damnit if I didn't think he was gorgeous. Standing at about six-foot-four, his olive complexion was perfectly complemented by a mane of strawberry blond hair. He looked younger than I expected, and his intense green eyes appeared to search my soul as he reached forward to shake my hand.
"I'm Ella -- Ow!" His hand shocked me.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry," he burst into laughter, revealing a set of perfect white teeth. "I'm sure it's not the first time I've shocked a pretty lady."
Sometimes in life, someone can walk into a room and completely change the energy, disrupting your pattern forever.
The glass of champagne I'd imbibed started to function as a truth serum. Something about Dash's presence was so magnetic, even more intoxicating than the alcohol. I didn't know if it was charisma or animal attraction, but it was something...different. And completely unexpected.
"You're not at all what I expected," I blurted out.
"Well, don't believe everything you read," he grinned, quickly appraising my breasts, which were practically thrust in his face by the magic of the rainbow costume push-up bra.
For a moment, we were just staring at one another, completely oblivious to the outside world. Then the cottage door opened, and a gaggle of people entered, led by Debra.
"Great! You're here already, Dash!" Debra said. "We've got so much stuff to get to before you guys need to go back to the party and mingle with the Europeans. Ella, you can pop a squat while we go over some of your pictures and feedback sheets."
I settled into a recliner as the design team went over my notes. It was actually flattering how much of my opinion they were taking into account. The operation was very professional. Everyone was taking notes, and sketch pads and iPads were out, as the team went over this detail or that. I was impressed.
About forty-five minutes into it, Debra looked at her cell phone and screeched.
"Crap! It's already time for dinner. Come on, everyone, let's get a move on."
The entire group began to pick up their stuff and leave as quickly as they had come, completely forgetting about little old me sitting on my recliner. But Dash didn't forget.
"Uh...hey! Debra, what about Miss Ella here? Our fit model extraordinaire. Do we need her for the rest of the day?"
Debra looked stressed.
"Crap. We don't, but...let me take care of it, Dash. You go out to meet with the Europeans, and I'll take care of Ella."
"Got it," he grinned. "What would I do without you, Deb? Oh, and make sure she gets paid her entire day rate, even though we didn't need her for the rest."
After Dash took off, Debra revealed what I had been thinking all along.
"He has no idea that you're not the originally scheduled fit model," she whispered.
I had to laugh. Debra was clearly a woman after my own heart. She knew how to "make it work," regardless of what she had to do. In this case, we had to work out how I would leave the event early, while escaping the notice of Katrina's Katerers. Debra contacted a plan, in which I was being sent into Beverly Hills to procure more "egg dyeing supplies" from Whole Foods. The white van would pick me up and deposit me at the parking lot, where I would hop in my car and drive home.
It was genius. Debra handed me the eight hundred dollars, and I breathed a sigh of relief. It really had been a good Friday.
"Oooh, and don't forget the stuff you tried on!" she said, gesturing towards the rack of bras and panties.
Stuffing a trash bag full of all of my new goodies, I proceeded towards the van pick-up area. Unfortunately, Katrina was waiting nearby.
Crap!
"Hey, Ella!" she squeaked. "I heard about all this extra egg dyeing work they have you doing...are you okay with that?!"
"Oh...uh...yeah. It's not so bad," I replied.
"And that bag!" she said, gesturing towards my trash bag o'panties. "Is that part of the project you're working on?"
"Yep," I sighed. Then I realized, with horror, that the trash bag was see-through. It was time to