Falling For My Playboy Boss
Chapter 13

Cora's POV

"I am going to go change my clothes in the women's room, Cora, I will be back shortly," Catherine tells me.

"I really didn't want to go in there", Ava said, as we could hear Collin and his mom in the office, they both had raised voices and, frankly, it was a little stressful. My parents don't yell, and I don't like to be yelled at. I mean who likes to be yelled at? "I am sure it will be OK. May I call you Ava? Or would you prefer Ms. Lauder?" I asked her.

"Ava is fine. I meant to ask you where you got that dress. It is stunning on you?" Ava tells me.

"Actually, a designer friend of mine gave it to me. It was a payment for me to help him by working on the runway to promote his new line. Collin pointed out to me that I needed to dress nicer, as I represented him and the company", I told her. Ava tilts her head and narrows her eyes at me before she laughs a little. She then says "That is quite diplomatic, Cora, I know my brother and he isn't that tactful or nice. He can be a bit of a bully and mean. So, pardon me if I don't believe how you phrased it, but I am quite sure he was ugly with whatever he said. He had better hope mom never replaces out, or she will let him have it again".

"You don't have to let her know. He apologized yesterday for yelling at me, we can just keep it between us. I don't want to be the reason that your mom and he have a disagreement", I told her.

She nods in agreement, "Me too, and yet here I am. Mom wanted me to come, I guess I am what you call the unbiased third party, but I love them both and it is really stressful to be brought here when mom knew all along that Maddie was coming back to town today" Ava tells me. "So anyway, where did you get the dress, the way it hugs your curves, I want one too. It looks stunning on you. What is the designer's name? I would love to get some of his pieces. I have curves too, it seems like we are the same size, but you have the added bonuses, and they are off the charts. You look fantastic in that dress. It looks like it has been made for you", Ava tells me.

"Actually, he is so good at his job, that before he even measured me for the show, he picked a couple of pieces for me to wear to work. He has a show coming up this Saturday and it will be the first show I am walking in, so I am quite nervous actually. Mateo is a wonderful talent and he is looking for curvier models to wear his clothes. If you ever want to do a show, let me know. If we need someone, I will totally take you to meet him. He is a really nice guy. Let me reach out to my friend and see if I can get you and your mom on the list for the show on Saturday".

I called Iris and asked her, "Do you have any seats left for the show this Saturday?"

"I still have the 5 remaining that we had on Saturday," Iris tells me.

"OK, book them for me please, two for Marlowe and Ava Lauder, and I will be having three more guests too, that I hope will pan out for Mateo, but I don't want to get his hopes up yet. Just put the last three seats down for Victoria Hayes", I told Iris. "I got them all assigned Cora. Just tell them where the show will be held, and they have seats waiting for them", Iris tells me.

"I will, thank you so much, Iris," I said while writing down the address. I handed the slip over to Ava and told her, "That is the address where the show is being held. I also put my cell phone number at the bottom of the page. You can just text me so I can have your number as well if you want to. Mateo is taking a chance on me, and I don't want to disappoint him, I am just praying that I don't trip and fall on the runway. I love his clothes and he has just been the absolute best new friend to me. I hope that nothing that I do reflects badly on him".

"You are a beautiful person, Cora, inside and out. I wish my brother would settle down with someone like you. I really like you. You are protective of people, you looked like you wanted to punch Maddie for what she did to Catherine. That was a big mistake on Maddie's part. Collin loves Catherine. That was a really dumb thing for her to do", Ava tells me.

It may have been a dumb thing for her to do, but Collin went back on his word. The day after, he said he wouldn't sleep with people in the office again. I mean it was just a little over 24 hours ago. That is terrible. Apparently, his words mean nothing. Maybe it just means nothing when it applies to me. I don't know. But I am sure he does what he wants to do, not what he says that he is going to do, because that is what guys like him usually do.

"Thank you for the compliment, Ava, you know you are beautiful as well. I will be glad to introduce you after the show is done and Mateo is done with the interviews. He has such a great eye for colors and fabrics. I mean he chose this dress for me 5 minutes after meeting me. He is just so great at what he does, and I am so thankful that he is going to allow me to keep the pieces that he makes for me to wear, so I don't look bad at work" I grimace as I say that, as I know she is going to pick up on me stressing about how I look at work now.

Catherine walks back up after having changed into a new outfit. "It is always a great idea to have another set of clothes here at work Cora, what just happened usually doesn't happen here, but you never know if something will get ripped, or torn at work. So, I always keep a small bag locked in the bottom drawer, just in case", she tells me.

"I am so sorry that happened to you, Catherine. I don't know why she would have done that, but it really seemed like she meant to knock the coffee onto you. That is just a shameless thing to do. Are you OK?" I asked Catherine.

"I am OK, thank you, Cora, I appreciate you taking up for me so quickly. You looked furious and I bet that is why she just hit the button and left because you looked like you wanted to punch her", Catherine told me.

"I did actually. She is a terrible person. I cannot understand why she did that to you. You have never done anything to her before, so why she would do this to you is simply wrong", I tell her. I waited a moment and then continued, "Catherine, do you mind if I step over to Coleman's desk and see if Jerry is free? I have a potential solution to Victoria's problem that come to me today, and I want to run it with him and Victoria, to see if they even think that the investors would even want to come to see the show" I finish. "I think that is a great idea, and I have got it covered. Go ahead" Catherine tells me.

"Hey Coleman, is Jerry free right now?" I asked him, as I waited at his desk.

"Yes, he has like 15 minutes before he has a meeting. Let me tell him you are here", Coleman tells me as he walks over to the door and introduces me.

"Cora, how are you doing today? What can I help you with?" Jerry says to me, as he stands up from behind his desk.

"I have come up with a potential solution to the Victoria Hayes problem, Jerry, they wanted art, but not the kind you hang on the wall. I think that they may want to invest in a designer, a clothing designer. I have a friend who is doing a show this Saturday. I had already blocked off three seats for the group, and I put them in Victoria's name. If they love it, problem solved. If they don't, we can move on to the next idea that they may want. But they wanted art, just not art you hang on the walls, and I think that this could be a great idea for them" I said to Jerry.

"That is a great idea, the wife and daughter are both very fashion-forward and this may be the perfect idea for them to invest in. I will advise Victoria about this and see what she thinks", Jerry tells me.

If we need to, I will see if we have an available chair for the daughter to sit in. I was just advised of it being a couple and didn't have a lot of backstories to really be able to pin something down for them. Just let me know and I will see if we can replace them an empty seat", I said to him as I went to exit his office.

"Well, we have four tickets to the show my wife has been begging to go, but our daughter is out of town this weekend. I can use one of our extra tickets to get the husband in. I heard that there were no more tickets available as of last weekend, so it sounds like you already did us a huge favor just to get three of them in", Jerry tells me.

"Um, I will tell you since you are going to be there anyway and will see me. I am trying to keep my real name from getting out as I don't want to get in trouble or have Collin get mad at me for doing the shows for Mateo. Since Collin didn't like how I was dressing, one of my friends reached out to Mateo to use me as a model, and in exchange for my modeling for him, I get to keep the clothes that he makes for me to model on the runway. It is a win/win for each of us, and this Saturday will be my first show. So, I will actually be walking in the show on Saturday, and I will just be going by my middle name, Shae, in case anyone asks my name. I don't want to deal with any issue of someone replaceing out that I work here and causing any problems". I tell him as I step backward out of Jerry's office, and right into a large chest.

"What problems are you having, beautiful?" I heard behind me and looked up to see Christian smiling down at me.