It was a shut the office door and close the blinds kind of morning already. The day can only get better from here, Cori thought. And she was right. Hanging from the back of her office door was a black and gold, signature, Gwendolyn Brock, garment bag.
When she opened it, a note hung from the interior hanger, from Gwen herself.
It was a pleasure meeting and working with you. I think this dress and style marks your new signature look, dear. If you have any problems at all, please contact me directly. – G
Affixed to the note was a business card with Gwendolyn’s personal number on it. How was that for stepping up in the world? The note, as flattering as it was, had been forgotten the minute Cori pulled the dress out.
It was a lovely, bold, spring floral print, a tad above knee length, sleeveless, with a deep v neckline. The full skirt had pockets, which for some odd reason, became her favorite feature. Also in the bag, Cori found accessories and a handbag, as well as a bright red pair of strappy heels. She couldn’t help but feel like a princess as she packed all of the lovely new things back in her bag.
A buzz from her cellphone, on her desk, caught her attention. It was from Nick, and something suddenly felt off.
Don’t go online today – I have people working on it. See you at noon. - Nick
Cryptic, she thought, and that’s never good. She shot back a reply.
Working on what? By the way, the dress is just lovely, thank you. – C
She sat and stared at her phone, willing him to answer quickly, but it took several minutes.
Don’t worry about it. It will be down by noon. And I’m sure you are what will make the dress lovely. – Nick
Though flattered by his remarks, she wasn’t swayed from looking online for whatever she wasn’t supposed to be looking for. If he didn’t want to tell her, she would figure it out for herself. Not knowing what she was looking for, she went straight to the web for current news stories and scoured every article. She found nothing.
While thinking about what to search next, her phone buzzed again, only this time it was James texting her. He didn’t typically text during the day unless it was urgent since they were both busy.
Girl, either you neglected to tell me something juicy, or you’re really playing this up.
What was with the men in her life, she wondered? Another cryptic message. So, she texted back a series of question marks only, hoping he would elaborate because this was really starting to bother her.
You and Blackthorne getting cozy – Gwendolyn freaking Brock – wedding dresses?!
Oh, that, she thought. But how did he know about that, and what did getting cozy mean? With a place to start, she did a quick internet search using just their names, and then it all came flooding in. She was all over the internet, as was Nick, kissing her.
Whoever snapped the pics managed to get Gwendolyn and all of her garment bags coming and going as well, and given the fact they all said Wedding Collection on them…it was pretty clear what was going on. Especially when the pictures included Cori, Nick, and Gwendolyn together. No spin there; it all really happened.
She texted James back.
OH SHIT!
Then she sent Nick a message, somewhat panicking. Their little game just got a whole lot bigger.
Oh, my God. We are everywhere!
Nick immediately fired back by calling her desk phone.
“I told you not to look.”
“Which always means, hurry up and look! Who wouldn’t after your cryptic messages?” She spat before tossing him a little sarcasm. “And hello to you too, Blackthorne.”
“I’m sorry. My people are handling it. Are you okay?” he asked.
“I am.” She said, stretching the phone cord to the window so she could peek through the blinds. “I think everyone knows. The gossip clusters are assembling and looking this way. No wonder everyone was so hard at work when I came in. They think I’m marrying the boss, and they will benefit from that. I guess it isn’t so bad if you look at it that way.”
He was silent for a moment, to the point where she looked to make sure they were still connected. “You thought being my fiancé would be bad?”
“No. Not at all. I just mean…I don’t know…I was looking for a silver lining. This thing has gotten bigger than we planned. Now what do we do?”
An ornery chuckle came across the line, “Or, was it exactly what we needed? Meet me downstairs, fifteen minutes, we’re leaving early. Bring your dress.”
“Wait, early? I have work…”
“Fifteen minutes…” he interrupted before hanging up.
***
Nick was waiting in the lobby, talking to Tony, when she arrived. When the elevator doors opened and she caught his attention, he was all smiles. Was he really that happy to leave work early, she wondered?
He met her halfway and took her bags from her hands to carry them out for her. His free hand rested at the small of her back as he escorted her to the waiting limo outside. She turned to glance back at Tony, feeling a little guilty that she didn’t get to say hello or goodbye, but met his smiling face and returned the smile.
Nick’s driver held the door for them and took the bags from Nick so he could help her in. She wasn’t entirely sure where her things went but trusted they were in the car somewhere.
“A photographer had been waiting outside the building yesterday and paid off Gwen’s assistant for pics inside. Not sure who tipped off the photographer to begin with or why he would be waiting outside the building, but I have a few guesses,” Nick said of the leaked photos.
“I bet you’ll only need one of those guesses.” Cori was certain it would all lead back to Winnie and Phillip upping the ante.
“Gwen fired her assistant, on the spot, and insisted on handling your fittings personally from this day on.”
“Wait, my fittings? Nick, why would I need fittings. We got what we wanted, a picture of me in a dress, and now the whole world has seen it. We’re done with the wedding dress debacle. It’s not like we’re buying it.”
“Why not?” he asked, matter-of-factly.
“Um, because the wedding isn’t real. We aren’t getting married; we don’t need the dress. And I can’t afford it.”
“You don’t have to – called in a favor, remember? One day, when you do get married, you’ll have your dream dress.”
“Nah, relationships don’t seem to be my thing. I doubt marriage is in my future,” she laughed.
“You never know. Don’t write it off just because of one jackass. Your family stuff is unique, an isolated incidence. You can’t attach that to what Phillip did and declare all men assholes and the institution of marriage just as dastardly.”
His words struck a bit of a nerve. She knew he was right but had no desire to dig into that mess. Not today, maybe not ever.
“Where are we going, anyway?” she asked, changing the subject, not so subtly.
“I ordered in. We are going to my place so we’ll have a little privacy and you can change,” he said.
“Umm. You knew I didn’t really mean a literal nooner right? I mean, I like you, but I’m not that kind of girl,” she half teased.
He knew she wasn’t that kind of girl, which was part of the draw. “I promise it’s strictly with chivalrous and gentlemanly intentions that I take you to my home.”
And she was sure that it was just as he said because more and more, he was proving himself to be one of the good guys.