The Princeling of Nanjing Read Online Free PDF

firm that the show start promptly at one and that we parade one model every thirty seconds. Everything has to be done with precision. When I heard this, I thought Clark might bristle. It was the opposite. He told Chi-Tze that it’s a joy to be working with a professional.”
    Ava poured more water. “I’m just doing some basic math,” she said. “The show runs about half an hour and we’re showing an outfit every thirty seconds, so that means sixty outfits in all?”
    “Closer to fifty. It’s a moving target that depends on Clark’s mood. Two days ago it was fifty-six, and yesterday after the rehearsal I heard we were at fifty-four.”
    “That means each model wears only about three outfits.”
    “Yes, and don’t try to calculate what it’s costing us every time one of them walks down that runway. I started to but gave up when Amanda told me we can’t look at the numbers that way.”
    “Because we’re in show business?”
    “Exactly.”
    “And you said . . .”
    “Absolutely nothing.”
    “Wise.”
    “I thought so.”
    “Are you worried?”
    “No, I’m excited.”
    “Me too,” Ava said, and then reached across the table to grip May’s hand. “I have to say I’m also very excited about Suki’s ambitions. I listened to her last night and was impressed. This morning I reread her plans. May, I think we have to find a way to finance them.”
    May closed her eyes and slowly shook her head. “I can’t go back to Changxing and ask him to give me more money from our business.”
    “I know, and I’m not asking you to do that.”
    “And I don’t want you to put in more money. We started out as equal partners. I want it to remain that way.”
    “I do as well. I was thinking of Xu.”
    “Did you discuss it with him last night?”
    “No, we didn’t have a moment alone.”
    “How was the evening, by the way?”
    “Pang Fai wasn’t quite what I expected, and the big shot from Nanjing was a bit of an asshole.”
    “Tell me about Pang Fai.”
    “Maybe some other time, May,” Ava said. “It was kind of sad, and I don’t want that clouding our day.”
    May took two cucumber and watercress sandwiches from the plate. “How much money would you ask Xu for?”
    “Suki needs at least another hundred million.”
    “And you can get that?”
    “I can try.”
    “Aren’t you concerned about dilution?”
    “No, I think I can maintain the status quo.”
    “How?”
    “He owes me a favour or two.”
    “Then see what you can do.”
    “I’ll call him. Maybe we can meet before the show,” Ava said, reaching for her phone, but before she could access her contacts, it rang. She looked at the incoming number. “Speak of the devil.”
    “It’s Xu,” he said.
    “I know. May and I were just talking about you.”
    “Kindly, I hope.”
    “Of course.”
    “You may not feel that way when I tell you that I can’t make the launch.”
    He said it casually, but she felt some tension in his voice. “Is there a problem?”
    “There are some minor issues in Nanjing that I couldn’t resolve last night. I have to go there today. I’m on the road already.”
    “If they are minor, can’t they wait?”
    “If I wait, they won’t be minor for very long.”
    “Tsai is still in Shanghai?”
    “He left last night.”
    “That sounds ominous.”
    “It wasn’t that dramatic.”
    “Did Pang Fai go with him?”
    “No, she was a Shanghai rental.”
    “I have to say I was surprised by her, and by that.”
    “Acting in Chinese movies doesn’t pay that well, and competition for roles is fierce. She probably has to augment her income, and having rich and powerful friends can’t hurt when it comes to getting parts.”
    “She told me that she has a bit of a crush on you,” Ava said.
    “The women I attract tend to have complicated lives. They’re usually more than I can handle, and she sure is.”
    Ava glanced at May. She was eating a sandwich and appeared uninterested in the conversation. “Enough about