BlackHeart

Chapter 43

        I've had the worst couple of days. First Dom attacked Tatum for hitting on me, then that led to Elio finding out about us, which led to them fighting so badly they destroyed half the house and each other's faces. The worst part about all of this is that Elio is so mad at me he won't even speak to me or look at me. I feel like I'm in my fathers house all over again, tip-toeing around a man because he's disappointed in me and pissed off at me. Because he's disgusted with me. But this time I did do something wrong, and Elio has every right to be mad about it. 

That's what makes me feel even worse. As horrible as it is, I really was hoping Dom would reach out to me, just so we could hash out our own shit. He called me a mistake and those words hurt. He stuck to his word and didn't check in on me after the fight or anything. There's been complete radio silence from him and from Elio. 

I couldn't take it anymore. I went and stayed at Sophia's house for the night before my interview at the new internship. I thought that'd be a day I would celebrate with both Dom and Elio. I'd been so excited for this, and now everything feels spoiled and ruined. My living room decorations were destroyed. My relationship with both men in my life. I haven't felt this low in a long time. 

        Sophia is a doll and she did her best to cheer me up and amp me up for my first day at the internship. This is my dream and I can't let my emotions cloud this opportunity or my excitement over it. I deserve one good thing, don't I? Every time things go wrong in my life I always question whether it's what I deserve. This passion for fashion was the only thing driving me through life for a long time when things were really bad. I want it so bad I can almost taste it. I have my foot in the door and I just need to work hard and show Helen Barton that she made the right choice. 

Sophia and I, after long deliberation, had chosen my outfit for the first day. It was a mix between my clothing and hers. A black tee tucked into a wine red/navy colored plaid mini skirt with a red wine colored double lapel coat, a black beret, matching red wine colored chunky ankle strap heels which belonged to Sophia and just so happened to match perfectly. I paired it with reddish framed glasses, a gold and burgundy red watch and a YSL bag with a gold chain to tie the look together. The purse was also to die for and provided by Sophia very generously. It was red suede patch work with of course the Saint Laurent monogram. I made sure my makeup was perfectly applied and that my hair was done. 

        I was given the address to an office rented out of a commercial space. I wasn't sure what to expect from it until I arrived and saw for myself. It almost looked like a store front, though when you walked inside you could see two desks, a wall of pinned outfit/design photos, racks of miscellaneous clothes and shoes neatly in a row towards the back, and a few occupants inside the space including Helen Barton. 

The woman was dressed in high fashion and I would expect nothing less from her. Again, with those thin lips it always gave off the impression that she was somewhat displeased, but she greeted me neutrally, almost regal. "Miss Fiore, come in" she waved me over to the desk that was clearly hers.It was pushed close to the left hand wall with a scattering of ripped out magazine pages across it. 

        When I approached her desk I saw her eyes taking in my full appearance as I knew she would. It's what she does for a living after all. "Dom had good things to say about you and I've taken a look at your portfolio. I was thinking of throwing you a few challenges today to get a feel for your designer knowledge, and how you piece together outfit looks," she told me first thing.

Nerves spiked within me even though I love to do this kind of stuff. Still, it's only the first two minutes and she already wants to quiz me on something. "Don't look so worried. Have a seat, I'll better explain what I'd like you to do," she waved for me to sit in the chair across from her desk.