I had never been called kitten before, but it definitely made something awaken deep inside of me. I smirked and waved the little packet in his face. I knew I wanted this, even if it was just for the night...
April Harding just graduated from Busines...
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"Jesus, April. You look like you could kill a man without breaking a nail in that dress."
I spun on my heel to face my best friend, who was taking photos of me from all angles. I rolled my eyes and returned to the mirror.
"What does that even mean?" I mused, straightening out the silky white fabric along my hips.
Eve laughed and got on her knees to take more photos.
"It means you look amazing!"
I sighed and pulled at the slinky fabric. The dress was white, tight and had diamante chains running across bare skin along my shoulders, adding detail to the back. It was a gorgeous dress and I did feel pretty in it, but no matter what, I couldn't force myself to smile.
"What's the matter, hon?" Eve asked gently, putting her phone away into her little pink shoulder bag.
"I just can't get excited. I can't believe I was rejected from yet another company this morning. I thought New York was the concrete jungle where dreams are made of..."
"Oh, I love that song!"
"Stay focused, Eve." I laughed, turning to face my best friend.
Eve threw back her long blonde plait and smiled her usual dazzling smile that had always made men fall at her feet. We had just graduated from Business school together and with some amazing qualifications behind us, yet we found ourselves renting a shitty little apartment just outside of New York.
"April, you'll catch a break soon. You're smart, you're funny, you're drop dead gorgeous and you have so much to offer. I'll never shop at Cloud 9 again; those people are idiots for not taking you on."
I sighed and faced the mirror again, reliving the embarrassment of being turned down from an admin role this morning. The interview had gone well, but I was told shortly after that someone else had more of what they were looking for and the door was slammed in my face. Another day, another interview.
"I don't know. This dress is two hundred and fifty dollars and I'm not employed at the moment. I just can't spend that much on a dress!"
My comment caught the attention of the snooty sales assistant who raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow in my direction. She started walking towards me, her neat bun bobbing as she strutted. I grimaced. I knew what she was thinking. She knew I wasn't going to buy the dress and that Eve and I weren't serious about anything in the little boutique.
"Can I help you two lovely ladies today?" She said through a fake smile, flashing pearly white teeth and ruby lips.
"We're just looking, thanks." Eve said confidently.
"Ah, you're looking at our Cassandra dress. It's quite something, isn't it? It has real Swarovski crystals on the straps making it one of our more expensive pieces here at Bella Boutique..."
I turned to face the assistant who was looking me up and down with an unreadable expression. I knew I wasn't a model, but hell, I thought I filled the dress out pretty well with my soft curves and long legs.
"Are you going anywhere exciting tonight?" She asked, still not taking her eyes off my figure.
"Yeah, we're going to an exclusive party at The Black Cherry tonight to celebrate a new fashion launch for Stone Edge." Eve quipped, standing tall and proud with her hands on her hips.
"Is that so?" The woman muttered as if she was in disbelief.
"My brother is a runway model for one of the most recent shows. He invited us to the party."
I scowled to myself. Why was I even entertaining this woman? She didn't need to know any of this and here I was spilling my guts trying to impress her.
"Well, that sounds ever so interesting. I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time."
Eve folded her arms across her chest and raised her eyebrows, unimpressed with her dripping sarcasm.
"Have you got something to say, lady?"
"W-What?" The assistant stammered, looking a little flustered.
"The way you're looking at my friend and I... It makes me think you don't believe us."
"I didn't say that-"
"Good. Now leave us to shop. We have a few more options we'd like to try on."
"Look. I'm a busy woman. That is an expensive dress and I don't want you two little girls wasting my time. I know your type. You come in here, try on my dresses for yourridiculous Instagram posts and leave everything in a mess!"
"So, you think we're not serious buyers then?" I said angrily, irritated that my day was going from bad to worse.
"Well, I heard you saying you were unemployed. You can't be that well educated if you think buying a $250 dress for some party is a good investment when you have no steady income."
"Lady, that is none of your damn business." I snarled.
A faint tinkle caught my attention as I turned to face the door while stood on the plush podium. A man walked in and was watching the whole situation unfold. I dragged my eyes from his well-polished shoes to his slick suit and found myself unable to breathe properly. Eve and the assistant both caught my gaze and turned to face the man who was now leaning casually against the wall.
"What seems to be the problem, Stella?" The man mused as he looked at his nails.
The assistant coughed and straightened down her smart uniform before tucking a stray blonde hair behind her ears. Was she... Was she blushing?
"Oh! Mr Stone! Absolutely not, Sir. I was just seeing to these two young women."
"Is that so? Why could I hear yelling when I entered the store then, hm?"
The man gazed at me, dragging his striking green eyes up from my feet to my bust then onto my face. We locked eyes and I faltered for a moment, wishing I had something to support me. He was breath-taking. Tall and broad with large hands and a neat beard. My heart skipped a beat for a moment before I broke the eye contact.
"Are you the manager around here?" Eve asked, turning to face the handsome stranger. My eyes widened at her boldness. She had never been one to be bothered or phased by anyone or anything.
"Something like that, why?" He said nonchalantly, never taking his eyes off of me.
"Well, you should train your staff to be more professional. This woman came over here and is making us feel uncomfortable. We have a pretty exclusive party to go to tonight and we thought we'd come here and treat ourselves."
I faced Eve with wide eyes as the assistant spluttered and tried to find something to say.
"W-Well, Sir.... They were taking photos and they said they couldn't afford the dress. I just didn't want to-"
"That's none of your business, Stella. All customers in this shop are to be treated with the same respect you give me. Is that clear?"
Stella fell silent. Her expression was like a deer in headlights and her cheeks were tickled pink. I looked at the man again and sucked in a ragged breath. I didn't want to get anyone in trouble, even if this Stella woman had been a total bitch....
"I'm sorry, boss. It won't happen again, I assure you."
"Ring these girls up. Let them have whatever dress they want. It's on me."
Before I could protest, the man turned on his heel and left the store leaving us all speechless and a little bit stunned.
