Chapter 14
Fourteen
For the first time in my adult life, I’ve taken my birthday off. I won’t be slinging drinks or shaking my tits today. I’ll be able to do whatever I want, though as I lie in bed staring at the ceiling, I have no idea what that might be.
Nero has avoided me for the past week, for reasons I’m not sure of. The first week I was here, he was checking on me, but he’s been especially MIA this past week.
I took him up on his offer of using the ballroom to dance. Which is definitely something I could do today. Dancing for myself has been so cathartic.
There’s a knock at my door, and I sit up, holding the sheet to my chest. “Come in.”
I expect it to be Marcel with my breakfast tray, but Nero walks through the door with the tray.
He smiles. “Good morning, and happy birthday.”
He remembered. That alone fills my eyes with wetness. No one in my life has acknowledged my birthday since my dad.
“Thank you.”
He sets the tray on the table before sitting on the edge of the bed. His scent wraps around me, and I want to lean in to smell him better, but I don’t. He’s clearly been wary of me lately, and I don’t want to push it.
“Do you have any plans for the day?”
I’m embarrassed to admit that I don’t. “Not really, no.”
“I was hoping you’d say that. Eat up, and in about an hour, I have people coming here to see you. I made plans for us tonight.”
My chest fills with a warm feeling I can only remember from when I was young and in the presence of my parents. “What plans? Who’s coming here?”
“Don’t worry. Just answer the knock on the door in an hour. I’ll see you tonight.” He leans in as though maybe he’s going to kiss me, but then seems to think better of it and stands from the bed.
I watch him leave the room, wondering what this turnabout could possibly be about and not really caring because it’s what I hoped for.
A little more thanan hour later, there’s a knock at the bedroom door. Though I had no idea who to expect, I was not expecting three people to be standing there when I open the door.
“Cinder?” the woman at the front with bright red hair that’s clearly dyed and one side of her head shaved asks.
“Yes…”
“Perfect. Mind giving us some room so we can get all this stuff in here?”
That’s when I notice some of the house staff, including Marcel, behind the three strangers. They carry boxes or bags and two of them even have a rolling rack of clothes.
“I’m confused. What’s going on?” I stand stunned while Marcel circles around the three of them.
“Mr. Voss insisted that these”—he side-eyes the three people—“kind people get you ready for this evening. Along with filling your closet with a whole new wardrobe that is befitting of your beauty.” When I don’t say anything, he gives me a kind smile. “Why don’t you let them step inside and get set up while you take your time to wrap your head around things?”
I nod absentmindedly and swing the door open farther, stepping out of their way.
It takes fifteen minutes for them to get everything into the room and organized. I sit on one of the chairs and watch.
Marcel walks over to me. “I’m going to leave them to it, but if you have any issues at all, let me know.”
“Okay. Thank you, Marcel. I can’t believe Nero is doing all of this for me.” Tears prick my eyes. No one has done anything nice like this for me since… well, since Nero let me stay here, I suppose.
He gives me a smile. “I can.” Then he bids farewell to the strangers.
I rise off the chair and walk over to them. “As you can tell, I had no idea this was happening.”
The red-haired woman laughs. “Yeah, that was pretty obvious. I’m Jaycee, and I’m here to do your makeup. This is Trent.” She points at the gentleman with a barrel chest and close-cropped hair beside her. “He’s going to do your hair, and Serena is in charge of style.”
The woman with sleek black hair parted down the middle and dressed stylishly raises her hand in hello.
I return the gesture. “Hello, everyone. It’s good to meet you.”
“Why don’t we get started with clothes first?” Serena says. Even though she’s smiling, I can tell that this woman is all business.
“Okay, but I don’t know what the plan is for tonight, so I’m not sure I’ll be much help.”
“We all have instructions,” Jaycee says.
“Besides, I’m not just outfitting you for tonight. I’ve been instructed to fill your closet with clothes you like, so we have a lot to get through.”
Nero asked for her to do that? I can’t imagine how much that’s going to cost because I can tell from the fabric hanging on the racks that these are all designer pieces.
My stomach whooshes. “Wow.”
“Wow is right,” Jaycee says. “I’m going to set up my retractable table and get everything together while you and Serena work on the fashion end.”
“Same,” Trent says.
They both head off to the other side of the room, leaving me with Serena.
“Let’s go through some things to see what kind of style you like. You’re very well-endowed, so it might mean sizing up for some items and having them tailored, but I work with the best in the business. I can have anything we need in a different size here within a couple of days.”
“Um… okay, great.”
We spend the next several hours together while Jaycee and Trent mill around patiently. I guess when getting paid whatever Nero is paying them, you don’t complain about being bored.
At first, it was overwhelming, but it’s become fun. It’s like playing dress-up, only everything I like, I get to keep. No longer will I be wearing clothes I’ve had to mend to preserve or dated outfits because I didn’t want to spend what little money I had to update them. I’ll be dressed in the best clothes money can buy. All because of Nero.
Tears prick my eyes when I think of him. No one has ever treated me like this. It’s hard to wrap my head around why he’s being so nice to me. Does he want something from me too?
I still don’t know what we’re doing tonight, but Serena told me that I was to be dressed up, and we picked a blue silk floor-length dress. The fabric drapes to one side of my waist, then falls with a big slit down my right leg. I felt sexy the minute the silky fabric slid up my body. The slit isn’t noticeable when I’m standing still, but as soon as I walk, my leg peek-a-boos.
By the time Serena is done, the closet is half full of beautiful clothes, the rest arriving over the coming days after they’re tailored to my measurements. The items include all kinds of La Perla bras and underwear. She made it a point to say that Nero wanted to make sure that she didn’t forget my intimates, and I kind of hope it’s because he wants to see me in them.
I like that idea. He hasn’t brought up what happened at the club or the New Year’s Eve kiss we shared a couple of weeks ago. I’d assumed that’s because he regretted them, but maybe that’s not the case if he’s having his stylist fit me for beautiful intimates.
Trent calls me over next to get my hair done, and since I don’t color my hair, and I like my natural blonde, we settle on freshening up the ends. He also does a treatment on my hair that leaves it as smooth and shiny as my dress. Then he parts my hair off to one side, leaving it down and styled in Hollywood waves.
Next up is Jaycee, who brings my look all together, doing my makeup in a way that makes me feel prettier than I ever have. It’s noticeable, but not overdone at the same time.
I look in the mirror at myself in wonder. “You three are miracle workers.”
They all laugh, and Jaycee squeezes my shoulder from where she stands behind me in the mirror. “We had a great canvas to work with. Mr. Voss is going to be bowled over when he sees you.”
My cheeks heat, and I look away from her gaze in the mirror.
“Don’t worry, we all had to sign NDAs and hand in our phones. Unless we want our grandkids to still be paying off a judgment, we’re all going to keep our mouths shut. Your secret is safe with us,” Jaycee says.
I don’t know whether she’s referring to the fact that I obviously live here, or if she thinks Nero is my lover or maybe my sugar daddy. Maybe she knows I’m a stripper somehow and realizes how bad it would look for Nero to be tied to me publicly. Who knows?
I smile at her in the mirror.
“Is there anything you need before we get going? Do you want me to help you get into your dress?” Serena asks.
“I’m okay to do it on my own. Thank you so much for your help, everyone. I had such a fun day. I’ve never done anything like this before, which I’m sure you could tell.”
“We hope you have a lovely evening,” Serena says.
I do too. But it doesn’t matter what happens for the rest of this night because one thing is for sure—this is already the best birthday I’ve ever had.