With that I rolled my eyes and started my third official morning as Kathryn's paralegal. I walked in to her office and she looked up from her writing and frowned. I smoothed my hands down my slacks, suddenly feeling under-dressed and unworthy in her gaze. I knew it had been too good to last.
“We need to get you some new clothes. I can't have you dressing like that in front of clients.” That was not what I had been expecting. She picked up her phone and hit a button. I looked down at my clothes. I had on simple black dress pants and a cute polka-dot blouse. I thought it was a very work appropriate outfit.
“I have suits I can wear,” I offered. I was determined to make this work. I wanted to keep this job.
“Are they Prada?” Kathryn raised her eyebrows as she waited for the other line to pick up.
“No. JC Penny,” I admitted. There was no way I could afford anything close to Prada level suits on my salary. Maybe one or two with my new salary, but definitely not any with the old one.
“I need you to look like you work for me. My clients pay a lot of money to have the best, so I need you to look like the best. Consider it another perk of the job,” she explained.
I looked down at the spot where her desk met the floor. I had no way to pay for an expensive suit.
“It goes on the company credit card,” Kathryn informed me. “Don't you worry about the money. It counts as a business expense.”
I shifted my weight as she focused her attention to the phone conversation. I liked my clothes, but I understood Kathryn's point. It was time to dress to impress. With clients worth billions of dollars, she needed me to look like I belonged among them.
“Claire, schedule a fitting with Raoul this evening for Lena...” she ordered. The person on the other line responded and she frowned before putting her hand over the mouthpiece. “What are you doing right now?”
“Um, whatever you tell me to.” I shrugged nervously. “I just finished the last item on the list you gave me”
Kathryn's eyebrows raised in approval. “Excellent. Remind me to give you more tomorrow.” She focused back on her phone. “Yes, now will work.”
The phone call ended with a click. My palms were sweaty and I was glad I had double checked all my work. If I hadn't, I would have really been freaking out that I had missed something. As it was, I was just partially freaking out. I wanted to be good at this.
Kathryn scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to me. “You are to go to this address and do whatever Raoul says to do. He's going to make you look like the McDonald, Smith and Ward employee that you are. Understand?”
I nodded. “Do I need to bring anything?” I was really glad I had chosen to wear my newer underwear this morning.
“Just your smile and my name,” Kathryn replied. “Go have fun.”
***
The address was one of the Magnificent Mile's fashion boutique. As the company cab pulled up, I nearly called Kathryn to confirm I had the right place. It was the kind of shop that looked so expensive window-shoppers had to pay a fee.
A soft bell chimed on the door as I stepped inside. White walls with artsy black and white photographs hung at strategic intervals throughout the store, but there was a surprising lack of clothing. I picked up a sequined covered dress on a nearby hanger to see a price tag that would pay my rent several times. I nearly dropped the hanger before realizing that would be even worse.
“You must be Kathryn's,” a man said, emerging from a back room. He wore simple black pants and a black shirt that hugged is thin frame with a bright blue scarf around his neck.
“That's me,” I replied with a laugh. The man grinned, his teeth white against his dark skin. He came closer and I realized he had the most amazing blue eyes. “I don't really know what I'm doing here.”
“Well, the clothes out here aren't really for you.” He motioned to the sequined dress. “I doubt Kathryn would appreciate that in her office.”
I giggled at the image of me sparkling while preparing her legal documents. “No, probably not.”
He held out a friendly hand. “I'm Raoul.”
“Lena,” I replied, taking his hand. His fingers were calloused and his grip strong.
“Come with me, Lena.” He grinned. “I'm going to make you look like a star.”
***
Three hours later, I had tried on more clothing than I had ever even owned in my entire life. I was exhausted. I had no idea how just putting on and taking off clothes could take so much energy. Suddenly, I could see how the socialites of the world stayed so skinny. All they did was change their clothes.
The door leading to freedom opened and Kathryn walked in. “How's it going, Raoul?”
“Fantastic. I think we have a good base,” he answered, handing her his bill.