Much to our surprise, when we get to the living room at the end of the hallway, there’s no one there. Not a single soul. I make my way through the French doors and onto the deck outside, but there’s no one there either.  

“Are we just supposed to wait here?” Caroline asks. I shrug.  

After a few minutes, Lizbeth reappears with one garment bag swung over her shoulder.  

“Are we in the wrong place?” I ask.  

“I’m terribly sorry. But Mr. Black wants you to wear this.” 

I stare at her for a moment. Before it hits me that she’s talking to me.  

“What?” 

Lizbeth repeats the statement verbatim, without offering a single additional word of explanation.  

“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” I ask. A flash of heat pounces through my body. I turn to Caroline for some backup. But instead of offering her support, she grabs my arm and takes me back to our stateroom.  

“What’s going on?” I ask. “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” I demand.  

She looks me up and down and shakes her head. “I don’t know. That’s actually a very nice outfit.” 

I know she’s telling the truth because Caroline would never lie about something as important as fashion. She opens the garment bag. A part of me is still expecting it to contain two outfits. But no, it just has one. A short, sheer, red dress. Strapless.  

“I’m not wearing this.” 

There’s a loud knock on the door.  

“Is everything alright in there?” Lizbeth asks through the door. 

“I’m not wearing this!” I say loud enough for her to hear.  

“Yes, she is,” Caroline says. “We’re fine. We’ll be out in a few minutes.” 

I stare at Caroline with a perplexed look on my face.  

“This is a beautiful dress. Numi. Her stuff is basically impossible to get. Really high end.” 

I cross my arms. “I don’t care,” I say.  

Caroline takes the dress and presses it to her body. She looks into the mirror with a forlorn look on her face.  

“Seriously, Ellie. This dress is major!” 

“I don’t care. Who the hell is he to tell me what to wear? I mean what kind of manners is that? And who the hell is Mr. Black anyway?” 

“I don’t know. And that’s what I can’t wait to find out. And for us to find out, you have to put on this dress.” 

I shake my head no. She continues to pester me. Minutes tick away and neither of us give in.  

“If you insist on being such a baby, I’m going to go out there by myself,” Caroline finally says.  

“Seriously? Who the hell does he think he is telling me what to wear?” 

We go back and forth for a few more minutes. Eventually, I let up. I don’t want to stay in this room all by myself all evening. And clearly, I can’t go out without putting this on.  

I go into the bathroom for some privacy.  

Caroline has seen me naked on occasion but something about this dress is extra uncomfortable. It’s not like I’m putting on my own clothes.  

I pull off my leggings and blouse. I hold the dress out in front of me and realize that I’m going to have to remove my bra as well. Damn. Slipping the dress over my head, I pray that it fits. My prayers are answered. It does!  

After zipping it on the side, I look in the mirror. It’s short, but incredibly flattering. It hugs me in all the right places, accentuating only my best features.  

“You’re gorgeous!” Caroline’s jaw drops open when I come out of the bathroom. 

I nod. I hate to admit it, but it is quite pretty.  

“I can’t believe they didn’t give me something like this to wear,” Caroline says as we walk back out into the living room. “That’s it, next time I’m showing up in a brown paper bag so they’ll have no choice.”