I let out a gasp when something black slides out onto the floor. I discard the rest of the package on the desk before bending to pick it up. A dress. It’s black and tighter-fitting on top with a skirt of feathers at the bottom. Actual. Feathers. I glance at the tag because I can’t help myself. First, I see the size, and when I realize it’s my exact size, I gasp. Then I see the price. And I really gasp. Twelve. Hundred. Dollars. How could this dress cost twelve hundred dollars? It’s a designer name, I realize that, but seriously? It’s obscene. It’s soft, though. Silky, and with real feathers.
I’m scared to set the dress down, so I leave it draped over my arm. The large package contains a set of black flats, also in my exact size, and a black square cardboard box that I open to find a set of black pearl earrings and a silver chain with a single black pearl on it. One glance at the stamp on the chain confirms it’s white gold.
I set everything down carefully on my desk and walk out of the office. The place is humming with conversations, the occasional laughter, and cough. It feels the same as it always has, but when I walk down the hallway, I feel different now. My armpits get moist as I approach Philippe’s office.
The door is closed. I want to turn around and walk the other direction, but no. This is a conversation we need to have. Some protests need to be made, and a particular dress needs to be returned. So I force myself to knock.
“Come on in,” Philippe’s voice drifts out, happier than I’ve heard it in a long time.
I slip in and lock the door behind me. I turn slowly, composing myself. As soon as I open my mouth, Philippe leans back in his chair, a shit-eating grin splitting a face that I’ve come to realize is far too handsome. My lady bits tingle. He’s had his lips on me. Down. There. And I’ve thought about it all week. The thing that didn’t happen. Except it did, and I just can’t stop thinking about it. I can’t turn off my body’s reaction now.
“I see everything arrived. Good. I was worried it wouldn’t be here until tomorrow, and that wouldn’t have left much time to get something else if it didn’t fit.”
I need to tell him that it needs to be returned because it was all too expensive, but for some reason, I say something completely different. “Uh, how did you know my size?”
“Because I am actually a mind reader.” He grins. I roll my eyes. “You’re just angry because I named you Sunshine Sparklepants.”
“What?” My jaw cracks open so wide, it actually hurts.
“Ha! Two can play the crazy journal game.”
I cross my arms. “I see what’s going on here. You’re trying to distract me so I can’t tell you the dress was crazy expensive and that it needs to go back. I can’t wear that!”
“Why not?”
“Because you probably bought it on the company card, and there’s no way I can reconcile it on the statement.”
“I didn’t. I actually used my own card.”
“That’s even worse!”
“It’s fine. It’s my sister’s wedding. You only get married once in a lifetime.”
“That’s not—” I stop there because it’s his sister, and I am not going to say that most people get married and divorced and married and maybe even divorced and, in some cases, married again. Marriages aren’t just a one-time deal. “When I get married, I’m going to wear a normal dress and just go and sign the dang paper and get it over and done with. No money. No fuss. Nothing. I’ll have Granny come. And my parents. It’s only like twenty-five dollars for a marriage license or something.”
Through all that, Philippe never stops smiling, and it makes his eyes twinkle. It makes him way more attractive too, and my va-jay can’t take it. The office closes in around me, overwhelming me. I need to get out of here.
“Good to know. I’ll take notes.”
“Go freaking eat a gluten-free bagel,” I fume. “Have you been getting your own lunch all week?”
“I have.”
“Why?”
“Because you basically pointed out that I should be capable of doing it. Also, I didn’t want to risk anything getting licked.”
“That is not fair.”
“I got your size because I phoned your grandma. You mentioned it once, and I remembered thinking it was kind of nice, if slightly old fashioned. Opal. She has the same last name as you. I am capable of using the internet, so I looked it up. She has a landline, and she gladly gave me your size.”
“I’m impressed.”
“That I remembered your grandma’s name?”
“That you’re actually computer literate.” Philippe’s smile stays strong, so I do my best, without even thinking, to destroy it. “Did you go to the appointment on Tuesday?” I called a top-rated therapist on Monday morning, and it just so happened she had a cancellation on Tuesday morning. The smile that is turning me inside out disappears, and I’m glad for the reprieve, but I feel like an ass for making him unhappy. He looks cautious now, on edge and broody.