I shrugged. That I didn’t know. It was too much to think about.
“Just go into it with your eyes wide open,” Heidi said. “You know he has baggage and shit. He’s a Wright. He’s filthy rich and sleeps with supermodels and all that. You know his deal. If you can live with him flying to New York every holiday, then who am I to stop you from having some fun? I just want you to be happy.”
“Also, that dress is fucking hot,” Julia said to change the subject.
I glanced at my dress in the trifold mirror and smiled. It did look fucking hot. Actually, it was perfect. It was a skintight black dress with a lace front neckline that went down to almost my navel and had an open back. Paired with some stiletto heels out of Kimber’s closet, and I could even pass for a girlie girl.
“You need it,” Heidi said at once. “I mean, you really, really need it.”
I checked the price tag, and my eyes doubled in size. “It’s three hundred dollars. I don’t need it that bad.”
“Oh, but you do! And…I haven’t gotten you a Christmas present yet. So, that can be my present!” Heidi said.
“Psht! Are you insane? I’m not letting you get me a three-hundred-dollar dress for Christmas.”
“Why not?”
“Because I could never repay you for a present like that. Anyway, where would I even wear this? I live in jeans and T-shirts. I would get no use out of it.”
“Actually,” Heidi said with innocent eyes.
“Oh no,” I said with a sigh. “You’re about to tell me the real reason we’re shopping, aren’t you?”
“There’s a Christmas party I want you to come to with me and Julia on Friday night. And I thought we could all get our dresses for the party here!”
My eyes slid to Julia. “Where’s the party? I know she won’t tell me.”
“Uh…”
“Come on, Em. It’s just one party.”
“Yeah, and it was just one wedding. Look how well that worked out for me,” I told her.
“I think it worked out pretty well. You’re not thinking about Professor McJerkface, and you had a lot of sex.”
Julia snort-laughed and then covered her mouth. “Professor McJerkface?”
“It’s a long story,” I told her.
“Okay, picture this,” Heidi said. “You wear that dress. I do your hair and makeup. You borrow Kimber’s stilettos, the really fancy Louboutins that crush your pinkie toes. But how can you resist the red-lacquered bottoms?” It was as if she were reading my mind. “You walk into the party. All eyes fall on you. You’re like fucking Cinderella for a moment. And then, poof, your Prince Charming shows up, and voilà, the night has endless possibilities.”
“Oh God,” I said in horror. “You’re talking about your office Christmas party.”
Heidi bit her bottom lip. “Um…yes.”
“And, when you say endless possibilities, you mean, I trip over my feet in front of Jensen, and he’s the same jerk he was and laughs at me or something.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Yeah, really, I don’t think Jensen would ever laugh at someone like that,” Julia added. “Plus, it won’t suck because, it’s open bar, and we can all get wasted on champagne.”
“Oh, I like you,” I told her.
“See, Em?! Please, please, please,” Heidi said.
“I’ll think about it.”
“Yes!” Heidi said, as if I had relented.
“While we’re at it,” Julia said, her cheeks turning a soft shade of pink, “want to find me something that sexy? There’s a Wright brother I wouldn’t mind looking at me twice in something like that.”
“Landon?” Heidi asked at the same time as I said, “Austin?”
I glanced over at Heidi with an arched eyebrow. “Landon doesn’t even work for Wright Construction.”
“Process of elimination,” she said quickly. “So, Austin?”
“I think he’s scared of me because I work in HR. But he’s not technically my boss; Jensen is. I don’t think we could get in trouble. And I’m head of HR anyway.”
“Oh, I can find you something,” Heidi said. “Each of my girls with a Wright brother will be my New Year’s resolution.”
“You kill me,” I said with a shake of my head. “I’m not letting you buy the dress.”
I changed out of the dress and shimmied into a few of the other outfits. But none of them came close to the other one. I hung the dress back up, and Heidi snatched it back. We went back and forth until I finally gave up. In the end, I got the dress. And, secretly…I couldn’t wait to see Jensen’s face when he saw me in it.