“I see,” said Ryder. He looked disappointed. “I think we can arrange that. Wait here.” He disappeared into the racks of clothes.
“What was that?” I asked Frankie. “I’m not trying to meet other men. I just want him.”
“I know that. But you can’t lethimknow it. Men want what they can’t have. Especially men like Ryder.”
I nodded.Of course.He was a billionaire. He could have anything he wanted. So if I made myself seem like the one thing he couldn’t have, he’d be hooked.
Ryder returned a few minutes later with at least a dozen outfits slung over his arm. “I found some good stuff. Ready to try them on?” He started hanging the outfits up in the dressing room. And then he didn’t leave. Instead he leaned against the doorjamb and smiled. “Are you stalking me?”
God, was that going to be the weird way he always greeted me now? We’d been over this.Hewas stalkingme. And just because he asked the question in an incredibly sexy way, didn’t make it any less rude. “You’re the one that showed up here.”
“I work here.”
Yeah right, you’re a secret billionaire.“We’ve already been over this. You’re stalking me. And if you’ll please excuse me…” I glanced at the dressing room door. I needed him to leave so I could figure out what the hell was happening.
“I was going to stay and help.”
“How do I know you’re not just trying to see me naked?”
He pretended to be shocked by my allegation. “That would be very unprofessional. And anyway…why would I need to do that when I already have a picture of your boob?”
“Hey! You said you were gonna delete that.”
“I never agreed to that.”
“Fine. If you don’t delete that picture, I’ll just tell the whole world that you wear Crocs.”
“Do I? Because I’m pretty sure that’s you.” He pulled his phone out and showed me security footage of me leaving the Caldwell Hotel in Crocs.
I snatched for his phone, but he easily pulled it out of my reach. “I wouldn’t have had to wear them if you hadn’t left me there all alone. And why is there no stuff in your apartment?”
“I had to go work and I didn’t want to wake you. Has anyone ever told you how adorable you are when you snore?”
Oh God. Please tell me I wasn’t really snoring.And hey…he hadn’t answered the second part of my question!
“Now, you should probably try these clothes on before we run out of time. Good luck with the blue one.” He turned and walked out, closing the door behind him.
I stared in horror at the blue dress he was referring to. Or was it a romper? I couldn’t tell. But I was determined to get it on without his help. I pulled it off the rack and looked for a zipper.What even is this thing?Whatever. I’d get to that later. Instead I slipped on some yoga pants and a sports bra that only cost…$1700?! And it didn’t cover enough of my stomach, so I tried on the next outfit. And then the next. It was like Chastity had designed all of these clothes, because they were more than skimpy enough to satisfy Single Girl Rule #16: Either your legs, cleavage, or stomach must be showing at all times. Preferably all three.
“You okay in there?” called Ryder.
“I’m just fine, thank you. Although I’d be even better if my personal fashionista was a little better at his job.”
“It’s personal fashion consultant. And I can only find you better garments if you come out and show us how they look.”
“Fine.” I finagled my way into a super awesome dress. It kind of reminded me of something a gladiator would wear. But all the clean lines and the expensive white fabric made it look super modern. Almost futuristic. I guess that made me a space gladiator?
I opened the door and walked out to the platform surrounded by mirrors.
“Damn,” said Ryder and Frankie at the same time.
“You look amazing,” added Frankie.
Ryder got up and walked around me, inspecting the fit on every inch of my body. “Guess I am good at my job after all.”
“Is this even your real job?” I asked.Or are you a billionaire investor?
“You really think I would have been able to pick out a dress that fit you that well if this wasn’t my real job?”
