Never Ever Gonna Happen (Complete)

Chapter Twelve

It took the entire night, countless cups of coffee and a whole lot of brainstorming, for Bernard to finally tie his entire collection together. Jeanie sat by his side on the sofa the entire time, watching and throwing in surprisingly great ideas and by the time the sun began to break through the clouds in announcement of a brand new day, Bernard had in his hands, a brand new collection.

Standing before a room full of people he worked with, Bernard took the sketches of his new designs and passed them around the table.

"Braids," Bernard announced, his eyes scanning the faces of his staff as he awaited their reaction. "The entire idea of this collection came from a little girl with braids." He turned on the slide show and a sketch of his first design came up. "Right here is a gown with a low cut back and short sleeves that are braided, running from the neckline all the way to the back in what looks like two pony tails hanging off of the shoulders."

Turning to the next slide, "This is a simple denim pants with sand particles staining the knee area, running all the way to the ankles. I really like the thought of people wearing this and feeling like they can be fun and perhaps dirty but stunning."

He switched to the next slide, his favorite outfit appearing. He particularly liked this outfit because it was Jeanie's idea... Or at least he had only come up with the idea because of Jeanie. "Here is a dress that incorporates every fabric there is; lace, denim, African prints, floral, satin... I like the fact that these fabrics are different yet, are braided into one.

We also have braided T- shirts incorporating beautiful colors. The next and final design is this Cinderella styled gown but I like the idea of the mud at the bottom, staining the hem of the white dress. I mean, it's sparkling white but with mud which as you can see, appears to be pure art. I'd also like to add the fact that this particular mud glitters."

Bernard turned briefly to stare at his staff who now had a smile on their faces; a smile that reflected the way he felt. He had never been so proud of himself.

"Finally, the models." He said, a broad smile creasing his face. Jeanie had suggested ordinary people. Put a typical housewife in a Cinderella styled ball gown and give her the chance to strut the runway in Paris. Put a black child in muddy jeans. Put an Indian in a braided gown. His collection would incorporate ordinary people with ordinary lives and from the seven continents of the world.

When Bernard was done explaining his collection, the entire room bursted into an applause. He did a great job...No, he shook his head, Jeanie did a great job. It was practically her idea and he wouldn't have been invited to Paris if Jeanie hadn't made the false announcement that they were engaged. Bernard knew as he left the conference room that morning, that he owed Jeanie.

**

Jeanie leaned forward, placing her head on Bernard's desk; she was bored. Having gotten next to zero sleep all night and spent her entire morning cooped in Bernard's office while he briefed his staff on his new collection, she was simply bored. Tired of staring at gorgeous, flawless people in the magazine that sat on Bernard's desk, she pulled open his desk drawer, desperate for something less depressing to look at.

Rummaging through Bernard's drawer was fruitless for it held nothing that commanded Jeanie's attention. She was about to pull the drawer close when her eyes settled on a piece of paper. With a frown on her face and curiosity pumping through her veins, she pulled out the paper and gasped.

Staring back at Jeanie was a sketch of a wedding gown, a very stunning wedding gown that Jeanie was certain she could sell her entire belongings to buy even if she knew she probably was going to die single. It was the sort of wedding gown that women would pull out every weekend and try on just to feel good about themselves.

"Jeanie?"

She gasped, tearing her eyes off of the design and coming face to face with Bernard.

"What are you doing?" A small frown creased his face.

"Digging through your things." She admitted, displaying the design. "This is gorgeous, Bernard. You know, I can't believe you made us forfeit sleep just to come up with that entire collection when you have something so much better in your drawer."

"Put that back, Jeanie." Bernard said, an angry look on his face.

"Well, I'm not done staring yet."

"Right now!" Bernard half growled.

Jeanie frowned, staring at him. What was with him anyway? She opened her mouth to speak but closed it back again, deciding not to push him. She had only just met Bernard and angering him wouldn't do if she wanted to walk out of his life with her money.

Pulling open the drawer, she placed the paper back inside and drew it close.

Bernard walked over to where she sat, hovering over her until she vacated his seat.

"We still have an interview to prepare for and I still know nothing about you...oh, wait, I do. I know of the fact that great designs upset you." Jeanie said, settling on a different seat.

"Will you drop it, Jeanie?" Bernard sighed.

"Probably not. But I will, for now. So, let's pretend I'm an interviewer."

"No..."

"Bernard Moreau, what would you say was the first thing that attracted you to Belle?" Jeanie beamed.

"I can tell you what I find most annoying about...Belle." Bernard rose an eyebrow.

"We'll get to that, Bernard. So, I'll assume you intend to skip that particular question..."

"My intent is to skip the entire interview."

"Amanda says it's important." Jeanie said, sounding somewhat desperate in her own ears.

Bernard shrugged. "I can't leave the office today, I have to work on these designs and choosing the right fabrics. I have a lot of calls to make. If we show up for the interview, it'll be too obvious that we know nothing about each other. People will suspect foul play and I could do without the bad press."

"Do you have a fun bone in your body, Bernard? Or are you plastic from head to toe?" Jeanie leaned forward, "I'll make a deal with you..."

"Not interested..."

"I'll get out of your hair for the entire day, giving you the chance to focus on work." Bernard's eyes lit up with her announcement but quickly dimmed as Jeanie lifted a finger and shook her head. "But, I get you for the night. I get to have a decent conversation with you and, I could cook my famous lasagna. It's the only thing I'm good at, really."

Bernard's eyes was fixed on Jeanie, perhaps contemplating her request.

"Or, I could stay here with you; bugging you, following you around and generally being annoying..."

"Fine!" Bernard said, giving in.

"Good," Jeanie smiled broadly and rose to her feet. "I'll see you at eight tonight. Try not to be late, Bernard." She flashed one last smile before turning around and strutting her stuff as she walked out the door.

Copyright © 2017 Lily Orevba All rights reserved.

*

A/N

Hey guys. I have no idea how to design a single outfit and i sincerely doubt i did justice to the description of those designs but in my head, it looks really good. So, here's me hoping you capture the entire idea.

Thank you so much for reading, i hope you vote.☺