clutched her smartphone, trying to refrain from throwing it against the wall. “There are thirty women waiting to see you strut your stuff across the hardwood floor in less than an hour.”
“I know, Winter, and I’m so sorry,” Angelique replied.
“Whoosah.” Winter took a deep breath as she stepped deeper into the dimly lit walk-in closet. “Now’s the time when you tell me this is just a joke and men dressed in funny costumes are going to throw confetti and yell ‘Surprise!’”
She briefly noticed that all the coats and jackets in the closet coordinated with a pair of shoes that were placed right beneath them. Seriously? Who the heck does that?
It was bad enough she was hiding in a closet when she was supposed to be hosting a bachelorette party, but now she was also snooping in the closet of a man she’d rather forget existed.
“Our flight takes off in less than ten minutes, so this is definitely not a joke.”
“I think your boyfriend surprising you with a trip to Paris is amazing, since his timing is perfect,” she said sarcastically. “How about I just tell the client that my top model was swept away on a romantic getaway, so we will show our backless embellished lace babydoll paired with a pearl lace thong on a dull mannequin instead.”
“Oh, Winter, that would be awesome. I was worried—”
“I was not being serious,” Winter said, cutting off the rest of Angelique’s sentence. “I’d rather have a root canal than tell a client we can’t deliver on what we promised. I’ll have to figure something else out.”
“Why don’t you have another model wear that piece?”
Winter quirked one eyebrow and blinked several times. “I’ll pretend like you didn’t just say that my customized piece that was made to fit your measurements exactly could be worn by another model. Those chic black pieces are the signature look for our European-inspired lingerie collection and you are the only model who can pull off the look.”
“I’ll make it up to you when I get back to Chicago,” Angelique said, rushing Winter off the phone. “It’s the last boarding call. Talk to you soon!”
Winter dropped her head to the floor as she listened to the silence on the other end of the call. “Ugh! Must be nice to get whisked away on a trip to Paris.” She knew she sounded bitter, but at the moment, she didn’t care. Angelique was one of her best models. Also the first model who had signed up when word spread through the Chicago fashion industry that Bare Sophistication had decided to throw masquerade lingerie events to promote signature pieces from their store. Winter had been in business with her sisters for over two years now and she was really excited about the direction Bare Sophistication was taking.
She and her sisters had immediately developed a great business model. Winter handled all the visual merchandising and design for the lingerie store. Autumn managed the business and sales, while Summer handled all public relations and advertising despite the fact that she was currently residing in Miami. Their newly appointed manager, Danni Allison, assisted in the daily operations and staff management.
Last month Winter had decided that it was time to bring their boutique to another level. She’d come up with the idea of throwing upscale masquerade lingerie events that offered customized pieces that weren’t available in-store and therefore only available if purchased at an elaborate masquerade lingerie party. In addition, they also offered sexy European-inspired nightwear and robes to complement the lingerie.
With the help of her friends at Elite Events Incorporated, Winter had been able to gather a list of Chicago’s most influential women. She’d then sent the group of women a special invitation so that those interested could schedule an informational one-on-one meeting to learn more about hosting a Bare Sophistication masquerade lingerie event. Within a week, she had ten events lined up.
“Winter, are you in there?”
Winter cracked the door open and pulled Danni inside the closet. “Angelique can’t make the lingerie fashion show tonight.”
Danni’s eyes grew big with panic, mirroring exactly how Winter felt. Tonight was their first event and Winter’s first client, Kaya Reed, was extremely excited to have Bare Sophistication host a lingerie party for her best friend’s bachelorette party. Despite the fact that Winter had an adamant dislike for Kaya’s older brother Taheim Reed, she had eagerly agreed to help Kaya, who happened to be a sweetheart, throw a party her friend would never forget.
Unfortunately, that included a top-notch lingerie fashion show that ended with the signature piece Kaya was convinced her bestie would appreciate as a bachelorette gift. Which was why it was imperative that she have a model actually try on the best piece in the collection.
“There’s absolutely no way she can make it here in time?” Danni asked.
“Nope, her boyfriend surprised her with a trip to Paris.”
“Aww, how romantic. I wonder if he’ll propose on the trip. I bet Angelique is hoping he proposes. If you had seen the two of them in the store the other day when he picked her up for lunch... They were so cute...”
“Danni,” Winter said as she waved a hand in front of her to cut her off. Winter hated being rude, but she had little time to put together a backup plan now that Angelique was a no-show. “Sorry to cut you off, but we need to focus. Can we switch out any of the models to have them try on the special piece?”
Danni quirked her mouth to the side in thought. “I’m sure we can, but we also chose Angelique because she was similar in size and build to the bride-to-be. That way the bride would have a visual of how she would look before Kaya surprised her with the customized set we made for her.”
“I understand, but we may have to make do with another model.” Even as the words left her mouth, Winter found it hard to believe them. Oftentimes her sisters teased her about being a go-with-the-flow type of woman. But when she wanted things to go a certain way and plans didn’t work out, she could never hide her disappointment.
“You know there’s another solution to this problem,” Danni said.
“I’m all ears.”
Danni averted her eyes as if trying to find the right words. “There’s only one woman who is similar to Angelique.” Hopeful eyes met Winter’s.
“I know you’re not suggesting what I think you’re suggesting.”
“Oh, come on, Winter.” Danni tugged on her arm. “You’d look amazing in the piece and you definitely have the shape for it.”
“You have got to be kidding me.” Winter knew that there would come a time when one of her models would flake on her. But there was absolutely no way she was modeling the lingerie herself.
“I have an image to uphold and modeling in little to nothing isn’t exactly the visual I want to leave for the women in that room.”
“Angelique was going to wear a masquerade mask anyway that covered half her face. Even if some of the ladies know it’s you, they won’t say anything. Plus, half of them are tipsy anyway.”
Of course, Winter knew all about the mask since she was the one who’d decided on the look for Angelique. But that wasn’t the point.
“Danni,
