Flashes and Freezing

I don't visit the office for the rest of the week and am able to avoid Mr. Conti in his home pretty well in the evenings so the week flies by quickly. Annabelle has grown to feel like an older sister to me and I really wish she wasn't returning to Paris tomorrow.

However, I can't lie and say I won't be happy when I can go back to hanging out with my working class friends. I've never thought I would achieve great wealth so I haven't bothered coveting the rich and their lifestyle. It turns out it's exhausting spending so much money. I would be horrible at being rich because I would want to stay home and read all the time.

I asked Annabelle if she ever just stays home and chills but she laughed and said, "But then how will all the right people know I'm rich? How would they know I'm important and fear me?"

Annabelle is convinced Mr. Conti likes me so she's decided to take me under her wing and make me her protege in all things society related. She jokes that she's giving me a crash course on being a socialite. While the idea of being a socialite terrifies me, I'm at least happy that I have her help in picking what to wear to the gala on Friday.

The amount of faux pas one can make in choosing an outfit is astounding and I have to say there is a lot more to being a rich wife then I had originally thought.

We spend all of Friday getting ready for the gala. I've never had a spa day before and while a lot of it is relaxing there are also some less relaxing elements. I would love to never experience a wax again ever in my life, that's for sure.

The spa is in Annabelle's hotel and she insists I stay with her to get ready and use her hair stylist and makeup artist. 

By the time they are finished with me I look like a goddess. I stand in front of the full length mirror completely shocked by my appearance. My dark hair falls in large waves down my back and my makeup is done with a bit of a smokey eye.

I chose a dark blue dress, so dark it's almost black. I only ever see Mr. Conti wear dark colours so I chose the colour of my dress keeping in mind that I would have to hand him a tie of the same colour. I couldn't imagine how embarassing it would be to hand him and pink or orange tie.

I'm wearing an off the shoulder dress with some ruching accross the bust. The bodice is fitted and the skirt bells out lightly at the bottom. It's very elegant and understated. Annabelle pushed me to get something more extravagent but I have no desire to stand out. She did make me get a nice necklace to at least dress it up a bit.

When we're ready, we head down to the lobby where we meet Antoine. He has a car waiting and we make our way to the venue where we will meet Mr. Conti.

Mr. Conti, always a punctual man, is waiting in front of the venue and like a gentleman, offers his hand to help me out of the car. I'm glad I decided to wear a coat instead of braving the cold early November weather.

There is a red carpet leading up steps to the entrance of the gala with some photographers and journalists along the side. I walk beside Mr. Conti but I make sure not to make contact. We get to the bottom of the stairs when Annabelle stops me.

"You need to take of your coat now. There is an attendant that can take it for you," she says as I watch her shiver.

"No way, it's freezing," I say, determined to keep my coat. Maybe if I keep the coat on they won't take pictures of me.

"You absolutely can't walk up those stairs with a coat on," she says in horror.

"I can and I will."

I feel a hand rest on my lower back and Mr. Conti's voice in my ear, "What is the issue?"

"She wants me to take of my coat now and I want to take it off in the building where I won't freeze," I explain, thinking he'll take my side. He's usually a very sensible person.

Unfortunately, he decides to lose his mind at this moment. Without a word, he pulls the tie holding my coat together and slides it off my shoulders. He hands it to the attendent and turns back to me to offer his arm.

"Let's go. If we don't stop for pictures, we'll be inside in a minute."

I freezing so anything I want to say can wait until we are inside. I link my arm through his and we start walking up the stairs with purpose. At least we both want to make it past the phoographers as fast as possible.

I should have known Annabelle would have other plans. Partway up the steps she calls out to me asking for a picture together. She calls loud enough for everyone to hear so I can't say no. Going down the steps gracefully in my heels is much harder to do then going up, so I need to lean a bit on Mr. Conti for balance. 

The second I'm at Annabelle's side I pose for a picture wanting to get it done quickly. Mr. Conti, thankfully, steps far enough away to not be in the shot but then Annabelle loudly calls out, "Let's get a group shot." She even says it in English so Mr. Conti can understand.

I can see his reluctance as he walks closer to me. I turn to the cameras and focus on them and not on Mr. Conti approaching me. Neither of us want to take this picture so why do I care that he doesn't want to be in this picture? Annabelle must be getting in my head, making me think he likes me.

I smile and try not to flinch at all the flashes. I endure the moment and the second Mr. Conti loosens his hold I get back to walking up the stairs. This time we don't connect arms, we just walk slightly beside each other. 

We finally get inside where I can enjoy the warmth. I think that things can only get easier from here, but it turns out I'm wrong.