Linda stared at him in stunned silence. “I never said there was anything wrong with her looks.”
“Good,” Simon said. “Because she’s beautiful. Always has been.”
Heat stole up her cheeks, forcing Heather to lower her eyes while she caught her breath. “Thank you, Simon.”
Linda raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure you two aren’t still sleeping together?”
“No!” they both said at the same time.
“Linda.” Simon tapped the table in annoyance. “That’s enough.”
“Fine. I’ll back off.” Linda turned her attention back to Heather. “Well? What do you say to a makeover? We want the media to take you seriously, so what you wear matters.”
Heather hesitated. They were asking for so much. She had never sought the limelight. All she wanted was to do her job well and take care of her son. Fix the mess she had made of her life over the past year.
“I know you don’t like attention, but the media will love you,” Linda said. “Have you ever thought that maybe you don’t like the attention because you think you don’t deserve it?”
“I...” Her voice trailed off. She had never thought of it like that.
For years Gary had made her feel bad about being shy and reserved. Her ex-husband didn’t think she was exciting enough. But Simon seemed to think she was. Which meant that, deep down, there was more to her than she ever realized. Simon saw something in her that she had locked away. Locked away because she didn’t think she deserved anything more. Anything better. Gary had convinced her of that. Her ex-husband had told her she wasn’t enough, so she decided not to be enough. And then Simon had come along and seen so much in her that it took her breath away.
Simon turned to face her and placed his large hand over hers. Warmth spread through her and suddenly she felt at ease for the first time all morning. “Heather, I know this is a lot to ask, but it’s obvious that you want to help Dover. You care about this job and Dover’s employees even though you haven’t been here long. And showing the media that you stand by your statement makes Gary look like the liar that he is. Which makes it harder for Gary to carry out his threats of taking Finn away. It might be good for Dover and your son.”
Finn. Her heart squeezed at the thought of her son. Doubts nagged at her, but if getting a makeover would help her keep her son she was ready to do it. It didn’t matter if she worried that this might not work. She had to try. Do whatever it took. Because there was nothing she wouldn’t do for Finn.
Gathering her strength, she took a deep breath. “Okay. I’m all in.”
Chapter 9
“You’re going to have to practice walking,” Linda instructed.
They were in a downtown department store, hunting for the right look for next week’s reunion . Linda was holding on to a pile of clothes while her newly hired personal assistant, Beatrice Arden, was staring at her nails, obviously bored.
Heather felt like an idiot, walking across the department store in heels that were way too high. She wobbled, her arms shooting out as she fought to catch her balance. “How am I supposed to walk in these?” Her arms were still flailing around, but at least she was still standing.
“It’s so easy,” Beatrice said, demonstrating an elegant walk in her own eye-poppingly-high stilettos. “Heel toe, heel toe.”
Beatrice had been at Dover on the same day of Heather’s interview, when they were both candidates to be Linda’s personal assistant. Beatrice eventually got hired to work for Linda. Like Heather she was still very new to Dover, but Beatrice’s glamour and style had already earned her a reputation with the other employees.
How Heather wished some of that glamour would rub off on her. Right now, she was awkwardly stomping around the store, trying out some shoes while shoppers stared at her as they walked by.
“I think I’d rather go with the wedge heels,” Heather said. “They’re more comfortable.”
“But these shoes are killer,” Beatrice protested, gesturing to the strappy red heels Heather had been forced into.
“Yes. Literally. If I wear these to the reunion I’ll break my neck,” Heather said.