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.That’s a promise.Now, give me a kiss.You look very handsome in your suit.Like Jennifer, apparently I have a suit fetish.And maybe a 501 jeans fetish.Both turn me on.” I pressed my hand against his cheek.“I know it’s still newish between us, but thank you for taking a chance on me.”He kissed me on the lips.“And here, I was thinking you’d never take a chance on me.Look, I wanted to bring up something, but don’t freak out on me, OK?”“OK….”“I think we should move some of your clothes into my apartment, and maybe some of mine into yours.I have plenty of space for toiletries.I know you need to get ready in the morning, and I feel that this morning you probably were wanting a fresh change of clothes and everything else you need to get ready for the day.All I need is a toothbrush, a razor, some deodorant, and a few clothes.Think we can make that happen?”I pulled him into my arms and kissed him.“We can make that happen,” I said.“Thank you.”“It’s only logical.”“Actually, it’s really thoughtful.”I kissed him again, we smiled at each other, and then I was out the door, and into the bracing air.I pulled my coat around me as I wended through the crowds on the sidewalk.I slipped rather happily into my building, and took the elevator to my apartment.Once there, I started to mentally prepare myself for my meeting with Marco Boss.* * *At noon and in a full panic, I called Blackwell.“I don’t know what to wear today,” I said when she answered.“What are you? A child? A bumbling infant?”“No, it’s just that I’m unsure of what to wear for my first one-on-one meeting with Boss.”“Of course you are.You’re more interested in what the undead would wear than what you should wear.”“Those are just my characters.They certainly aren’t me.”“Characters, Lisa? Really? Characters? Your people eat people.”“They have no choice.It’s a compulsion for them.Like couture and shopping is for you.”“Don’t you dare use psychology on me!”“I’m not.Well, not really.I just need a hand.”“I had a mani-pedi yesterday from Gisele.Do you honestly believe I want to offer you these hands? They’re polished.Fantastic.You should see them.Divoon.”“You’ve got to help me.I’m totally stuck.”“Why are you so needy?”“Because I want to make a good impression.I want to impress that son of a bitch when I see him today.I want him to know with one glance that he’s not dealing with some fucking amateur, and thus he can’t treat me as one.”“My dear, he’s still going to do that.”“But I don’t want to give him a reason to.”“Fine,” she said.“At the very least, we can try.”“So what do I wear today? I meet him at two.”“I have no idea what’s in your closet.”“I have some really great business suits that I bought at Century 21—”“Stop!”“I know you hate that store because it sells discount designer clothing, but I don’t have any money, Barbara.At least not yet.Obviously, that’s where I need to shop now.And guess what? I found this great Marc Jacobs suit that I’m thinking about wearing.It’s black, and it fits perfectly.Check your email.I just sent you a link of a picture of it.”“Fine.Email.Give me a minute.All right, there you are.God, I don’t want to click that link.This is going to be a horror show—I can feel it in my bones.”“Just open the link.”“If they find me dead on the floor, remember to tell my girls that I love them.”“Oh, please.”“I’m opening the link.Death is imminent.”And then she went silent.“You got this where?” she asked.“Century 21.”“That’s a four-thousand-dollar suit.How did you ever afford it?”“I got it for three hundred dollars!”“Impossible.It must be riddled with tire tracks.”“It isn’t.”“The seams must be coming apart.”“They aren’t.”“Certainly it smells of something foul.”“Not even close.”“Then it’s a knock-off.”“It isn’t.”“I suppose we’ll see, because this? This suit for three-hundred dollars? I don’t believe it.”“I’ll turn you into a believer.”“Nobody has yet.But if what you say is true and your suit doesn’t look as if it’s been pulled out of a meat grinder, I have to say that it’s not only lovely, but professional, which is exactly how you need to look when you see Boss again.He’s a snob, Lisa.Not that I need to tell you that.”“Agreed.”“If you aren’t dressed exactly right, he’s going to think ‘self-published,’ which obviously is a four-letter word to him and everyone else in traditional publishing.We need to prove to him that he’s wrong about you.You are not some impoverished, unsuccessful author looking for a break.In fact, Wenn is looking at you because of your prior sales success and is hoping that Boss will lift those sales even higher through physical books.Traditional publishing is down.Bookstores are closing.Before they all go out of business, he needs you more than you need him.”And that’s the perspective I need.“Do you like the suit?”“I do.What shoes are you pairing it with?”“Jennifer and I are the same size.She said I could wear whatever I wanted of hers.”“That means you’ll have access to the Dior sling backs I bought for her.Wear those.What about jewelry?”“Do I wear jewelry at a meeting like this?”“Darling, please.It’s called ‘daytime jewelry,’ and Jennifer has plenty of it.It’s meant to set a tone.Boss will get it at once.Will Jennifer allow you to wear any of hers?”“Of course she will.”“Then find the diamond choker Alex bought for her.It looks simple, but it boasts fifty carats.Same goes for her tennis bracelet—it’s perfect for this initial meeting.To round it off, a surprise.Choose the ten-carat canary yellow diamond he gifted to her.It will work with your hair and will be the sort of statement ring Boss can’t help but notice.It will shoot you into a new level for him, which I believe he needs.”“What about hair and makeup?”“Light on the makeup.It’s afternoon, after all.You want just a touch.Always remember this—when it comes to clothing and makeup, there is nothing worse than nighttime drama in a daytime world.As for your hair, I’d wear it in a little flip at your shoulders.A bit of lipstick.Bring Jennifer’s red Birkin.I’ve already seen her today and know that she doesn’t have it with her, so it’s in that hellhole of a penthouse of yours somewhere.Probably lost in a pile of unwashed clothing if I know you two girls.”“Thank you, Barbara.”“See me before you see him,” she said.“I must assess.”“OK.”And then the line went dead.* * *When I arrived at Wenn by taxi, I paid the driver, threaded through the crowds on the sidewalk, and moved into the building where I took the elevator to the fifty-first floor
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