Marley’s jaw nearly dropped to the counter. She checked her watch. That was in twenty minutes. “Why?”
Erin was Reid’s personal shopper. She worked by appointment only in her gorgeousprivateoffice. There had been rumors in the store for months that Erin was pushing to expand her department and hire a second personal shopper to work with her. Marley would give her left arm for that job, just like every other consultant in the store.
Well, actually, Marley probably shouldn’t be eventhinkingabout removingmorehealthy body parts.
“Apparently, Her Excellency needs you to consult with a client,” Ruby said.
Erin was notoriously protective of her customers and never allowed anyone to assist her, other than the personal shopping assistant. And Erin was extremely difficult to get close to—she didn’t socialize with the rest of the staff. Marley had been trying to cultivate a friendship with her, but she wasn’t getting anywhere. She wasn’t even aware that Erin knew her name.
But maybe Jacqueline, the store’s general manager and Marley’s boss, finally agreed to hire a new personal shopper, and Erin was testing out the top consultants. Marley nearly shook with the excitement of that prospect. Moving to personal shopping would mean her own office and her own dedicated assistant. She could be selective with her clients. No more hockey wives whipping undergarments at her. No more staff waiting for Marley to lower her guard so they could steal her customers. No more gossip. After Marley had had the absolute crappiest of years, it was high time something went well for her.
Marley knocked on the door of the personal shopping suite at five sharp. Erin’s assistant, Ernesto, wearing a perfectly tailoredThom Browne suit along with his normal bored expression, let her in. As the city’s premier luxury department store, Reid’s was expertly designed, but the personal shopping suite was the flagship. No expense had been spared in the fixtures and decor. Gleaming white walls with colorful designer chairs and the softest white leather couch imaginable. And a pink feature wall that made everyone’s skin glow.
Erin stood to kiss Marley on each cheek. “You’re here. Wonderful. You look radiant as always. Utterly flawless.”
Marley smiled. Erin herself was the flawless one. Wearing black wide-legged pants and a frilly, puffy white blouse, Erin somehow looked both luxurious and effortless. With Erin, the devil was in her details. The silver charm bracelet. The oversized vintage brooch. The immaculate platinum-blond hair with nary a millimeter of dark roots showing. Marley knew not to get too excited by this warm greeting, though. Erin treated everyone exactly the same—with polite praise. “Come. Meet Lydia Chambers.” She indicated a small woman sitting on one of the designer chairs. The client in question, Marley assumed.
Lydia stood, eyes narrowed, shrewdly sizing Marley up. She was white, with smooth pale skin and wavy brown hair reaching her shoulders. She could have been anywhere between twenty-five and forty-five, but Marley assumed midthirties, and she was dressed in slim ankle jeans paired with an army-green T-shirt and a black blazer with the sleeves pushed up. And she had her phone clipped to her belt with a hideous leather harness.
Marley put on her client smile and held out her hand. “Marley Kamal. Are you looking for something for an event, or a new wardrobe?” This client would be easy enough. Sheseemed unassuming and had a proportional figure, if a little small. She would be a breeze to dress.
“Oh, no,” Lydia said, shaking her head and sitting back down. “This isn’t for me.”
Erin sat gracefully at her glass-topped desk and indicated for Marley to sit next to Lydia. “Lydia is acelebrity handlerwith a film studio. She’s come to contract with Reid’s to exclusively style a VIP for several upcoming appearances, but you’ll need to sign her NDA before we go any further. Ernesto and I have already signed. You must also sign the standard Reid’s NDA for personal shoppers.”
Marley’s brows furrowed. She served wealthy clients all the time, and she liked to think she had a reputation for professionalism, maintaining privacy, and of course, making the impossible happen. But A-list celebrities…true VIPswho needed NDAs—those were usually brought in through the secret back door straight into the personal shopping studio. Marley had never signed an NDA in her six years at Reid’s.
Lydia immediately slid a thick agreement to Marley, and Marley started reading it while adjusting her initial impression of the celebrity handler. Lydia was actually formidable. Her agreement was terrifying. The clauses and stipulations were… intense.
“Do I need a lawyer for this?” Marley asked.
“There isn’t time,” Lydia said, voice dripping with impatience. “This is a standard agreement. You sign this or we go elsewhere. There are stillplentyof stylists in this city.”
“Of course, there are more consultants in this store, too,” Erin added. She gave Marley an annoyed look. Marley bit her lip. If Marley ever wanted to move to personal shopping, she needed to play along.
Marley flipped to the next page. The actual VIP’s name wasn’t on the agreement—they were only calledthe subject.“Will I find out who the VIP is before signing?”
Lydia shook her head. “No.”
Marley read the next clause, which was about the use of recording devices. Marley’s mind was racing. Who could the VIP be? Whoever they were, she kind of felt bad for them. Imagine having to go through all this to buy a pair of jeans. The verbiage about big lawsuits, fines, and even employment termination if Marley broke the confidentiality agreement was alarming. She looked at Erin, but Erin’s expression was blank.
“Any questions?” Lydia asked once Marley was on the last page.
Marley nodded. “Yes. There are separate clauses here for before and after an event. What, and when, is theevent?”
Lydia shook her head. “You will be told after you sign.”
This could be a problem. Marley hadsurgeryscheduled in a couple of weeks… Would she even be able to take this client?
She reached the final page and noticed it had been printed with her legal name, Mahreen, instead of Marley. Lydia had done her research.
“The studio has a considerable wardrobe budget here,” Lydia said. “If this goes well, we’d consider bringing more talent to Reid’s.”
The situation was crystal clear to Marley. If she refused to sign and Lydia walked, Reid’s would lose thousands of dollars in sales. And Marley would likely lose her job. If she signed, then learned the timing of thiseventdidn’t work with her surgery and recovery, Marley might not be fired, but it would be unlikely that she would get promoted to personal shopper anytime soon. If she signed it andwasable to take the client, she’dhave to work her ass off for what sounded like the biggest client of her life. If she failed, she could expect never to get an opportunity like this again.
But if she succeeded… this could be amazing.
“He’s waiting outside,” Erin said.
