Upon arrival, we checked in and went straight to our rooms. I tried not to pay too much attention to the expansive lobby which was so far out of my wealth bracket that I was scared to know how much a single night would cost. Thankfully, the place hadn’t opened up yet for business, and Oliver had put us all up in guest rooms for the duration of this audition process.
I still had no idea how the entire thing would work, but I did know we would have challenges we had to pass to move on to the next round. I almost felt as if this was an audition for one of those cooking shows I liked to watch so much when I had time. Many were even filmed nearby at the Food Network studios. I had to have my wits about me, and I was thankful tonight would just be a simple meet and greet with drinks.
“This room is nicer than our entire apartment, Kenzie.” Reece spread her arms wide to highlight her point.
I didn’t need her to state the obvious. “I can only imagine how beautiful the kitchen in the restaurant will be.”
“I hope we get this gig because I never want to leave.”
Reece had what I affectionately called a champagne taste on a cheap wine budget. I wasn’t as into names and my needs didn’t require as much money as hers, but to each their own. If I was able to land this job, I’d make enough to get us something better than what we currently had, although it would still likely pale in comparison to this place.
Reece walked over to the beds to decide which one she wanted while I looked out at Pier 17. I’d seen a concert the summer before there, but I had never actually considered working nearby. I was starting to see things come into focus as I thought about the clientele the surrounding attractions would draw, and it would help me plan a menu around those demographics.
“Damn, you should see the size of this bathroom,” Reece remarked, before she rejoined me. “We could fit our entire apartment inside of it.”
I giggled, then said, “I highly doubt that.”
“Maybe you’re right. It’s huge though, and even big enough for the two of us to get ready together.”
I sure hoped so because we’d learned early on when we moved into our current apartment that the two of us couldn’t be inside of the bathroom at the same time. Those first few days had been rough, and we were at each other’s throats. We couldn’t even brush our teeth at the same time, but we eventually came up with a routine and we haven’t had many problems since.
“I’ll be ready in about a half hour.”
“Me, too,” I replied, then I went to grab my luggage. Since Reece had already chosen her bed, I took the other and opened my suitcase atop it. Since I’d only brought one, outside of the luggage bag, it didn’t take me long to put my things away.
Seven days, if I was lucky. I’d have that long to impress whoever this developer was. I had never heard of CHG before, and Oliver’s name wasn’t familiar to me. I had interviewed virtually with him, and he seemed like a nice guy. I just hoped my culinary skill would prevail. If I ever expected to break out of the rut I was in, I needed something substantial to change the tides. I was excited, albeit a bit nervous, but I was also hopeful.
Channeling that, I unzipped the luggage bag and pulled my dress out. It really was gorgeous, even if I was just now realizing how promiscuous it truly was. Maybe it’d been the lighting in apartment, or the fact that it’d been sitting on top of Reece’s sequined throw in the same color, but now a small bit of panic filled me. The dress would be so short on me, especially since I was taller than average women, and definitely Reece. The back of the gown was long, which was where the modesty ended. In the front, I would be lucky if it came mid-thigh. I wanted to see how bad this would be, so I undressed and once I had the dress on, I cringed. It was worse than I had anticipated.
“You’ll definitely be putting your best foot forward in that,” Reece told me as she whistled at me.
“I’m putting my entire leg forward. Why did I ever listen to you?”
“Because I’m right,” she answered, and I shook my head.
I then turned to Reece, and she looked gorgeous in the red dress she’d chosen to wear. It was low cut, but it looked a hell of a lot more conservative than what I had on.
“Debatable,” I commented before grabbing the matching shoes. Once I had them on, I moved closer to the mirror.
“Damn, you look better than I ever have in that dress, Kenzie,” Reece admitted as she stood behind me.
“Again, doubtful, but thank you.” I appreciated the compliment, but I knew my friend was absolutely stunning. Tall, with long legs, she looked like a supermodel. Her skin… hair… teeth… and everything else was flawless.
“Let me do something with your hair,” she told me as she tugged lightly on my ponytail.
I didn’t protest because I knew I couldn’t show up with my hair this way. I sat down in the nearby chair, and allowed Reece to brush it out. She worked her magic on my thick, blonde mass, then we were ready to go. We left everything but our cellphones and keycards inside the room before taking the elevator to the lobby.
Once we were downstairs, I noticed a number of familiar faces walking around. These men and women were my peers most of the time, but for the next week, they were also my competition. I needed to remember that, so when one or two would smile at me, I would politely do the same, but I also sized them up in my head. Reece started to pull on my arm, and I followed her while hoping the entire time that I didn’t fall flat on my face in front of everyone. Soon, we found a spot off in the corner near another large wall of windows.
“Champagne?” one of the waiters asked, and Reece grabbed herself a flute.
I did, too, although I didn’t know how much of it that I would actually drink. Holding my glass, I turned my attention to the view outside. “This place is so beautiful. I can already see myself buying a few peaceful minutes from the restaurant just looking out at the pier.”
“You and me both,” Reece agreed, then sighed. “Remember, we’re in this together.”
“I’ll never forget that,” I promised. Reece had uprooted her entire life and moved halfway across the country with me, and I’d never take her sacrifice for granted. She worked with me at the moment, however, I knew if she ever had the opportunity to do something in fashion, she would leave me. In fact, I would encourage her to do so.
“Cheers,” she exclaimed, interrupting my thoughts. We clinked our glasses together in a toast.