RIA ♠
EPISODE •• THIRTY •• THREE
THEME: MORE THAN p@rtNERS! ????
°°°°THREE WEEKS LATER°°°°
♦ RIA Ap@rtMENT ♦
RIA POV ????
The ringing of a phone startled me and I almost spilled the water in my hand. I searched the room for the source of the sound and realized abruptly that it was my ringtone.
I sp©tted my phone on the end table just as it buzzed again.
It was Ian!
“Hello Ria” I heard him say after I picked
“Hi Ian”
“I hope I’m not calling at a bad time”
“No of course not” I moved to the couch and sat in it
“I enjoyed every of our chats,But I missed hearing your voice”
“It good to hear from you Ian”
“So where are you?”
“I’m home”
“I spoke to one of the designers not quite long..and she said that your place will be re-ady by the end of next week”
“Oh! Good to hear that.. But can I start working at the place when they’re done?”
“Yes you can move in the Machines But -”
He paused
“But what?”
“I was thinking of something”
“What?”
“You can’t just move in like that and start work.. I mean we can launch the place.. Like organize a p@rty whereby people can come around and check out your stuffs and the place too”
“Is that necessary?”
“Of course Ria! To create an awareness. We have to let them know about the place and what you’re doing. It gonna be like we’re bringing your business to sp©tlight”
Ian st©pped
We l@psed into silence
Over the past few weeks Ian has been working ha-rd towards setting up my place.
Everything is almost set!
And I must admit that the place is incredible!
And beautiful!
It more like a workshop with a boutique. Everything is just outstanding!
The designers did a great work!
Doing all their best to make it the Best Couture in state. That was what Ian told them he wanted for me!
He even paid an advertising Agency to advertise the place when everything is set!
And soon we’ll have the place on Billboards!
Giving my cards at Amber Event really helped. And virtually everyone at the p@rty admired the dress on the kids. Mrs Perla introduced me to some people at the Event too.
Our orders for dresses has increa-sed over the past few weeks and everyone is looking forward to seeing new designs of dresses on our Website!
“Look Ria -”
“Okay. How do we go about it?” I cut him off
“You have enough dresses right?”
“Yes..we are still working on it”
We’d have a lot of dresses. We’ve made more than enough from the contract with Principal Brenda.
“Good.. I’ll talk to mom about it too. I’m sure she will be willing to help. So for now let’s wait for the designers to finish up at the place”
“Okay”
“So what about tomorrow?”
“The p@rty right?”
“Yes. Are you done with your dress?”
“Almost”
“Okay I’ll s£nd Ben over tomorrow by 4:00pm. He will drive you to a friend who will help you prepare for the p@rty”
“What about you?”
“I’ll be waiting at the p@rty”
“Okay”
“See you tomorrow”
He hang up
“You’re still yet to finish up?”
Mrs Elise asked when she walked into the sitting room
“Almost” she picked up the dress from the machine
“You will turn out the best at the p@rty”
“No..there will more pretty women at the p@rty.. rich and mighty ladies..better than I am”
She shook her head
“You have to take away that low esteem about yourself”
She nodded
“I don’t have a low self esteem”
“Well I thought I heard you talking to someone”
“It was Ian. He called to inform that the place will be re-ady next week”
“He didn’t talk about the p@rty?”
“We talked about it. Ben is coming to take me to a place by 4:00”
“What place?”
“I don’t know..Ian said that a friend of his will help me prepare for the p@rty”
“Hmm..maybe it a salon or spa or a make up shop..”
I nodded in agreement
“You know this is a big [email protected] I’m sure Mr Ian wants you to be the most beautiful woman of the night”
“You think so?” I asked
Itching the back of my n£¢k
“Yes..But are you re-ady for it?.. I mean there will be Paparazzi waiting to take pictures of Mr Ian and you will be there with him”
“Wait – are you saying that I’ll walk the red carpet with Ian?”
“Exactly” she snapped her f!ngers
And am I re-ady for that?!
“You know it’s not that bad”
“But people will get the wrong idea about us”
“What idea?.. You’re going there has his d@t£” she shrugged
“Nothing bad about it” she said
“Yeah his d@t£ at the [email protected] we’re just business p@rtners”
Mrs Elise rolled her eyes
“So will you go about telling everyone at the p@rty that you’re just business p@rtners?.. I suggest you don’t!”
“Why?”
“Look Miss Ria..Mr Ian is every woman’s dream..a h0tcake. And I know that many women at the p@rty will be dying to be by his side”
“What are you trying today?”
“What I’m saying is that – don’t act like a business [email protected] Act like a Proper d@t£”
“What?!..like were in a relationsh!p” I clarified waving my hand in a vague gesture
“Yes or else don’t be surprised if some lady tried to take him away tomorrow”
I rolled my eyes
Should I consider what Mrs Elise is trying to say?
If someone wants Ian them she should be better off than me!
“Hold up..are you thinking all this is still clas-sified un-der Business Relationsh!p?”
I sh0t her a confused look
And she raised a eyebrow at me
“Yes..”
It a business Relationsh!p!
“I think this is more than just business”
“To who?”
“It could be more than that to you..or Mr Ian..I don’t know”
She itched the bridge of her nose
And the fact remains that I didn’t want to admit that Ian wanted something more than just being Business p@rtners!
Or maybe I’m over thinking!
But the way he looked at me and even the k!sson the cheek!
Is that how he relates with his female business as-sociate?
Pang of jealousy surged throu-gh me at the thought of Ian k!ss!nganother female!
What’s going on with me?!
What do i do if Ian wants a proper relationsh!p?
Can I go into a relationsh!p?
I doubt it!
I’d have to be inti-mate with him and I wasn’t re-ady! Not now!
My b©dy isn’t re-ady to come in contact with any man! Don’t know how i knew..
But I know that fact about myself!
I’m still trying to get over what Lucas did to me!
But p@rt of me wanted more that just being Business p@rtners with Ian.
And since I wasn’t re-ady so i won’t think about it!
♦••♦••♦••♦••♦••♦
°°°°°°°°° IDAHO °°°°°°°°
LIMOS COMPANY
DRAKE POV ????????
“Any news from Lint Corp?” I asked Alex who in turned checked the device in his hands to see if there was any mail from Lint Corp.
“No mail Sir”
I dropped my ball point pen angrily.
It now clear that Ian Bryant won’t sign that deal until I accept to give in to 40%
Meeting up with Ian is the best option! So we can talk.
“Alex do i have any meetings tomorrow?”
Since today was alre-ady gone.
“No meetings but you have an invitation to a p@rty tomorrow”
“What p@rty?”
I waited patiently and watched him cli-cked on the devise. I placed my hands together and contemplated on what he said
“It says BMW”
“Oh! BMW!”
“Yes Sir”
“Why are you just telling me about it?”
“I’m sorry Sir. I forgot to cli-ck on the mail while I was checking the rest of it”
This is a chance to meet Ian
But will he at the p@rty?
“Alex find out the list of people that will be at the BMW p@rty?”
I hope he turned up at the p@rty.
I wasn’t at the p@rty last year but i attended it two years ago. Then my dad was about to stepped down as the CEO so he used the p@rty as a chance to introduce me to his business as-sociates in Chicago.
“Check if Ian Bryant is on the list”
“Yes he is on the VVIP list”
Alex replied seconds later
“Okay..book the next available flight to Chicago”
“Okay Sir..anything else?”
“I will nee-d the do¢v-ments of the deals with Lint Corp”
“Okay” he exited the office
I will talk him at the p@rty like a friend. Then we can sign the deal after p@rty.
I’m not going to leave Chicago until Ian signs the deal.
He will agree to my demands even if it involves me doing some background check on him. I know someone like Ian must have a secret!
Or maybe I should entice him with a lady?
Whichever way it is..All I know is that I must get what I want!
♦••♦••♦••♦••♦••♦
°°°°°°°CHICAGO°°°°°°°°°
LINT CORP
IAN POV ????
“Hello Ziggy”
“What’s up Ian?”
Ziggy Gray is my college friend. He is an international Model and one of the t©p most models in USA. I called him up so he could help me prepare Ria for the dinner p@rty.
“I’m cool..did you get my text?”
“Text? What text?”
“I told you that i have a dinner p@rty to attend and I want you to make my d@t£ into a member of high society”
“Oh! It was who s£nt the message?”
“Yes”
“Sorry i just received it this Morning. So what do i have to do?”
“I nee-d you to get her an entirely new wardrobe,shoes,hair,make up and jewelry”
“When is the p@rty?”
“Tomorrow by 7”
“It’s going to take lot of work”
“She alre-ady has a dress to wear. She’s a seamstress”
“Ian you know i don’t work like that. I pick out the dress myself to match the Accessories”
“Oh! Sorry I totally forgot! So now she doesn’t have to wear the dress?”
“Yes. What p@rty is it?”
“BMW”
“Geez Man..you’d be spending a lot on your d@t£ for this p@rty”
“I know. And its my money I will spend what I want”
“Okay then bring her over tomorrow”
“br@ndon will bring her”
“Okay”
“Bye”
He hang up
EPISODE •• THIRTY •• FOUR
THEME:p@rtY PREPARATION! ????
RIA POV ????
Ben c@m£ over to my home with a man who introduced himself as br@ndon. Ian as-signed them to take me to his friend.
Driving throu-gh the city I watched as we pas-sed other shops. Every windows had a designer br@nd engraved on it. People walking in and out of the shops..they all looked high clas-s.
The car pu-ll-ed over to the side of the street and parked close to a curb. Looking out the window I saw glittery go-wn and silk dresses in the window. The name of the shop was Maxwell. br@ndon and I got out of car and walked in. The inside was what I imagined very decorated,clothing racks filled with clothes in their abstract shapes and designs and colors.
br@ndon walked up to a man who I knew would be a model. His figure was lean, his skin tanned. He wore a designer outfit. A red three quarter length shi-t with a white vest and red p@n-ts with a n£¢klace.
“br@ndon” he called
His eyes looked pas-sed br@ndon and onto me.
“So this is the lady Ian told me about” he said
And they turned their eyes on me
“Yes” br@ndon replied
The man seem puzzled while I waited for him to say something.
Then he held out his hand
“Ziggy Gray” I took his hand
“Ria Robert”
“Ian told me about you. So let’s see what i can do”
A smile formed on Ziggy’s face
“Come with me”
He pointed to a direction
Ziggy walked over to a section of the sto-re that had all the dress and there were a lot.
Two women were standing near a blue couch in front of a set of mirrors
“Mr Gray what can we do for you today?”
I watched Ziggy walked over to the girls and dropped his arms over them
“I nee-d a dress for my friend here”
He said looking at me
“And it nee-d to stand out. Something that says I’m the best”
The women smiled
“We gave few things we can try”
Both women gr@bb£d my arms and pu-ll-ed me throu-gh the sto-re. They threw clothes into each other hands as we walk by hangers. I tried checking the price tags and they are expensive outfits.
Ian should have allowed me wear the dress I made.
It wasn’t his fault,Ziggy had said that he would be the one to pick out a dress.
Ziggy had me try on all the clothes the ladies had picked out. Some were awful,too large,weird and even bad color scheme.
I questioned the fashion s-en-se of some clothes designers in this time.
I was in and out of dresses for almost an hour. I was trying on this dress when Ziggy said to the women.
“Oh take off that awful dress. I don’t think Ian nee-d some Zombie as his p@rtner”
I did my best to hold in my laugh. That was pretty funny.
“We still have one last dress to try”
One of the women said to him
I moved away from the pedestal and walked back into the dressing room.
The last dress was hanging on the door. It was a long bright go-wn with a de-ep V n£¢k and it had one stra-p around the n£¢k. It was open back dress. The back was halfway down.
I sli-pped into it and the fabric hvgged every square inch of my b©dy and beyond my th!ghs the dress open up allowing for free flow.
Ziggy and the ladies practically froze when I walked out. Their eyes were glued to me. I st©pped on the pedestals in front of the mirror and waited for someone to say a word.
“Well its perfect” Ziggy said
“Really?” I asked
One of the ladies walked around me
“The dress compliments the right accessories. You’ll be the maim attra-ction”
“Lily where is the diamond from Perla sto-re?”
“It is In the displ@ycase on the last floor”
“Go and prepare it. We’ll meet you on the floor”
“Lolly go and get a pair of silver shoes to go along with the diamonds”
“Of course”
Both lily and lolly walked away in a hurry.
Ziggy gr@bb£d my hand
“What on the next floor?”
I asked as he pu-ll-ed me along
“Hair and make up”
“Shouldn’t I change out of this before that?”
“No nee-d. Ian is buying everything”
He dragged me throu-gh the sto-re
“Let’s go we’ve gat lots to do today”
Pas-sing people were staring at us. And to make it worse the elevator was filled with people.
The next floor was a salon. All the employees dressed the same and they all looked professional.
They were six people I could see sitting at each station. Four getting their hair cut,one was getting her hair dried and the last one was getting her hair washed.
“Rita” Ziggy walked the middle row to a woman.
Her hair was pure black cut in a sas-sy way and setting green eyes. She was beautiful.
“She nee-ds something to compliment the dress”
Ziggy said
“Alright”
Rita stepped closer and began pu-lling at strands of my hair gently.
“When was the last time you had a proper treatment and haircut?”
“I don’t remember -”
I was blind so i didn’t have the chance to visit the salon. I just wash my hair in the shower.
“Once or twice a year?”
“Once”
“Way too long – it has a damage and it’s too dry” she looked over at Ziggy
“What is she wearing for Accessories?”
“Perla Diamond”
“Very nice,I’ll start out with the treatment to bring the hair back to life. A few highlight,then a simple bun in the back”
“Fine” Ziggy replied
So this is what it feels to be dressed up by the foremost stylists. Rita took me over to the wash basin. She undid my br@id and dunked my hair un-der water. Her f!ngersmas-saged my scalp and hair. She wra-pped my hair in a towel when she finished and Led me to a chair
I sat while she mixed colors in a foil on her counter. Rita pu-ll-ed my hair covering it with her color concoction.
“Alright you can seat here”
She moved me over to the hair drier.
“Good?”
All I did was give a nod
There were no words to describe how uncomfortable I felt.
To be honest,I’m nervous about the p@rty. I’m sure I look like a scared young woman who is out of her mind.
Few minutes pas-sed when Rita c@m£ around pushing the drier up with a smile on her face.
“Now let’s make you the best”
“I hope so”
We both laughed as we walked back to her station. My hair was mostly dry,Rita gr@bb£d the b!ow drier and finished it using a brush to straighten my hair..looking into the mirror I could see the highlights Rita had put in.
I almost didn’t recognize myself
I never took care of myself like this. Of course! I was a blind lady..never knew or cared about this things.
And even now that I can see I’m more concerned about the kids. How do I pay the bills? And feeding too?
But I felt refreshed by the makeover.
This fairytale would only last tonight.
So even if I wasn’t living the rich life I wanted, was going to feel like it today.
Rita put my hair up,she pu-ll-ed and twisted it back in a bun holding it in with a lot of Bobby pins that Jammed at my scalp. It hurt a bit!
Rita added hair spray for a finishing t©uçh which made the hair glitter.
“If I hadn’t seen you earlier I would have thought you were another person”
I looked over my shoulder and there was Ziggy with lily and lolly. The fashion Trio!
“All that is left is final t©uçhes. And that nervous attitude of yours had better disappear by the time we get to the dinner”
Ziggy looked at his watch
“We still enough time to turn you into the main lady”
“So what next?”
“Make up next”
Ziggy pu-ll-ed out a green box and set it on the counter.
“Are you doing my make up?”
“Yes. 5 years of being an international model..so I can do a woman’s make up”
“You’re a model”
“Yes and one of the best. plea-se close your eyes”
I did as he instructed.
Minutes cli-cked by and he said,
“Alright I’m done. What do you think?”
I opened my eyes and i didn’t know who I was looking at In The mirror!
It certainly wasn’t me!
The woman in the mirror looked like she was born for a rich life!
I was born blind and poor!
But now I’m different!
Beautiful with darker lashes, dark eye shadows sidelined with bright color on the side and a redl-ipstick.
“Now try the shoes”
Lolly set the box on the floor and pu-ll-ed out a stunning pair of pure silver three inches heels.
I sli-pped on the shoes and they fit in perfectly!
“How did you know what my size was?”
“Ian told me. And I also checked your shoe while you were trying on dresses. Ian was right about your size”
Ziggy gr@bb£d a small box from Lilly
“Now for the Diamond. These are the Perla Diamond. Ian wants you to wear it to the p@rty. They are not to be lost cause these are worth over $20million”
“What?!” My jaw dropped
$20million dollars and they want me to wear it!
“Wait a minute.. I can’t wear it”
Ziggy rolled his eyes
“He wants you to wear it”
“He paid for it?”
He shook his head
“Yes. And as a matter of fact it the latest Diamond in the country. Every woman is wishing to have it”
Why did he buy such an expensive diamond.. Worth 20 million dollars because of a p@rty?!
“just make sure that you don’t lose it at the p@rty”
He opened the box and it took my breath away
The diamonds are gorgeous!
Diamonds with little heart shapes t©pped with blue sapphires dR@p£d in a n£¢klace. The earrings were refined in a heart like shape with sapphire at the centre.
He took the n£¢klace out of the case and sting it around my n£¢k.
“I think you’re re-ady for the p@rty”
Ziggy said as he reached his hands out to me.
Tbc
“You’re worth beyond the thousand reason why…”
Wow! A 20million dollars Diamond! Hen what about dress,shoes,make up etc.
No doubt that Ria will be the main of attention!
How true is that?
For me I think someone will dress better than Ria!
Who?
I don’t know..!