Chapter 56 - The Virgin Princess (1/2)
”Why are my days so very busy?” Claire speaks to her reflection in the mirror, as Miss Cassandra fixes her hair.
”Aren't we all?” Miss Cassandra says, smiling. ”I'd rather have your kind of busy than my kind of busy.”
”Well, what's your kind of busy?”
Miss Cassandra sighs. ”Working with the world's top fashion houses isn't exactly a walk in the park, Miss Claire. You have to deal with either idiots or ȧssholes on a daily basis.”
And here I thought life amid haute couture is just like that—something to die for, Claire thinks.
”But these moments when I have to come down just to gives you your OOTD—”
”What's OOTD?”
”Oh,” Miss Cassandra laughs. ”It's 'outfit of the day' for social media folks.”
”Oh, I see.”
”As I was saying, doing your outfit of the day is the high point of my work. I actually enjoy it. Honestly.”
”Thank you,” is all Claire manages to say, for lack of anything else. Miss Cassandra has been nothing but kind to her, even right at the start. Even when she doesn't have to—she's one of the few people who know about her deal with Gabriel Tan. She's technically an employee, just like her, but Miss Cassandra treats her like some princess.
”Now for tonight's dinner with the brothers, I think we should play it daring, maybe a bit glamorous,” Miss Cassandra says. ”Remember, you're Claire Monteverde, that rarest of gems that someone like Gabriel Tan had the good fortune to pluck out of the heavens. We should always dress to serve as an aspiration for ordinary folks. Especially in public.”
”You've lost me at 'rarest of gems', but I think I get what you're saying,” Claire laughs.
Miss Cassandra rifles through her wardrobe, and picks out one. ”This! This is perfect for tonight,” she says, showing a purple body-hugging lacy dress that will not only show off Claire's killer figure, but will also strategically show skin without being sŀutty. ”Then let's pull your hair in a messy bun, pair the whole thing with some lightly shaded stilettos, then I think we have the star of the night.”
”I completely trust your fashion sense, Miss Cassandra. Thy will be done.”
Miss Cassandra laughs. She slips into the walk-in wardrobe for a second, and comes out with a classy clutch bag. ”This should complete your look, Miss Claire.”
”I don't know what to say.”
”Then say no more!” Miss Cassandra laughs. ”This dinner, what is it for?”
Claire shrugs. ”I'm not sure, but perhaps it's mainly a social thing. The Tan brothers don't just visit each other and chat about life in general, like normal people do. Apparently, they can only do that in a social setting, like this dinner. So I presume they'd talk about their mother, my engagement with Gabriel, plans for the future, things like that.”
”I wonder how Gabriel would navigate the conversation when you come to the topic of your 'engagement'. It must be like walking on a field strewn with landmines.”
”Yeah, it's tricky,” Claire agrees. ”I don't really know what the big plan is, or until when this would all last. Sometimes I wonder about the point of this all.”
Miss Cassandra says nothing.
”Do you know Miguel's bringing my former flatmate, Karen?” Claire says.
”Really? Was that the one you told me about? With the rapist boyfriend?”