by M. S. Parker
I did have some money I could spend.
While my father and I hadn’t spoken since I was sixteen, he'd kept in contact. More or less anyway. Every few months, he’d send money – sometimes it was just a hundred dollars – usually cash. At least once a year, he’d send me some ridiculous amount, a check for a few thousand dollars. Once, it had been ten thousand. That had paid for cosmetology school as well as made sure TJ had the shoes he wanted for school that year.
Whatever he sent, if I didn't have a specific need, I put it away, just in case. The genetic condition that had made my mother lose her hearing, that might have caused TJ's hearing loss, could have other physical side effects. I wanted to make sure my family would be taken care of, no matter what happened.
I didn’t just save it, though.
I was, after all, my father’s daughter and Kendrick Hedges had been teaching me how to play with money and the stock market since I was five years-old. I’d made my first trade when I was nine.
I wasn’t making millions because I wasn't investing high numbers. I was cautious in both the amount I invested and the trades I made. I wasn't trying for some get rich quick thing or anything like that. I kept most of what I made in a savings account that kept consistent interest, but I always set aside a percentage to use for investments.
How much I had and how much I could afford to spend fluctuated, but I'd been doing well these past few weeks, especially after my day trip to New York to return Jal’s ring. So I’d go shopping. It had been a long time since I'd splurged on anything for myself.
The bottom line? I could afford to buy a nice dress...even if I would probably only wear it once.
Then again, I thought, maybe that was what I needed, to find other places and opportunities I could wear a nice dress to.
As I wrapped up my shift, Tao came strolling in, right on time. We’d been planning on hitting a few places together and then grabbing some dinner. I hadn’t yet explained just why we were going shopping or just what I was looking for, and I was secretly dreading it.
He was going to smack me down to earth, and I knew it.
Maybe that was why I’d asked him along.
I needed to be smacked down to earth because I had to be fucking crazy to have agreed to do this.
“I’ll be done in just a few minutes.” Giving him a quick smile, I headed back to the employee’s lounge and stowed my tunic, swapping it out for a blouse and some nicer flats that I’d brought with me. We weren’t going to be heading into the local Dillard’s or Macy’s for what I needed. As it was, we'd both be lucky not to get kicked out for not looking the part.
When I came out, before I could say anything to Tao, Alistair came rushing over. “Allie, there’s a man out front waiting for you. He says that Mr. Lindstrom sent him?”
My face went hot.
“What?”
Tao gave me a quick, surprised look.
The memory came back fast.
Jal’s laugh. The way he smiled. Then his casual offer...I’ll handle your wardrobe. I can have a car to pick you up Thursday from your work.
My face flushed even hotter. I’d told him I could handle buying my own dress. Apparently, he hadn’t gotten the message.
“I’ll handle it, Alistair. Tao, come on.”
Hitching my purse up onto my shoulder, I headed outside.
Tao, ever curious, stayed close at my side, and at the sight of the car and driver, he gave a low, appreciative whistle. It could have been because of the car or the driver. Probably both. I would never hear the end of this, no matter how it played out.
“Damn, Allie. You’re moving up in the world. That's a Bentley.”
I could have jabbed him with a sharp stick just then – or smacked him on the head with one. I knew what kind of car it was.
Ignoring him, I focused on the man in the slick uniform. He approached me and gave me a polite nod. “Would you be Allie Dodds?”
“I would.” I reached up, casually wrapping my fingers around the strap of my purse so I wouldn’t fidget. “And you are?”
“Thomas, Miss Dodds. Mr. Lindstrom sent me. I’m to take you to Boyds. We’re going to find you a dress to the charity function this weekend.” He gave Tao a nod, so polite, so friendly. Sometimes, a client would come in with their assistants or drivers, and butter wouldn’t melt in their mouths, but this guy was as friendly as he could be. Well, professionally speaking.
“You’re here because Mr. Lindstrom sent you,” I said slowly, ignoring the last part of his sentence.
“Yes.” He checked the sharp timepiece on his wrist. “I believe we had an appointment for when you finished working for the day. Are you finished for the day?”
“No. I mean, I am finished, but no…we didn’t have an appointment.” Frowning, I stared at the car.
“What’s going on, Al?” Tao asked, resting his chin on my shoulder as he smiled at the guy.
“Nothing, Tao.” I nudged him back, but it didn’t do much good. He just moved in closer and slung an arm around my neck.
“Mr. Lindstrom, huh? Come on, Allie. You shouldn’t keep him waiting.”
“Quite.” Thomas gave Tao another polite nod and gestured to the car. “Miss, if you would…?”
“No.” Jabbing Tao in the stomach, I sidestepped. “Look…um, Thomas. I told Jal – Mr. Lindstrom – that I’d take care of this.”
Now the guy really looked confused. Just as Tao opened his mouth again, I caught his arm. “Be quiet.” His incessant questions and the driver’s persistent patience were threatening to do me in. Giving the man a bright smile, I held up my index finger. “Can you just give us one minute?”
Without waiting for an answer, I dragged Tao a few feet away.
“Would you stop? You’re driving me nuts, and I have to think.” Hands on my hips, I glared at him.
“You want to tell me what’s going on?” The playfulness fell from his voice, and he stared past me toward the man in the suit, standing by the car, almost at attention with his shoulder back and straight, feet together. “What’s up? Is this something about your dad?”
“No.” I glared at him. He knew my backstory, was the only person besides my mother who knew it all. I didn't even know if Tyson knew as much as Tao. But we didn't talk about it.
“Then what’s up?” He crossed his arms over his chest and stared me down.
Realizing that he wasn’t going to back off until I explained, I gave him a hurried rundown of what happened and threatened his life if he said anything about my connection to Paisley. My stomach clenched when he slid a look back to the Bentley, then let his eyes linger on Thomas, who did a damn good impersonation of a statue.
“Honey, you know this is a bad idea, right?”
“It’s about the charity,” I said, brushing the idea that it could be anything else aside.
“I can believe that it is...in a way.” Tao rested a hand on my shoulder, making it clear that he could already see how much bullshit was in that simple statement. “It’s a great charity. They do a lot of good things at the college too. But it’s not just about that. Is it?”
I started to deny it, and then after a second just gave up. “No. It’s not. I just want…”
Tao pulled me in for a quick hug. “I know what it’s about. It’s me, remember honey?”
“I know.” Sniffling a little, I hugged him back, then eased away.
“You’re going to do this no matter what, aren’t you?”
With my head tucked against his chest, I nodded.
I was screwed either way.
“No,” I said again as Thomas gave me a pleading look.
True to his word, Thomas had taken me to the sort of place that threw girls like me out on their ass before they got two feet inside. Paisley would've felt right at home here, I was sure, which was yet another reason why I didn't. She and I had never moved in the same circles, and all this was doing was reminding me of how different we were.
As usual, Tao played peacemaker. “Look, I know you want
to make sure Cinderella looks beautiful for the ball…” He winked at me before looking back over at Thomas. “But she can still be beautiful – and fit in – without shopping in a place like this.”
“Mr. Lindstrom– ” Thomas protested.
“Isn’t the one wearing the damn dress,” I interrupted.
“Allie…” Tao gave me a shut-up and let me handle this look. “Thomas, I'm sure your boss wants Allie to be as comfortable as possible, even when shopping for a dress, am I right?”
Thomas was on the fence, I could tell.
Tao pushed him over, leaning in with a conspiratorial wink. “I know just the place. Do you by chance know that song…” He hummed a few notes of a catchy new pop tune and then sang a few lines.
“Know the song?” Thomas rolled his eyes while I tried to figure out where Tao was going with this. “My seven-year-old sings it morning, noon and night.”
“Oh, man.” Tao shook his head. “Not my style, but I gotta tell you, that platinum blonde princess is a fashion queen…and I know her designer.”
My jaw dropped as I swung my head around and gaped at him. He'd never mentioned anything of the sort to me. Though I supposed I shouldn't have been surprised. Tao was never one to name drop just for the hell of it.
Thomas looked intrigued.
“Yep.” Tao buffed his nails on his shirt. “It’s a friend of mine. Tarja. She designed the girl’s last two dresses and after last night’s award show, she’s booked up for the next eighteen months, and looking to move to the Fashion District in New York. But she’s still here in Philly right now, and I know she won’t mind if we come in and take a look around her shop.” Tao gave us both a pleased smile. “A design from Tarja will be every bit as good as anything you’d find in Boyds, darling.”
Back in the car, I did a search on her name, and Tao, as always, was right. Tarja looked like she was on her way to fashion stardom.
Tao was busy too, texting back and forth, staring at my feet, my hair, my boobs critically.
What?” I asked, irritated after he'd leaned over to give my chest another intense stare. “You’ve had your hands on them a thousand times.”
“Well, yeah.” He gave me a patented Tao grin, his sapphire blue eyes sparkling. “But I wasn't exactly focusing on size before.”
I supposed that was a good thing.
“Perve.” Rolling my eyes, I went back to studying some of the dresses I’d been scrolling through. The country diva turned pop princess wasn’t the only one who’d been wearing Tarja’s designs. Two movie stars were now claiming they’d only wear her. That wouldn’t last, I knew, but it was still high praise. Several socialites from New York, the governor’s daughter. Tarja had quite the following already.
This might work...if she didn’t charge me ten grand for a dress.
It took a little while to get there, and I had to admit, I was more than a little thrown by the building we stopped in front of.
“It’s a train.”
“Train car,” Tao clarified. He’d already climbed out of the car and was waving at somebody who’d opened the door.
“Her store is a train car,” I said as I got out of the car.
“Nah. Tarja doesn’t haven’t a store. She sells by word of mouth. Has for a while. People are going to be begging for her designs for years to come. I knew they would.”
He grinned and held out his hands for the heavyset woman who approached, her hair slicked up into a rather fascinating beehive and her wide, deeply kohled eyes studying me the same way a scientist might examine a test slide.
“So you’re Allie,” Tarja said, pursing her lips as she circled around me.
“Yes…” I fought the urge to cover my breasts as she stopped dead in front of me, staring at my rack.
“I can work with this.” She gave Tao a decisive nod. “You two boys wait out here.”
“But…” I shot Tao a terrified look.
She caught my hand and began to walk. And since I was attached to that hand and she was insanely strong, I had to walk too.
“Sorry, sweets,” she said. “I don’t work with audiences.”
Less than ten minutes later, I stood in front of Tarja wearing nothing but my underwear, trying to figure out what exactly just happened.
“Smart girl, you wore a strapless.” She circled around me again, then stopped in front of me. She cupped my face and turned my chin from one side to the other. “What’s the event?”
I had to rack my brains for a minute even though I knew I was familiar with it. Tarja seemed nice enough, but she was intimidating as hell. “It’s a fundraiser thing for TomorrowU.”
She grunted an approval. “Not a bad one, I guess. Better than some of the bullshit political stuff and most of the other philanthropy events where people just go to see and be seen.” She walked over to a rack that held several pieces and began going through them.
Her little train car was an explosion of color, fabric and sparkles. I felt like I’d fallen into a rainbow. If I hadn't been so nervous, I would've enjoyed it. I wasn't an artistic person, but I definitely appreciated the beauty of things like this.
“Who you going with?” She asked as she pulled a dress of soft, misty gray green down from the rack and gave it a critical once-over before coming back to me.
I was so caught up at staring at the fabric and the way it shifted from a silvery, shimmery gray to misty green that I forgot to answer, and Tarja prodded me.
“Well? Is it a secret? I love secrets, Allie. I’ll find out.” She gave me a smile so much like one of Tao's that I felt myself start to relax.
“Um, no. It’s not. Sorry…” I gave her a rueful grin. “The dress. I’ve got a weakness for pretty things, and I don’t have many of them.”
“There’s not enough pretty things in life, I’ll tell you.” She held the dress up to me. “It’s good with your skin – almost anything will be, really. Great for your body type too. So, your date?”
“It’s not a date. He’s going to introduce me to some people who donate. My brother goes to one of the schools that TomorrowU helps out a lot.” I shrugged and couldn’t resist stroking a hand down the dress. “His name is Jal Lindstrom.”
“Lindstrom?” Slowly, Tarja looked up. “You’re going with Jal Lindstrom? Well, shit. This dress won’t work.”
“Why not?” I fought the urge to snatch it away from her as she marched back over and put it on the rack.
“You said this wasn’t a date, right?” She shot me a narrow look.
“No. He’s engaged.”
With a grunt, she started going through the few dresses on the rack before moving to another. A couple of the incredibly beautiful pieces ended up on the floor. Any of them looked fine to me, but I was going to leave it up to the expert. Besides, I had a feeling that questioning her wouldn't be the best idea.
“No, no, no…hell, no…” Finally, she turned back to me, hands on her hips. “I originally designed that for Miss High and Mighty Paisley based on measurements she gave me over the phone. Refused to come in for a sitting and when I told her I needed to see it on her to make any necessary alterations, she demanded I come to her. Then she tries it on and accuses me of making it too big across the chest, like I was the one who gave the wrong bust size. Girl didn't want to hear that she didn't have enough up top to fill it out right. Tried to make me refund her deposit but I reminded her that deposits are generally non-refundable. She sniffed her pretty little nose and said she’d never darken my doorstep again. Good riddance. But now she’s calling me again…anyway.” Tarja waved a hand. “I’m not putting you in one of her cast-offs. You, my dear, deserve something…better.”
My heart fluttered a bit at that.
I couldn’t explain why and I ended up lowering my head to hide the fact that I was suddenly fighting a rush of tears.
I hadn’t even been allowed Paisley's or Mallory’s cast-offs as a kid. My father hadn't wanted to risk anyone thinking he'd been paying too much attention to the help.<
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“Gimme a minute…” Tarja paced a few steps, forehead furrowed in concentration. “Oh, oh…I love it…”
She blew past me, and I wrapped my arms around my middle, watching her as she darted into a small area that had been sectioned off. “These are my babies. I made this one for a show, and then they went and changed the theme.” The dry humor in her voice made it clear she hadn’t been happy. “Paisley actually wanted it instead of the silver-gray, but no way would I give her this beauty. To make a living, sometimes I gotta sell to people I don't like, but nobody gets to wear these unless they're special.”
She stepped out from behind the curtain, her arms full of something that shimmered in blue-green.
“And you, my dear, are the right kind of special for this. Let's get it on you and see if it looks as good as I think it will.”
I was still staring at myself in the mirror when Tarja went to the door and called Tao in for his opinion.
He stumbled as he stepped inside, clutching at his chest. “Allie…you…I…I can’t take the radiance.”
“You’re such an idiot,” I said, grinning at him as I turned to stare at the back of the dress.
It swept low, revealing my back. It wasn’t the typical floor length evening gown, and the high-low hem made my legs look endless, which was quite the accomplishment considering I was barely five-two. It ended a few inches below my knees in front before sweeping out into a train of sorts at the back.
“All you need now are the shoes, babe,” Tao said after a critical study.
“I know just the pair.” Tarja pulled out her phone and after a few seconds, showed me.
The price made my eyes go wide. “I can’t spend that on shoes.”
Hell, that was more than most of my shoes had cost all combined. Plus, she’d already told me what she was charging for the dress, and while it was a little over my budget, I knew she was practically giving it away. Besides, I had less problem giving my support to a local independent designer than some high-end store. But the shoes?
“Let your prince buy them,” Tao suggested.
Tarja swept around us, pretending not to hear as she adjusted this or tugged that. I argued with him and let her turn me this way and that. But just as I was about to tell Tao to shut up, she caught my chin.
