“And you don’t have cuts and bruises?”
“No cuts, just a few faint bruises that are on their way out. I’m good. Really, I am. If I spend one more day cooped up, I’m going to go stir crazy. Let me work, Beth. Please…”
She doesn’t answer straight away. She presses a finger to her lips in thought. “You’re a girl after my own heart, you know that?”
I just smile at her. She’s so good at being stern and portraying the hard heartless image, but it couldn’t actually be further from the truth.
“Come on then,” she says sweeping up my hand in hers. “Let’s get you started. You wanna work…let’s work. But,” she stops and swings around in my direction, “if you feel faint, dizzy or unwell in any way at all, I want you to tell me, promise?”
“Promise.” I nod.
Beth takes me through to her office, which now doubles as mine too. We have desks opposite each other with everything I could ever need laid out neatly at my fingertips.
“Now, before you start, I want to lay down some rules,” Beth states. “You have a question? Ask. Do not leave it and try andfigure it out yourself. I don’t care how small or insignificant the question is, ask it. Little mistakes can cost a small fortune, and I don’t want to have to yell at you.”
“Got it.”
“I run a tight ship here, Arianna. No bitching. No backstabbing. We work as a team, and I want to know if there’s any problems.”
I nod.
“There’s one more thing. Have fun. This is a job I love, and if I’m right, and I’ve never been wrong…” Her voice softens, “You’re going to love it too.” She finishes her sentence with a smile.
She’s right. I think I am going to love it here.
The morning goes by fast, in a blur of phone calls and files. I am introduced to designers via video call and put in charge of a rather large and very expensive order with a top designer. I think my face actually lost all of its color when I was put through directly to the man himself. Just the mere mention of Beth or Chique has huge clout with these designers and I’m loving it. The hours fly by and before I know it, it’s two in the afternoon.
“Arianna. Down time. Let’s eat,” Beth announces.
She grabs her purse, and hands me mine. I follow her quick pace through the store, and out into the afternoon sun. It’s hot, and after being in the air conditioned office for most of the day so far, the wall of stifling, dry air hits me hard. Luckily we don’t have to go far as Beth leads me into a bistro just a few minutes down the road.
We stay for a light lunch. Nothing extravagant, but delicious all the same. Conversation is light and professional and I’m grateful for that. Beth’s knowledge of the fashion world is astounding. She knows everyone, or should I say, everyone knows her. The professional her. She doesn’t divulge anything about her personal life, which has me intrigued. She doesn’twear a wedding band, nor is there an indentation where she might have worn one once upon a time. I can’t imagine someone like her being on her own, but I don’t pry. If she wants to share, then she will do it in her own good time.
We get back to the boutique within an hour, and the shop floor is busy. Beth’s employees are busy assisting and serving, and I smile in the knowledge that she trusts her staff to work hard when she’s not here.
“Beth,” I call out to her as she strides ahead of me.
“Yes, Arianna, dear?”
“Would you mind if I observe out here for a while?”
“Sure,” she shrugs, then creases her brow. “You don’t like it in the office with me?”
“Oh, no. It’s not that. Not at all. It’s just that I’d like to see how things work. Get an idea of how everything functions as a whole,” I explain, fearing that I might have offended her.
She laughs, “I was joking, Arianna. Of course you can. You can do as you please. As long as the work gets done, I don’t mind what you do.” She pauses, turning to look at me. “Have I worked you too hard today? You feeling okay?”
“No, ma’am. I’ve loved it, really I have. I mean, my head is spinning with everything I’ve learned but it’s great. I feel great.”
“Good. Let’s just get those Jensen files sent over, and you can observe until your heart’s content.”
I am introduced to Layla and Jo, Beth’s assistant managers. They’re sweet and very welcoming, and both make me laugh when they talk like they’re twins and finish each other’s sentences. That’s what happens when you work closely with someone for a long time. I watch them go about their day, attentively assisting the most prestigious of the clients that come through the door and overseeing the younger sales assistants with everything else.
Layla takes me through some of the unique items they have in stock, gushing over Beth’s amazing contacts, and how she can manage to get her hands on some real beautiful pieces, with just a wink of her beautifully long lashes.
We stand behind the counter to the left hand side, so we don’t disturb any transactions that need to take place. Layla pulls out some paperwork from one of the drawers, and starts to explain the workings of the way they control their stock and ordering process. We both have our heads down, until something prickles at my senses and I glance up. For some strange reason I shiver as my eyes search upwards across the leather clad torso in front of me. When I reach the person’s face, I can’t see past the motorbike helmet. This immediately strikes me as odd, as I would assume it’s common courtesy to remove your helmet when entering a store.
I swallow hard, and although I can’t see the person’s eyes through the mirrored visor, I know he or she is looking at me. I quickly deduct that it is a male under the leather due to the build and stance, but I could be wrong.
