But obviously, she did care. Why else would she have shown up unannounced?
“Paige, please. I don’t want Sasha to see the dress.”
“You’re being paranoid. I do want her to see it. Because once she does, she’s going to give you that internship.”
“I just have a weird feeling about it.” Alex’s warning snaked through my brain. “I’m not sure I can trust her.”
A knock sounded at the door. “It’s just nerves, Dani. Trust me.” Before I could stop her, Paige swung the apartment door wide open, head held high. Sasha stepped into the apartment, her eyes glued to the dress. She didn’t even look up, not at me, not at Paige. “Turn around,” she said softly, motioning with her fingers for Paige to spin.
Paige smiled, and shot me a knowing look, then turned, showing Sasha the back of the dress. It was my favorite part, the sheer back, save a tiny line of lace-covered buttons.
Sasha gasped, her hand covering her mouth. “Oh, it’s perfect.” Finally, she looked up, her eyes scanning the room. When they landed on me, she smiled. “I knew you were hiding something from me.” She walked toward me. “But I’ve seen the sketches in that little book of yours. The one you keep tucked away in your purse?” She held up her fingers like she was ticking off all the evidence she’d collected against me. “Then the bag of lace you left on your desk. Do you remember? You went to Mood on your lunch break and came back with all this gorgeous lace. I knew you were working on a dress. I knew it!” She presented evidence, but I still couldn’t figure out my crime.
“I’m not sure I understand what you’re trying to say,” I said, my words careful, deliberate.
“Why didn’t you tell me about this dress?”
I raised my eyebrows. “It didn’t have anything to do with work. My best friend is getting married, so I made her a dress.”
Paige waved. “Hi. That’s me,” she said with a goofy grin. “I’m the best friend.”
Sasha turned back around and looked at Paige. “You don’t understand. This is more than a dress, Dani. It’s exquisite. It’s magazine-worthy.”
My heart started pounding in my chest. “Thank you.”
“Now, I came over here hoping to discover that my suspicions were, in fact, founded in truth. Since they are, I have a proposition for you.” She steepled her hands in front of her, her fingers tapping together.
I folded my arms. Something about the entire situation felt off. Why couldn’t she have just asked me? Why all the secrecy and spying and late-night visits? “I’m listening,” I finally said.
“Well, it’s still technically a secret. The press release won’t drop until next week, but LeFranc is debuting its first-ever line of wedding gowns in January. The Sasha Wellington Collection.”
“January? That’s so soon.” As Sasha’s assistant, I felt like I knew every single aspect of her business life. How had she planned the launch of an entire line of wedding gowns without me knowing?
“It took forever to convince Alicio it was a good idea, but he’s finally on board and I’m determined to make this work.”
My brain still struggled to keep up. “LeFranc has never done wedding gowns before.”
Sasha tossed her hair over her shoulder in a gesture that might have made me gag had I not been so distracted by her news. “LeFranc has never had me before either.” She held out her hands. “Welcome to the new face of the company.”
I swallowed. The whole entire company? “What does this have to do with me?”
“And my dress?” Paige added.
“Dani, I’m going to have a lot of influence when it comes to these gowns,” Sasha said. “I’ll need people I can trust—designers I can trust—on my team.”
“Are you . . .?”
“Asking you to design for me?” She motioned to the dress with a slight tilt of her head. “Are you willing to give me that dress?”
I hesitated. “It’s Paige’s dress.”
“Well, I’m sure she can still wear it,” Sasha said. “I’ll just need to borrow it for a bit first.” Sasha’s offer was enticing. Almost too good to be true. But, for the hours I’d put into that dress, it took all my logical reasoning not to sleep with it tied to my wrist.
“Dani, I think you should do it,” Paige said.
“I think you should too,” Sasha said.
I willed the knot in my stomach to loosen. This was a good thing. But something was making me hesitate. And I was pretty sure it had a lot to