Sample from Manhattan Leather

Her first client was Manhattan Leather, a local family business specializing in high-end handmade leather handbags. Mr. Manhattan, a quiet man in his sixties, had started making bags in his garage and now had a staff of fifty in a warehouse on the outskirts of town. Mrs. Manhattan manned the storefront. She was a dream: perfect skin, brown hair that touched just below her shoulder blades. Exceptionally thin and impeccably put together. She had one child, Mitchell. He drifted in and out of the store, updating Mabel on his newest adventures. He was handsome, young, and naïve.

Mabel was in love with everything about Manhattan Leather. An expertly decorated showroom that smelled like leather and Vetiver. The walls were mirrored, and the drapes were Chartreuse crushed velvet. But there was one thing she just couldn’t keep her eyes off: Mrs. Manhattan.

Mrs. Manhattan was the type of woman who inspired hope in Mabel expertly curated like a piece of art. Mable wondered who was curating her?

(Short story passage from Manhattan Leather by Cici Stone)