by Collins, Lea
Fortunately Andre arrived and she explained her problem. He asked the men to remove all the extra furniture and bring up some long folding tables he had in the basement. Lily was delighted to have that done so all she had to do was organize.
“Isn’t there anything to drink around here?” Andre rummaged around in the kitchen and came out with two glasses of white wine. “A toast to your settling in your new apartment and new life,” he said as he handed her a glass of wine.
“Andre,” said Lily, shaking her head. “I don’t drink.”
“Lily, remember the person who was tired of her dull life and ready to try new things? Well, one thing you need to do is learn to drink a glass of white wine. When we go out, you can nurse one drink for the entire night but that’s one of the many things you need to learn to do.”
Lily sipped her wine and found that it wasn’t so bad. “I guess it grows on you,” she said smiling at Andre. “I’m not a drinker either,” he replied, “so we’ll get along quite well.”
They were sitting on the sofa drinking their wine when Andre pulled a notebook and pen from his pocket. “I’ve made a list of things that need to be done tomorrow. There is a big charity event tomorrow night and everyone will be there. Do you want to get started tomorrow night?”
“Oh, yes. This is going to be so exciting,” she replied enthusiastically.
“Then tomorrow will be a busy day for you. First you need to see the lawyer. I made an appointment for you. Then get that nailed down with Jacqueline before leaving any more dresses. A signed contract is important, Lily. I trust Jacqueline but she is a businesswoman and you are an innocent in the world of business.”
“You will need to come in to my salon in the early afternoon so I can work my magic on you. You will walk out a stunningly beautiful woman. I have ordered a makeup table with suitable lighting for you since the previous tenant didn’t have one. That will be an essential item for you. You will need transportation so just call down to Louis and he will have the car waiting for you.”
Hmmm” Andre looked at Lily who was sitting wide-eyed and speechless. “I can’t think of anything else. Have you decided which dress you will wear?”
“Yes. Since the idea is for us to be noticed, I thought I’d wear a gold sexy one. It’s slit up to the thigh and is practically backless. It will definitely be a standout. Sound okay?” asked Lily.
Andre stood up and smiled. “Sounds perfect. Don’t be nervous. I’ll be at your side and mostly you just have to smile and look beautiful. It’ll be a piece of cake. Sleep well as tomorrow will be a long day.” He kissed her on the cheek as she replied, “good night.”
The next day did turn out to be a busy one. She went to the lawyer’s office and left with a contract. Next she went to see Jacqueline and surprised her with a written contract. Apparently Jacqueline thought they had a verbal agreement and was surprised to be presented with a written contract so soon. “You surprise me, Lily; I didn’t expect you to have a contract so quickly. It is a good idea, of course, and protects both of us.” They both signed it and Lily realized she never would have done anything about it if Andre hadn’t mentioned it.
“Oh, Lily, I almost forgot to tell you something important. You remember all the interest in your dress you left here yesterday? I put a high price on it not really expecting to sell it and I was shocked that one of the women bought it. I have a check for you for your first dress sale.” Lily’s eyes widened when she saw the amount of the check. It was more than she made in two months working as a librarian.
“We need to hold a fashion show to introduce your Lily Collection. I’ve planned it for two weeks from now. You will be modeling one of your dresses and other customers will participate as well. All of the clothing will be available in my store so I expect it will bring in lots of customers.” Jacqueline was marking items off a list as she mentioned them and Lily could see that the last item was need more Lily dresses.
Next she entered Andre’s salon to find a beehive of organized activity. Plush carpet formed a waiting area with comfortable couches and magazines available. The receptionist recognized her name and said Andre had told her to call him when she arrived. Soon he came out to greet her with the comment, “come with me, Lily. I have been looking forward all day to your transformation into a gorgeous knockout. Let’s get started.”
Lily discovered that being transformed into a gorgeous knockout took several exhausting hours. Andre wouldn’t let her see the results until hair and makeup were completed. When he finally let her see herself, she was at a loss for words. “That can’t be me!” she exclaimed. The other hairdressers had been extremely interested in Lily’s makeover and laughed at her disbelief. She did indeed look different. Her hair was several shades of blond, light brown, and pale blond. Her large green eyes sparkled with the addition of subtle makeup. “Clarissa showed you how to apply makeup yourself and gave you a bag of makeup to use from now on. I will do your hair when we go out – starting tonight.”
Other people in the salon had been observing the transformation and quite a deluge of compliments resulted. Lily blushed with pleasure. “I can’t believe that’s me. You’ve worked a miracle Andre.” He replied, “No Lily. I just made the most of your considerable assets. You are now truly a beautiful woman.”
He smiled as he teased her, “Would you consider going out with me tonight?” Lily laughed since they both knew they were attending the charity ball that evening. There were many raised eyebrows among the staff as they heard that exchange. When Lily went to the cashier, Andre followed, “no charge, Lily. It was truly my pleasure and I will be paid in full tonight with the shock you will bring to Miami society. I’ll see you later to do your hair style for tonight.” Lily felt like she was walking on a cloud as she entered the waiting car.
When Lily got back to her apartment, she immediately looked in the nearest mirror to admire her new look. This is totally unbelievable, she thought. I never thought I could look like this. It will definitely take some getting used to.
Lily soaked in the bath a long time taking care to pin up her long hair so it wouldn’t get wet. When she got out, she felt relaxed and ready to tackle the most exciting night of her life. She put on the gold dress that she never thought she’d actually wear. It fit like a glove and she felt very sexy and a bit strange as she never wore such revealing clothes.
There was a knock at the door and when she opened it, there stood Andre looking very handsome in his evening attire. He actually stared at her a few moments and then whistled. “Wow!” he exclaimed. “You’ll be a sensation,” He chuckled. “First I never have a date, and then I show up with you. What a sensation we’ll create. I’ll have to fight to keep the men away from you.”
“Since your back is bare, I’ve changed my mind about your hairstyle.” He pulled her long hair up, added a diamond clasp, then one curl over her shoulder. Long diamond earrings looked perfect. “I borrowed the jewelry from a friend of mine, Molly Sanderson, who lives directly below you. She wants to meet you and is eager to see your dress I raved over. Do you mind if we stop there on the way down?”
“No. I’d like to have a female friend. I’m not comfortable borrowing such valuable diamonds, though.”
“Wealthy women don’t wear their expensive jewelry, Lily. They keep it in their safe and wear replicas. You will see a lot of diamonds and other jewels tonight but most will be replicas. You aren’t wearing real diamonds but you can’t tell the difference,” explained Andre.
Andre knocked on apartment 23A which was immediately opened by a petite attractive woman with curly dark hair. Andre said “Lily this is Molly, my good friend, and who I hope will be yours, too. Molly, this is Lily.”
“Lily, I am so glad to meet you. Please turn around I want to see all of this beautiful dress you made. You really are talented as Andre said. That dress is absolutely gorgeous and, I might add, sexy as hell. I’m really annoyed with you, Andre. Here you have a gorgeous date and everybody will be agog with curi
osity and I won’t even be there to enjoy it,” moaned Molly. “For sure I would have gone if I’d known it would be so interesting.”
Lily said, “Molly, we’ll get together tomorrow and have a good gossip and I’ll tell you all about it. Men always leave out the most interesting details, anyway. Of course, I don’t know anybody but I’ll do my best.”
“I’ll look forward to it, Lily. You know, you need more jewelry – a bracelet, I think.”
“No time, Molly,” said Andre. “We need to go. Bye for now.”
Once in their car, Lily sat still stiffly staring straight ahead. She had never been so nervous in her entire life. I am totally out of my element, she thought. “Are you nervous, Lily?” asked Andre. “Oh, yes, Andre. I’m very nervous. I’ve never been to an event like this and particularly dressed to draw attention to me. Suppose I say the wrong thing or do something stupid,” Lily replied.
“Lily, you are not going to do either of those things. There are a few rules I think you should follow. We will create a lot of attention. I’ll try to stay close to you but you have to learn to take care of yourself around people. Be mysterious. You’ll be asked a lot of nosy questions. Don’t give any information, just smile. I will probably know a lot of the people there but I haven’t been out socially in quite a while. A lot of people I won’t know so smile and don’t give any specific answers to nosy questions. Answer a question with a question.
You’re bright. You’ll catch on. I long ago decided small talk is an art where you talk but don’t say anything. You may be asked about that sexy dress you’re wearing. Jacqueline may be here to see how things go. Remember we are supposed to be an item so we need to be affectionate toward each other and pretend we are in love.”
“I don’t understand why we have to pretend to be an item. Why can’t we just go as friends?”
Andre hesitated. “I will admit it makes things easier for me. The way you look, men are going to be all over you and if they think you’re taken, they won’t hit on you as much. Plus I can say that you’re with me and give them the evil eye. I am assuming you don’t want to be hit on?”
“Definitely. I have enough to deal with just learning how to conduct myself in this situation. I don’t need men hitting on me. I’ll just smile and let you handle it. How do I act if we’re an item? I’ve never been part of an item before.”
Andre laughed. “Lily, you are priceless. Okay, we’ll hold hands and I may put my arm around you. You look at me like you could eat me up. You know,” patiently explained Andre. Lily looked at him and sighed, then batted her eyes. “You make it all sound so simple,” said Lily. “I don’t dance very well, either.”
“It will be simple. Take a deep breath. We’re here,” warned Andre.
He took her hand and walked into a huge ballroom. “Why, hello, Andre,” greeted the door monitor. He noticed Andre holding Lily’s hand. “And date?” he asked in surprise. At Andre’s nod, he handed him two tickets. In return Andre handed him a check already made out to the charity.
Andre smiled at Lily as they looked at the crowd of faces staring at them. “They’re all wondering who in the world you are,” murmured Andre. He smiled at her and led her down the steps into the crowd.
It seemed to Lily that she was introduced to hundreds of people. She had never attracted so much attention in her life and knew she could remember very few people’s names. Andre finally said, “Lily, my love, I forgot to get us a drink. Come along and let’s go to the bar.” The line at the bar opened as if by magic and she whispered to Andre, “like royalty.” She stood by Andre and sipped her white wine. She paid more attention to the women’s dresses than their faces. She recognized many designer dresses but did not see anything that surpassed her own creation.
Suddenly Jacqueline appeared out of the crowd and said with a smile, “Well, you have certainly caused a sensation. Everyone is wondering who the stunning blond in the gold dress is and surprised that Andre is present. I took the liberty of saying that the dress is part of the Lily Collection that I will be selling. I hope you don’t mind, Lily.”
“Not at all,” Lily replied. “A few women have complimented me on the dress but nobody has gotten up the nerve to ask where I got it.”
“You need to get more dresses to me for sale, Lily. That first one sold so promptly, they may go quickly. We hope so, anyway. Do you have more on hand?”
Lily replied, “Actually, I do. I’ll bring in more tomorrow.”
Jacqueline asked, “Have you visited the buffet yet? I’m ready for food. We can share a table.”
All agreed and were soon seated at one of the small tables placed around the room. There was a steady stream of people stopping by their table to greet Jacqueline and be introduced to Lily and Andre. They were amused at the men who flirted with Lily and plenty of women were extra friendly to Andre. He said softly to Lily, “we need to make it clear we’re a couple.”
“How about I sit in your lap and you feed me? Or I could sit in your lap and nibble on your ear and squirm around?”
Andre looked shocked for a moment then burst out laughing. “Lily, I love your unusual sense of humor. I’ll take care of making us look like a couple, all right?”
They had been so preoccupied with each other that they had forgotten Jacqueline who was observing them with amusement. They became aware that a tall man with slightly graying hair was standing at their table. Jacqueline introduced him as her friend, Leland Montgomery. They invited him to sit with them and he kept them entertained with stories of his recent trip to India. He described himself as a businessman who had to do a lot of traveling but his home was in Miami and he always enjoyed returning home for a while. He was beginning to tire of traveling and might sometime in the future conduct his business from home. When he stood up to leave, he asked Lily, “May I have your telephone number, Lily? I would like to take you out to dinner when you’re free.”
Surprised, Lily look at Andre who answered for her. “Sorry, Leland, Lily is not available.”
“Perhaps she could answer for herself.”
“I’m sorry, Leland. At present I am not available.”
Looking disappointed, Leland excused himself and left the table. Jacqueline’s eyes were twinkling as she said, “Many women would give anything to have Leland ask them to go out. He is one of Miami’s most eligible bachelors and very rich. You two seem to have hit it off rather well since I just learned that Lily is no longer available.”
Andre explained, “We agreed to pretend to be a couple.”
Jacqueline looked amused and said, “I see. Well, you’re doing a good job of pretending.”
The orchestra had been playing for some time and Andre asked Lily if she would like to dance. Lily looked panicked as she confessed she couldn’t dance very well. “This is a slow one so just hold onto me and I’ll lead you,” replied Andre. Lily found that she liked holding onto Andre and being held by him. Then she remembered that they are just pretending. You’ve got to remember that, she said to herself. You’re just friends.
Andre suggested they walk out to the balcony. Lily made it a point to smile at everyone as they passed tables of women who eyed her dress with men who eyed her. When they reached the balcony, many couples were enjoying the warm balmy night. A couple walked up to them and the man exclaimed, “Andre is that really you? I couldn’t believe my eyes.”
“Chris, it’s good to see you. It’s been quite a while.” The men shook hands and Chris introduced his wife, Becky, a pretty blond. Andre introduced Lily and Becky complimented Lily on her unusual dress. Lily explained about her dress line available at Jacqueline’s. “I don’t wear anything that sexy. Do you make other styles?” Becky inquired.
“Yes, there are many styles. In fact, if you leave word with Jacqueline, I can make up a special order for you.”
“Your birthday is coming up. Maybe an original dress would appeal to you,” suggested Chris. Becky excitedly nodded.
“So you are a dress designer,” co
mmented a voice behind Lily.
She turned and found Leland Montgomery leaning against the balcony rail smoking a cigarette. “Yes. Actually the purpose of attending this function is to show off my dress hoping women will be interested in purchasing a Lily Collection dress.”
“The problem with that, my dear, is that most of these women would look ridiculous in that dress. It requires a beautiful woman with a shape like yours to wear that creation.” Leland was a very attractive man with an air of sophistication she was not used to. His eyes were a warm brown which clearly showed his interest in her. “I hope in the future you will not be unavailable,” he said softly to Lily.
“Jacqueline is a friend,” she replied softly.
Andre broke into their conversation as he reminded Lily that Chris and Becky were leaving. After saying their goodbyes, he took her arm and led her back into the ballroom. He was obviously annoyed and Jacqueline looked at Lily with raised eyebrows.
“Leland Montgomery said to me when we were on the balcony that most of the women here would look ridiculous in a dress like this, that it’s for young women with good figures. He made a good point, don’t you think?”
Jacqueline looked at Lily for a moment with interest. “Actually he does have a good point. The size and sexy design of the dress limits the customer base. Let’s give this some thought.”
Finally Andre asked with annoyance, “Why were you talking to Leland Montgomery?”
‘He said something to me. Would you expect me to ignore him?”
Andre did not respond. Jacqueline announced, “I am going home. I have a work day tomorrow.” She left and Andre suggested to Lily that they leave, also.
They sat back in the leather seats and sighed in comfort. Lily expected Andre to continue to be annoyed but he surprised her. “You did a great job tonight handling a new experience. Next time you won’t be nervous. I suggest we skip tomorrow night and we’ll discuss where we want to go next.”
