Designing Abigail Kilton's Dress - #1 The Wedding Dress

Chapter 13 - Roses are red

With a loud groan, Kayleigh tore yet another page from her sketch pad and one of the girls shot her a disdainful look from under her false lashes. Kay glared at her and she quickly returned her attention to the hemline of the minimalist mermaid gown the girl was working on. It was a beautiful dress and Kayleigh could picture the perfect headpiece for it. A delicate tiara adorned with diamonds, a single sapphire in the centre...

Tiaras looked good with most dresses, except her gown. Her gown called for wreaths, pearls, feathers... anything but the royal tiara AK wanted.

"Focus, Kay," she whispered to herself as her fingers reached for the photograph that had been distressing her for three days.

The blissful effects of the Martini Spritz she had for lunch were long gone, and the pretty colours of dusk painted across the sky were looming dangerously close. Another day had gone by, and she was still without a preliminary sketch for Abigail's headpiece. Meanwhile, her own head was full of dazzling smiles, dull glares, uncertain promises and merciless apologies that wouldn't let her think straight for two consecutive seconds.

Her attention was diverted to a large bouquet of red long-stemmed roses floating towards her.

"Roses are red; Violets are blue; Who in the world would send these to you?"

Mario's cheeky face peeked from between the scarlet petals and Kayleigh poked his forehead playfully. Then she noticed a dainty note with her name on it and her mouth slacked open. "Wait... They really are for me?"

She snatched the card and opened it. Written in neat, black calligraphy was the cheesiest pick-up line she'd ever heard.

There's something wrong with my cell phone. It doesn't have your number in it.

JM

Kayleigh burst out laughing, an ungraceful snort complementing her less-than-feminine snicker. She was beyond astonished that the man she met a little over four hours ago sent roses to her office, especially considering that he was probably the most beautiful man she'd ever seen in real life. Mario set the flowers on her desk and peeped curiously over her shoulder.

"Who's JM?"

By way of reply, Kayleigh took out the card Jack Monroe had given her earlier and handed it to the boy. His reaction was not what she expected. Like Jean Luc, Mario had a flair for drama, but he looked five seconds away from fainting.

"Jack Monroe?" he exclaimed batting his eyes and fanning his face. "Are you freaking kidding me?"

He had barely stopped speaking when Jean Luc came running down the hall. "Did someone say Jack Monroe?"

"I did," Mario confessed with a naughty glint in his black eyes. He pointed an accusing finger at Kayleigh and added with relish, "Looks like someone has been keeping secrets."

Jean Luc's eyes turned on Kayleigh accusingly. "Ma Cherie? What did you do?" he asked with no hint of humour.

"Nothing! It was just lunch."

Both men's jaws dropped in unison. "You had lunch with Jack Monroe?"

More people were starting to look their way, not even bothering to hide the fact that they were eavesdropping.

"Will you stop saying his name like that?" Kay said nervously looking around the hall. She grabbed the flowers from the desk and started looking around for something to put them in.

"Here," Jean Luc said as he reached over another desk and picked up a clear pitcher that was sitting atop a stack of magazines.

The girl who was working on the mermaid dress perked up. "That's Ana's," she protested.

"Does Ana have twelve long-stemmed roses from Jack Monroe?" Jean Luc retorted, his French accent making him sound more contemptuous than ever. The girl gave him a nasty glare but retreated to her station as Jean Luc turned back to Kayleigh with a large grin. "Now, spill. Why do you have twelve long-stemmed roses from Jack Monroe?"

Kayleigh had no answer to that. She looked at both men cluelessly before stammering, "I'm... uh... I'm going to get some water for these."

She set the flowers back on the desk and shimmied between them, making a beeline for the pantry where Celine was making her five o'clock tea.

"What are you doing?" she asked as she watched Kayleigh fill the pitcher with tap water.

"She needs water for the flowers her new beau sent her," Mario teased leaning against the doorframe, Jean Luc standing just behind him.

"Jack is not my boyfriend!" Kayleigh snapped irritably. This was ridiculous.

"Why is a man sending you flowers if he's not your boyfriend?" Celine queried, a mix of confusion and curiosity on her face. Then, as though it wasn't crowded enough, a fourth face joined the party.

"What's with all the commotion in here? Kayleigh, those roses on your desk are gorgeous! You should put them in some water before they wilt."

Kayleigh was about to tell Greta that she was planning to do just that, but Jean Luc, who couldn't keep his mouth shut for three seconds, beat her to it. "They are from Jack Monroe!"

Greta and Celine gasped. "Jack Monroe?"

"Okay, why does everyone know Jack's name? I thought he's in insurance," Kayleigh demanded causing all of them to gape at her.

"Oui! He also made the Forbes rich list this year and I don't know if you've noticed, Ms Quirky, but he is extremely hot!"

"Oh," she said meekly, suddenly having second thoughts about their date. It was obvious the man had money, but she didn't think he was a famous billionaire.

"Oh indeed. You have a lot of explaining to do, Cherie!"

Kayleigh thought she had a lot of understanding to do as well. She'd only ever been on one date in her life, if you could call hanging out at the peer with Leon's friends spying on her a date. It was so bad, she and Mason Brown decided it would be easier to spend time at each other's house or with their friends. In fact, in their measly three-year relationship, Mason had never thought of asking her out on a proper date again.

"Are... uh... Are all guys this forward in London?"

"Nope!" Greta answered a bit too quickly. "You must have left quite the impression, Doe."

"We barely talked!"

Four pairs of eyes went wide, and the boys grinned knowingly at each other.

"No! Gosh, no! That's not what I meant," Kayleigh said hurriedly. "Abigail and Marcus were there too..."

Jean Luc caught her eyes and she knew she'd said too much. She shot him a pleading look and thankfully, he didn't pursue the topic.

"Well, whatever you did, it worked. If I were you, I'd hurry up and call him. There aren't a lot of Jack Monroe's bumping into young, single girls in London."

Greta pushed the water-filled pitcher back into Kay's hands and left the pantry with a meaningful look. Kayleigh pouted and automatically looked to Jean Luc for help, but before he could say anything, their manager's voice rang in the air again.

"The rest of you, go back to work or go home! No loitering in the office!"

Jean Luc, Mario and Celine scattered in a matter of seconds, leaving Kayleigh alone with a pitcher full of water and a brain full of noise.

👒👗👜

Cheesy, sleazy or romantic? What's your take on getting roses at the workplace?

One thing's for sure... Kayleigh has had a very interesting day at the office ;)