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“I am not open about my identity and a few people in the company have signed an NDA not to discuss it with the media unless I say otherwise. Although with our recent action in public, many have already dug up everything they can on me.”
She just nodded at that. Was she truly over me so soon?
I placed my hand on her waist and led her through a door to the design room. Here she got to see the designers at work, sketching and pinning materials to mannequins. I could see she was truly invested in what she saw. From there, we went to the tailors’ area–a large airy room filled with hundreds of tailors. We left the production room and stood again in the lobby.
“I have something I want to show you. Come.” This time, I took her hand before she put it behind her and led her to the elevator. Being stuck in the elevator together gave her no chance to ignore me, although she tried to. “Marie, will you talk to me now?”
“You ignored me, Karl. What we had or didn’t is in the past, just show me this something,” she said dismissively.
“I was dealing with a lot and needed the space to think. Are you willing to listen to me now?” I asked, hopeful.
She sighed and looked at me. “I’m tired of all this. Do you really want me in your life? I saw you with a child I’m sure is yours and that woman you were with. There’s more going on, and I’m not about to put my heart on the line here.” She looked at me, aggrieved.
“So, you did come to my place yesterday.” I smiled despite the situation. She wasn’t over me. “Yes, there’s much you still don’t know, but I’m being honest when I say it’s not what you’re thinking. After this, we can talk about it later to clear the air between us and just maybe I can win your trust.”
We were now face to face. I saw the hopeful look in her eyes, and it made my heart feel soft. I pushed away the stray hairs around her face and trailed a finger over her lower lip. Her hands went around me and we almost kissed. It was what I wanted, and so did she.
The elevator doors opened, and someone let out a squeak in surprise. Marie moved away from me, her face a bright red. In front of us was a young woman, who looked frightened to see us.Surprised to see her otherwise private boss kissing a woman.I took Marie’s hand and walked out of the elevator.
“Here we are…” I opened the large door and let her enter first.
“These dresses are beautiful.” She gave me a small smile. I smiled at her words. We were in a large room with most of our finished looks. Some were in glass cases to protect their delicate designs while others were on mannequins standing in front of tall mirrors. A few people were around dusting and going over the dresses, inspecting them. Everywhere you looked were several dresses and mirrors.
“May I see some of your completed designs?” Although these dresses were good, they couldn’t hold her attention for long.
I touched her hair and spoke softly, “Yes. They’re further in. Stay close.” She nodded, and we began going deeper into the room passing several glass shelves and mirrors along the way. Finally, we reached a section closed off by a glass panel locked from the outside. There were five pieces of clothing in there: two menswear and three womenswear. “These suits were as a result of a spark of inspiration I got from ancient Chinese clothes. Look at the embroidery and details. These were all done by hand. And these gowns follow special themes from medieval British aristocracy. They were all worked on by hand for many hours. I truly appreciate them for bringing my work to life.”
“I never realized how much magic goes into this. These are fantastic. Are the looks for the fashion week also here?”
“Some are still in production while others are hidden. They’re a surprise…although you’ll get a sneak peek soon enough…” I was cut short by a voice filled with mirth. My jaw clenched as I spied Laura.
“Karl, come see this. Look at me? I look just like a princess.” Laura, dressed in a glittering crystal studded gown ran to me while carrying the train of the dress. I was mortified. It was an unfinished look, and I could see the unfinished seams and stitches in the dress.
“Who let you wear this, and why are you here? How the hell did you get in here?” My voice echoed around me, showing how annoyed I was.
She stopped, panting a bit and gave me a weak smile. “Come on. I wanted to surprise you with a visit today. However, one of your designers needed someone with my body type to try out the dress. Seeing how great I look I wanted to show you. Don’t I look pretty?” There was a wide brimmed hat on her head and a purple scarf around her neck. It was a sacrilege to my sight.
“You have just a few minutes to get that dress off of you and get out of this building.” Beside me, Marie was silent, watching the scene. If it wasn’t for my anger, I would have been embarrassed. Laura was grating on my last nerve.
Laura bit her lip and looked like she was going to cry.
“Now!”
She jumped and ran away into the sea of clothes. I sighed and turned to Marie, “Excuse me for a moment.” I didn’t wait for her response and walked away quickly. I was getting too angry, and I didn’t want Marie to see me like this.
Chapter 11
MARIE
Isigheddeeply,feelingsorry for Karl. This woman, Laura, seemed phony, it boggled my mind why he'd have her around if he didn’t have a good opinion of her. Selena told me Karl was only biding his time with her. I stopped myself from thinking more about this–it wasn’t my business; Karl could take care of his own troubles. Looking around, I was alone. I checked my watch to see that I had spent more time than I intended. I had to leave now. Before that, I needed to say some final words to Karl.
I turned away from the dresses and walked to the exit. While I was walking, I was thinking about where I’d find him since he had run out in anger. Abruptly, I felt a tug on my bag.
“What?” I was surprised to see Laura tugging on my bag with a hateful expression. “Excuse me?” My voice was low and threatening. From the look on her face, she knew I was serious. She let go of the bag.
“Who are you to him?” She began fidgeting with the scarf around her neck. She clearly lacked confidence and looked more ridiculous with the hat on her head. I could understand why Karl was pissed off with her, the lovely dress looked exquisite on her.
I shrugged and continued my walk to the exit. “Don’t ignore me. He’s mine, and I’ll do everything to protect him from you!” Her voice drew the attention of everyone in the room. She flushed with embarrassment. Now that I thought of it, she was the one who spoke to me on Karl’s phone.
