Shopping for a Billionaire's Wife by Julia Kent

Author:Julia Kent [Kent, Julia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Julia Kent
Published: 2016-03-23T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

Two hours later, I need a break.

When I return to our hotel suite, I mistake it for a high-end boutique and back out slowly. The room is filled with eight racks of women’s clothing, forming a corridor behind the sofa. A gold-painted vanity is in front of the left side of clothing, and I see three distinct stacks of shoe boxes on the floor beneath the hanging clothes.

“I’m so sorry! I must have the wrong room!” I call out, hoping I haven’t offended the occupant.

“Mrs. McCormick?” The voice is female, with a French accent, but one much more cultured than the spa pixie.

“Um, not yet. This is Shannon, though.”

“Mrs. McCormick, I am Evie.” A rail-thin replica of Coco Chanel herself, circa 1920, reaches for my hand, warming it between both of hers. Dark hair coiffed in a retro wavy look that frames her face. A suit that is Tiffany Blue, a color I now know. Pale, unlined skin that is timeless. Warm brown eyes. The kind of cultured appearance that could make her thirty or sixty.

“Mr. McCormick leaves his regrets—he is at a business meeting—but he asked me to assist you in finding the wardrobe that best suits your needs.”

I’m going to kill him. An image of Hello Kitty in a Georgia O’Keeffe painting slams through my thoughts.

“Declan sent you? You’re a professional shopper?”

“I prefer the term stylist.”

“Oh. Sorry.” Great. There’s a vocabulary for this. It’s one thing to have undeclared behavioral expectations when it comes to buying new clothes, but now I don’t even have words.

I’m a Fashion Preschooler.

Evie moves like her feet are a hovercraft, her bones in perfect alignment. I am an injured giraffe in comparison. I reach up, wondering what I look like, feeling oily skin and ragged hair. Lüq had me do all the spa treatments first, then let me come up here to grab a book so I could tolerate another three hours in hair-color hell before getting a cut and style and having my makeup done.

“I do know that Lüq is expecting you, Mrs. McCormick, so I will not take much of your time. We need your measurements, your weight, to take a small scraping of your skin, and to pluck some hair samples.”

Horror fills me. “Why? So you can clone me?”

She laughs. “Non. We can best find colors that enhance your skin tone, the contours of your body, and to allow shadow and light to work for—and not against—you.”

“You realize I buy most of my clothes at Savers and the Salvation Army.”

She gives me a blank look. “Are those new boutiques? You are from Boston, I know. Perhaps these are local to you?”

“They definitely have an eclectic set of offerings,” I reply. “And a diverse clientele.”

She reaches for a smartphone and taps on the glass screen with—of course—perfect nails. “I will investigate. Thank you for the information. I am certain we can find you some outfits that are as nice as those you find at Savers and the Salvation Army.”

No kidding, lady.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.