Something Gained

Chapter 4

I decided to leave work a little earlier to give myself time to get ready for the evening show. The last thing I needed was to be embarrassed for that too. If Derek was going to be there I wanted to make him eat his words and of course Mr shaw would be in attendance and men were still men. If I could dress nice and throw on a little makeup I was sure I could say all the right things to persuade him to invest in the gallery. I headed home, kicked off my shoes and opted to eat before my shower. I hadn’t been shopping for a while so my cupboards were fairly bare and food was scarce. I opened the freezer and found a microwave lasagne in the bottom drawer. Perfect. Quick and easy. Just what I needed right now. I pierced the film and popped it in for the first nine minutes of the required cooking time. The microwave hummed lazily in the background and I figured now would be a good time to take off the mascara I had so hurriedly applied this morning. I grabbed a makeup wipe from my bag and began to rub my eyes until black streaks no longer appeared on the wipe. Checking the mirror to make sure any residue had all gone I threw the zebra looking wipe into the bin.

As I sat on the sofa strategising the evening I had before me a distant ting sound pulled me from my thoughts. Oh yes, my lasagna. I strode into the kitchen, took out the lasagne and removed the pierced layer of plastic. I had to admit it didn’t look like the most appetising dish in the world but I was hungry and on a time crunch. I needed as much time as I could afford myself to make myself look truly enticing for the evening. Putting my dinner back into the microwave for the remainder of the time I began to wonder what our mysterious benefactor would be like. In all honesty I was still taken aback that he was even going to attend and still slightly ticked off that he couldn’t even be bothered to attend the meeting itself forcing me to deal with Derek. The thought of the man bought a frown to my face. He had been so entitled. So quick to look down on me. For the second time I had decided that I did not like him.

After eating my deliciously cardboard lasagne most of which was left over I went to take a shower. The event didn’t begin until 7:30pm so I had two hours to go from drab to fab and hopefully charm a few clientele and maybe even bring in a few more new artists or pieces.

I let the steam fill the bathroom and for a while stood listening to the sound of the water hitting the shower floor. The sound often calmed me and the steam helped drag out any dirt from my pores, leaving me looking fresh faced. I chose to shave, not because I had any dishonourable intentions but just because the feeling of body hair anywhere on my body had always been irritating for me. I just preferred to be clean shaven everywhere, I loved having silky, soft skin and many people complimented how sleek my legs always were.

Once I was satisfied with my shower I turned off the water and began to pat off the excess water. One of the many secrets to my supple skin is that I always moisturise when I’m fresh out the shower so that my skin is still slightly damp. Not dripping, just damp enough so that you feel it so that when I apply my moisturiser whatever moisture is sat on my skin gets drawn in with my lotion. Works like a charm. Today was no exception and I did just that, working the mango scented lotion into my skin with my hands. I gave my hair a quick scrunch with the towel, I didn’t like to rub the hair because it always caused me too many split ends. Once I was done I wrapped the towel around my body and went to find something to wear.

As this was still an important event I wanted to wear something that reflected the tone while still giving off a sultry vibe. Something I could easily flirt in while still retaining my professional qualities. I settled on a little black dress that sat just on the knee. It had a deep v-neck that sat perfectly just between my breasts and an open back held delicately together with spaghetti straps. Business in the front and party in back I laughed to myself. This would do just fine.

When it came to makeup I kept it mostly simple, I took a mid brown shade and smoked it out at the edges of my eyes to give a sleek cat eye. My base remained uncomplicated with just a little bronzer to warm up my features. I topped everything off with a bold red lip that would pop against the combination of my eyes and my dress and sealed everything with my setting spray. For my hair I took two sections of hair around my face and twisted them together to look like little effortless braids that came together at the back of my head. This way my hair could remain down without getting in my face, something which had always bothered me. I took one look at my reflection and sucked in a deep breath, I was going to be a knockout especially amongst the soft glow of the lights. Looking at the time I realised it was now 7pm. I slipped on my black stilettos and called for my taxi. I had on my war paint and I was ready for battle.

My taxi driver had been looking at me like I was a 12 course meal for the duration of the ride to the gallery and no matter how slick he thought he was I saw him on more than one occasion check out my cleavage in the rear view mirror. I think he was hoping I would have a wardrobe malfunction in the back of his car. Actually I think he was hoping that if he concentrated hard enough he could cause a wardrobe malfunction. I chuckled at the thought, thinking maybe he’d been watching too much sci-fi. As we pulled up outside the gallery I saw his eyes follow my behind as I stepped out the car from the back seat. I coughed to remind him I was watching and his eyes snapped back to the front window as if they’d never left. I silently hoped those who appreciated art had a little more decorum than my driver as I thanked him.