The Spanish Tycoon's Temptress Page 0,8
might have cried initially, but she was through with him!
She jumped into the shower and, after fifteen minutes under the warm water and lots of scented soap and shampoo, she felt rejuvenated. Standing in only her towel, she dug out the hair dryer that hadn’t been used in…well, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d taken the time to actually dry her hair and attempt to look presentable. Her lifestyle had become all about getting to the lab or to classes as quickly as possible. She’d hadn’t been taking the time to care what she looked like. She only cared about her tests and results.
But standing in front of her tiny, steamed up bathroom mirror now, she knew that she looked pretty horrible. With her hair wet against her skin, she realized that her face was too thin. Actually, her whole body was too thin, she thought as she glanced down at her skinny legs. Her breasts were still full, but the rest of her looked pale and her bones were obvious in too many places. Perhaps it was time to take a bit of inventory on her lifestyle and figure out how to be a little healthier.
After drying her hair and using a round brush to curl the ends under, she felt much better. She then dug out her makeup, another area that she’d dismissed from her life. Thankfully the colors she used years ago weren’t too outdated so it was easy to dab a bit of concealer on the dark circles under her eyes, powder to brighten up and smooth out her overall skin tone. A touch of mascara…and lipstick she thought to brighten her face. The lipstick instantly made her look more vibrant and less fatigued. Staring at her reflection in the mirror with the renewed hope of funding, she wondered why she’d let herself get to the point that she hadn’t even cared what she looked like? Besides brushing her teeth and washing her face, she’d done very little to care for her appearance. How had she sunk so low that she hadn’t even bothered with lipstick? Looking down at her makeup bag, she grimaced at all the colors. There were reds and pinks, maroons and even some crazy colors that she’d barely used. But at least she’d tried.
She refused to admit that Gaston’s disappearance from her life had done this to her. She didn’t want to give him that much power over her world. He wasn’t anything to her now except a checkbook who could help further her ambitions. And that was exactly where he would stay.
She pulled an old dress out of the back of her closet and slipped the red material over her head. When the dress fell into place, she cringed at how loose it was around her body. Even this showed how much weight she’d lost and it wasn’t flattering. She actually had to pull that dress off and find another one, but in the end, all of her old dresses were too big for her slight frame now. She grabbed the third one she’d tried on. It was a black wrap dress which was probably the closest she could get to something that would fit and didn’t have holes in it. The neckline plunged a bit too low for her comfort, but when she glanced at the other outfits spread out over her bed, she knew that none of them would work any better.
With a huff of frustration, she got down on her hands and knees and dug out a pair of black pumps. They were dusty from being unused in the back of her closet for so long. But a clean towel rubbed over the surface and they were as good as new. When she slipped them on her feet, she had to practice walking in them for a few moments. Goodness, it had been a long time since she’d worn heels!
It was just like riding a bike though. As soon as she pulled them on and practiced a bit in her hallway, she was right back where she used to be. If a bit wobbly on the corners.
She slipped on a pair of gold, hoop earrings and her watch, then hurried to her computer to print out materials that would help explain her efforts to Gaston. She bit her lip as she selected various charts that might explain where she wanted to go with her work even if she couldn’t show him the results. Yet. She knew she