likely Jeffery King took care of it, though I’m sure he got his orders from someone at the top of NMD,” Marcus said, his tone serious.
    Ellie had tried her best to get a handle on the hierarchy of the fashion world in the week before the contest. Having Marcus there to explain things made it easier. She only wished he’d been around earlier, when Clark Fettel had been badgering her about Cassandra and Ranger.
    “Where have you been, by the way?” She turned to face him. “Hard at work for the evening wear part of the competition?”
    He moved so close to her she smelled his cologne, a light outdoorsy scent that made her think of pine trees. “Why? Did you miss me?”
    “What? No.” She took a step of retreat. “I’m just trying to figure out where people were when Jeffery King was arrested.”
    “Oh, that.” He raised an eyebrow. “I was helping Jeffery referee a disagreement between Anton Rouch and one of his models when the cops showed. But the arrest didn’t take anyone by surprise. The way I see it, King was careless and he got caught, which is probably the way everyone else felt, too.”
    “You think he’s guilty?” Miffed that everybody would be so callous, Ellie said, “That’s cruel,” and headed back to the canine area.
    Marcus stayed on her heels. “Hey, he had a motive. Lilah stole Kitty’s designs. He was paving the way for his sister. As an older brother, I can understand that.” He grabbed an energy bar from the table and peeled off the wrapper. “I’d do the same if anyone hurt a sister of mine.”
    Ellie sat in a chair, and opened a bottle of water. “I didn’t realize you have a sister.”
    “I had three.” When he used the past tense, she wanted to ask what happened, but he’d finished his snack and tossed the wrapper in the trash. “Sorry, no more time to talk. They should start calling the lineup in about fifteen minutes, and I have to put the finishing touches on Patti and Claire Smith.”
    He took off at a fast clip, waving good-bye as he walked, and Ellie muttered a curse. She’d let time slip away from her. The dogs had to go out and she only had a few minutes to take care of it if she wanted to see the evening wear competition.
    After gathering her charges, she searched for her boy. Rudy was smart. He was supposed to stay close and he knew it, but he’d blown a gasket when Clark Fettel declared him the dog to take Ranger’s place. She planned to talk to Cassandra when today’s show finished and remind her that it was her responsibility to find a small dog to sub for the Greyhound, and it shouldn’t be Rudy. She could borrow a canine from a friend, or foster one for the week from a small dog rescue, but she wasn’t automatically welcome to Rudy.
    “Okay, guys,” she said to half the pack as she led them out.