is, I didn’t want it at all. It wasn’t for me. To be successful at something, you have to want it for yourself, not someone else. You have to be willing to do the work. You have to see the benefit in the hours of practice and you have to be willing to fail over and over again. You need determination and an iron will.”
She looked at her client. “Bianca, why are you doing this? You’re a beautiful, funny, charming woman who is beloved by everyone who knows you. Why on earth do you want to change?”
Tears filled her eyes. “I love Wesley.”
“I know you do and he loves you and he’s never once asked you to be anything but who you are.”
“You can’t know that.”
“Yes, I can. I’ve seen how he looks at you. Last night, with the soup, he was laughing the hardest. He adores you. So why am I here?”
Bianca brushed away tears. “I want to be different. I want to be strong. I want to know what to do around those people. They’re going to judge me. All of them. I know they are.”
And there it was, Margot thought in relief. The real reason for the transformation. It wasn’t about Wesley losing his job at all—it was about her own fears.
“That’s better,” she said. “So much better. Now we have something to work with. Doing this kind of work for yourself is so much smarter than doing it for someone else. Let’s figure out what you want, what works for you and make it stick. Because I want you strong, too. I want you to dazzle them and make every single person want to be you.”
“You can do that?”
“No. But you can. We’ll keep working and modifying as we go. We’ll work on what you’re most nervous about and get you comfortable. It’s not that hard. It’s just a matter of figuring out the right railing for your staircase.”
“I want to believe you. I love Wesley and I know he’s fine with who I am, but I really don’t want his career to suffer because of me. Plus, it’s just so hard when I’m around those people. They all went to college and have five degrees and I’m just some has-been actress with a great body.”
Margot held up one finger. “No. You’re a beautiful, vibrant woman with a rockin’ hot body. There’s a difference.”
Bianca laughed. “Thank you. Okay, let’s get started. Last night with the soup, I wasn’t thinking. I really did just want to get it for Connor, but when I picked it up, it was really heavy and then I didn’t know what to do.”
“What could you have done?”
Bianca sighed. “I could have asked for help.”
“Yes. You could have. So why was it so important to impress Connor? You were really focused on him from the beginning.”
“I love kids.”
Margot waited.
“What?” Bianca groaned. “You’re a nightmare.”
“Yes, I am.”
“Fine.” Bianca got up and paced the length of the room. When she reached the fireplace, she looked back at Margot. “I’m good with kids. They always like me. I guess I was nervous, so I knew being with Connor was safe and then I got too focused on him and it spiraled out of control.” She shrugged. “I told Edna I’m sorry about the soup.”
“I’m sure she appreciated that. Why were you nervous? It was a small group of people and you knew most of us.”
“Because the whole evening was about waiting for me to fail. I felt like a performing bear and when I screwed up you were all going to know and laugh at me.”
Margot stiffened as the truth of her words sank in. She stood. “Oh no. Bianca, I’m so sorry. You’re right—that’s exactly what it was. Not us laughing, because that wasn’t going to happen, but of course you felt on display. That was wrong of me. I apologize. What a horrible evening for you.”
Bianca blinked. “You’re apologizing to me?”
“Of course. I handled the evening all wrong. I was trying to keep the numbers small so there was less stress on you but everyone knew what we were doing and you were the subject of the lesson. Of course you felt as if you were being judged by everyone. Connor was your only safe person, wasn’t he? I totally messed up and I’m so very sorry.”
Bianca giggled. “Wow. That was a really good apology. You should give lessons. I’m not upset anymore. In fact, I just want to give you a hug and