Redemption | A Drake Duology (2016)

6 • Center of Attention

I watched as my dancers joined Usher on the stage at the end of the show. I couldn't have been prouder. Everything was done just as we practiced it and I even got the opportunity to meet the star himself. He was extremely sweet and requested to have my girls on tour. I don't turn down money so I took him up on his offer and planned to follow up with his team in a few weeks.

The show went an hour over schedule and Logan and I were minutes away from missing our flight. Luckily, we caught the last call and boarded with no problems. I used this opportunity to catch some Z's before the gala. We weren't landing until noon so wouldn't have much time to settle in and get to the venue.

I was in and out of sleep the whole way there. Logan stayed up finishing proposals and booth contracts. She was too focused to talk so I let her do her thing. She woke me up when we landed. Thankfully, we arrived earlier than expected. We made a beeline to the hotel to put our stuff down. Within an hour we were pulling up to the event and preparing for our makeovers.

Logan and I were separated until it neared time to walk the carpet. I sat in front of the mirror getting the finishing touches put on my make up. I was a bit uncomfortable seeing as though I never let anybody touch my face other than Logan but since this was a special event I decided to allow it.

Donna, one of the stylists, was re-stitching my dress. It was too big up top and too tight around the bottom. I've put on a lot of stress weight but it was nothing too drastic. My breast went up a cup size and I went from a size five to a nine in pants. Since living alone my diet has changed. I ate out more and exercised a lot less—something that I just recently began to change.

While Karyn touched up my highlight, she caught me and Logan up on the latest trends. She gave us entrepreneurial advice on how to better our businesses and expand outside our comfort zone. I was grateful to have had the conversation with her.

"Did either of you bring a date?" She asked glancing over at Logan while she got her hair fixed.

"Each other," I smiled. "Wouldn't want to share this moment with any one else,"

"Not even your husband? Did he travel with you?" She looked down at me and Logan's head quickly shot my way.

"I um—" I staggered over my words placing my thumb over the tattoo on my ring finger. I didn't think anyone would notice it. "I'm not married,"

"Oh! I'm so sorry," She blushed in embarrassment. "I saw the tan line on your finger and the little tattoo. I'll stop being nosy," She giggled and turned the chair around for me to stand.

I could feel Logan's eyes on me the entire time I got dressed. I wasn't going to get away with not discussing it with her. Sometimes being around heavy communicators was a nuisance. I shook my head and stood to my feet grabbing the dress from Donna. The moment I stepped into it, I was in love. White looked great against my skin and the gold lining popped perfectly thanks to my eyeshadow and golden dusted cheeks.

"Oh my," Donna whispered as she pulled apart my pin curls. "You look stunning,"

"Thank you," I smiled. "You guys did a great job with Logan too," I glanced her way as she got her curls fluffed.

"McQueen's legacy has to live on. Every model must break the scale," Karyn said as she helped me into my shoes.

"Red carpet in five!" The event manager poked his head in and left just as quickly. Logan and I took a few photos and videos for snapchat before making our way to the carpet.

"Noah is going to flip!" Logan laughed. "He's never seen us like this,"

I chuckled a bit and looked down at my left hand remembering why it took me so long to respond to this invite. Aubrey was a sponsor and one of the top donors for this event. I signed off on contracts, and checks. How I forgot about this, I don't know. It was rare that he actually came though. He usually sent Noah or Oliver in his place to collect all of the information that he needed.