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“I can’t believe Elizabeth is here,” Mya remarks as we walk toward the gift shop in the hotel.
“What’s the deal with her? I wasn’t around when she left and I definitely don’t want to ask James.”
She shakes her head. “It happened a few months after I was hired. So this was about three years ago. Elizabeth and James started Mirage together. But then after a decade of running the business as a team, she leaves him for one of their clients. Gareth Whittington.”
I wince. “The guy who puts on all those wild Slumber Parties in Hollywood?”
“That’s the one. The porn king himself. James wasn’t excited about taking him on as a client in the first place but Elizabeth convinced him it was a good idea. It was a big account for us but James was worried about all the moral implications of working with a borderline legal brand. I mean,
you’ve heard about some of the stuff that happens at those Slumber Parties, right?” Her face conveys her disgust.
Oh yeah, I’ve heard about it. Not only that, but I’ve attended one. Not that I’ll admit that to Mya. Besides it wasn’t my scene. Everyone there was either drunk or high and while I have nothing against wild times, I would like to at least remember what I did and who I did it with.
“Um, yeah I’ve heard they can get pretty insane.”
She scoffs. “Not just insane. Violent. There have been multiple court cases already about underage girls who’ve been drugged and abused at those parties. He was in the news just last week because some actor overdosed and no one around him even noticed until it was too late.”
Oh shit. “Okay, I didn’t know all that,” I admit.
“Anyway, the guy is bad news. But it turns out James shouldn’t have been as worried about our image because it was his marriage that actually took a hit. Three months after we took on Gareth as a client, Elizabeth filed for divorce. She left and formed her own company, taking half the Mirage client list with her. She even had the balls to send him an invitation to her wedding to that guy. James still hasn’t gotten over it.”
I feel an instant kinship with James. We may not know each other that well but we’re part of the same brotherhood, men who once bought into the idea of true love and got kicked in the teeth. We should have membership cards.
“So if she’s the one who left, why is she so determined to get back at James?”
None of this is making sense to me. I mean I get the Elizabeth is a cheating bitch part, because… obviously. Fucking a client behind your husband’s back and then trying to tank the business you built together is a dick move. But what I don’t get is what she wants now?
Mya sighs. “Because apparently part of the reason why they broke up was because he didn’t like her ideas. She wanted to take the firm one direction, and he wanted to go another. I’m sure this is her way of proving to him that he was wrong.”
We’ve reached the gift shop now and I step back so Mya can enter before me. She has her small duffel bag thrown over her shoulder and looks like a college co-ed in her black yoga pants and long T-shirt. She makes a beeline for the right wall where all the toiletries are.
“Didn’t you say you needed a toothbrush?”
I shake my head. “I just said that so James would go up without us.”
“Right. Well, I actually did forget mine.” She grabs a blue toothbrush and then a package of over the counter sleeping pills. Then after a moment of hesitation, she grabs a package of potato chips and a candy bar.
When she sees me watching, a shy smile covers her lips. “For later. Once we nail this presentation to Mr. Lavin, I’m going to need to veg out for the rest of the night. I don’t travel well.”
“You don’t say,” I drawl before grabbing a bag of chips and a package of gum for myself. “But seriously, what’s the plan for tonight? Elizabeth is obviously on a mission to stick it to James, so she’s going to be fighting dirty. We need to be ready.”
She looks worried and for some reason I hate to see that look on her face.
“Hey don’t worry. I don’t think Mr. Lavin is looking for concrete plans yet. After all, he’s kept everything so hush hush about this deal that we don’t even know for sure that it’s a bridal line.”
Mya nods. “True. But I’m getting a bad feeling about this. Like maybe Elizabeth knows something we don’t.”
Despite my determination to stay positive, I’m pretty sure she’s right.
I dress carefully for dinner.
Not that I don’t put a lot of thought and attention into what I wear with every client, because I do, but this is Andre Lavin. The man doesn’t just set trends, he starts fashion movements. We’re going to this dinner to convince him that Mirage is the best choice for his company’s advertising and brand management but make no mistake, he’ll be checking us out as people too. My hand hovers over a maroon tie before coming back to the lighter one I’m holding.
The interior of his plane was gray so it’s probably not a completely wild guess to assume he likes neutrals. Now that I think of it, most of his runway looks are monochromatic as well. Hmmm. Making a quick decision, I grab the gray tie. It’s better to be on the conservative side until I’ve met him in person. My suit is already hanging in the closet, pressed and ready to go.
When I reach the lobby, the first person I see is Mya. My mouth drops open slightly. She turns and it’s like one of those scenes in a movie where time slows and birds start singing and shit. Her dress is one of those magical drapes that probably looks like a bag when it’s on the hanger but on her body, it wraps each curve lovingly. Most of the other women roaming the lobby are wearing skirts so short you can tell whether they wear G-strings or bikinis but Mya’s dress is long enough to completely cover her knees. Something about how she’s so demurely covered up but yet rocking such obvious curves is a total turn on.
No, not a turn on. We are not turned on by a co-worker.
