Chapter 3 BETTER BE WORTH IT

(Alden)

"If you piss her off, Alden, you're as good as a dead man," Zayn whispered into my ear as Veronica approached us.

I gulped.

It was unfair how she could make a simple tube dress look so magnificent.

Traits of a supermodel, I supposed.

"Now what?" she asked, her voice surprisingly void of the anger that had consumed her moments ago.

She really must be desperate.

Because right now, she was trusting me. A complete stranger.

"We're going to make you a brand new dress. Right here. Right now."

A loud laugh erupted behind me.

"What?" A voice barked.

"Has he lost his mind?"

I ignored every single one of them.

"Do I have your permission?" I asked Veronica.

She stared at me for a long second before giving one curt nod.

"You have ten minutes."

That was all I needed.

I took off darting  from rack to rack, my eyes no longer seeing clothes, I saw possibilities, the several things I could create from just mere pieces of fabric.

My fingers landed on a sapphire blue satin gown.

"Perfect."I muttered underneath my breath.

I yanked it off the hanger before rushing toward another display.

"No, no... too plain."

I grabbed a navy blue peplum dress embellished with hand-sewn gemstones.

Without hesitating, I picked up a pair of tailoring shears from the alteration table.

Snip.

The jeweled peplum detached from the dress.

Gasps echoed throughout the boutique.

"Did he just ruin that dress!"

"Is he insane?"

"Someone stop him!"

I didn't stop.

I couldn't, not when an opportunity to create practically threw itself at my feet. Especially not when the person I was using as my model was THE VERONICA SOLACE.

I raced across the boutique again, collecting strips of satin ribbon, decorative pins, crystal brooches, and matching embellishments from three different dresses.

Every piece had a purpose.

Every cut had a reason.

Veronica stood perfectly still as I worked.

I pinned and adjusted.

Stepped back.

Removed another section.

Pinned again.

The sapphire satin hugged her silhouette effortlessly while the navy jeweled peplum sculpted her waist into something breathtaking.

I added a final cluster of crystals near her hip before smoothing invisible creases from the fabric.

Silence.

Complete silence.

A bead of sweat rolled down my temple.

My chest rose and fell heavily as I finally stepped back.

"I'm done."

Nobody spoke.

Veronica slowly turned toward the full-length mirror.

Her lips parted, then her eyes widened.

For several endless seconds, she simply stared.

"My..."

She touched the jeweled peplum with trembling fingertips.

"... Fucking God."

Even I couldn't stop staring.

It was exactly how I'd imagined it.

Elegant and powerful, a timeless piece. One created in less than an hour, but would be spoken about for several weeks to come.

Zayn walked around her once.

Then again.

His mouth slowly fell open.

"How..." he whispered.

He looked at me as though seeing me for the first time.

"How did you do that?"

Before I could answer, Veronica turned toward me.

For the first time since she'd walked into the boutique...

She smiled "I..."She started to speak.

"Miss Solace!"

Her assistant hurried over, panic written all over her face.

"We have to leave. Right now. The showcase starts soon."

Veronica glanced between her assistant and me.

Then she reached into her designer handbag and pulled out a sleek black business card.

She pressed it into my palm.

"Monday morning."

I looked down.

SOLACE HOUSE

My breathing stopped.

"You have potential," she said. "Tell them Veronica sent you."

I could barely feel my fingers.

"Th... thank you."

She gave me one final nod before turning on her heel.

Within seconds, she and her entourage disappeared through the boutique doors.

I stood there motionless.

The card trembled in my hand.

My dream...

My dream was finally within reach.

The silence didn't last long.

"So that's it?" one employee scoffed.

"You get lucky once and suddenly you're some genius?"

Another rolled her eyes.

"Don't get too excited. Solace House doesn't hire nobodies."

"They'll laugh him out of the building."

I looked toward Zayn.

Surely he'd say something different.

He folded his arms.

"Don't let this get to your head, Alden."

My excitement dimmed.

"One lucky moment doesn't make you a designer."

His words landed harder than I expected.

"People like them don't hand out jobs."

He nodded toward the card "If I were you, I'd prepare for disappointment, throw it out even, because there won't be a difference.."

Something inside me snapped.

Months of rejection.

Months of humiliation.

Months of watching everyone tell me I wasn't enough.

I looked around the boutique.

At the floors I'd scrubbed.

At the racks I'd dusted.

At the people who'd never once believed in me.

Then I looked back at Zayn.

"I quit."

The entire boutique fell silent.

Even I couldn't believe I'd said it.

Zayn stared at me. "...What?"

"I QUIT."

"If Solace House doesn't work out..."

I swallowed hard.

"...then I'll deal with that when the time comes."

I tightened my grip around Veronica's card.

"But I'm done spending my life cleaning up after other people's dreams."

I turned and walked toward the exit without looking back.

Please...

Let this be worth it.