by Dori Lavelle
But Sam would never let me sell to the wealthy customers. He never hid his disapproval about my employment at Stalford. He rarely greeted me, and we only exchanged words when absolutely necessary.
“Sam doesn’t care for Carlene much, does he?” I’d overheard Sarah say to Amanda in the staff room, last week.
Amanda’s laugh leaked through the slit under the door. “Would you like her if you were Sam? Lilliana literally dragged her off the streets.”
“I think she’s odd. Something about her doesn’t seem right.”
“What do you mean?”
“She keeps her distance from all of us, except Julie. Almost as if there’s something she doesn’t want us to know.”
A tear trickled down my cheek. If only they knew how close to the truth they’d come. If they knew about my secret, they’d dislike me even more.
So what. I had to make the most of this opportunity and not waste my time worrying about whether or not my colleagues liked me. So I concentrated on being the best I could be.
After work, since I had nothing else to do, I spent hours on the Internet informing myself about jewelry and the jewelry business, and this evoked in me the desire to know even more. In my third month at Stalford, I enrolled in an evening gemology class, which taught me about the physical and optical properties of gemstones—pearls, quartz, turquoise, ruby, and tourmaline—and how rare they were, and was even introduced to gemstone testing methods.
If I was going to do something, I’d do it right.
My efforts paid off when, a few weeks later, Sam led two major celebrities in my direction. Since everyone else was occupied, he had no choice but to hand them over to me.
Jodi Moore, the opera singer, and Steve Lear, a famous actor, walked right up to me, and I received them with a wide grin.
Putting into practice what I’d learned from my classes, I managed to sell them two of the most expensive pieces in the store—a vintage watch and a diamond necklace.
If Sam didn’t appreciate my skills after this accomplishment, he never would.
Chapter Seven
I’d done it again. I’d sold an old man a pricey diamond and Burmese ruby necklace, a present for his wife on their fortieth wedding anniversary. Just as I locked the display, Sam called me.
“Carlene, I’d like to introduce you to someone.”
I shifted my gaze to the man next to him, and my eyes locked with familiar ones. Eyes I had not been able to forget since the first day I saw them. I still remembered how they’d looked closed, the long lashes grazing Nick’s cheeks as we’d kissed.
“This is Nick Johnson,” Sam said. “He’s one of our most valued customers.”
Who would have thought the next time I saw him would be at my workplace? I guess it was bound to happen. If one wished to meet public figures, Stalford was the place to be.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you… Mr. Johnson.” I extended my hand toward him. My heart did a flip-flop when our palms touched.
“Glad to meet you too.” No sign on his face at all that he knew me. I guess I was a distant memory to him, someone to kiss and forget.
When I saw the woman next to him, a gorgeous, Bambi-eyed blond, ice spread through my stomach.
Nick draped an arm around her waist. “This is Elizabeth—”
“His fiancée,” Elizabeth finished and kissed his cheek.
A stab of jealousy rammed through me like a steel pole. He was getting married?
Wait a minute, when we’d kissed, had he been in a relationship? Did he cheat on his fiancée? What kind of man would do that?
“We’re looking for an engagement ring.” Elizabeth clapped her hands like a small girl in a candy store. “I’d always wanted to pick out my own. Not that I don’t trust your taste, darling.” She kissed him again, this time on the lips.
“Carlene will help you do just that.” Sam flashed a rare smile. It was clear he was sucking up to Nick.
“Great, let’s get started,” said Nick.
Elizabeth headed to the glass display with a huge “diamonds” sign hanging above it.
Nick gave me a swift glance and a tight-lipped smile and followed her.
Sam disappeared to attend to other customers, and I stood there for a moment, composing myself.
Why was Nick acting as if he’d never seen me before? Of course I wouldn’t expect him to embarrass himself or ruin his reputation, but I at least deserved a knowing glance. Our kiss might have been insignificant to him, but it had changed my life.
I sucked in a deep breath and gritted my teeth, then followed them. I had to be professional.
As we normally did for special customers, I handed them each a glass of champagne. As I handed Nick his flute, our fingers brushed and he glanced up for a second, then looked away. He knew who I was. That comforted me some, but not much.
I asked Elizabeth what she had in mind for her engagement ring, but apart from “very expensive,” she had no further specifications. The more time I spent with her, the more she made me want to gag. She was clearly a gold digger. Her favorite word was money. How did Nick not see that?
After thirty minutes of indecision, Elizabeth settled for an emerald-cut diamond ring you could see from a mile away.
She admired the sparkling gem in the light and thanked Nick for making her the luckiest woman in the world, then made him promise to buy her an equally expensive wedding gown.
Under the pretense of offering them privacy, I sneaked away. On my way to the front of the store, something caught my attention. A silver bracelet with a diamond and silver key pendant attached to it. It took my breath away every time I saw it. The most beautiful piece of jewelry I’d ever seen. I reached into the case and caressed it with the tips of my fingers. Of course I had tried it on—just once, when no one was watching. But I wasn’t naïve; I would never be able to afford it, even if I worked for ten years and starved myself.
“We’re ready to pay.”
I startled and almost went flying into the display. Nick reached out in time to grab my wrist and break my fall, just as he had last time. Why did I keep falling around him?
For an instant, our eyes locked, and my heart skipped a beat.
Releasing my wrist from his grasp, I broke the connection.
Luckily, Elizabeth didn’t seem to notice our shared moment. She seemed to be more in love with her ring than with Nick.
I rubbed my wrist, which felt warm, as if his touch had scorched it. Then I locked the jewelry shelf with the bracelet. “Follow me,” I said, and turned my back to him. I led them to the point-of-sale station and handed them over to Amanda, who finalized the transaction.
As I walked away, someone touched my arm.
I wheeled around, hoping it was Nick, come to his senses, but it was Sam.
“Nice job back there.” He grinned.
I was shocked. He had never smiled at me that way before. It was the type of smile he reserved for when he studied the jewelry while he thought no one was watching. He had also never given me a compliment. Not once.
“Thank you.” I realized I was still rubbing my wrist; the heat from Nick’s touch surrounded it like a bracelet.
“Can I have a word?”
“Is something wrong?” I lived every day in the fear that what I had would be snatched away in the blink of an eye.
Sam shook his head and laughed. “Not at all. I have a proposition for you.”
I frowned but nodded and followed him upstairs, past the inventory door, to his office.
“Please take a seat.” He waved at a cushioned chair on one side of his glass-top desk. “Would you like some champagne?”
“I…no. I don’t drink at work.” I squinted, wondering at his agenda. Why was he being so nice to me all of a sudden? In all the time we’d worked together, he’d never uttered more than five words to me at a time.
“Like I said down there, you’re a great salesperson. We appreciate all your hard work.”
It meant a lot coming
from him.
“We’d like to promote you.”
I perked up. “Really?”
“Really. In addition to selling jewelry in the store, we’d also like you to sell it in a different way.”
I frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“Carlene, we’d like you to be the face of Diamond Dreams, our new jewelry line.”
Chapter Eight
The revolving doors of the photo studio opened and I stepped into the cool interior. Black-and-white photos of models in various poses adorned the walls.
Today was my first shoot, and adrenaline pumped at rapid speed through my veins.
Being the face of the Diamond Dreams jewelry line meant I would be able to afford a nice place and have enough money left over to spoil myself.
Having blown-up images of me in the display windows and in magazines was an added bonus that also terrified me. I had never felt comfortable being the center of attention. As a teenager, I had dreamed of being a model, even if I never thought I stood a chance with the acne that had tormented me since the age of twelve. By the time I went to college, it had cleared up, but I still never thought of myself as beautiful. Until Chris came along. It had taken months for me to finally accept his compliments and start feeling good about myself. When I did, my confidence skyrocketed. He was the first man, my first love, and he’d made me feel beautiful.
A hair and makeup team awaited me.
“Let’s make you stunning,” said MaryAnn, a woman with a ballerina bun decorated with chopsticks. She lifted a strand of my hair. “You need curls. A little romance.”
She whisked me off to a mirrored room with a basin in one corner and sat me down. First she washed my hair, and then her fingers moved deftly between my hair, and various tools and products. Finally, she sighed with content. “All done.” She swiveled me around and I gasped.
My hair was unrecognizable as it curled and twirled into a romantic, glossy updo. I moved my head from side to side, admired the bronze highlights that gave my brown hair life.
“I love it. Thank you.”
“Now you look the part. Silvy will be in shortly to do your makeup.” She squeezed my shoulder and left the room.
When Silvy entered, she, too, wasted no time. She cleaned my face, plucked my eyebrows, rubbed creamy foundation into my skin, and ran eyeliner along my upper and lower lash lines, all the while explaining each step to me. Then she applied various shades of brown and bronze eye shadows. Finally, she lengthened and volumized my short lashes with dark brown mascara and smeared nude lipstick and clear gloss onto my lips.
“You’re gorgeous.” Silvy winked at me.
Gazing into the mirror, I had to agree. My skin was smooth, and my eyes had never looked bigger or brighter. Apart from lip gloss, I’d never used much makeup. Maybe it was time to start.
While I admired my new look in the mirror, another woman entered, laden with clothes on hangers.
“I’m Marjorie,” she said. “I’m here to dress you.”
She helped me into a nude, backless cocktail dress with a sequined bust.
I stood in front of the mirror, watching as the dress produced curves I never knew existed. I was blown away.
“I know you’d rather stand there all day, but we’re not through yet.” Marjorie snapped a bracelet on my wrist, hung diamond drops on my ears, and framed my neck with a matching necklace.
The shoot lasted three hours, with five outfit changes and lots of jewelry. It started off stilted, with me being an amateur and all, but I soon found my groove. In the end, I pretended that Mark, the photographer, was Nick and I was modeling in front of him. In the end, the photographer got a lot of great shots, and I was ready to go home and sleep for a week.
Much as I longed to go straight home and climb into bed, I had promised to help out at Oasis. On my way I’d pass by the chapel to light a candle for Chris and give thanks for all the blessings in my life.
Sometimes it was hard to believe all this belonged to me. Secretly, I waited for someone to pick up the remote and stop the movie of my life.
***
Two weeks after the photo shoot, I got paid for it, in addition to my normal salary as a sales associate. I had never had so much money in my life. I was going to be responsible with it. I decided to save some, donate a portion to the shelter, and get myself a decent apartment.
“I’m sad to see you go,” the landlord said when I told him of my plans to move out. “It’s not often I have a pretty lady around.”
“It was nice living here, but I need to find a place closer to work,” I lied. It was the worst place to live. The loud music from neighbors, the middle-of-the-night screams as a husband beat his wife, the unflushed shared toilet, and mildewed shower curtains. I was glad to be rid of it all.
Melisa had offered to go apartment hunting with me. The search lasted a week, but we eventually found a two-bedroom fifteen minutes from work with a spacious closet, a balcony, and granite kitchen countertops.
Once I’d signed the lease, we went shopping for furniture and other items to make my new apartment feel like home. We bought pastel-colored curtains, throw pillows, bedding, vases, and lamps. I also bought Melisa some new clothes. Nothing was more fulfilling than sharing my blessings with someone I cared about.
Over lunch at a seafood restaurant, I asked Melisa to move in with me, since I had an extra room. But she declined my offer. She was resigned to her life at Oasis like I used to be.
“You encouraged me to move on, Melisa. Now I’m asking you to do the same.”
Melisa shook her head. “I don’t want to be a burden.”
I squeezed her hand. “You can never be a burden to me. We’re friends, I want to help you.”
“It’s your life. I don’t want to stand in your way.”
I sprinkled salt on my hake. “You’re a hard nut to crack.”
“I’m the kind of nut you’ll never crack.” She shrugged. “I like living at Oasis.”
Funny, I recalled her telling everyone at Oasis about the nice house with a picket fence and a porch swing she and her husband used to own.
My guess was life on the outside terrified her. It had let her down before. She was afraid of gaining happiness only to have it snatched away again.
“Well, if you ever need anything… food, a place to stay, come to me, okay?”
“I promise.” Melisa finished her food and ordered more to take away.
At least I’d made her day. That was enough for now.
We left the restaurant and hugged on the sidewalk.
“I’ll see you next Saturday. I’m on lunch duty,” I said.
“I don’t understand why you don’t sit back and enjoy your new life. Why do you even return? Haven’t you done enough?”
“I come back because as good as I have it now, Oasis was my home for a long time. I can’t forget about it.”
Chapter Nine
“Lilliana wants to see you,” Amanda said as soon as I returned from lunch with Melisa.
“Did she say why?” The last time I saw Lilliana was over two months ago, when she came to congratulate me in person on my promotion.
“How should I know? I’m just delivering a message.” She teetered away on six-inch heels.
Since the last time I overheard them gossiping about me, she’d never warmed to me. Neither did my other colleagues, apart from Julie, the trainee. Having being named the face of a jewelry line had only exacerbated the tension at work. In truth, I didn’t blame them. Maybe in their shoes I’d feel the same.
I climbed the stairs to Sam’s office, with my colleagues’ sharp stares pricking my back.
Could Lilliana be disappointed with my last photo shoot? It hadn’t gone smoothly; I’d had a terrible migraine that refused to go away and the camera flash certainly hadn’t helped.
Lilliana rose from her office chair when I entered the office. As usual, she looked stylish. Today, she wore an elegant, black-and-beige two-piece suit with black stilettos. �
�Afternoon, Carlene.” She walked over to the brown leather couch and sat cross-legged. “Come sit with me.” She patted the seat next to her.
I hesitated and looked at Sam, trying to read his expression.
“Go on,” Sam urged. He lowered himself into one of the padded chairs at Lilliana’s desk. “She won’t bite.”
“Of course not.” I flashed him a smile and did as Lilliana had asked. Her perfume enveloped me and transported me back to the day we’d first met. How things had changed since then.
Lilliana twisted her body to face me, her knees touching mine. “No need to look nervous. I want to ask you a favor.”
What favor could I offer a woman who had it all?
“As the face of the Diamond Dream line, would you like to attend the launch party?”
My eyes widened and I merely stared, tongue-tied.
She laughed. “You are the star of the line. Say yes.”
My first fancy party. Someone thought I was good enough to dine among the rich and the famous. I smiled broadly. “Yes, I’d love to come. Thank you for the invitation.”
“Perfect.” Lilliana patted my knee and winked at Sam.
Sam nodded, and from a hook behind the door, he removed a black garment bag, which he placed in my arms.
“What’s this?” I looked at each of them in turn.
“Something for you to wear to the party. I hope you like it.”
Unable to believe my luck, I unzipped a portion of the bag to reveal a black bust encrusted with tiny crystals. Tears sprang to my eyes. It was stunning. I unzipped further and ran my palm along the soft, canary-yellow chiffon of the skirt. I gazed up at Lilliana. “I don’t know what to say.”
“A simple ‘thank you’ will do.”
“Thank you so much.” I cradled the dress in my arms, the crystals grazing my fingers. “It’s beautiful.”
“Just like you.” Lilliana laid a hand on my knee. “Meeting you that night, Carlene, was the best thing that could ever have happened to Stalford.”
“That means a lot.”
“It’s the truth.” She rose to her feet. “I have to go to a fundraising event. I’ll see you at the launch party in two weeks.”