“You’re gorgeous, Winona; my design merely showcases that. Go, try it on,” I urged.
Winona grinned as Irena carried the dress away, and Winona followed.
Happily, I sat relaxed in the oversized armchair and bit my lip. In six years, I’d come so far. Now a recognised designer, Mystique was making a huge profit. Three years ago, I’d wrangled a contract with Eliganz for three seasons. It had been lucrative, and I signed each new season with them. Obviously, we worked five seasons in advance. Oliver had pushed for more, a longer agreement, but something made me hold back. He might rule my home life, but he didn’t control Mystique. My alter-ego marched to the beat of her own drum.
It no doubt confused my friends, as it did me.
As Mystique, I was strong, wild, and creative. Alicia was shy, demure, and downtrodden. Apparently, I owned a split personality and was two different people. I blamed the mask. It hid my features and gave me confidence. Wearing it, I do anything because there were no repercussions against me—Alicia.
Winona appeared and strutted her stuff, interfering with my thoughts. Bemused, I grinned as Winona thrust a hip out before stretching out a slender, toned leg through the slit in the front.
“Aaron will love this,” Winona stated with a saucy wink.
“Easy access!” I teased Winona and laughed.
Winona came over and hugged me tightly. “I’m so proud of you, Mystique. You’ve become nearly everything we dreamed of. You need to take the final step.”
“I’m glad you like the outfit,” I replied with a warm smile. As usual, I sidestepped anything to do with Oliver. In the past, it was because I was driven to show them I ran my life. Now it was because I knew I was failing him and our marriage. Winona nodded and walked away. The dress didn’t need any adjusting.
Since Eve had arrived on the scene, things had changed. While she’d only been his assistant for four months, she’d been around for two years. Oliver had started working late again and had begun going in on Saturdays. His temper was short with me, just like in the early days when he’d been stressed building the company. There were phone calls that made Oliver leave and answer away from me. He had even taken to closing his laptop screen when I entered the room.
All signs pointed to the business being in trouble, but Oliver assured me it wasn’t. I was starting to believe that something was seriously wrong in our marriage. The harder I tried, the more Oliver pulled away. The entire situation was rapidly growing out of control, and I didn’t know how to stop it. If my friends hadn’t hated Oliver so much, I might have sought advice from them.
“Are you okay?” Winona asked gently.
“Yes, just distracted by the collection. There’s a design that isn’t quite there yet, and I can’t work out what’s bothering me,” I replied with a smile.
“Well, figure it out over lunch. Aaron is meeting us downstairs,” Winona said.
“Oh, I need…”
“To eat. Come on, I won’t take no for an answer,” Winona ordered. Resigned, I followed her out of the studio. We took the elevator down as Winona informed me about the latest Hollywood scandal, and I shook my head. It was unbelievable what some idiots got up to. A limo waited by the curb, and Aaron leaned against it as we exited the building.
“There’s my two beautiful ladies!” he called, and Winona grinned and threw herself at Aaron for a kiss.
I smiled shyly, kissed Aaron’s cheek, and climbed inside. Once the door was shut, I removed the mask and smiled at Aaron as he grasped Winona’s hand. They were so in love that it was adorable.
“Are we going anywhere in particular?” Winona asked.
“Actually, darling, our cosy lunch is being hijacked,” Aaron said, and I felt guilty.
“Oh, drop me off here. I can walk back. Naturally, I wouldn’t want to interrupt!” I exclaimed.
“What are you talking about?” Aaron demanded. “Alicia, I didn’t mean you. Cain Russell is in town and requested a meet.”
Winona gasped. “Cain Russell?”
“Yes,” Aaron replied with a smile.
“The tenth richest man in the world?” I asked.
“Yes,” Aaron nodded.
I whistled, and Aaron laughed. Cain Russell was a legendary recluse. At twenty-two years old, he’d taken a failing, almost bankrupt food supermarket brand and turned it into the country’s leading chain. Since then, Cain had branched out into other industries, including electric cars, satellites, and cryptocurrency, which was a huge one. Cain was thirty-four now and unstoppable.
“Drop me off, I can’t dine with Cain Russell,” I gasped.
Aaron laughed.
