Chapter 23
***Memphis***
I walked between Boone and Remy into the first store they chose and tried to hide my horror at being in such an expensive place.
I could tell from the scent in the air alone that I was too poor to be inside.
I just had to play the part that I’d written myself.
Remy’s hand was solidly planted on my back, keeping me from running like I wanted to.
If not for that hand, I would’ve been sprinting back to Jake in the car.
A stunningly perfect blonde woman appeared and beamed at the three of us with the whitest teeth I’d ever seen.
She clasped her hands together in front of her very perky boobs and practically bounced in place.
“Mr. Hawke. It’s so good to see you again.
Thank you for choosing to stop in with me today. ”
Remy nodded and his fingers flexed over my back. “This is my brother, Dr. Hawke, and this is your client for the afternoon, Ms. King.”
The woman turned her megawatt smile on first Boone and then finally me. “It’s so nice to meet you, Ms. King. I’m Amanda and I’ll be your stylist today. I’ve dressed several of Mr. Hawke’s friends and I’ve never let anyone leave without making sure they were dressed for success.”
I wanted to narrow my eyes at Remy and maybe even kick him in the knee. He’d brought me to the place where he dressed all of his women? I lightly shrugged his hand off my back and smiled back at Amanda. “I appreciate your help, Amanda.”
“I have your sitting area ready for you, Mr. Hawke. If you need anything else, Stacy will be right outside, waiting for instruction.” Amanda gently took my hand. “Now, let’s get started.”
I could hear Boone whispering at Remy as I was led away. “You’re an idiot.”
“Do you have nude undergarments on? Strapless? They’d be best for today.” Amanda dropped her bright smile and let her face slip into something more natural as she looked me over. “If not, it’ll be okay. We’ll just have an assistant pick up whatever size we need.”
I looked down at my body like I’d never seen it before. “Um... Pink underwear and a white bra. I didn’t know where we were going until it was too late to change into something more appropriate.”
Amanda nodded along like my words made sense, so I hoped I was pretending to be wealthy well enough.
“We have a few options that require nudity underneath so we’ll try those on first while I send for the right underclothes.
Come, come. Let’s get you out of this cute dress and into something much sexier. ”
I was too floored by the idea of not wearing anything under my clothing to protest when I was led into a large changing room and helped out of my clothes.
When my bra hit the floor and disappeared, I wrapped my arms around myself and wondered if wealth made you more comfortable being exposed in front of others.
Amanda seemed to think stripping me naked was the most normal thing in the world.
I might’ve giggled while I imagined that being the protocol at all clothing stores, even Target or Wal-Mart.
Amanda took measurements, getting way too familiar with my body as she did, and then spent a minute on her phone before approaching me with the first costume.
Costume, because it was so far out of something any normal person would wear, with a neckline down to my belly and tiny black beads masquerading as fabric.
I stared at myself in the mirror after Amanda stepped away and I giggled again. Not only was the dress too small, the beads were stretching out over my full breasts and my nipples had fully poked through the new, wider openings.
“Would you like to show the Hawkes?”
I full out laughed and shook my head. “No. No, I would not.”
Taking the thing off was a job and a half, leaving the perfectly put together Amanda breathing heavily and slightly sweaty. She adjusted her dress and nodded to herself. “This next dress will work, for sure.”
The next dress did not work. It made me look like ten pounds of ham in a five pound sack.
Each dress after was much the same. Around the tenth dress, it stopped being funny.
After the fifteenth dress, I wanted to slap someone.
Namely Remy. He’d made it very clear that his previous flings were much, much smaller than me.
He’d brought me to a store that didn’t carry my size.
“I am so sorry. I don’t think this is going to happen, Ms. King.” Amanda looked even more defeated than I felt. She sagged against the wall behind her and pulled at her hair.
I pulled my own dress back on and patted her shoulder. “It’s not your fault, Amanda. It’s okay.”
She shook her head. “I can’t face Mr. Hawke. I’ve dressed dozens of women for him over the years. I’ve never failed him before. This is horrible.”
Dozens? My mood soured even farther. “You know what? Let me take one of the dresses. I can always gift it to someone later. You can tell Remy that I just didn’t like any others.”
“No, no. It’s okay.” She fanned her face and I hoped with everything she didn’t start crying. There was something wrong with me that made me cry the moment I saw someone else cry.
“Here. I’ll take this one. At least it made me laugh.
” I grabbed the ruined beaded number and forced a smile.
If I ever wanted to put on a really sad strip tease, it would come in handy.
I did what came naturally to me and looked at the price, even if I wasn’t the one paying.
What I saw made me screech. I could’ve bought a new used car with that kind of money.
A nice one. I looked at Amanda again. “Is this right?”
She shrugged. “Yeah. Why?”
“Everything okay?” Boone’s calm voice clashed with how I was feeling as he joined us.
Amanda tried to correct her smile into perfection again, but she couldn’t do it. She dabbed at her eyes and hurried out of the room.
Boone’s eyebrows furrowed as he looked at me. “What the hell was that about?”
I put the dress down, because there was no way I was letting anyone spend that much money on a pity buy.
I reached up to straighten my bun and wiped sweat from my upper lip.
I was in fine form. “It seems like Remy brought me to the store he always dresses his women at and it seems like he prefers his women a lot smaller than me. There’s not a thing in this store that will fit me. ”
Boone’s eyes narrowed and his face looked thunderous. “You’re fucking kidding me. You’re normal sized, Memphis. How do they not carry your size?”
Remy appeared behind Boone and looked me over. “Why aren’t you wearing something new?”
I swallowed a lump in my throat and counted on him moving as I walked towards him.
Thankfully, he did, and I marched past him and out of the store.
For some reason, the moment I saw Jake standing outside, waiting with a giant smile on his face, my resolve to not cry broke.
Big tears filled my eyes as his face fell and without thinking twice, I walked into his open arms and let him hug me.
He reminded me of Knox in that moment and I missed my brother more than anything.
He hugged me there on the sidewalk for a while, until I felt like I could pull myself together. His hands gripped my shoulders when I pulled back. “Do you need me to kick someone’s ass?”
I laughed and wiped the last of my tears away. “The clothing industry?”