***FEATURED BY @storiesundiscovered (01/11/2022)***
***FEATURED BY @dangerouslove (05/08/2022)***
***FEATURED BY @NA (13/07/2022)***
Small town French girl Lizette Fontaine finally gets her dream job, but on the condition that she will have to keep...
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"Welcome Ms. Lizette Fontaine, coming from Chantilly, France. She's a recent graduate in fashion design, and she will be working with you on all of your dream projects in the upcoming year."
As soon as he introduced me, everyone's jaw went slack. Some of them eyed me head to toe, but their gazes were much different from André's. Unlike him, their gazes were full of bemusion and wonder, something I had yet to get used to. But, I guess the bigger problem here was the fact that I was still thinking of André and his piercing gaze.
Ever since I met him yesterday, for some reason, I couldn't get his gaze out of my mind. Now, whether it was out of the anger that he had dared to call me such names, or out of some trance - I wouldn't know.
Brice's next words snapped me out of my fantasy. "I believe her designs were already mailed to you. You haven't checked them, have you?"
His prompting caused everyone else to whip their heads towards Sophie, who seemed to be flustered as Brice put her on the spot. The older woman was red in the face, with some of her blush traveling to her neck. The twins snickered beside her, and she shut them up with a glare.
Turning to face Brice, she still clapped back. "Oh, how would I know that the designer would be this young gorgeous woman? Or else, I would have checked it sooner."
She turned to me and said, "Welcome to Panache, Lizette. Nice to know you're French too, but can't I shorten your name to Liz? Lizette sounds like you've time travelled from the seventies."
Though her manner of speaking could easily be mistaken as rude, I instantly understood her good intentions behind it.
I said, "As you wish. It's my first time receiving a nickname, but Liz sounds better to me too."
Her eyebrows raised. "First time? Sweetie, did you not have friends in school?"
"No, not really."
"But, how could you not? You're so pretty and nice and-"
"Sophie. Please." Brice interrupted, sensing my discomfort.
This man was really insightful and sensed moods quickly. It was a trait I rarely found in people, and it made me respect him even more. How could he understand me so well, when he had known for only a day?
Sophie realized her mistake, and stopped herself. "Oh, sorry. Welcome to our team Liz. Although we're considered the least useful team of the company, we aren't completely worthless. We sometimes come in handy when the other successful teams need us. So, welcome to..... whatever this is."
"They are Amelia and Mia, the twins famous for trendy designs at Panache. Sadly they created a lot of trouble and ended up here. Then we have Martin, a pro at designing vintage clothes. And she is Maria, a year junior to me, and designs really cool and funky clothes. I hope we're clear here. Now, let's go back to doing nothing."
