Once Upon A Time(57)
Shaking my head, I came face to face with a woman who screamed money and affluence. Her dark brunette hair, the color a shade most women only dreamed of, was wrapped tight in a low chignon. Although simply wearing a tight black pencil skirt and a white blouse, I assumed the outfit cost more than my parents' house back in Kentucky. Of course, her feet were sporting a pair of Louboutins. It seemed no matter where you worked, even the esteemed studio of Vera Wang, everyone wore Louboutins.
“I’m sorry?”
I wasn’t entirely sure what I was apologizing for, maybe walking my broke ass into such an expensive place. I wasn’t sure, but I felt intimidated.
“Never apologize.” She shook her head, walking towards me. “You’re standing in the studio of Vera Wang. There’s no reason for you to be sorry. Heidi did the exact same thing… you know, wondering if her shoes might ruin the floor.”
Okay. People with money are fruit cakes.
“Um.” I paused, trying hard not to apologize again. “I have an appoint—”
“Appointment. Yes, Mr. Black is a dear friend of the label.” She smiled, the sincerity of it caught me a little off guard. “I’m Meshia, Vera Wang’s assistant.”
She held out her hand and smiled once more. Placing my hand in hers, I became a little more comfortable than when I first stepped inside the building.
“Payton Miller,” I replied.
“Well, Miss Miller, would you like to see your dress?”
Without giving me chance to even take anything in, she released my hand and turned on her heels, my eyes following her fluid movements as she walked towards the other end of the hallway.
“Shit,” I muttered, trying to catch up with Meshia, cringing every time I heard my heels scrape against the floor.
I came to a screeching halt behind her, nearly tackling her to the floor. Damn it. This was way out of my comfort zone. We’d stopped at a white door and I watched in curiosity as Meshia touched the keypad to the right of the door and opening it in one fluid motion.
We stepped inside and as my eyes landed on the room, I was in awe. The room was wall to wall white. The space was three times the size of my apartment, and the high ceilings only made the room feel bigger than it really was. I felt like a child in a candy store, wanting so badly to throw my arms out to either side of me and spin around on the spot. The place screamed money from the outside, but inside it’s like that entire world no longer existed. Gone was the money, the classes and even the expensive perfume which drifted from Meshia beside me.
A smile played at my lips as my gaze moved around the room, taking everything in. It was worlds apart from where I came from, but the beauty of both seemed to mesh together. I let my eyes roam and explore as Meshia moved from my side, walking along the exposed floorboards to a white clothing bag hanging from a hook on the far right wall, the Vera Wang logo prominent in bold black font.
“Vera designed this specifically for you, Miss Miller. Very few have had the honor of even standing where you are.” The zipper opening on the bag echoed around the room, pulling me from my thoughts. I turned towards the bag, wondering what lay within it. “We’ll need to make some alterations but Mr. Black was very good at giving estimates of your size.”
The white bag fell away like autumn leaves sailing from the branches as the seasons changed, and like a butterfly emerging from a cocoon, there stood something of sheer beauty.
Fine royal blue material floated to the ground as if making its grand entrance. A gasp escaped my lips as I stepped forward, tentative in my movement. As if afraid of what this dress really represented. I was afraid. I was frightened. I was terrified. But among all that, I was curious.
“The corset of the dress is finely boned so you won’t feel it beneath the material. The skirt fishtails from the knee so you’re able to walk fluidly, without worrying about tripping over the material, and the dress is secured with a single zipper starting from the base of the back and finishing at the bust line.” Meshia was talking but I really wasn’t listening; all I wanted to do was try on the dress. My earlier concerns about what this meant and how Gabriel had thrown his credit card at me seemed to disappear. “Are you ready to try it on?”
“Hmm?” I muttered, still looking at the dress.
“Follow me.” She grabbed the dress from the hook and walked to the opposite side of the large space, opening a door I hadn’t seen when I first gazed around the room. Walking to her side, I peered through the door. If I hadn't been awestruck before, I certainly was now.
Stepping into the side room, I noticed the design changed. Instead of white walls and black frosted glass windows, it was black walls and white frosted glass. The flooring had changed from exposed wood to a thick white carpet. In the middle of the room stood a small circular platform, raised a couple of inches from the carpet. Opposite the platform, lining the entire the right wall, were floor to ceiling mirrors.