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Tamara interrupts me. “Hand it back when the job’s over. No big deal. After work, I’ll show you, and we can play dress-up.” She smiles with excitement. “It will be fun.”
How did I get so lucky finding Tamara? I’m so grateful for her help. Apart from Bianca’s frosty encounter, I’m hopeful about this job. Sure, it’s only temporary and I have to keep away from the Alessi brothers, but I’ll now have some real experience to add to my resume.
After Tamara takes me to accounting, she gives me a tour of the building and the different departments. The sleek interior with bright colors and modern touches haven’t changed much from what I remember when I’d briefly come here with Finn. Tamara also introduces me to staff along the way. There are so many people working here I’m hoping I can blend in and not be noticed by Hayden or Lucas. We pass a set of offices with their doors closed. I read the names:Hayden Alessi,Lucas Alessi, andFinn Alession shiny silver nameplates. My heart stops beating, and I suck in a quick breath.Please don’t stop here. Please don’t stop here!
“The managers are in a meeting now. I’ll introduce you another time,” Tamara says.
I breathe out a sigh of relief. I’d like to skip this introduction altogether and stay away from their offices. “I should probably make Bianca’s coffee. She’s waiting.” I need to make a quick getaway before one of the Alessi brothers walk out of the office and find out I’m working here. I’m sure they would report it to Finn.
“I’ll show you where the kitchen is.” Inside the kitchen, Tamara says, “Bianca will let you know what she wants you to do, but if there are any problems or if you need anything, you know where my office is.”
“Thank you. I really appreciate you doing this for me.” She’ll never know how grateful I am for the opportunity to work at Alessi Fashion.
She smiles and gently squeezes my arm. “Not a problem. Enjoy your day.” With that, she sails from the kitchen.
After getting myself familiar with where things are, I make Bianca’s coffee and head back to her office, glancing in every direction for any signs of the Alessi brothers. I breathe a sigh of relief when I don’t see them.
My reprieve doesn’t last long when I realize that Bianca’s office is close to the manager’s rooms. Is Bianca the PA to Hayden or Lucas? Tamara said she was here for a couple of months. Wouldn’t they have someone more permanent? Is she from another office?
For a second my blood runs cold. Oh my God! What if she’s Finn’s PA? No. I mentally shake my head. Alyssa said Finn is in London. There’s probably another manager working here that I don’t know of. I lost all contact with any Alessis, so I don’t know who works here. Being here is already so stressful. If I didn’t need the money so badly, I’d run out of here.
In Bianca’s office, I place the coffee cup on the desk.
“How long does it take to make coffee?” Bianca taps a pen on the edge of the desk.
“I’m sorry it took so long. Tamara was showing me around.”
Bianca rolls her eyes, picks up the cup, and takes a sip. Screwing up her nose, she puts it on the desk and shoves it aside.Okay, I’ll have to work on my coffee.“Since you know your way around now, go to the fabric room and get me this bolt of material.” She holds out a sample of light blue fabric. I take it, and it glides through my fingers. The color shimmers under the light. “Don’t take all day.” Bianca waves her hand in the door’s direction.
Tamara wasn’t wrong about Bianca having a sharp tongue. Is she always this bitchy? Oh well, it’s only for two months. I’ll put up with it if it means I get a paycheck.
Now, I have to remember where the fabric room is. Is it on the second or third floor? I don’t want to go back and ask Bianca after I told her I had a tour of the building. Standing at the elevator, waiting for the doors to open, is a man carrying a bunch of folders. “Excuse me. Can you please tell me what floor the fabric room is on?”
He smiles. “Sure. It’s on level three.”
I smile back. “Thanks.”
We step into the elevator. During my marriage to Derek, I was ‘trained’ to make small talk with strangers. Told to put on a smile and look interested in Derek’s boring friends. So, my first instinct is to talk with this guy. Get to know a little about him. But I bite my tongue. Derek’s not here now to tell me what to do.
So I stand in the corner, staring at the descending numbers, feeling awkward. I breathe a sigh of relief when the doors open on the man’s floor and he steps out. What is wrong with me? Or I should saydamn you, Derek. Just another thing to add to my ever-growing list of fucked up things you did to me.
On the third floor, I find the fabric room. When I step inside, my breath catches. Multiple colored and textured fabric line the walls. I slowly spin around to take it all in. It’s like I’ve slipped inside a rainbow. It’s glorious. I can imagine the beautiful gowns and clothing that could be made. I can picture the events celebrities and models would wear them to.
Unfortunately, I don’t have time to daydream. I need to find the fabric and fast before Bianca has another reason to get pissed at me. The problem is there’s dozens of bolts and swatches to search through, and none of them resemble the sample in my hand.
I scratch the side of my head, trying to decide where to start. This might take forever. “Looks like I’m going to piss Bianca off for the second time today after all.”
What a great way to start a new job.
Chapter Five
FINN
Inmyoffice,Isit at my desk looking through Juliette’s drawings. “I need your designs completed before I go back to London. Will that be a problem?” I ask as I flip through the pages. Once again, she’s outdone herself with the sleek, elegant, whimsical designs.
“I have a few I’m still working on and a couple that need adjusting, but I’ll have them finished by the deadline.” She waves a hand covered in gold rings in the air. “Darling, have I ever let you down?” Not waiting for my response, because she knows the answer is no, she drags her chair next to me, flicks to a page, and taps her finger on the drawing. “The fabric for this has just come in. I want to see it before we work with it.”
Pressing the button on the intercom, I connect to Bianca’s office. “Bianca, I need you to bring the blue fabric in for Juliette, please.”
