Armed with a big hat, dark glasses in case I have a brush with paparazzi, and six inches, high heels, I was brimming with confidence as I stepped out of my car at the designer's studio. As I expected , someone had hinted to some lowlife reporters that I would be showing up at the uptown mall and the moment I stepped out of my car, they came for me.
Without Uncle Liam acting as my bodyguard, I was scared and dashed into the shop. Thank goodness my hair was let down and I had my large, dark sunshades on. I had covered my face with concealer so I was pretty sure that no matter how powerful their lenses were, they wouldn't notice the bruises on my face and neck.
"Miss Woods, I am so sorry. I have no idea who told the reporters." Ian, the designer, cooed at me as she hurried over and guided me to a seat.
Lies! I sneered in my mind. How would she not know? She was the only one I spoke to from that shop.
What really worried me was how to get out of that place once I was done because if it got around that I was in that shop, the neighborhood would gather and that would be a problem since Uncle Liam wasn't with me.
It's funny how when I go out to do anything like visiting the shop or the mall like every other person, nobody really bothers me. Like they do recognize me and some tiles, people can ask for autographs but whenever reporters show up, chaos starts. That was when. People who were not bothersome before would become bothersome and nosey.
"What would you like? Juice or coffee? " Ian asked, fawning over me with a smile that never ends.
"Juice will do "
"Okay." She walked away so I brought out my phone and quickly sent a message to Uncle Liam.
I knew this could happen but I was so excited at that time because Sylvester said he would be able to come meet me at the studio once he was done with work. So I left Uncle Liam behind. Now faced with the possibility of getting mobbed, I felt fear crawling up my legs.
Ian came back with a cocktail glass of juice and told me that the dress was ready for viewing. She then waved her hand at some attendees a few feet away and they rolled in a cloth rack that had only one dress on it. It was a simple dinner dress with a slit that stopped above my kneecaps. It was powder blue in color with a warm hue. The neckline was a slanted 'V'. Its deep cut endpoint was to the right and the left side was hemmed with a roll of tiny silver roses. This dress looked very simple and serious at the same time. I have never liked princess dresses. While they look good on me and I carry them well, I feel like they lack the kind of presence and energy I wanted to put out there.
"What do you think?" Ian asked expectantly.
"It looks fine. The detailing is cool and the finishing is neat."
She beamed wider. I couldn't help but be worried that her jaws would literally fall out anytime soon.
"When you are ready, let me know so we can go test it, Miss Woods." She said to me.
I checked the time and knew Sylvester would soon be there. I was tempted to wait for him so he could see the dress too but then, I changed my mind and got off my chair.
"We might as well get to it now. It will soon be dark."
"Okay. This way. " She led me to a very familiar dressing room, pushing the cloth rack herself. She rolled it in and came out first because the space was very tiny.
"Miss Woods, one of my assistants would be waiting on you today. Whatever changes you need done, she will see to them."
A girl that had followed us to the dressing room stepped forward and gave me a warm smile.
"Hello Miss Woods. "
"Hello." I said with a warm smile of my own. The one I use for people in general, especially when cameras are rolling.
"Your name please?"
"Cammy."
"Nice meeting you Cammy."
"Good. I will leave you to it then. Kindly excuse me. Miss Woods." Ian gave a slight bow and turned away.
"I am expecting my bodyguard and a friend. I believe you know my bodyguard, Uncle Liam?"
"Yes, I do." Ian replied. She had stopped and turned back to me.
"Good. My friend's name is Sylvester. Once he arrives, you can bring him here."
"Okay." She nodded politely.
I turned and entered the dressing room.
Since the material was stretchy, getting dressed was not troublesome at all. The fabric was clinging to me like a second skin. It was also soft and light.
Once I finished wearing it, I stepped out of the room…
"How do I look?" I said to Cammy but she wasn't the only one waiting for me. Sylvester had arrived too.
Seeing how he widened his eyes and trailed them around my body, I felt like I was naked and started blushing.
"My god Catty, you are gorgeous!" He whispered awestruck. He brought out his phone and started taking pictures. I didn't even wait for him to ask, I was happy that he liked the dress so I started giving him different postures.
"Ma'am, are there any changes you would like us to…" Cammy asked. I had even forgotten about her the moment I set my eyes on Sylvester.
"Hmm. No. The dress is perfect. You can bring the shoes now."
"Okay ma'am." She hurried off.
We were still taking pictures when Ian and Cammy arrived with a trolly filled with shoe boxes.
"Heard you like the dress Miss Woods" Ian beamed at me.
"You are the best Ian. The dress is perfect as usual." I smiled in appreciation.
"Remind me to tell my bodyguard to put your photographer on the media list for tomorrow."
"Really Miss Woods?! Thank you. Thank you so much." She quacked excitedly, almost making me roll my eyes. It was as if that was her first time. I always granted her photographer a media pass whenever I got her to make a dress for me and in turn, I got huge discounts. But I understood her excitement. While we could invite the whole town to our functions sometimes, we do give the media a hard time.
We spent close to an hour deciding on which of the shoes and purses sets would go perfectly with the dress. Most of them were silver but their heels' heights and color hues differed. At last, we made Sylvester do the picking and he picked one with 4 inches heels. I wanted to protect but he said he wanted me to be health conscious since heels are strenuous on leg muscles. I found myself blushing to his cheesy talk and accepted his pick.
"Is my bodyguard here yet?" I asked Ian once we were done with payment and they started packing my things.
"Yes. He's been around for a while but he insisted on waiting in the car."
"Okay. That's cool. Erm please, I would like to do a meeting in your dressing room. Is that okay?"
"Anything for you, Miss Woods."
"Thanks." She and her girls walked away and I dragged Sylvester into the small space.