CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Sophia
"These are allthe stores that we're partnering with?" My gaze volleys between Gabriel and Sasha. "Is this for real?"
They laugh in unison.
"It's for real, Sophia." Sasha moves to stand next to me. "Early interest in the line is high. The pictures of the pieces that were leaked online went viral. Our sales department was inundated with calls from the get-go."
Leaked is a subjective term for what happened. Gabriel and I were at Axel NY sharing lunch when I threw an idea out at him. He was skeptical at first. He's old school which means you keep everything tightly under wraps until press day. I wanted to do something out of the box, and when I finally got him to agree to it, I took pictures of two of my most favorite pieces and uploaded them to a brand new Instagram account with every fashion related hashtag imaginable.
I tagged the stores I know are a good fit for the Ella Kara Collection and then I started following as many fashion bloggers as I could find. It only took three days before the post hadmore than ten thousand likes and by a week later that had grown to more than one hundred thousand. It didn't hurt that Claudia Stefano was one of the first to repost the picture with a caption that she wished she could showcase the collection in her boutiques. I remind myself to send her a bouquet of flowers to thank her for fulfilling my request.
"I'm stunned." I stare at the screen of Sasha's tablet. "We're still showing the line at Fashion Week?"
"We'll incorporate it into the Arilia show," Gabriel pipes up. "You'll present it and we want your full input on the models, accessories, everything related to the show."
"I can't wait for that." I push the tablet back to Sasha. "You'll come to the show, right?"
She decided last week that she'd start the long and winding trail to retirement. She's already cut down to two days a week and by the time Fashion Week is in full swing, she'll be making an appearance here once a month or less.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world."
I won't either. I'll be showing by then and everyone here will know that I'm having a baby. I'm not that far along now and although I can't see a difference in my body yet, I can feel it.
Our baby is still a secret that Nicholas and I cherish.
"Nick said you two could do dinner on Thursday, "Gabriel says smoothly. "It'll be good for the four of us to catch up."
It will be. Everyone has been treating me with kid gloves since the ordeal with Franco. I haven't talked a lot about what happened, but I have kept in close touch with Elroy's family. He's doing well, thriving and enjoying life in Arizona with his aunt and his mom.
Franco didn't bother to fight the charges brought against him. He has a court date approaching. He'll plead guilty which will mean he'll spend the rest of his life in prison.
"You feel up to having dinner, don't you, Sophia?"
I look at Sasha. It's not surprising that she'd be the one to ask me. She's kept watch over me since I came back to work. We didn’t discuss what happened, but she hugged me tightly that first day. I've watched her navigate the press effortlessly when they've called in search of an interview and she even loaned me her company-supplied car and driver so I could sneak out each day to avoid the reporters who hung out in the lobby for more than a week.
Things have calmed. Life has returned to normal except for the issue that I have to discuss with Nicholas tonight.
"I would love to have dinner." I turn to Gabriel. "There's an open invitation for Sasha to join us, isn't there?"
"I've asked Sasha to have dinner with Isla and me for years, but," he's interrupted by a chime from his phone. He drops his gaze to it. "I need to go. Sasha knows she's always welcome at my home for dinner."
"I'll never show up." Sasha gives a curt nod to us both. "I like our relationship the way it is. Breaking bread together will change it."
"Once you're fully retired then?" Gabriel's eyes dance with humor. "That excuse will cease to exist once you're off the payroll."
"Good point. I suppose once I'm a free woman I'll have a change of heart."
I know she will. I see the affection between her and Gabriel. Even when she walks out of this design studio for the last time, Sasha will always be part of the Foster family.
"Who knewthat your body would be even more beautiful when you're pregnant?" Nicholas runs his hands over my breasts. "Your tits have swollen up."
Not by much. They're not much bigger than they've always been. My nipples are a hell of a lot more sensitive now. He bites them when he's fucking me and I feel it instantly in my core. "They're still small."
"They're perfect." He plants a kiss on the side of my breasts. "Are you ready for round two?"
Round one lasted more than an hour. I was hungry for his cock when I got to his place, so I took him right inside the door. I pushed his jeans down along with his boxers and sucked him without abandon.
