Sealed With a Kiss

Seven

A/N: The dress Poppy wears to the opening of Carbon is this stunning LBD by Emilio de Morena. It retails for a cost of $900 and Leighton Meester wore it to the MTV movie awards in 2009. Can we just faint at the amazing cut? 

Dediacted to xKiraxD for reading Stealing the Groom in one all-nighter! Hopefully you'll read Sealed With A Kiss too! :) Thanks.

VII: Fool For You

"IS ALL THIS REALLY NECESSARY?" I asked as I sat balancing a stack of books on my head, forcing me to sit pin straight on the chair. It made eating quite a challenge, not that I actually wanted to ingest the French delicacy that lay beautifully presented before me. But since the whole purpose of this exercise was to get me to eat like a lady, I attempted to lean forward an inch for take a sip of my water glass.

"Yeah, I don't see the point either," Remy said as she looked though her phone, most likely looking through her calendar. Remy was the best and youngest lawyer at her firm, and because of that she was always busy up to her eyeballs with work. She'd taken the night off to hang out with us.

"Ahh!" I yelped as I felt the books tip forward. I slammed the glass down quickly and righted the books.

I looked up sheepishly at my drill sergeant, sorry my etiquette coach, and winced at her glare. "Poppy, concentrate!"

"I am concentrating!" I whined as I slouched with a pout.

"Sit up straight!" Hannah snapped and nudged my spine with a long whip looking baton.  I instinctively sat up and frowned.

"I don't see why I need to do this," I murmured under my breath.

"I thought we already went through this," Hannah said with a dramatic eye roll.

"One," she began counting on with her fingers, "because you're a billionaire and you still eat and walk like a peasant. And two, because I found this cool stick thing and this is actually kind of fun!"

Elle stood and yanked the baton from Hannah's hands. "Enough! We are getting nowhere with this."

I sighed in relief and removed the books from my head.

"Poppy does not eat like a peasant! She is English. They are obviously better behaved and polite than us Americans. I mean, look at you. You seriously just forced a poor girl into your little school of socialites for your own entertainment."

Hannah ignored Elle and stomped over to me. "Poppy, did I force you into anything?"

I shrank into my chair in the dinning room and avoided eye contact. "Not having my feet tied to the chair would have been a bit more comfortable..."

Hannah gasped. "Is that the thanks I get for offering up my services?"

"Erm..." I said as I attempted, yet again, to wiggle my feet but couldn't because of the rope. "Thank you?"

Hannah glared at me and crossed her arms. "That was not sincere, young lady."

Elle laughed and rolled her eyes. "Alright, let's get you untied. Help me out will you, Remy? Then we can get all these things back into Hannah's Christian Grey Starter Kit."

I giggled at Hannah's shocked look. "I did not read Fifty Shades, Eleanor! And for your information, I got the rope and stick thing from your room so there!"

Elle blushed and quickly ducked her head to untangle my feet while I sat there trying my hardest not to laugh.

Just as Elle and Remy had stood up and I'd been freed, Ingrid walked into the dinning room. "Miss Poppy, you have another visitor."