Chapter 10 - THE EMPLOYEES’ LEDGER
The steel cabinet contained a second ledger.
It listed every worker who contributed to the Midnight Collection.
Hours.
Specialized techniques.
Design changes.
Promises Henry made.
Mom had assigned percentages of future royalties.
The list included ninety-four employees.
Forty-seven were still alive.
Others had children and grandchildren.
Mercer & Reed’s attorneys argued the ledger had no legal force.
It did something more dangerous than create a claim.
It created a record.
The store’s public mythology said Henry Mercer designed the collection alone.
The ledger revealed a network of women.
Pattern cutters.
Finishers.
Embroiderers.
Fitters.
Pressers.
Most were immigrants.
Many were mothers.
None appeared in the company museum.
A reporter named Nina Patel published their names.
Her article was titled:
THE NINETY-FOUR WOMEN INSIDE THE MIDNIGHT GOWN.
Customers began returning Mercer & Reed merchandise.
Employees demanded an explanation.
The union requested profit-sharing records.
Current designers asked whether the company owned their work honestly.
The board blamed the crisis on “historical misunderstandings.”
Then Doris Bell appeared on live television.
She was ninety-three.
She wore a purple hat and looked directly into the camera.
“There was no misunderstanding.”
“We knew Eleanor designed the dresses.”
“We also knew we could be replaced.”
“That is how powerful men create silence.”
The company’s stock fell.
Investors demanded independent leadership.
A major fashion museum suspended its Mercer & Reed exhibition.
The anniversary gala was still scheduled for the following month.
Its theme was Forty-One Years of Midnight Elegance.
The company planned to unveil a new collection based on Mom’s original patterns.
They had already produced the gowns.
They had not credited her.
Rebecca sent a cease-and-desist demand.
The board refused.
They claimed the designs belonged to the company under work-for-hire law.
Mom read the response.
“They want to steal them one final time.”
Ava looked at her.
“What do we do?”
May you like
Mom touched the pale blue thread wrapped around her pearl earring.
“We attend the gala.”
