"Welcome to Boutique," a woman announced coming up to greet me. She wore a sleek gray suit and her blonde hair pulled back in a trendy ponytail. "How may I help you?"
"Hi. My name's Aria. I have a reservation," I replied.
"Of course." The woman smiled and motioned me to the couches. "Would you like something to drink? I have champagne and sparkling water."
"Um, I'm fine. Thank you. Maybe in a little bit."
"Feel free to browse the dresses." She pointed to the various stands filled with all hues of satin and lace. "I'm sure we'll find something you love."
I spent the next two hours trying on various styles of ballgowns. I tried satin, silk, taffeta, lace, sequins, sparkles, tulle and everything in between. I tried to send pictures of each of them to Jaqui, but I was having a hard time picking one that felt right. Nothing felt good enough.
"I think I might have a gown for you," the woman said after I discarded yet another dress with a sigh. "I didn't bring it out at first because it's a little out of your selected price range. Do you want to see it?"
I did some mental math at just how much money I was willing to spend on a dress. Then I thought of standing next to Henry. I wanted to look my best. "Bring it out."
The saleswoman went to a different rack and pulled out a beautiful purple satin gown. It was simple, but shimmered in the light. I could see the price tag and while it made my stomach twist, I knew I should at least try it on.
The dress fit wonderfully. I walked out of the changing room and looked in the mirror. I loved that it had cute little shoulder straps and a nice defined waist. It was a little high in the bust and the skirt needed to be hemmed, but it fit. Plus, it looked good. Really good. I snapped a picture in the mirror and sent it to Jaqui. She texted back after a moment.
* * *
It's perfect. Sold. Done.
* * *
I grinned, feeling like I was finally getting somewhere. I tried to ignore the price tag.
"It has a secret pocket, by the way," the saleswoman said, watching me in the mirror. "In case that helps."
I found the sleek little pocket built into one of the side seams. My little burner phone fit perfectly.
"I'll take it," I told the saleswoman.
"Excellent," she replied. "If you'd like, we have an in-house seamstress. She can hem that for you and have it ready Saturday morning."
"That would be perfect," I said. The shop was close enough that I could run over here in the morning and still have more than enough time to do my hair and makeup.
I stood for a moment, turning in the mirror and enjoying the view. This was a dress I could wear to a fancy party. I had black shoes that would look nice and I knew I could find a simple gold or white mask at the costume shop that would look wonderful. It was perfect.
"I've seen peacocks preen less than you, dear."
My blood went cold at the snide voice of my stepmother. I looked up from the dress in the mirror and saw my stepmother standing behind me. Her arms were crossed and she looked pissed.
I swallowed hard, doing my best to keep my head held high as I slowly turned to face her.
"Hello, Audrey," I greeted her. "What a surprise to see you here."
"Surprise is an excellent word for it," she agreed. "Imagine my surprise when I find out that not only are you not doing your job, you've been seen trying on dresses at a bridal shop. Is there something you'd like to let me know?"
"No, not really." Maybe it was the fancy dress or the two champagnes I drank while trying on gowns, but I didn't want her to ruin this for me. I wished she'd just leave.
Her eyebrows raised slightly, but she simply shrugged and took a seat on the white leather couch.
"Why aren't you at work?" she asked, picking a piece of lint from her black slacks and then casually flicking it to the floor.
"My boss gave me the afternoon off," I replied. I was glad the layers of satin on the dress hid my shaking knees. I didn't want to tell her about Henry or the ball. I didn't want her to know about him because I knew she would use him against me somehow. It was just what she did.
"See, that's interesting to me," she said. "Because I just spoke with her boss and found out that she re-tasked you. I'm sure you can understand why that displeased me. I did a lot of work to get you on those documents and now I find out you're stuffing folders instead."
I didn't say anything. The last thing I wanted was to get Jaqui in trouble. She didn't deserve my stepmother's wrath. No one did.
"And, I haven't received any new photos of your work progress." Her voice was light and cheerful, but it held a dark undertone that made me want to run and hide. "It's really quite concerning. Add on to that, I hear you've been invited to the Paradisian Masquerade Ball and are out trying on dresses. It's simply almost too much to believe."
"How did you know about the ball?" My stomach felt like a giant ball of hard ice.
"Oh, don't look so surprised," she scoffed. "You should know I always find out about these kinds of things. You can't keep anything from me."
"What do you want, Audrey?" I reached into the secret pocket and called my old phone number. I knew it would go straight to voicemail. It wasn't a great chance, but if I could record anything to catch her, I wanted to try.
"Where are my photos, Aria?" She looked up at me with those acid green eyes and I felt a little bit sick. The ice ball in my stomach tightened.
"I was going to give you one thumb drive with all the files when I finished. It's less risky for me than taking pictures on my phone," I lied. I didn't plan on giving her a damn thing, but she didn't need to know that.
"Oh, my sweet naive Aria." Audrey stood and touched my cheek with a sick smile. "I can see through that and it isn't going to work. You're going to get me those photos now. Or else I destroy your father. And you."
"I can't get them to you right now," I replied. My hands gripped at the satin of my dress. "You'll have to wait until at least the end of next week."
"I thought you might say that." She sat back down and crossed her legs, looking perfectly comfortable. "Because I am generous, you can get them to me Monday evening, but it will be all of them. Not just what you get through by Friday. Everything."
"There's over a week's worth of files still to go," I told her, my eyes going wide. "It's not possible to get them all to you by then."
"It is if you work through the weekend," Audrey replied. She checked her fingernails as if the shiny French manicure had chipped. "And so that's what you're going to do."
"No." I shook my head. "I won't do it."
"Why? Because of a silly little dance?" Audrey sighed and shook her head. "You're still new to politics and how things work, so I'll explain this to you. I own you. You do what I say."
"You don't have anything on me," I replied reflexively.
"I have a picture that I'm not supposed to have from your phone," Audrey replied. "That's more than enough to ruin you. Didn't you see what happened to Congressman Smith? Your evidence is even more damning."
I thought of the man she had ruined because he betrayed her.
"You stole that photo from me! You hacked my phone," I hissed at her. "People will understand."
"Doesn't matter how I got it," she said sweetly. "Fact is, if you want to play the ‘I'm so moral' card, you never should have taken the photo in the first place. You have no leg to stand on. What you don't seem to understand is that you have no bargaining chips. You'll do what I say, when I say. And I say now."
"I can't make things happen without more time." I was trying very hard to keep my voice calm and level, but panic tickled at the back of my throat.
Audrey sighed. "Let me make this very simple for you," she said. "You will not be going to the ball. You will be scanning documents so that I don't give your father's photos to the press, or yours for that matter. You will also be working on research for Anastasia. You need to prioritize your work over your social life."
"What do you mean ‘research for Anastasia?'" I asked. "I already did that. I gave it to you."
"You did, and apparently did such a nice job that they want more." Audrey put on an innocent expression. "Did I forget to tell you again? It's also due Monday."
"You can't do that!"
Audrey laughed, sending shivers up my spine. "With what I have on you and your father, I can do anything I want. I thought I made that very clear to you."
I stood there, still in the dress that I had had such high hopes for ten minutes ago, and felt it all slipping away again. I closed my eyes and tried not to get upset. That would only feed Audrey's torture. What was I going to tell Henry? He had been so excited for me to go. It was important to him.