He shook my hand. “Matt Najarian.” He was pleasingly paunchy and rumpled, living up to my every expectation of a print journalist. He nodded toward the swarm of people milling around the curtained wall behind the reception desk. “What’s going on?”

“The unveiling of our new art installation. Come. Let me introduce you to a few people.”

Lester Willard stood at attention on one side of Reception. Alice, in a matching blue blazer, stood on the other side. Between them were most of our Admin employees and a good contingent of the Creatives in from Manhattan. I made the rounds with Najarian in tow. First I introduced him to Nelson Ledbetter, our newly appointed CEO. He’d barely had time to set up his desk at Genco before the newly appointed board of CDMI lured him away.

“Does he have any background in fashion?” the reporter asked as I steered him through the crowd. It was a setup question. He knew that he didn’t.

“His expertise is in finance,” I said. “Which is exactly what our shareholders want now.”

I pointed out Joe Riley, our new director of corporate security, looking dapper in a well-tailored suit. “Does he have any experience in corporate security?” Najarian asked.

“He’s got a long and outstanding record in law enforcement. And obeying and enforcing the law is vital to our new mission here at CDMI.”

Next was Cheryl Fitts, the labor and employment lawyer who was recently promoted from staff attorney to director of human resources. The four of us—Nelson, Joe, Cheryl, and I—were the new guard at CDMI. The old guard, the ones who’d ordered and executed the most shameful chapter in the company’s history, were all gone, two of them dead and Jack Culligan and Phil Duvall serving sentences in federal penitentiaries.

“Where are the doves?” Najarian looked around the reception area. “I heard there were doves.”

“Not anymore,” I said. “In light of recent history, keeping any kind of living creature in a cage is not something we wish to associate ourselves with. We’ve come up with something much more brand-positive. Watch.”

A technician called “Go!” and Ledbetter went forward with a pair of oversize scissors. CDMI’s new staff photographer crouched in front of him to capture the moment for the company’s next annual report. Ledbetter mugged for the camera as he sliced through a wide ceremonial ribbon. The curtain puddled to the floor, and a gasp went up from the audience.

Behind the glass wall where the doves once lived was a holographic diorama featuring a shimmering 3D image of Claudine de Martineau. Her face and body were as they’d been during her prime modeling years, but the dress she wore was from this year’s collection of CDMI’s premier label, Graziella Atelier. She walked the length of the space and pivoted as if it were a catwalk, then whirled, and as the dress whirled with her, it morphed into a skirted suit from another of our top labels. The audience burst into applause at the seamlessness of the wardrobe change. Claudine took another stroll down the runway, and when she turned again, she was wearing a pair of high-waisted white trousers and a striped French sailor shirt from the JustUs sportswear line. The crowd applauded again.