A Night With Him – Episode 59

A NIGHT WITH HIM

Zeemah writes

Chapter 59

__________

Irene sat in her room with her laptop on her laps.
She was accepting new orders and jotting all she needs to buy.
She’s so happy more orders are coming in.
Her sales is increasing and her fashion store is starting to get more publicity.
She’s gonna launch a new wear soon and she’ll make sure it’s eye catching.
She had told Harold about it already and he’s also excited.

It’s 11am already.

She smiled as new messages popped in on her page.
More orders were coming in, and some were sending feedbacks for the dresses she had delivered, they loved it.
They always love her wears, no one has seem to complain since she started, she always make sure she does everything accurately,get the best fabrics and she doesn’t go overboard with her prices.
People loved her for it.

“Come in” Irene said,after hearing a knock on her door.
She didn’t raise up her head, she thought it was one of her bodyguards.

“Hey” She heard the steel voice of Mrs Marshall and her head flew up.
“Hi ma, do you want anything?” She asked, dropping her laptop.
She got to her feet nervously, wondering what the woman wants.

Mrs Marshall looked round the room,she was impressed by Irene’s neatness and sense of arrangement, nothing was out of place.
“Have your seat ma” Irene said, clearing her laptop from the bed.
She smoothened the bedspread.

Mrs Marshall swinged out the dressing chair, and sat down.
Irene swallowed and gently dropped her laptop back on the bed.

“My son said he loves you” Mrs Marshall said, looking less concerned.
“Uhh..yes, and…i..lo…you don’t have to be worried about that ma, I’m not going to be in a relationship with Harold…”
“Why?” Mrs Marshall asked.
“Huh?” Irene looked surprised.
“Answer my question” Mrs Marshall maintained her cold voice.
“Well… we’ve both agreed to keep been friends,i won’t want to taint his reputation” Irene said and Mrs Marshall’s eyes narrowed at her words.

“Seems she’s truly different like Harold had said.” Mrs Marshall thought.
Most ladies wouldn’t have cared about Harold’s reputation. Irene’s selfless and Mrs Marshall is glad that Irene respected the fact that her son’s reputation might be blemished.
She doesn’t look like a gold digger like Ally always say.

“Well…I’m not here for that” Mrs Marshall said.
“You want something ma’am? ” Irene asked.
“My husband is coming here next week Tuesday” Mrs Marshall smiled and Irene almost smiled too.
There was so much love in her eyes when she mentioned her husband,she looked like a sixteen year old girl, going on her first date.

“That’s nice” Irene said,not knowing what else to say.
She wondered why Mrs Marshall told her that?

“And i want you to make a beautiful dress for me” Mrs Marshall said and Irene was stunned.
She stared at Mrs Marshall like she was joking.
“I only picked few dresses when we left Paris and all of them are not suitable enough to welcome my husband”
“Ohh” Irene said reasonably.
“Though i use more expensive and exotic fashion designers but I’m gonna give you the job cause this came on a short notice” Mrs Marshall said, she had actually visited Irene’s page earlier and was deeply impressed with what she saw.
The feedbacks from her customers were amazing, Irene makes perfect dresses and she wants one too.

Though she has suitable dresses to welcome her husband but she wants one from Irene, she wants to examine her handwork closely and if she’s impressed, she’ll make her her personal fashion designer and Mrs Marshall’s personal designer gets paid monthly, aside from the money she pays whenever she orders a dress.

“Okay ma’am, do you want me to show you the pictures of some beautiful dresses i made or do you have any one in mind?” Irene asked, sounding professional.
“I have a picture” Mrs Marshall brought out her phone and showed Irene the dress.
Irene panicked a bit, seeing it was from Tanya’s fashion store..
Mrs Marshall can just order it and it’ll get delivered by tomorrow.
“Why don’t you want to order it from Tanya’s fashion store? Ma’am” Irene asked.
“And who are you to tell me where to order my dress from? Sitting here with you must be giving you the audacity to suggest things to me” Mrs Marshall said in an almost harsh voice.
“I’m sorry Mrs Marshall” Irene said.
“Or..you can’t make it? Is it too difficult for you to make ? I guess it’s more than you can handle. I’ll leave then” Mrs Marshall said, making a move to stand up but Irene quickly stopped her.
“No! It’s actually a very simple dress to make. I’ll finish it in hours once i get the fabrics for it” Irene said, studying the dress.

It’s a pale fishtail Italian dress with a halter neck,it was gathered by the waist,the back was a bit open and crystals graced the edge of the dress, it’s a simple dress and yet with a touch of splendour.

The fabrics looked costly and the crystals too.

“Okay so,what’s your price?” Mrs Marshall asked.
“Huh?” Irene asked,she hadn’t been prepared for that question.
“Your price?”
“I.. I’ll get back to you ma” She answered.
“Do that fast cause i want the dress ready by Sunday,i need to buy matching shoes” Mrs Marshall said, getting on her feet.
“Thanks for patronizing ma’am” Irene said.
“I wouldn’t have if it hadn’t been on short notice, i have my own personal designer. And get back to me fast on the price” Mrs Marshall said before walking out of the door.

Irene sighed..
She can’t possibly give her a huge price,can she?
Of course no.
Well..today is Thursday, she has enough days to make the dress ready she’ll make sure it’s ready before Sunday.
It’s not really a hard dress to make.
And this might be her chance to prove to Mrs Marshall that her talent is far bigger than her cute small workshop.

She had checked Mrs Marshall’s posts on Instagram even before she came here and she must say her designer is doing a great job but she knows she’s gonna do a better job.
She’s glad the lessons she took from her father about fashion did not go in vain.

“I hope you’re fine?” Tom asked as he walked in.
Irene laughed “She didn’t ki*ll me, I’m fine”

She wanted to tell him that Mrs Marshall ordered a dress but Harold is the first person she’s gonna inform.
Tom walked out of the door and Irene picked her phone.

📞Heyyo” She grinned as Harold picked up.
📞Irene, how you doing?” Harold asked,glad to hear her voice.
📞Great! I hope work’s going smoothly?”
📞Yeah, just sitting and going through some files.

📞Ohh.. there’s a little piece of news”
📞Really?”
📞 Harold, your mum just patronised me!” Irene squealed.
📞Huh?” Harold asked in disbelief.
📞Yeah.
📞Mrs Veronica Marshall patronised Daire fashions?” Harold asked again .
📞Yes yes yes”

📞Wow” Harold smiled.
📞She wants me to make a dress that’ll suitable to welcome your Dad next week.
📞Ohh..yeah, Dad told me he’ll be coming on Tuesday.
📞There’s an issue though…” Irene sighed.

📞What’s that?”
📞She’s asking for price and i don’t know…
📞 C’mon. This is business Irene,you need to set familiarity apart for now,besides Mum has not been nice to you so charge her as much as you can” Harold said and Irene laughed.
📞I can’t do that. How much do you think will be okay?
📞I don’t know how costly the fabrics and everything will be…you should calculate it and give her triple of the price.
📞C’mon” Irene laughed.
📞The fabrics and everything should be about four thousand dollars.
📞Good! Tell her your price is twenty thousand dollars.

📞What!” Irene almost screamed.
📞What?” Harold asked.
📞That’s too much , i won’t even spend half of it to buy everything I’ll need.
📞If you mention a lesser price to Mum,i bet she’s gonna cancel the order, she’ll think you’re gonna be using cheap and fake materials for her.

📞Really?
📞Yes.
📞I think ten thousand dollars is okay, twenty thousand dollars is outrageous for that dress” Irene said.
📞You think so? Harold asked.
📞Yeah.

📞 Mum can afford any amount you mention to her. Her personal designer charge more than that amount and she even pay them monthly.
📞Wow” Irene sighed.
📞Yeah,i just hope she won’t cancel the order because she feels the price is so less. ” Harold said.
📞I hope so too” Irene sighed.

📞Gotta go. Work hard” Irene said.
📞 Alright,bye” Harold smiled.

Irene smiled as she tuck her phone in her pocket.
She always feel good whenever she speaks to Harold, his cool deep voice has a way of calming her nerves.
*
“I thought you came to me cause you already have a price?” Mrs Marshall asked Irene,who stood before her, she wouldn’t talk.

She had approached Mrs Marshall in the living room where her feet was being massaged.

“Yes ma’am”
“Then speak!” Mrs Marshall said, getting annoyed.
“The price is ten thousand dollars ma’am” Irene said, staring at her slippers and twisting her toes together.
“Why’s it so cheap. I’ll give you fifty thousand dollars. Use the best of the materials for me. Your account details?” Mrs Marshall asked and Irene stared at her in shock.

“Do you probably suffer from some sort of disease? You keep mopping at me whenever i talk to you, that’s annoying! I love immediate response when I’m talking to someone” Mrs Marshall said,pissed.
“Oh..my. I’m so sorry ma, i got carried away.”
“By what?”
“By the price you mentioned”
“If you feel it’s too small,i can add to it” Mrs Marshall said.

“No! It’s too much ma. Let’s just stick to the ten thousand dollars ” Irene said.
“Are you by any means trying to use cheap fabrics for me?” Mrs Marshall furrowed her brows.
“No, I’m gonna use the best fabric for you ma’am”
“Are you sure?”
“You’ll see for yourself when I’m done” Irene said confidently.
“Are you sure that ridiculous price will be okay for you?” Mrs Marshall asked with a demeaning look.
“More than okay ma’am” Irene said.
“Ohh…i hope you didn’t do that cause I’m your employer’s Mum?”
“No, i don’t mix business with familiarity ma’am” Irene said and smiled inwardly. She had just used Harold’s words.
“I love that” Mrs Marshall smiled.

“Your measurements ma’am. Are you gonna send it to me or…”
“You’re gonna have to take my measurements of course,i add weight everyday”
“Okay ma’am, I’ll go bring the tape measurement” Irene said.
“I’ll come to your workshop” Mrs Marshall said.”After all I’m a customer”
Mrs Marshall keeps surprising her.
“O..okay ma’am” she quickly responded before she pisses her off again.

“You should give me your account details”
“Ohh.. okay”

Ivy Royals high School
🏬🏬

He didn’t come to the cafeteria yesterday” Allysia said to Paris and Jane.
They were eating in the cafeteria and Allysia has been staring at the door.
“Yeah,i noticed too” Paris said. She had said hi to him his morning and he had responded with a smile again.
She’s thrilled.

“The guys has never bullied him” Allysia said.
Her plan had been to always save him whenever the guys try to bully him, she knows he’s not well to do and he has the looks,the guys are definitely gonna bully him for that and that’s where she’s gonna come in but surprisingly no one has bullied him so far.

“Bully him? He clearly warned everyone not to try that with him or they’ll see the crazy side of him” Jane said.
“Really?” Allysia asked in surprise.
“Yes, he’s so bold and fearless” Paris said.
“Wow!” Allysia smiled.

He was winning her heart the more,he should just approach her already.

Lunch break was almost over and Damien wasn’t in the cafeteria.

“I want to get something,I’ll be back” Allysia said to her friends.
She walked out of the cafeteria and headed for their class.

🦋

“Oh…my. She’s so pretty” Marlene said, scrolling through Irene’s pictures.
She saw how she pulled her hair in a bun with tendrils framing her face, exactly the way she does hers too but it seems Irene is more experienced than her, she would like to take lessons on the hair style from Irene cause it looks so perfect and beautiful on her.

“She’s so beautiful” Marlene said admiringly.
She has always wanted a big sister that she would share intimate things with.
Damien doesn’t know how lucky he is.
“Her eyes are striking” Marlene said and Damien smiled.
“Thank you but enough of the comments Marl,the meal is getting cold” Damien said.
“Just one more” Marlene grinned,she liked the way Damien had called her Marl,she liked the name and it sounded perfect coming out of his mouth.
“Is this your Mum?” Marl asked, staring at the picture of a pretty woman who was seated on a wheelchair and Irene beside her.
Damien peeped into the picture.
It was a picture Irene took together with mum when she was still on the wheelchair.
“Yes but thankfully she’s not on wheelchair anymore” Damien smiled gratefully.
“Ohh..Thank God” Marlene said and she was ready to look at Irene’s pictures all over again but Damien slowly collected his phone from her.
She laughed. “I’m sorry,i just couldn’t avoid admiring the perfection of her looks”

There’s one more thing that drew Marlene to her.
Her decency.
She dressed decently in all of her pictures and it didn’t even hide her great figure.

“I’m gonna tell her that when i see her on Saturday” Damien said.
“She doesn’t stay with you?”
“Yes , she’s working as a live-in nanny,she only come home on weekends but i don’t think she’ll be coming home for this weekend so I’m going to meet her. ”
“Ohhkay but why isn’t she coming home this weekend?” Marlene asked.
They’ve started eating.
“She’s a fashion designer and her employer had set up a work shop for her in his house”
“Wow” Marlene was touched.
“Yeah she works in her workshop whenever she’s not taking care of his daughter and i think she’s now starting to get more orders,so she’ll have to stay there to work” Damien said.

“That’s terrific, i love that. Everything about your sister is just so cool. She keeps making me yearn for a big sister” Marlene pouted and Damien smiled.
“She won’t mind being your big sister if she meets you..” Damien said.
“Really?” Marlene’s eyes widened.
“Yeah”
“When am i…” Marlene was saying.

“What’s going on here?” Allysia asked in horror as she walked closer to the them.
“You both are eating in the class?” She almost screamed, blinded with jealousy.
She never thought Marlene was a threat but now she knows better! Marlene always have Damien’s attention to herself alone,he doesn’t talk to other people like he do to Marlene.
How couldn’t she have noticed this!?

“I..i she has a phobia..” Damien said, panicking.
Marlene patted his hand .
“You know this is prohibited in Ivy Royals and yet you went ahead with it? I guess you haven’t been punished in Ivy Royals” Allysia laughed. “I’m going to report you both now!”

“Go ahead” Marlene bit into a chicken and Damien stared at her, bewildered.
She looked so relaxed and fearless.
“Go ahead b***h! Why are you still standing there?” Marlene asked.
“You just called me a b***h?” Allysia asked not wanting to believe what she just heard.
“Hey! I don’t give a f**k about you. You’re a queen to other students who’ll gladly fall at your feet and do everything you want but not me.If anything,I’m the real queen here, i rock with a real crown” Marlene said and almost slapped her mouth for revealing too much but Allysia and Damien seemed not to notice the truth behind her words.

Allysia stared at Marlene speechlessly.
Part of her was scared she finally found someone that doesn’t give a f**k about her and another part of her wanted to tear Marlene into pieces.

“Marl! We should plead with her not to go report,you don’t have to do this please” Damien said, he was scared of the punishment looming.
“Plead?” Marlene laughed.

“You daughter of an infamous safecracker” Allysia said angrily and Marlene laughed hard.
“Be ready to receive your punishment in ten folds” Allysia said and walked out of the class.
She was so pissed!
She had been worried Damien is gonna be punished too but now she doesn’t give a f**k!
She can’t wait to see Marlene get punished, no one get away with speaking to her that way !

“Marlene,the school authorities know you have the phobia for eating among so many people,you won’t get punished but i will be” Damien said worriedly.
“You won’t, don’t worry I’m gonna settle it once the proprietor gets here,just don’t say anything,I’ll do the talking” Marlene said.
“You look so fearless..well..you won’t be punished anyway” Damien said.

“And you won’t be too, stop panicking and let’s continue eating” Marlene said.
“Eat? I can’t continue with the meal” Damien said.
“Com’on, you won’t get punished”
“I’m gonna continue with the meal after the proprietor says that” Damien said and Marlene sighed.

She covered the meal and they both stared at the door in silence.
Damien’s heart pounded in fear, Mr Harold might probably hear about it,he had promised him he isn’t gonna disappoint him and go against the school rules.
He would be so disappointed.

Zeemah