The Phoenix

English Roses

Lucy's outfit today was much different than her normal work attire. Well, that's because she wasn't going to work. She was wearing the usual, a black strapless dress with matching choker, an army green jacket, and black heels. Not exactly appropriate for a job at the White House. The only reason she was there was to meet up with Zimmer.

Lucy turned to go down the hallway where Zimmer said she'd be, but instead of her friend, she found Leo. He looked nervous and was holding something behind his back as he approached her. He stopped in front of her and revealed a bouquet of English roses. Her favorite flowers.

"English roses. Emily told you, didn't she?" Lucy asked. Her sister was the only person who knew.

"Yeah. The Inaugural Ball is tonight, will you go with me?" he said, handing her the flowers.

"Of course." she smiled, hugging him.

When she pulled away, she examined the roses to see what type they were. Much to her surprise, they were Crocus Roses.

"Leo, these are Crocus Roses. They're only grown in the Blumenpalast Gardens, which are in Vienna. How did you get these?"

"When your dad is the most powerful man in the world, you can get a lot of things that most people can't. Let's just say we now owe Austria a favor. How do you know so much about these flowers."

"My mother spent almost all of her free time growing the garden at my old house, and when she died, I did my best to take care of it, with Emily's help of course. My favorite ones were the English roses, so I did tons of research so I could get as many kinds as I could. Obviously, I couldn't get the Crocus Roses since the Austrians kept them under lock and key." she explained.

"Ah."

"Hey, have you seen Zimmer?"

"Yeah. She's the one who told me where to meet you. She's just around the corner."

Leo lead her to where she was, which was definitely close enough to eavesdrop.

"Ready to go?" she asked.

"Of course."

Lucy said goodbye and followed Zimmer out back where her security detail was waiting. The first stop was at an incredibly extravagant looking clothing store.

"This is where I get all of my formal dresses. You can find every name brand there is here."

Zimmer seemed drawn to the dress section and immediately started grabbing things for the both of them to try on. A white dress caught Lucy's eye, so she took it off the rack to show her friend.

"What do you think about this?"

"It's cute, what brand?"
"Chanel."

"Oh, nevermind. Put it back."

"Why?"

"CoCo Chanel was literally a Nazi. I refuse to buy anything of hers."

"Alright, makes sense." she said, placing it back where it belonged.

It only took Zimmer a few minutes to pick out all of the dresses she wanted, and before Lucy knew it, she was being dragged off to the changing room.

Zimmer went first, trying things on. She must have gone through ten dresses before settling on one. It was a red halter neck dress with crystals sewn into the bodice and a tulle skirt.

"I'm getting this one. Can you unzip it for me?" she called to Lucy who had been waiting outside.

"Sure."

While unzipping it, she noticed the price tag.

"There's just one problem," Lucy said. "It costs $1300."