Chapter 15
"Do you think you could get a plus one for the show?" Hailey asked in a timid voice as we walked towards the grocery store.
"Uh, I don't know... I mean you didn't say anything earlier, I thought you didn't want to go."
She stopped in her tracks and stomped, "Of course I want to go! It's Fashion Week, Lauren!" she pouted, much like a little girl throwing fits.
I smiled at her then shook my head, "Wow, well, I guess you have to pray that I'm not a plus one already. You really should've said something about it earlier."
"I thought you were gonna tell him that you'll only go if I go."
"I didn't know, okay? It didn't occur to me to extend the invite. And weren't you the one who told me not to assume things?"
"Yeah." she murmured.
I nodded.
Hailey exhaled loudly, pressed her palms together in a prayer position then looked up the sky, "Lord, please."
I laughed at her then continued to walk.
"Hey!" she ran after me, heels clicking on the sidewalk cement.
I reached the front of the grocery store, right hand on the cool glass of the door, "Okay, Hailey, I'll be sure to ask him."
"Thank you," she said breathily.
I opened the door and walked in just in time as someone was just walking out.
Hard muscle crashed on my shoulders and electricity zinged at the center of my foot.
"Ow." I looked down and saw a can of beans on my left, falling from my foot, as the other grocery items fell away.
"Oh my God, Lauren," Hailey placed a protective hand on my back.
I winced in pain but squatted immediately, ignoring the pain that gradually subsides, to help pick up the groceries that fell out of the guy's brown paper bag.
"I'm so sorry." I apologized to the mop of brown hair who was still picking up his groceries, Hailey helped too.
"Are you alright?" he said as we stood. Whoa, British.
"Uh, yeah. It's nothing." I blinked at him. A piece of his long brown curly hair fell just under his brown eyes. "I'll just shake it off." I shook my head with a smile.
He chuckled, "Like Taylor Swift, yeah?"
"Yeah..." I nodded. "I'm sorry for your groceries though." I smiled, tight-lipped.
He was silent for a second too long. "So, uh... Have a nice day!" I waved then started walking into the store.
"You too." he smiled then continued his way out.
Hailey opened her mouth suggestively, "Hot." She nodded, pursing her lips together in a smirk.
"Okay?" I said, bemused.
"Okay? C'mon, Laure, I'm stating facts here. And that accent? Whew!" She swept the back of her hand against her forehead, removing an imaginary sweat.
"What was that?" I laughed. "C'mon, I think I need to ice my foot." I placed an arm over her shoulder and we walked inside.
* * *
I DMed Axel on Instagram as soon as I got home. I asked him if I could bring Hailey with me to the show. I was kind of surprised because I didn't expect him to reply immediately but as soon as I've hit send, he replied, "Done ;)" like he's already expected this. And if not, well he has a lot of nerve to try to pull strings when I know seating charts are already done by this time. Eh, it's his problem now.
The week passed in a whirlwind, with the office's never-empty halls and agents on non-stop phone calls.
As suspected, not much has changed in our Department – well, except for the fact that Harper wasn't in her office all week, having other things to do to fulfill her responsibilities as a partner of the agency – other than that, we were remained unaffected by the fashionable chaos. Cassandra went on with teaching me how to use their software, special commands, and all. It was pretty challenging on the first view but nothing I can't handle.
"Any plans for the weekend?" Cassandra wiggled her brows at me as I put my coat on.
"Uh, nothing notable," I replied, not wanting to give more information on the Axel situation.
"Okay, well, have a nice weekend."
"You too." I smiled at her then went out the door.
I tried to hail a cab as soon as I got out of the building. The rush hour has started and I was having trouble booking an Uber. The show starts at 9:00 P.M. but I still need to get dressed and put traffic time into the equation.
It took me about 10 minutes to find a middle-lit cab roof light. I texted Hailey the address of tonight's show when I got in the cab. Axel gave me the address last night but I haven't told Hailey yet because I was hoping I could pick her up and we could go together, but there's no use now with all the traffic – it's better if we'll just meet there. She said she understood and that she'll just meet me outside.
I've obviously never been to a fashion show before so, I don't really know how to dress for the event. I literally Googled fashion show attires and looked at what the people in the background wore just to get an idea. But since Axel wouldn't tell me whose show was it, I'm still left in the dark so I just went with my trustee little black dress. I appreciate fashion but I'm not an avid enthusiast and if there's one thing in my dusty fashion rule book, it is that 'when in doubt, wear black'.
Coat on and I'm out on the streets with the cold breeze hitting face and the city lights illuminated in small puddles. My phone pinged from a message sent by Axel, "Hope to see you there." to which I replied, "I'm on my way."
When I got to the venue, Hailey was already outside in a sparkly silver dress.
"Hey, you've been here long?" I asked when I reached her.
"Nah, just arrived." we walked towards to entrance.
"So, in the few minutes you've arrived earlier than me, did you figure out whose show is it?"
"No, I think the banner's inside," she replied.
"Name, please?" the concierge by the door asked.
"Lauren Grant and Hailey Ferguson," I said and he looked at the guestlist for our names.
"Good evening, Ms. Grant and Ms. Ferguson" he smiled then let us in.
LIEZL MACK
The poster at the entrance said.
"Oh my God, we're at a Liezl Mack show." Hailey almost squealed.
"Uh... I don't really know her." I said as I check our coats in.
Hailey looked at me with palpable annoyance etched on her face. "What?"
"I'm not super fashion-forward if you don't know already." I defended. "Thank you," I said to the lady over the coat check counter.
"I know that but I didn't know that you live under a rock."
"Hey!"
"Liezl Mack is the up and coming menswear designer."
My eyes narrowed.
"25 under 25?"
"Oliver Mack's little sister?"
"Axel's best friend, Oliver?"
"Any of this ring a bell, Lauren?" she said, exasperated.
I shook my head. "Uh-uh."
"Oh. My. God. How..." she placed her fingers on her temples, contemplating how I didn't know any of this. "C'mon," she said, determined. She grabbed my hand, dragging me inside the event place.
The room was nicely lit, about a hundred or more chairs were gathered surrounding the runway in the middle. At the start, a big LM logo with Liezl Mack written underneath can be seen illuminated by stage lights. Photographers were everywhere with cameras flashes enough to light the whole room if New York decides to have a sudden power outage. A swarm of editors and a couple of celebrities were seated at the first and second rows, socializing and settling in their seats.
An usher came to us, "Hi, good evening. May I know your names so I could show you to your seats?"
"Sure. It's Hailey Ferguson and Lauren Grant." Hailey said.
"Alright, Ms. Ferguson and Ms. Grant..." he looked through his chart. "Follow me."
He led us to the fourth row on the right side of the stage; the last row to be exact, good enough to see but far enough to not catch attention. I made a mental note to congratulate Axel for that. Letter size papers with our names printed on it were attached to our seats with gift bags sitting before us.
"Enjoy the show." the usher said as we walk towards our seats.
"Thanks," I uttered before he left.
"Ooh, free stuff," Hailey said as she grabbed the gift bag so she could sit. I did the same.
"Well, I guess now it makes sense how Axel pulled the strings to get seats for 2 nobodies on a New York Fashion Week show."
"Yeah, I mean, I bet he couldn't do that if the designer was someone other than family or close friends."
I nodded.
"The show begins in 15 minutes." the announcer said and upbeat music started to play.
"Will you be okay by yourself? I'd like to go to the bathroom first before it starts. I don't wanna spoil anything with my small bladder."
"Of course, go."
I stood from my seat and looked for the bathroom outside the event room. Thankfully, there wasn't a line and I got in pretty quickly. I was washing my hands by the sink when someone called me,
"Lauren?"
"Harper." my brows raised in surprise as I saw her from the mirror. Of course, my boss would be here.
"Hey." I continued as I faced her, wiping my hands dry.
"It's good to finally see someone from my department this week," she remarked.
"Yeah, we've missed you the whole week." I chuckled.
"I'm guessing you're here for Axel?" she smirked.
"Oh, uh, yeah. He invited me."
"I heard your first date went well?"
"Hmm... yeah." I nodded.
"How's everything in the office by the way?" she said as we walked side by side, exiting the bathroom and back into the show.
"Oh, everyone's non-stop."
She chuckled, "Well, that's life at Fashion week."
"Autumn's here with me, by the way. Have you met her?" she added.
It took me a second to process what she's saying, "Oh. You mean, Autumn Morgan? No, I haven't yet."
She smiled, "Well, come, I'll introduce you before the show starts."
We walked towards the first row on the left side of the runway.
"Autumn, I'd like you to meet Lauren." Autumn stood, smiling at me.
"Hi," I said as I shook her hand.
"She's our new Accounting Associate." Harper continued.
Autumn nodded, "It's nice to meet you."
"Autumn has been overseeing the London branch for a month now, she just landed for the Fashion Week," Harper added.
"The show starts in 5 minutes. We're kindly requesting everyone to please settle on your seats and silent all cellphones and all other electronic devices. All photography and video-recording is strictly prohibited. Thank you and enjoy the show." the announcer said over the speakers.
"Oh. It was really nice to meet you, Ms. Morgan. I'd love to talk more but I have to get back to my seat."
She smiled, "Of course. See you around... And welcome to MGC."
I nodded to both of them then went back to my seat.
"What took you so long?" Hailey said.
"I bumped into my boss in the bathroom."
"Oh."
The lights went out, which earned a couple of gasps. The spotlight shone on the LM logo then other stage lights opened and the music changed, adding a dramatic effect. A model started to walk into the runway. The show officially started. Cameras were flashing about, taking photographs of the models in Liezl Mack's Fall/Winter Collection.
The clothes look good and absolutely wearable, not like the ones I saw on TV with fashion shows where the clothes were absurdly just for the sake of art.
"These models are such a sight for sore eyes," Hailey commented.
I smiled at her. She's not wrong though, all of them are attractive.
"Oh my God. It's that guy from the grocery store!" Hailey whispered but with urgency.
I looked back to the runway and there he was, strutting a dark gray turtle neck sweater under a navy-blue coat.
"What? Oh my God." my mouth fell open, what are the odds? "Wow."
"Yeah, that's right, wow." she agreed.
Then it was Axel who's walking, wearing an all-black tuxedo with a coat hanging on his left arm. His hair was styled messy and he walked as if he owned the entire room. He did a couple poses at the end of the runway and the camera's feasted over him. It is undeniable that he's good at his job. He glanced my way for a second as he walks back out of the stage and I didn't miss how he smirked ever so slightly.
"Wow," Hailey said.
I just nodded.
Then all the models went back to the stage and Liezl Mack was the last to go out. We all stood and applauded. She took a bow and some photos with the models, indicating the show has ended.
"That was..." Hailey shook her head, unable to bring out the words.
"Wow." I finished for her.
"Exactly. Too bad it's now finished."
They were already clearing out the chairs. "Yeah, I think it's time to go home."
She nodded then we walked out of the room.
I grabbed our coats from the coat check and handed Hailey hers.
"Thank you for letting me come with you," Hailey said as she tied her coat belt into a ribbon.
"Actually, I'm lucky you insisted on coming."
Hailey laughed, "Yeah, you don't even know who Liezl Mack is. I still can't believe it."
Cabs were waiting outside, knowing the show's already done. It's 10:30 and the traffic's gone to a minimum.
Hailey's phone rang, "Oops, Josh." she raised her phone at me, "gotta take this."
"Hey, Josh! Yeah. What? Okay. I'm on my way."
"What is it?" I asked, worried.
"Oh, it's nothing. Josh's Mom stopped by and she wanted to see me before leaving. I'm sorry, Laure, I gotta go."
"It's okay. I understand."
"You're the best." she hugged me. "Alright, I'll see you."
"'Kay. See you." I replied then she got inside a cab.
I hailed another cab then went home.
It's a little over 11:00 when I got home. I should be tired after a long day's work and a fashion show but it seems like I'm not spent enough to be sleepy yet.
I changed into my pajamas then turned the TV on and watched Little Women, my favorite.
I was at the scene where Amy fell on the ice when a knock on my door disturbed me. I looked at the peephole to see who it was. I opened the door immediately.