Chapter 13 #2
‘Annah…’ Svetlana seemed to falter, again so totally unlike her that Annie’s heart was now beginning to beat a little too hard. Must drink less caffeine, as Ed keeps telling me.
‘It’s OK, babes, just tell me. Just rip the Band-Aid off, whatever it is, I’m sure we can cope with it,’ Annie encouraged her.
‘I did not get the planning permission for the show,’ Svetlana said. Just like that, straight up. Like an icy shot of vodka. Annie could hear herself gasping slightly for air as the words and their meaning settled down on her.
‘You – didn’t – the planning permission—’ she managed. ‘No planning permission?’ her voice had gone a little high and squeaky.
Annie was trying to put together what this meant. No planning permission meant no marquee… and did that mean no show? Really? No show?! Really?
‘I don’t know vat to do…’ Svetlana said.
‘Are you sure?’ was Annie’s next question. ‘Are you sure you didn’t get it? I mean we talked about it often. And you said you’d got it. Have you lost it? In your files somewhere?’
‘No, Annah.’
Annie felt as if there was something she wasn’t understanding here. Did Svetlana mean the council hadn’t given her permission? Did this mean she needed to appeal? Was there time? Could she go and speak to the council about it?
‘Did they say no…? Did they turn it down?’ she asked.
‘No… I did not apply. I thought it would be fine. But now Harry…’
This was Svetlana’s husband, the legal bigwig.
‘He says we must have planning permission in place. And now there is not enough time to get it.’
Wait… she did not apply… she did not apply!
As this took its time to register, Annie struggled…
struggled to speak, to think, to even breathe.
All this effort. All this time. All the plans…
the people already involved… the people already invited.
And her hopes that this would be a big important event, putting her on the fashion map.
It was all going to be ruined because for some baffling reason, Svetlana hadn’t applied for planning permission, then hadn’t admitted until now that she hadn’t applied.
Annie took a deep breath in, hoping that it might calm her, but no.
She was coming to realise that she felt shocked, but she also felt furious!
Hadn’t she been going on and on to Svetlana since the show was first mentioned about the importance of telling the council, signing off the paperwork, setting it all up properly?
And now this… this woman… this, quite frankly, silly cow!
In her fury that was the only word that would do.
This silly cow was going to ruin everything!
Just the thought that all her work, time and effort could be in vain, and that there really might be no show at all was stoking Annie’s anger even higher.
‘I– I can’t believe it!’ Annie gulped. ‘I can’t believe you’ve done this!
Or not done this… No planning permission!
!’ And then the floodgates seemed to loosen and she began to speak to Svetlana as she had never done before.
‘Now that I think about it – why am I not even surprised, Svetlana? I mean this is so, so like you! You never think the rules apply to you. Face it, you think you are above them! Do you have any idea how hard Paula and I have been working on this show? And you couldn’t even be bothered to fill out a form!
What does it matter if we’re all rushing around, busting a gut for you?
We’re just the little minions. No doubt you have far more important things to do. ’
Annie came to an abrupt halt, shocked by her outburst. She had never, ever spoken to Svetlana like this.
But this was the final straw. No planning permission!
For a show that was due to happen in three weeks.
For a show that hundreds of people had already been invited to.
For a show with catering, chairs, flowers, models and a DJ all booked!
This was just crazy, completely crazy. And far from her reputation being boosted and enhanced by this fashion gala, Annie was now looking at some serious reputational damage.
This thought gave her anger another boost. ‘There are only two things you can do now, Svetlana,’ she declared.
‘Find the relevant person at the council and beg, beg, beg them to rush through a permission for you or find another venue, within the next few days – otherwise, that’s it. The show is over.’
‘I don’t know if I can do this. You need to help me, Annah…
’Annie heard those words and thought of all the times she had responded to Svetlana’s calls for help and gone absolutely above and beyond for her.
She had driven over the Alps for this woman, been chased by thugs, given Svetlana her own daughter as an employee, swooped in on countless crisis moments.
But now it was time to set some firm boundaries.
‘No. I am not doing it, babes. This is your mess,’ she said very firmly. ‘For once, I am not jumping in to fix it. I am not rushing about London like a headless chicken because you messed up—’
‘I need to explain,’ Svetlana tried to interrupt.
‘No!’ Annie cut her off, although this was also directed at Max who had found a big marker pen and was threatening to do even more irreparable damage to the worktops. ‘No explaining, just get out there and fix this, Svetlana. Fix it! And call me when we’re back on.’