WHAT
DREAMS ARE
MADE OF
🌠🌠🌠
📝EPISODE_7
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Chrissy was a bit lost. She was very excited about the shop but at the same time she was scared if she would be able to manage it. Especially since he would be the owner of the shop. She was sure he would not take shortcomings easily.
But she didn’t want him to know about her fears. This was her really last lifeline. “I think I will be to pick it up quic-kly,” she responded somewhat confidently though she was not all confident inside.
He viewed her closely one more time before continuing, “Well, if that is the case, I suggest we complete the formalities quic-kly.”
“Which h0tel would this shop be in?” she asked.
“The Regency Palace” he replied quietly.
“But that’s one of the most expensive h0tels in the city!” She exclaimed
“It is. I wouldn’t want anything but the very best,” he said arrogantly.
Sweat broke around Chrissy’s forehead. Something about this offer was ma-king her hold back. She couldn’t say what it was. Her silence didn’t go unnoticed by Nikloi. He stood up restlessly and said, “If you think it’s beyond you, I can find another person to run it for me.”
Seeing the lifeline sli-pping out of her hands, she hurriedly said, “I will do it.” After a pause of few seconds, “How much rent I would have to pay for this shop?” She asked tentatively spelling out her concern.
Nikloi saw she had lowered her eyes again and was twisting her hands in her l@p. “We’ll continue with the same arrangements you had with your earlier owner,” he said.
“But this shop is at The Regency Palace…” she hesitated.
“You have a problem with continuing the current rent?” Nikloi cut in between.
Chrissy realized it was time to accept the terms before he changed his mind. She quic-kly said, “No, no. I am fine”.
“So it is, then. My team would be in t©uçh with you to close the finer details. They would show you the place around where your new shop shall be. You may start from next week,” he stated authoritatively. She was not comfortable with his dictating terms but decided she didn’t have much say in her current position. So she stood up silently agreeing to his plan.
Just when she thought everything has been discussed, he stood up from his seat and c@m£ to her side of the table. Blocking her tra-pped between the table and himself, he looked darkly in her eyes and said sternly, “I don’t do business with young girls. Don’t make me regret my decision.”
Her skin singed with the insult and the hidden threat, but even more from his proximity. She wanted to insult him back but nothing c@m£ out of her mouth. She was not used to men ma-king her conscious of her every inch like he did. She had never even realized most men noticing her. It was a pity, since she didn’t know how most men saw her simplicity and reacted naturally to it rather than show dramatic reactions.
Feeling her mouth turn dry, she just stared back at him hoping her eyes were communicating the insult her mouth wasn’t cooperating in expressing. But all her eyes did were look like two large lush green pools staring into blue ones. All of a sudden, he broke the eye contact and turned towards the glas-s wall and she could breathe again.
“Good day, Ms Smith,” with those quic-k words she was dismissed while he continued to look outside the glas-s wall. The man was an enigma to her – breathing down her n£¢k one second and dismissing her as an insignificant entity the next.
Realizing she had missed the opportunity to answer him back and also knowing even if she had it, there wasn’t much she could have said or done in her current situation, she turned to move out of his room. She wanted to thank him for finally agreeing to let her keep livelihood but his last few words deterred her from expressing any gratitude to the man.
Just as she was about to open the large wooden door, she heard him call her name. She turned to see he was still standing, looking at her with strangely dark blue eyes. He said, “You should also look at changing your dressing style. This may not work in your new working environment.”
Chrissy’s face quic-kly turned red and her hands went to her dress. Even though she knew what he said was right, considering that she would be working in one of the most expensive h0tels in the world, being reminded of her status, in this manner, was quite hurtful.
His face was devoid of any expression but his dark eyes were constantly fixed on her face. She wanted to tell him to go to hell but swallowing her pride, she said tautly, “I will remember that.”
With that she stepped out quic-kly before he added another jibe at her. The man had a way of getting un-der her skin like no other person.
She was conscious of her limited wardrobe and also that her clothes were not very expensive kind, but being reminded that her dressing style was not appropriate for his circle was extremely vain for her.
She was never the one interested in dressing up. She had just a handful of decent clothes in her cu-pboard and mostly she would manage by pairing cotton t©ps with her jeans or trou-sers. These were sufficient when dealing with her earlier clients, most of them being intermediaries, dealing on behalf of someone richer and busier. In any case she had far more important things to spend her ha-rd -earned money, than on clothes!
But she couldn’t do anything about it. Like always, Nikloi had been an ins-en-sitive brute, saying hurtful things irrespective of how she felt . Oh was it impossible to have any conversation with him without him ma-king her feel utter disaster, she thought . Never in her life had she felt more conscious about her dress, her looks than today in that luxurious office of his. And he had to t©p it all it by pointing out the inappropriateness of her dress.
So she had a shop now! Finally! But not a single appropriate dress to wear to that shop. Will her life never get back to normalcy again , she writhed inside.
From his office, she went straight to her shop and made arrangements for her current stock to be packed up and delivered to the new place. She loved the place but knew she had to move on. After spending her last day at the shop, she went home and informed her mother & sister about the new shop without sharing much details. Alice was super excited that she would be working at The Regency Palace h0tel but Chrissy pla-yed it down saying it was just her job and there wouldn’t be much difference compared to her earlier shop.
But in heart she knew nothing would be like it was ever again. She had received a call from a man from Nikloi’s office informing her she would have to come to Swaroski House next day to complete the necessary formalities. She went to sleep praying she would be able to live up to the new challenge in her life even as a certain dark face with narrowed eyes kept appearing in her thoughts.
WHAT DREAMS ARE MADE OF
📝 Episode_8
Next day Chrissy went back to Swaroski House and was met by a guy who explained her the entire process of her managing the shop at Regency Palace. He was sweet, unlike his boss, and had no problems in answering her queries. She listened to the rules and regulations carefully and then finally signed on the dotted line. After the legal formalities, she was told she would be accompanied to the h0tel with one of the h0tel employees to show her the place.
She was waiting in the meeting room, when a beautiful woman, in her late twenties walked in. She was wearing a beige coloured knee length Sk-irt with a matching short jacket and a black t©p inside, her hair were set in fashionable bun at the back of her head. She smiled at Chrissy and introduced herself as Linda Fox. She was in-charge of all the retail outlets at Regency Palace and would be taking Chrissy to the h0tel.
Chrissy immediately liked Linda. She had an easy-going attitude but appeared very p@rticular about her job. They left together in her car. She took her around the h0tel and introduced her to almost all the staff members and many of the guests staying at the h0tel. She knew all the staff members by first name but Chrissy wasn’t surprised by this since she saw Linda had a very friendly behaviour and she loved interacting with people. She was in the perfect job which suited her personality.
But Chrissy herself was a different story altogether. She was awestruck at being inside the majestic and almost colossal h0tel. It was named palace for obvious reasons, for that is what it ess£ntially was. Each and every thing about the place was splendid. They went around checking out different floors for two hours and still there was so much more to see, when Linda announced she was famishing and they nee-ded to take a break.
Chrissy didn’t feel she could eat anything but agreed for her.
Inside the exquisite cafe at the h0tel, they sat at a table at the far end and Linda ordered for them. Chrissy didn’t interrupt because she was still lost in the magnificence of the place. She felt like a fish out of water in this place. How the hell is she going to even survive in such a place; let alone do well?
In spite of the cool conditioning, sweat was breaking at her forehead. She felt, Nikloi Swaroski had intentionally given her this shop because he knew she wouldn’t survive here. She remembered his veiled threat from yesterday.
Suddenly, she felt Linda tou-ching her hand saying, “It’s okay”. She c@m£ back from her zoned-out state and gave Linda a puzzling look. Linda laughed softly and said, “I am saying it’s okay to be overwhelmed by the grandness of this place. It’s written all over your face. But you should not worry. You will get used to all this very quic-kly”.
Chrissy lowered her eyes and said, “I am not sure. I have never even visited such a place in my life, forget working”. Somehow it was easier to confide in Linda. She didn’t seem intimid@t!nglike her boss.
“Oh that’s nothing. There is always a first time for everything and for everyone. I am sure if Mr. Swaroski has asked you to take up this shop here, it would be right. He never makes a wrong move”, she said.
It’s definitely not a wrong move, if he wants me to fail, Chrissy thought worryingly but in spite of Linda’s friendly nature she couldn’t express these fears to her.
Once throu-gh with their tea, they continued with the tour, meeting more staff and some of the guests on the way. Chrissy noticed that the guests, men and women both, were elegantly dressed. Even the staff had very smart uniforms. More people she met, more she was concerned about her simple green cotton t©p and black trou-ser. She could see she really nee-ded to work on her wardrobe, if she had to work among with these people.
She was still in thoughts, when Linda showed her in a small shop next to the spa on the ground floor. Entering it, she immediately realized it was her shop, her Dreams. She was surprised by some of the pieces that were alre-ady on the displa-y. They were truly gems. The shop was beautifully designed and she fell in love with it instantaneously. It was worth all the pains she suffered at the hands of Nikloi Swaroski. It was truly Dreams for her.
She told Linda how much she loved the shop and Linda was happy to see the young girl so excited. She inspected each and every piece of antique in the shop and Linda explained to her the functioning of the shop and told her that she could count on her for any support nee-ded at the shop.
Chrissy thanked Linda for her time and the guided tour of the h0tel with all sincerity. She was rally grateful to have a found a friend in Linda and felt she would be able to make things work with her support. However she still nee-ded to solve one problem and that was about her clothes before she could start working there.
She had seen multi-ple people during the day to un-derstand how odd she looked amongst them. She genuinely nee-ded to change her style to suit this place. Nikloi Swaroski’s words were still pla-ying in her head. Not sure if she should ask for Linda’s help in this, she hesitatingly asked her if she could suggest a place where she would be able to buy some formal clothes.
Linda was more than happy to help and said, “Don’t worry. I know just the place. In fact I will take you there myself”. In spite of Chrissy’s resistance, Linda took her to one of her friend’s boutique close by. At the boutique, Chrissy was soon awed by the dresses. She tried to mention to Linda that she wasn’t looking for very expensive clothes, to which Linda smilingly replied that these were not really very expensive plus they were on stock clearance sale. To her utter joy, Chrissy found some wonderful dresses, which still made a dent in her pocket, but one that she would be able to manage somehow.
She was not planning to buy more than one or two but Linda insisted that she buys more saying they were a catch and suited her well. She had also suggested some daringly cut blouses and go-wns but Chrissy had put her foot down, settling for the sober and demure ones. She was extremely conscious of trying the clothes one by one but even she had to agree these clothes look wonderful on her and gave her completely different and smart look. She selected a beautiful dress for Alice and Linda picked some dresses as well.
Finally with her hands full of her shopping bags, she left the place. It had been a long day but after a very long time she had enjoyed herself. She loved her work but there was nothing else she did. So this was an unexpected change which surprised her with how much relaxed she felt. Somehow she started feeling guilty for spending so much money on self but when she reached home, both her mother and sister were really happy to see new clothes and her new side. She was always serious and busy. So they welcomed this new Chrissy, very similar to the way she was before things went rou-gh for them. Alice was over the moon when she saw her own dress and gave Chrissy a ti-ght hvg.
After ages, Smith ladies were all laughter and Mrs Smith inwardly thanked God for gracing her Chrissy with this happiness. The young girl was burdened with too many responsibilities at such an early age and sometimes she wished things could have been different for her dear Chrissy. But at least they were happy today and they sle-pt together in that bliss.
Chrissy completed all the nitty gritty of shifting her shop to The Regency Palace and was set to start afresh. With heavy heart she handed over the keys of her shop on Wednesday to Alex. The man was sympathetic to her and she was glad it was him and not Jake Tilly to whom she had to give her keys. On Friday, she even went and watched the demolition from a distance. Alex had strongly advised her not to come to the site but she couldn’t not come.
It was difficult to watch but she was made of stronger stuff. She knew the shop was and will always be close to her heart since that was the place where she started her own business. It was set up by her, designed by her and run by her. But she was also practical. Things had changed, life had moved on and it was time for her to move on as well. So she bid her last farewell to the place before it was pu-ll-ed down in front of her.
Alex saw her sad eyes but decided not to comment looking at her solemn face. Chrissy thanked him for his silent un-derstanding and left when nothing remained of her shop.
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Story_Continues💞💞