Desires and Contracts

Ch. 9

When I woke up Sunday morning, I realized that I still needed an outfit for Saturday's business event. Xavier's assistant texted me a few nights ago letting me know that she can help me find a dress. I figured I could ask her if she's free today to do some shopping. I sent her a quick text and she responded within minutes. I wanted to ask Tara to join too so I called her to see if she was available. I first had to fill her in on what the event is and she also wanted to know about last night but I told her that I would tell her everything in person. She agreed to come shopping with Xavier's assistant and me, whose name is Melissa. Tara picked me up at 1 pm and we drove to Beverly Hills. I told Melissa that I would not be able to afford anything there and we should just go to the mall to buy the outfit but she insisted we go to Beverly Hills. I already knew I wasn't going to find anything within my price range but I gave in anyway. Melissa sent us the address to a boutique and she was already waiting there when we arrived.

"Hi, Skylar! I'm Melissa, Xavier's assistant."

"Hi Melissa, nice to meet you! This is my friend, Tara, she's going to be helping me find a dress as well."

"Hi, it's nice to meet you Melissa." Tara said.

"So, I know you were a bit hesitant to come down here but Xavier specifically said that he'll be paying for everything. And he also said that you need to get your outfit from here since they have one of the best designers in the country! Trust me, I only buy my clothes from here. I asked my consultant to help us out today, I think she's in the back. Let me go get her." Melissa disappeared behind a row of dresses. Within a few minutes, she returned with another woman.

"Hello, I'm Marie and I'll be your consultant today. So Skylar, you're the lucky woman who has Xavier wrapped around your finger. He has great taste I must say. I can already imagine the colors that will complement your brown skin. Oh and who are you?" Marie asked, turning to Tara.

"I'm Tara, Skylar's friend."

"Well, nice to meet you Tara! Shall we begin ladies?"

Right away, Marie and Melissa dragged me from one corner of the store to the next. They gathered all types of dresses and placed them in the dressing room. Marie said that we'll gather all the dresses and I can try them on last. I told Marie what I'm comfortable wearing and what my preferences are. I never wear anything that has thin straps or is strapless. I also don't wear short dresses because I'm insecure about my knees, so everything must cover my entire leg, or at least be below my knees. Marie assured me that she wouldn't choose anything that I wasn't comfortable with. I also told her I would prefer to wear something that had long sleeves for this event. Personally, I have hairy arms and I get extremely insecure about them. I will rarely wear short sleeves and usually, if I do, I'll wear a sweater on top unless it's extremely hot outside.

About 2 hours had passed until I finally decided on a dress. There were lots of cute dresses but I didn't feel comfortable in them since some were too revealing, too short, or simply too much for a formal event. However, there was this one dress that I and everyone else really liked. It was a long red dress that had lace sleeves and shoulders. It wasn't too fitted or too loose, just the perfect design to outline my curves. I honestly felt so beautiful in it. When it was time to check out, I pulled out my credit card and almost had a heart attack when I looked at the total. With the dress and matching shoes and the consultant's appointment fees, the total was $10,000! I don't even think my card has that much of a spending limit and it'll for sure get declined. That was when Melissa pulled out a card and inserted it into the card machine. Then she reminded me that Xavier had offered to pay for everything and I didn't need to worry about the price. That was such an absurd amount for a dress and heels that I'll be sure to at least let Xavier know that I plan on paying him back.

Afterward, Tara dropped me off at home. I wanted to get started on my assignments because I knew I wouldn't have that much time this weekend or throughout the week. But before I did, I made sure to text Xavier to thank him for buying my outfit and that I'll be paying him back soon.