“Oh, I like those,” she says.
“Very Audrey Hepburn. Glamorous. You should get them.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely. See? You do have it in you.”
In less than an hour, her demeanor has already changed. “Where to now?” she asks with a smile.
“Let’s go to American Apparel.”
“Isn’t that place full of cheap stuff?”
“It’s made in Los Angeles. It’s a great company. You can get some basics for your closet, some cute bodysuits and denim jackets. And then we can wrap it up at Madewell in Buckhead.”
She looks away, embarrassed, and mumbles. “I don’t even know what that is.”
“Oh, it’s kind of like a J.Crew. Where do you normally shop?”
“Bloomingdale’s.”
Just what I thought. “Well, Caroline, we are going to broaden your horizons today.”
She laughs. “You’re funny, Hayden. And I love your style, the leather jacket with the floral scarf. I would never think to put that together.”
“It’s all about taking risks.”
We clear out American Apparel with Diana Crompton’s AMEX. Because when we called Diana earlier to ask how much was okay to spend, she told us, “Ladies…the possibilities are endless.” Amen to that.
Chapter 3
By five o’clock, we’ve built up quite an appetite, so we head to Vortex Bar and Grill. On the way, Caroline asks if we can pop into Criminal Records. When we walk in, it looks like she’s died and gone to heaven.
“Have you ever been in a place like this?”
“No. I get all my music online. My father forbids me from playing music at work so it’s my escape when I get home. Blake is really into music, too,” she says as she flips through a box of records. “Working for my dad actually puts a lot of stress on me.”
My clients usually vent like this during our shopping trips. I think they feel close to me because I’ve picked out their clothes. It’s that closeness that makes me enjoy my job the most.
“How is it stressful?”
“My dad is just really controlling. He talked me into getting a business degree and working for him. He said I’d get to choose my own hours but I’m practically running the company now. I’ve gotten fifteen e-mails since I left the house this morning, and it’s a Saturday.”
“Why don’t you get a job you’d like more and tell your dad that finance isn’t your thing?”
Caroline looks shocked. “I couldn’t do that.”
“Why not? I did. I dropped out of college my senior year because I felt like my soul was dying. I mean what would you want to do, if you had the choice?”
“Work in a place like this, maybe.”
“This place? A record store?”
Quietly, she says, “Yeah…sort of.”
“Then go ask for an application.”
She looks over at the tall, long-haired guy working the counter. “Nah. I could never afford my condo on this kind of salary. Plus, my dad would disown me.”
