Page 37 of Hot Mess

I looked from Isaac to Lydia at my feet, and back to Isaac. I didn’t know how to say what I needed to without insulting Lydia. Well, she wasn’t exactly hiding her feelings, so why should I? It’s not like I was going to ever work with her again.

I took a deep breath.

“Well, my cousin is a lot like the first stylist who was here this morning. Only she tries to be a little less obvious.”

“Meaning?”

“Isaac, what did you think when you first met me?”

“This feels like a setup. Um, I thought you were guarded and making shrewd but smart business decisions.”

I smiled at the compliment, at least I thought it was one.

“I meant, how I looked.” I gestured at myself.

He nodded. “I see where you’re going with this. The first time I saw you, I understood why Nick insisted on you. The man likes curves and someone who doesn’t look like they are a teenager. To be frank, you are a bit younger than I expected. I take it, your cousin…”

“Made unfortunate whale jokes when we went to the beach.”

Lydia snickered.

“If she kicks you, Lydia, you deserved it. You need to finish and leave,” Isaac said in a conversational tone.

“Not everyone around here is a fatphobe, hun. But you will be seen with Nick. You are going to have to thicken up your skin and learn not to listen to the critics. You look stunning in this dress. And the next stylist will make sure you look just as gorgeous. Nick won’t be able to take his eyes off you. And that's not something even I could have arranged.”

“So this is my job, right? Look as pretty as I can, and let people insult me?”

“Your job is to look as pretty as you can and ignore the insults. What’s that saying? Does the lion concern himself with the opinion of lambs? Be a lion, Kayla. Oh, that gives me an idea.”

He grabbed his phone, but never took his eyes off me.

“Carly? Change of plans on the hair. Instead of some sophisticated updo, Kayla needs a main. She’s got a ton of auburn hair, it’s practically down to her ass.”

There was a pause.

“What do you mean you need a picture? I sent one earlier?”

Another pause.

“Fine, I’ll send more. See you this afternoon, hun.”

He looked up at me and made a few twisted faces as he thought.

“I need to send pictures of your hair to the makeup artist.”

I continued to do my best as a statue as Isaac took pictures of me and my hair. My feet were going numb, and I needed to pee.

Eventually, Lydia stood up. She didn’t look at me, she said something to Isaac, looked at her phone for a long while, nodded, and then packed up her clothes rack and left.

“Are you ready for the next phase of getting ready?” Isaac asked.

“As long as it involves letting me go pee. I’m about to burst.”

With a laugh he held up his hand to me, I took it and stepped off the dais.

“How do I get out of this thing?”

16

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