Chapter 5 #2
She saw a dozen things she wanted to buy, but none of them was dressy enough for that night.
She went to Gucci and didn’t see anything she liked, then Valentino.
She was beginning to panic when she stopped in at Prada, and the dress on the mannequin looked like what Alex had in mind.
It was a short silver knit dress, with sleeves made of black and silver feathers.
They showed it with black stockings and silver shoes, and a big rhinestone necklace.
It was a knockout, and Mickie asked to see it in her size.
She was afraid it would cost more than Alex had given her, but he had told her to call his office if she needed more.
She was trying to stay within the budget so he didn’t think she was greedy.
They took the dress off the mannequin for her to try.
The sleeves floated with the feathers. They left it with her in the dressing room, and went to get the shoes in her size.
And they had a small silver clutch with rhinestones that matched.
She tried on the whole outfit the mannequin had been wearing and it looked incredible on her.
The dress was very short but she had the legs to get away with it, long and slim like her father’s, and the dress clung to her just enough in the right places to be sexy but not obscene.
It looked like something she would wear in a modeling shoot but could never own.
Mickie glanced at the price tag, and it was less than anything she’d seen at Chanel and seemed to fit Alex’s description of fabulous, and the salesgirl smiled when she came back with the shoes.
“That dress hasn’t looked like that on anyone who’s tried it.
It was made for you.” The black feather arms floated to her wrists like swan wings, and the silver knit dress showed every inch of her figure, and the shoes fit perfectly.
The rhinestone necklace and clutch made the outfit, along with sheer black stockings with tiny rhinestones scattered on them like stars.
Mickie looked like the cover of Vogue and felt like a million dollars, and she had seventy dollars left in her Birkin when she carried her package out of the store.
She had the perfect outfit. It was just what he had asked for.
Something fabulous. She went back to the apartment, laid it all out on her bed, and went to lie on a deck chair at the pool.
She felt as though she had won the lottery and couldn’t wait until Alex saw her outfit that night.
She hoped he liked the look for the party they were going to.
He said it was an important event and an opportunity to meet new patients.
His most important patient had organized it for him.
He said that social appearances were an important part of meeting new patients, and Mickie was part of his image now.
The subliminal message was that if she was that beautiful and looked that young, he must have had something to do with it, particularly if she said she was thirty-three, not nineteen.
Mickie never minded lying for a good cause.
Sometimes she lied just for the hell of it or because it was fun.
She stayed at the pool till six and went back to the apartment to get ready.
She was in the shower when Billie came home from work.
It had been an interesting day at work. She had been assigned to do breast biopsies.
The hospital had an important breast health clinic.
She helped herself to a snack in the kitchen, and stuck her head into Mickie’s room to say hello and saw the silver dress hanging on the door of one of Mickie’s closets.
She had hogged them all, but Billie didn’t care, she hardly had any clothes.
“Wow! What’s that?” Billie looked at the silver dress and touched the sleeves, as Mickie walked into the room. The feathers floated and were light as air. Billie had plans herself that night and had stopped in Mickie’s room when she came out of the shower, and was wrapped in a towel.
“I just got it today,” Mickie said proudly.
“At your secondhand place?”
Mickie nodded. “Umm . . . yeah . . . It was dirt cheap.”
“It must look incredible on you.” She went to get dressed herself then, while Mickie got ready for her big evening.
She did her hair in a sleek bun, did her makeup, and put the whole outfit back together with the necklace, and Billie gasped when she saw the full effect. It was dazzling, and the rhinestones on the necklace and stockings flashed like iridescent stars.
“You look amazing,” she said to her little sister in a tone of awe, not envy.
When she saw Mickie dressed, it reminded Billie of a dress Mickie had worn one year as prom queen with a rhinestone bustier.
She had sparkled like the disco ball at the party when she was crowned.
She had a knack for pulling together stunning outfits.
Mickie was ready when Alex arrived on the dot of seven-thirty and called her from the car.
She asked him if he wanted to come up and meet her sister and Alex responded, “Another time. I don’t want to be late.
I want a chance to speak to the relevant guests as they arrive.
” He had no interest in Mickie’s family, only in her.
“Have a fun evening,” Billie said as Mickie sailed past her and hurried down the stairs in the silver high heels, and down the walk to where Alex was waiting.
He still had the Ferrari for the rest of the week.
He was wearing a black Tom Ford tuxedo with a black shirt.
He was all in black as usual, but on him it didn’t look ominous, it looked elegant and dramatic, as she did.
His eyes grew wide when he saw Mickie. He hadn’t been prepared for the impact she would make but he loved it.
“Oh my God, Michaela, I said ‘fabulous,’ not ‘give me cardiac arrest when I see you.’”
“Is it too flashy?” She looked panicked.
“No, you look like a star fallen straight from heaven, it’s perfect.”
“I have seventy dollars left for you,” she said proudly, relieved that he liked it. “I got the whole outfit at Prada.”
“It’s a knockout. You’re the best advertisement I could have.
” Every woman in the room would envy her look, her dress, her perfect body, her exquisite face.
He was pleased on the way to the party, and heads turned when they got there, and everyone stared at her as Alex made his way to their hostess, with Mickie’s hand tucked firmly into his arm.
Every woman there was wearing a gorgeous designer dress, but Mickie’s was the shortest, brightest, and sexiest, and she was by far the youngest and most beautiful woman there.
Their hostess, Marilyn Hodges, kissed him on the cheek and Mickie noticed that she was nice-looking and had lovely skin and a smooth face.
She was in her late fifties and no longer had a face or figure like Mickie’s, or never had.
She was wearing a pink brocade cocktail dress with a matching jacket, which was a little tight on her.
Alex had met her at a spa in Miami. Mickie was dazzled by the clothes and the jewels she was seeing around her.
She took a glass of champagne from a tray, as the hostess took Alex around and introduced him to her friends, whispering to each of them that he was the magician she had told them about.
Their faces lit up at the introduction, and Alex was attentive and charming to each of them.
“When are you opening your new center, Doctor?” one of the guests asked him.
“We’re putting the finishing touches on now, and we’ll be fully open next week, but I can sneak you in this week, if you like,” he whispered back, and the woman beamed. He made each woman feel special, and the hostess most of all. The hostess whispered in his ear.
“Tomorrow?” she asked, hopeful, and he nodded with a smile and gave her a hug.
“I have your special formula waiting for you. I put it in the fridge for you myself today. No name on it, of course, just your number.” He was planning to do everything with the utmost secrecy. He wanted all his patients to feel special, and he made it clear that they were to him.
Alex circulated in the crowd all evening, talking to beautiful women, and their hostess explained how remarkable he was and called him a genius.
When appropriate, he would have Mickie join them, or if not, at a subtle sign from him, she would drift away, and one of the men at the party would join her within minutes.
She was the hit of the evening in her dress, and Alex in his tuxedo with the black shirt, with unlimited charm, as he introduced himself.
And their hostess did the rest. Those who wanted it would all have his number by the next day.
Alex knew how to work a crowd without ever being obvious about it.
He was very efficient, and Mickie was impressed after watching him in action.
“What kind of treatments do you give them?” she asked as they moved from one group to another.
He was like a magnet to women over thirty-five once they knew who he was.
And Marilyn talked about him a lot to her friends.
He was alternately boyish, charming, or seductive with them, depending on the subtle cues he got.
“The usual procedures,” Alex answered vaguely. “Botox for some, some collagen, laser treatments, fillers, we’ve been doing a lot of collagen thread lifts, Thermage, mesotherapy, and I have some magic potions that work miracles,” he said mysteriously.
“Should I get any of that?” Mickie looked intrigued. She’d never considered it before.