Cinderella Body Club Boxed Set

by Conner, Jennifer

  “Oh Parker darling, there you are. I need to speak with you about this morning’s shoot.”

  Tess quickly walked off when the blonde pulled him away from her.

  Tess pressed the elevator button three times, desperate to get to her office and hide from her embarrassment. She’d been attracted to Parker since he moved his business into the building but too damn shy to even smile at him at the Starbucks in the lobby, or the occasional elevator ride together up to the tenth floor. She’d seen him every morning for the past three months, but had yet to find the nerve to strike up a conversation.

  “Hey Cami,” Tess said to her best friend when she answered her ringing phone. “Sorry, I tried to unlock the door and dig for my phone at the same time.”

  “What’s wrong Tess? You sound panicked.”

  Cami always relaxed Tess instantly. She fell into her chair behind the desk and sighed heavily. “I’m okay. Almost ran into Parker and spilled coffee on him.”

  “Tell me you spoke to him this time,” Cami inquired. Tess had told her friends about Parker Walsh since the day she laid eyes on him. Also, that she froze every time she had the chance to talk to him.

  Tess exhaled loudly into the phone. “I’m such a coward. But why would he want me, Cami?”

  “You need to calm yourself, Tess. You’ll never know if you don’t try to speak to him,” Cami tried to reassure her.

  “Yeah…yeah, I know you’re right, Cam, but if he really wanted to talk to me, he would have.” Tess twirled in her office chair. Her low self-esteem spoke. “I’m not one of those models he hangs out with all day. He’s not interested in a plain Jane.”

  “You’re not a plain Jane. If I was there beside you, I’d give you a swat,” Cami joked through a chuckle. Before Tess could argue her friend reminded her of their girls’ night, “Don’t forget those death-by-chocolate squares you promised for tonight.”

  Once a week, Tess looked forward to girls’ night that made her mood better. Without a date in months―well almost a year―at least she always had Cami, Annalise and Raven to comfort her on Thursdays. They started off meeting at a local bar but, it became too expensive so they got together at each other’s places instead. This week they’d meet at Cami’s.

  “I made them last night. They’re sitting on my counter beside my wine. I’ll see you tonight. And thanks, Cam, I love you.” Tess’s spirit picked up slightly. Her friends were magic. They always made her feel better.

  After she hung up the phone, Tess immersed herself in her work to help forget her cowardly incident in the lobby with Parker.

  She started the small employment agency on her own, but six months after she signed the lease on the office, Tess had enough business to hire an assistant. She could barely afford her, but Julie had been her savior. She’d learned the business quickly and Tess would be lost without her help.

  The lease payments had taken most of her earnings after she paid Julie, until Parker moved into the building, but since then, her business had picked up even more. Every model on the west coast wanted to work with the famous Parker Walsh. Tess successfully pitched her services to Parker’s assistant Sonja. Sonja was more than happy to promote Tess’s agency. It meant she did not have to deal with so many calls and referral checks. Tess did it all for them. The unfortunate side of this break-through of her business—the models. Being around so many beautiful women only decreased her self-esteem. She felt like a plain Jane around them. Her friends constantly told her she wasn’t. Tess hadn’t dated since her last date asked if she could set him up with one of her model clients, before they even ordered dinner. Tess left him at the restaurant.

  “Sorry to interrupt your thoughts, Tess. I wanted to say goodbye before I left.”

  Tess looked up to see Julie at her office door. She smiled.

  “Night, Julie, have a great evening.”

  “You too, Tess. Have fun with your friends.”

  The rush-hour traffic crawled along at a snail’s pace but Tess didn’t have to be at Cami’s until seven so she didn’t worry. She popped in her favorite disc of oldies she’d made and tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. Happy music helped to settle her nerves and ignore the traffic. Tess had enough time to change into her sweats. She let her hair loose from its clip.

  Thank God for girl’s night, she thought as she grabbed the squares and wine from the counter. A taxi waited for her at the curb of her apartment building. She wasn’t driving tonight. She definitely planned to drink the entire bottle of wine after her day.

  Cami grabbed the plate of squares from Tess’s hand. “Come on in. Wine glasses and the girls are waiting.”

  “Are those the ‘Death- By- Chocolate’ ones, Tess?” Cami held the plate of squares in front of Raven.

  “Of course. You know I only cook with chocolate or wine.” Tess laughed. Her friends agreed with a nod and a smile.

  “I know you whipped up something good for me, Raven. What’s the special this week?” Tess sank into one of Cami’s oversized second-hand chairs. Cami took the other one, kicked off her shoes and slipped into her favorite slippers.

  “Fresh bruschetta on crostini.” Raven handed the plate to Tess.

  Tess indulged herself by taking two. She bit into one and smiled. “This is sinful”.

  “The trick is drizzle olive oil on the baguettes before you bake them.”

  Raven started to tell Tess her secret to make them when Annalise interrupted.

  “Enough about food, let’s toast to finding true love.”

  Annalise held her glass and waited for the others to lift theirs. They all cheered except for Raven. Tess reached out and squeezed Raven’s hand. She knew her friend suffered the past year from that idiot who left her with the expense of their new apartment. Even though she’d been wearing brighter colors of late, she still seemed saddened. Annalise spoke up and quickly reminded her of what happened when she let negative thoughts in.

  “You’ll be baking for us again,” she joked.

  Raven nodded.

  Annalise made Raven bake every time she started to talk in negative terms. At least baking had been better than paying them each a quarter every time and the girls loved Raven’s cooking. Especially Tess, who believed chocolate, wine and coffee were the basic food groups.

  “Have another glass of wine and remember you are beautiful. You just need a little confidence- building.” Annalise rubbed Raven’s arm soothingly.

  “Ask that cute doctor out you always talk about Raven,” Tess added.

  “Yeah, right. I stutter with every attempt to talk to him. He thinks I’m an imbecile.” Raven laughed.

  “Imbeciles don’t win the prestigious Phlebotomist of the Year Award at your hospital,” Tess quickly reminded her friend.

  “I have a love story to tell to lift everyone’s spirit,” Cami piped up and filled their wine glasses.

  “Finally, someone who doesn’t want to talk about food. Do tell, Cami. Annalise clapped her hands.

  “I hope it has a happy ending after the day I’ve had,” Tess added with a pout.

  “Yes girls, Tess almost spilled her coffee on Parker today but still did not open her mouth and speak to him.” Cami updated the girls. Raven reached for Tess’s hand and squeezed it.

  Tess mouthed a thank you to Raven and turned to Cami. “Okay Cami, now that we’re updated with my pathetic life, let’s hear your love story.” Tess reached for another bruschetta crostini, bit into it and sank back into the comfy chair.

  “It’s not mine. I wish I had one to tell. It’s my grandma’s. You remember her?”

  “Is she the one you’re named after?” Tess asked.

  Cami nodded and held a locket up for the girls to see. “It’s made of ivory and has black onyx behind it.”

  Raven reached for the lo
cket, looked at it and passed it to Annalise.

  “It’s so pretty”. Annalise handed the locket back to Cami.

  “She told me about the young man she’d been in love with in school. When he went overseas to World War II, she wrote him anonymously. She never signed the letters and every night she wished for his safe return. Grandma Cami wished on this locket when she heard his train was bringing him home. She wished to meet him as a beautiful woman with the confidence to tell him she’d been the one to send the letters.”

  “And did it happen?” Raven sat forward. Both Raven and Tess needed a happy ending.

  “The next morning she woke and looked in the mirror at a beautiful woman; a combination of Betty Grable and Rita Hayworth. But then Grandma fell asleep.” Cami’s expression told them they’d been left hanging.

  “Seriously, you’re leaving us on the edge of our seats?” Annalise threw her hands in the air.

  “Did she tell him? Did she end up with him?” Tess hoped she’d hear a happy ending for someone tonight. She reached for the locket. It intrigued her.

  “I don’t know.” Cami shrugged. “I know I had a Grandpa, but he passed before I was born. Grandma didn’t talk about him that much.” Cami got up and grabbed another bottle of wine from the kitchen. Annalise took the bottle from Cami, “We always drink more when we talk about love.”

  “I don’t believe in magic,” Annalise announced out loud as she filled wine glasses.

  “I don’t believe in magic or fairy tales.” Tess handed the locket back to Cami. She tipped her glass to her mouth.

  “I think Cinderella had it easy. I mean, she’s stuck in this terrible place and then all of a sudden Prince Charming comes along and saves her.” Cami made air quotes with her fingers.

  “Fairy tale—but maybe it was easier back then.”

  “Really.” Tess set her glass on the table and leaned forward. Cami tilted her head and raised an eyebrow.

  “You work all day in history at the TV station, Cami. You know Cinderella’s time had no running water, no bathrooms and no penicillin.” Tess pointed her finger on the table with each word that came from her mouth, “No. Thank. You.”

  Cami laughed, “Tess you have such a flare for dramatics.”

  Tess ignored her friend’s comment. She knew she could never live without running water. Every night except for girls’ night, Tess had a date with a hot bath and a good book. Tess handed the locket back to Cami.

  “My grandma believes this locket has magic. She wanted me to have it. She wants me to see myself as she sees me. Beautiful.” Cami smiled.

  “I know that look Cami.” Tess raised an eyebrow. She knew her friend too well. “Are you seriously thinking about making a wish?”

  “What the heck, I’m going to make a wish.” She held the locket and placed her other hand above it.

  “There’s always a catch with magic. Did your Grandma mention that?” Raven asked and then added, “I’m not making a wish and have a unicorn come out of my head”.

  Tess almost snorted wine out through her nose with Raven’s comment.

  “I’m with you, Raven. I mean, yeah, it’d be nice for Prince Charming to come on a white horse and whisk me away to a happily-ever-after. But with my luck, I’d turn into the pumpkin. End of fairy tale.” Tess laughed until Cami’s eyes met hers. Tess waved her hand in the air.

  “Sorry, Cami. Carry on with the wish-making.”

  Cami’s focused on the locket.

  “Grandma mentioned a catch. The wish only lasts from midnight to midnight.”

  “Really, so that’s why you brought up Cinderella?” Tess asked.

  “What if—what if for twenty-four hours we could be beautiful and have Cinderella bodies? What would you do?” Cami asked her friends.

  “I know what I’d do with a body like that!” Annalise raised her glass and winked at them.

  “I wouldn’t need to do this.”

  Tess and the others laughed at Raven’s action of pushing her boobs upward.

  Cami shook her head. She had that look. The one that told them the wine had taken over and convinced her to go with it.

  “Why not—why not try it? We’re geeks. We spend most of our time working. We don’t shop unless it’s grabbing what we need on the way home from work. Then we hide in our homes with no one.” She looked at Tess, “Wouldn’t you prefer a hot guy in that tub with you instead of a book?”

  Tess nodded in agreement as she pictured Parker Walsh there with her.

  Cami looked around as they all nodded.

  “For once we could be those beautiful girls that have the courage to get our men. We never get lucky on a first date and those first dates seem to be very far apart. I’ll take the midnight-to-midnight with a hot guy.” Cami waved her hand over the locket and made her wish.

  “Oh great and magical genie, I wish—”

  Tess snatched the locket next. “OH what the heck.” She repeated Cami’s words and passed the locket to Annalise. It continued around the table, then Cami suggested they place our wine glasses around the locket she laid on the table and join hands. Tess and the other two hesitated at first, but they joined hands and closed their eyes.

  “We wish for one day we were that ‘perfect girl.’ The one we imagine we see in the mirror.”

  After a moment or two, Cami piped up, “Do I look any different?”

  Tess opened her eyes.

  Raven spoke first, “Nope. Told you it was BS.”

  “Maybe we did it wrong. You should ask your Grandma the next time you see her,” Tess suggested. Silently she’d hoped it would work. Dream on girl, you’re not a model and you’re not Cinderella.

  “I hope Grandma will stay awake long enough to finish the story this time. I’ll ask her what we did wrong.” Cami sighed then yawned.

  “I think we should call it a night,” Tess suggested. “All this talk about love and fairy tales exhausted me. And there’s no wine left.” She laughed as she tilted her empty glass.

  The other girls agreed, cleaned up their plates and washed their glasses. A group hug in Cami’s kitchen ended their girls’ night and Tess walked to her waiting taxi. Nope, not a carriage or a Prince Charming. At least it’s not a pumpkin. Tess snorted at her thoughts and opened the door to the taxi.

  Chapter Two

  “Already?” Tess hit the snooze button.

  She pushed her sleep mask to the top of her head and attempted to open her eyes. She felt a slight twinge of pain in her head. Argh, too much wine last night. Tess reached over to her night stand for the aspirin she remembered she forgot to take before she slipped into her coma. She couldn’t remember how many times she’d done that and paid for it in the morning. Tess popped the pills in her mouth and leaned over for the water bottle. She sat up and took a swig to swallow the pills. The annoying sound of her alarm echoed throughout her room. She pressed one hand to her forehead and with the other hit the switch.

  “Okay. Okay. Dammit I heard you the first time.” She cursed out loud and then laughed.

  She lived alone and talked to herself quite often.

  “I really should get a cat like Raven did. Then I’d have someone to talk to.” Tess rambled as she made her way to the kitchen. She could smell the coffee brewing and thanked God out loud for the creation of coffee pots with timers. She tripped over her shoes as she passed by her door. “Dammit!” She laughed as she heard her mother’s voice in her head.

  Praise and curse in the same breath, dear child, will only put you in purgatory.

  “Much better.”

  Tess closed her eyes as she enjoyed her first gulp of heaven. Interrupted by the sound of her cell phone, she opened her eyes and quickly took a second sip as she searched for the noise which didn’t help the pain she felt in her hea
d. She spotted her purse on the sofa. She probably tossed that after kicking off her shoes before she headed to bed and passed out. She saw Cami’s name on the display and hit answer by the fourth ring.

  “Hello,” Tess answered in a sluggish tone.

  “Wake up Tess!” Cami’s loud excited voice only made her head ache more.

  “I don’t want to. I feel like shit. How much wine did we drink last night?” Tess dragged out each word then took another swig of caffeine.

  Cami laughed. “Too much. I take it you haven’t yet looked in the mirror?”

  “Why? Do I sound as bad as I feel? Maybe I shouldn’t look.”

  “Humor me, Tess. Go take a look.”

  Tess walked to her hallway mirror, the one she never looked in on her way to the kitchen for her morning coffee. The last thing she usually wanted to see—herself. She’d given herself the title— Queen of Bedhead.

  “What the hell?” Tess squealed when her eyes met her reflection. She expected the Queen of Bedhead, not the beautiful blue-eyed blonde who looked back at her.

  “The pendant worked on you too?” Cami asked.

  “Totally.” Tess set her coffee cup down on the plant stand in the hallway and grabbed the top of her pajama top. She opened it enough to see her chest, and smiled at her perky boobs, “Yes!” Her cell that had been cradled between her cheek and shoulder dropped to the floor.

  “Tess,” she heard Cami’s voice call out to her and she picked up the phone.

  “I have a new profound love for my boobs.” Tess giggled with delight. She heard through Cami’s laugh that she couldn’t believe their wishes come true.

  “I’ll call Raven and Annalise to find out if it worked for them too. Let’s all meet for coffee—the usual place,” Cami suggested.

  “Okay” Tess agreed, pressed the end call button and set her cell phone beside her coffee cup. For once, she didn’t finish her morning coffee. Instead, she ran into her bedroom to have a look in her floor-length mirror. Tess twirled side to side as she admired her new body. Now maybe Parker Walsh will take notice.