Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
ALORA
I hold the dress up to myself in the mirror, it’s black and fitted and could be cute, although I’m not sure how it’s going to look on me.
I’m in the middle of a shopping nightmare.
I didn’t bring anything sexy to wear, I was going to Paris to have a weekend of rest and retreat, never in a million years did I think that I would be hiring a male escort to piss off Edward Prescott.
Honestly…if this isn’t the most hare brained scheme that I’ve ever had, I’ll eat my hat.
“Can I help you?” the sales assistant asks.
“Yes, what does this look like on?”
“Beautiful.” She smiles.
You would say that, wouldn’t you?
“What are you after?” she asks.
“Well, I don’t actually know but something that fits well and makes me look like…” I widen my eyes, “…irresistible.”
She smiles. “I have exactly the dress that you need.”
“You do?”
“This way, please.” I follow her to another part of the shop and I look around nervously, this is the expensive part of the shop, I’m sure of it.
You know what…who cares what the price is. If it gets the job done, then it’s worth every pretty penny.
She starts rattling through the racks and passing me things left, right and center. “This red one is fabulous.”
“No, I wore a red dress last time I saw him.”
“Right.” She looks me up and down. “What about this white one?”
“I’m not sure it would be flattering on me.”
“Trust me on this, it’s perfect on everybody.” She passes it over along with another pile of things that are way too overpriced. “The change rooms are this way.”
I hurry in and start undressing, I glance at my watch, shit is that the time? Oh my god he’s going to be here in three hours and I’ve still got to do my hair and everything.
I pull on the black dress. It looks okay, I turn around and look at my behind. Not very wow, though.
“What does it look like?” the sales assistant asks me.
I pull open the curtain. “It’s okay, I guess.”
She twists her lips and looks me up and down. “We can do better.”
I give her a half-hearted smile. “What should I try on next?”
“The white. Definitely the white.”
I tear the black dress off and step into the white one, no way this is going to work. Probably going to look like a giant polar bear or something. It’s fitted and off the shoulder and zips up under one arm, the skirt is tight around my waist but falls nicely over my behind.
“How does it look?” she calls.
“To be honest—” I open the curtain, “—better than I expected.”
She smiles as she looks me up and down. “This is the dress.”
“Really?”
“Do you want this man eating out of your hand?”
I give a half-hearted shrug. “It couldn’t hurt the situation, I guess.”
“Then this is the dress, here, let me find the shoes.” She marches off across the shop and my eyes go back to myself in the mirror and I turn to look at my behind again, it’s flattering without being too much. But then white, is that too formal just to go out for dinner?
With a fucking male escort….
Oh my god, this is ridiculous…. I just…what was I thinking? That’s the problem: I wasn’t thinking at all. I’m going to cancel Thomas Stone.
I’ll still go down to meet them at the bar, but I’ll just pretend that my date couldn’t come…. Why did I even tell that stupid lie, it’s just ridiculous.
I keep looking the dress up and down. But I do still want to look good tonight.
The saleswoman reappears with a pair of strappy silver stilettos and puts them on the floor in front of me. “These will match perfectly.”
“You don’t think they’re too much?”
“Ha,” she huffs. “Darling, you can never be too much.”
Twenty minutes later I am rushing down the street with my shopping bags in tow, and I dial Thomas’s number.
Hello, you’ve reached Thomas Stone. I can’t take your call right now.
Leave a message and I’ll call you back.
Shit.
“Hello, Thomas, this is Alora Sorenson, I spoke to you earlier today. I would just like to thank you so much for offering to come tonight but my situation has changed and I don’t need you anymore.
Please send me a bill for your booking fee, I’m happy to still pay.
Thanks…and if you could you please text me back when you get this message just so I know that you got it. Goodbye.”
I let out a sigh of relief, okay so that’s done.
I need to find a cab and then to get back to the hotel and do my hair.
I glance around and notice a hair salon on the corner, they won’t have any appointments but I guess I can try my luck.
I push through the front doors. “Hello, I was wondering if you have time for a quick blowout?”
“Now?” the gentleman asks.
“If possible. I’m on a really tight deadline.”
“Yes, I have an opening right away, please come through.”
“Really?” I smile, very pleased with myself as I follow him, this is all happening so easily, dress, shoes and now hair, maybe it’s a good sign. I take a seat in the chair and he comes to stand behind me. “How would you like your hair done today?”
“I have a date tonight and I just want to look…” I shrug, embarrassed, “…better than this.”
He laughs as he fiddles with my hair with his hands. “Better than this coming right up.”
I hold the phone to my ear as I pace back and forth.
Hello, you’ve reached Thomas Stone. I can’t take your call right now.
Leave a message and I’ll call you back.
“Answer the phone, damn it.”
I haven’t heard from the elusive Thomas Stone, which means I have no idea if he got my message, which means he could possibly turn up here any minute.
Beep, sounds the answering machine.
“Hi, Thomas, it’s Alora, and it’s imperative that you call me back urgently please.
I have left five messages for you this afternoon and I would just like to reiterate that I don’t need your company tonight and I need to know that you got my message.
Call me as soon as you get this message please.
” I hang up and throw my phone onto the bed, how hard is it to have common manners these days?
All he had to do was send back a one-word text or even a thumbs-up. Anything would do.
Ring, ring, ring, ring…. The hotel phone bellows through the room.
Huh? I haven’t heard one of these things ring in years. “Hello,” I answer with a frown.
“Bonjour, Miss Sorenson. This is Annika from the front reception.”
My eyes widen in horror, oh no. “Hello.”
“We have a Thomas Stone here to see you, can we send him up?”
Fuck, fucking, fuck.
Oh hell, he mustn’t have got the message, I can’t not let him up. I’ll just tell him I don’t need him when he gets up here. Shit, what if he’s angry that I wasted his time?
“Um…sure.”
“Merci.” I hang up and jump up and down on the spot in a silent freakout. Oh my god, you idiot Alora. I’ve had some hare brained ideas in my life, but this has to take the cake. Five of the slowest minutes later, my worst nightmare comes true.
Knock, knock.
I put my head into my hands, this cannot be happening.
Knock, knock, sounds again.
Argh!
I open the door in a rush. “Hello.”
“Hello, Alora.” He smirks. He’s wearing a sports coat and jeans. His hair has a curl to it and he has big blue eyes. “Tried to cancel on me, did you?”
Oh no…he’s cute. Like really cute, hot even…and I want the earth to swallow me whole.
Help!
“I’m so sorry to waste your time, but I don’t—”
“Yes you do.” He cuts me off before walking past me into my room.
“No, really, I honestly don’t need you anymore.”
“Let me guess.” He flops onto my bed. “You are going to a function and someone you know is going to be there and you need to make them sweat.”
I open my mouth to reject his claim but nothing comes out.
“I do this for a living, Alora.” He smiles. “You have nothing to worry about, and we are going to make whoever it is squirm.” He looks me up and down. “You are absolutely gorgeous, by the way.”
I puff air into my cheeks as I look him over. “You are not what I expected.”
“What did you expect?”
“I don’t know.”
“More Fabio?”
“Maybe.” I smile.
He has this fun playful air about him.
“Well, a little about me. I’m a doctor. American.”
“A doctor?” I gasp.
“But I don’t practice anymore because I make a shit ton more money dating beautiful women.” He raises his eyebrows. “Which is satisfying in many more ways.”
I giggle at his front. “I imagine.”
“And I’m here to meet a client tomorrow and you’re in luck.”
“Look, honestly I don’t need you anymore. It was a dumb idea.”
He gets up and goes to the fridge and grabs a bottle of champagne and two glasses. “Tell me your dumb idea.”
“Well, there’s this guy.”
“There always is.” He smiles as he fills our glasses and passes me one. “Cheers.”
“Cheers.” I take a swig.
“Go on.”
“Anyway, we met a few years ago when I was in Switzerland for the weekend and we had a….”
“Great time.” He finishes my sentence.
“We didn’t exchange details and we knew nothing about each other, but I’ve recently run into him.”
“What happened when you saw him again?”
“We were at a charity auction and the next minute we rushed upstairs and kissed, which is a complete nightmare because we are with other people.”
“Hmm, I see.” He sips his champagne.
“I mean…we were with other people but we’ve now both become single.”
“Because of each other or….”
“Well.” I roll my eyes. “Maybe on my behalf but not on his. I came to Paris for the weekend to try and forget about him but he showed up today at a work meeting and was flirting with our co-worker and he’s taking her on a date tonight.”
He listens intently.
“And I wanted to leave, so I told a lie that I came to Paris to meet a man.”
He smiles into his glass as he listens. “Nice.”
“But it’s not nice because he called my bluff and said we should go on a double date tonight and I panicked and said yes.”
“And that’s when you called me.”
I take a huge gulp of champagne and slosh it around my mouth. “This story sounds worse when I hear it out loud.”
“Alora.” He smiles calmly. “I do this for a living. You are in safe hands.”
“I don’t want to have sex with you,” I blurt out.