This is L.o.v.e. like it should be

XXVI. Not just a dress

"Well, I’m finally here." Ava sighed deeply before getting out of the the car. She was fashionably late, but that didn’t actually bother her since she wasn’t even there because she wanted to.

As she handed her car keys to the valet, she started thinking of that afternoon’s events. Weirdly, when she got home after helping HR with their task and finally going over her report, done, there was a black bag in her bed, on top of it lied a small card without a name.

"A gift", was all that was written.

"A gift?" She was confused. After spending the afternoon around black bags like that one, it only could be a...

"Dress!", but not just a simple dress, whoever sent the dress knew her size perfectly, making it even more confusing, who would send her a dress?

Ava placed the dress on the bed and stared at it. It was a black, long open back designer dress with a very revealing v-neck.

"Was it Phoebe?", It could be. She wouldn't talk about anything else but the party and what they would be wearing during the whole week. The only issue was now getting her makeup done. That dress deserved it. Ava usually didn’t wear any makeup at all, but she had some products in some drawer inside her closet, which were mainly gifts, but that was it.

"I don't have time to lose, I’ll have to handle it as best I can" she said in to herself, looking at her watch. So, she took a shower, did her hair and faced the mirror, wondering how to do her makeup. She had no idea what to do. She tried a couple of things, but it felt alien to her. In the end, she chose to just use a bit of eyeliner and complimented it with her favorite shade of lipstick, a deep matte red called heartbreaker 

Looking at the dress once more, Ava thought "That dress will draw all the attentions from my makeup anyway".

And she was right.

Now, standing at the venue’s main entrance, between those big wide-open doors, Ava felt her legs tremble. The eyes were all on the stunning black dress which embraced her body perfectly, reveling her delicate shoulders, the long v-neck exposing her chest and well-defined curves. 

She looked amazing, and everyone in the venue agreed. There wasn't a single man who wasn’t looking at her, some with more than a hint of lust in their eyes.

"Gurl!", Phoebe made a beeline to Ava as soon as she spotted her. "I don’t think I’ve ever seen you without your glasses, and daaamn! You look so damn hot! I bet you’re feeling so good, nothing can bring you down tonight!"

Ava found those last words from Phoebe a little suspicious. She wasn’t exactly overjoyed attending this party, but that wasn’t something that could bring her down. What was Phoebe keeping from her?

"What do you mean?", Ava asked.

"Darling, that's high fashion!", someone interjected from behind them.

"Clarisse, just run off. Or we will give HR a reason to hold more meetings!" Phoebe made her point stepping close to Clarisse and thrusting her chest out.

Clarisse, offended, gave them a cold glare and kept on pretending she was the center of attention, and as told, she ran off.

"Phoebe, she could have made a scene..."

"Oh, I’m not worried about that. You know she wants to suck up tonight, I doubt she would want to make a scene. It would ruin her odds."

Phoebe laughed.

"But hey, gurl. She was right, that dress of yours is high fashion. I can't even imagine the price! You are really taking that promotion seriously."

"Am I?", Ava's tone became one of barely contained panic. Could this be a miss delivered dress? Was she wearing something meant for an executive? Now the extra tag she had in the HR meeting room made sense. One of the black bags was missing because someone might have stolen it. "I thought it was a gift from you."

"Mine? Look at my blue and adorable dress? I’m sure it didn’t cost as much as a square inch of the fabric on yours."

Ava placed her hand on Phoebe's shoulder to steady herself and closed her eyes trying to remember the names on both tags left on the table.

"One had a female name...", Ava eyes were ready to jump out of her sockets, and her heart was like racecar. "Is this a prank?"