Page 75 of Wanted

And so I let Lily know. My suggestion doesn’t seem to impress her, or at least she doesn’t show it.

“Shall we start? There is no time to waste.”

Lily knows how to do her job. I was afraid that she would try to dress me as someone I’m not, but she has followed my style and passed me clothes that suit my figure well and my basic taste.

My phone rings and I hope to see Lionel’s name appear, instead it’s Alison’s name that flashes on the screen.

“I’ve become Cinderella,” I squeal as my eyes remain glued to the mirror, I can hardly believe that girl is me.

Instead of a fairy godmother and a legion of mice, the spell was cast by a dark-haired girl who uses the phone in her hands as a magic wand. Now I just hope that unlike the story, it doesn’t disappear at the sound of the last chime of the clock.

“Don’t tell me that your husband got you a princess job at Disneyland,” she growls. I already imagine her through clenched teeth thinking of a thousand and one ways to finish off Lionel. “I already said that such a radical change was too much, the lion loses his hair…”

That makes me laugh. “Turn on FaceTime so you can see me.”

I see the icon appear on my screen and I press the little button so that she sees the same thing as I do in the mirror.

“Holy crap,” I hear her scream. “Tell me who the hell are you and what have you done with my best friend.”

“She has met a few people on the west coast,” Catherine intervenes before I can reply. “Hi Alison, I’m Cat. I hope to meet you very soon.”

Alison’s face appears on my screen, she has her eyes wide open, like she just saw a ghost, or several, in any case.

“Cat,” she says after recovering. “You get Stella to buy that dress she’s wearing, we’ll be friends forever.”

Catherine smiles, before answering. “Consider it a done deal.”

Alison’s call couldn’t have come at a worse time. Between her and Catherine they made me try on each of the clothes that Lily had selected for me, in the end I don’t choose everything, I very carefully only buy what I need. Including some intimate apparel, shoes, bags, and other accessories.

“Speaking of friends.” Catherine’s animated words fill the elevator, we’re done with the clothes, now we’re going to do something with the mop hanging from my head. “Nathalie and Ashton, two of my best friends from the east are going to come for the party. I have a girl’s day plan at the spa to prepare for the party. Do you want to join us?”

I won’t miss the chance to surround myself with positive energy and courageous women, this is the perfect opportunity. Also…

“I’d like to discuss it with Lionel first, you know, for security and all that.” I do want to, but I don’t want to forget everything else. “But I don’t think there’s going to be any problem.”

The gears in my head have started, I’m already making a plan. One that seems really good to me.

We don’t even have time to eat between appointments. After discussing potential looks with the hairdresser, Catherine leaves. Life doesn’t stop and she has clients to attend to. It’s after four in the afternoon when I finish at the hair salon. Lionel is probably taking advantage that I’m not home to continue working in his office, so when the man who usually drives Lionel around is waiting for me at the curb, I don’t hesitate to ask him for something.

“Could you take me to my husband’s office, please?”

“Of course, Mrs. Kral,” he replies as he looks at me in the rearview mirror for a couple of seconds.

Just over an hour later we are entering a fairly modern and beautiful four-story building. It has Lionel’s flair etched into every corner, from the bright blue glass covering the façade to the gray marble floor that adorns the entrance.

“Mrs. Kral is here to see Mr. Kral,” my security detail tells the guard next to the access point. The people around me stare like I were a fairy or something. Everyone seems taken aback by the surprise wedding. I, on the other hand, am in awe of my husband’s workplace.

After a short elevator ride, we reached the floor where Lionel’s office is located.

“Mrs. Kral,” Hadley greets me as soon as she sees me. “We weren’t expecting you, Mr. Kral is on a call with some investors. I’ll let him know you are here.”

She looks quite puzzled by my presence. Or maybe it’s my appearance. Anyway, I’m not interested, I didn’t come to see her.

“Don’t worry, Hadley,” I say, taking my phone in my hands. “I’ll tell him myself.”

Without delay, I send a text message to Lionel. He immediately answers telling me to go see him. Hadley shows me a set of dark wood double doors down the hall.

As Hadley said, he’s on a call, as he continues to talk to two people on speaker phone, but all his attention is on me. His eyes light up when he sees me, this has been a good surprise. I’m sure of it.

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