Chapter 53

OLIVIA

DAYS QUICKLY passed by. Chase had been very busy after the romantic candlelit dinner we shared on the rooftop of a five-star hotel. I had to say that it was memorable, and I would never forget how my heart felt so happy at that moment.

It was Friday when I received a text message from Charles, indicating the details of the yacht party he mentioned the very last time we talked. The situation made me ponder for a while. It was clear to me that Chase didn't like him and wanted me to stay away from him, but my heart was torn due to my initial plan.

The only reason why I agreed to attend the party was that I wanted to teach Charles a lesson, and Mia would be the one to do that. He called her a nerd, and based on how he looked at her when he approached us, I sensed his disgust because Mia didn't fit his standard for women. But it has to stop right there.

I wanted to help Mia with a makeover plan. She was, indeed, beautiful and too sincere. She would be his downfall.

So even though Chase was not in favor of me hanging out with Charles, I had to do something just this once. I told him that I'd be attending a yacht party with Mia as a classmate had invited us. I told him it was a pure women's party which would be held at the Southville beach and that he shouldn't worry about me because Mia would be with me.

Chase was hesitant at first, but he felt that I needed to get some fresh air after being stuck at home for days, so he eventually agreed to let me go.

Yes, another lie. I felt regretful about it, but I promised myself it would be the first and last time I'd lie about Charles. And I hope he never finds out about it.

***

IT WAS Saturday morning, and I woke up with my phone loaded with text messages from Mia.

I checked my phone and read her messages:

From: Mia Brown

Reese, I need your help! I want to look beautiful at that party. I'm hoping that Charles can finally see me as a lady!'

She said in her text message, that just made me chuckle a bit. I told her about my plan last night. At first, I felt that she was doubting it as she didn't have that confidence in her. She felt inferior among the high maintenance women Charles had dated in the past, but I told her that she didn't ever need to compete. She only needs to improve her physical appearance as part of the initial plan and let her kindness and truthfulness do the work.

I had high hopes that she could change that man's mind and make him realize that women's worth was far greater than he thought.

As usual, even though it's the weekend, Chase has an important meeting with some investors and also with the Ambassador of Spain, with whom Chase would like to build a connection for his company.

"I'm hoping I'll reach that level soon," I said to myself, and then rose to my feet. I stretched, then I decided to do some yoga to clear my mind a bit, then I ate my breakfast and took my medication afterwards.

Soon after I was done with my daily routine, I packed my things as I needed to meet up with Mia. I'll visit their restaurant on the beach.

The last time I went there was with Chandria. It was a truly spectacular place, with a beautiful view of the beach, that I couldn't fight the urge to return to.

"Please get the car ready," I said to Mathias as I walked out of the house, and informed him that we would be going to the same beach we visited the last time. "By the way, did Chase mention anything regarding my activity today? Any reminders perhaps?"

"Nothing, Madame. Mr. Maxwell is a bit busy and didn't leave any messages. He just wanted to make sure that I'd drive you safely to your destination. I heard that you'll be attending a yacht party with your classmates at the university."

"Yes, that's right. Thanks, Mathias!"

I then checked my phone to see if there were any new messages from Chase. I pressed my lips together and pouted. He didn't send me any.

"Weird. You're getting so busy again…" I said to myself, then I walked near the lake while waiting for Mathias to prepare the car.

The weather looked very fine. I smiled as I inhaled the fresh air and felt the cool breeze embrace my skin. The sun was up, but it wasn't that hot, which was a good thing.

I busied myself admiring the lake when my phone rang. My mood lit up when I saw Chase's caller ID.

"Hey, baby! How are you?" I asked as soon as I answered the phone.

"I am good, Reese. I realized I wasn't able to say goodbye to you earlier. I just wanted to call to hear your voice. Please remember to take care of yourself, take your medications, and have fun at the yacht party," he said, which made my heart calm.

For a brief second, I thought that he had found out that Charles was the one hosting the yacht party. It was just too paranoid of me to think of that.

But if he found out about it, then I'd be screwed.

"I will, baby. I love you! You take care as well," I responded before our phone call ended.

On our way to Mia's restaurant on the beach, she sent me a couple of messages regarding how she felt about our situation. I gave her encouraging words and couldn't help but smile as she was becoming too paranoid.

The car stopped, which made me look at the front. The stoplight was red at the time. My eyes went to the rearview mirror and I noticed a black sedan just behind our car.

Mia sent me a message once again. I felt the car moving and making some turns. When I looked at the rearview mirror, I then noticed that the black sedan was following us.

"Mathias, have you noticed the black sedan behind us? I find it weird. I feel like it's following us." I shifted my position and looked directly at the car. "There's no traffic. It can easily do an overtake at this point. We made some turns and it is still there."

"Don't worry, Madame. I'm keeping an eye on it. I can easily push the red button in this car that would connect me to the police and Mr. Maxwell's men to locate our location and get assistance if needed," he said.

"Fine. I'm just a little worried," I said, nervously.

When we arrived at the restaurant, I saw Mia, who was waiting for me outside, and was wearing a plain white polo shirt, eyeglasses, and black pants.

"You're finally here! I missed you so much!" she greeted me and gave me a warm, long embrace.

"I wasn't even gone that long! How's the university? I missed going to our classes!"

My statement made her laugh. She then rolled her eyes at me and said, "You missed your classes but you didn't miss me? How dare you!"

"Alright, I missed you too," I replied.

We both chuckled. Mia seemed so excited right now compared to when she texted me earlier.

His father went out, and I greeted him. He asked me for a favor to watch his daughter. I assured him that I would take care of Mia.

I couldn't help but feel the excitement too. I just wanted to help Mia get her confidence. It was like a mother role which Lara played for me when I was starting to learn about pole dancing and performing sexy dances on stage.

Now, I was the one playing the role of a mother, and I'd be teaching Mia how to be confident in so many ways.

"First, we're going to fix your wardrobe!" I said.

"Sure, sensei! Teach me!" she exclaimed jokingly and nodded her head.

"Stop that nonsense! Let's hop into the car and go to a nearby shopping mall," I announced, which only made her giggle.

"Aye, aye, sensei!"

***

WE WENT inside the shopping mall, and I decided to buy some clothes for the party. It should be elegant and, at the same time, show her simple yet fun personality, so I picked up some dresses and shoes for Mia.

"Are you sure I can wear this?" She winced as she looked at the fitted dresses I had in hand. "They will expose my back."

I laughed as I saw her forehead creasing.

"You have to," I said.

"No way, I can not wear those," she said, her voice cracking. "Even my thighs will be exposed with these thigh-slit dresses. My legs aren't that perfect!"

"Mia, would you like me to help you or not?"I asked.

She looked at me for a bit, then sighed in the end.

"Alright, let me try these dresses. I'll go to the fitting room," she expressed in defeat.

I smirked as I handed her the dresses. I waited for a couple of minutes. When she stepped out of the fitting room, my jaw dropped as I saw her beautifully wearing the dress I gave her.

"Perfect, Mia! You look amazing!" I exclaimed, squealing with delight.

However, her brows were still furrowed and her lips pouted.

She then scoffed, "It's too embarrassing. It's too showy! My back is exposed, and my right thigh is also a little bit exposed!"

I rolled my eyes and walked towards her.

"Come on! Chin up! This is only the first part... We haven't switched to the exciting part yet. Watch out!" I said with a wide grin on my face.

"Oh no! Can I back out?" she asked.

Chuckling, I held her shoulders. "You signed up for this and there is no way out! The only way is to go through all of these and see the outcome of the change we're making. It will be worth it, I promise!"

She let out a long sigh. "Fine, I trust you, Reese. You're the wife of the most famous billionaire, Chase Maxwell, one of the hardest to catch and one of the biggest fish in a world of bachelors. So, whatever it was you did, I want to try that too."

"Thanks for trusting me, Mia." I winked at her and then asked the sales lady to pack all of the clothes that I picked so I could pay for it later on.

Then it was my turn. I picked some elegant dresses that I would like to wear at the party tonight.

A red backless spaghetti strap dress caught my attention. I picked it immediately as it reminded me of my previous self when I was still working at the bar.

I must admit that I kind of missed pole dancing and performing on stage. Though I was glad that it happened as it helped me survive, I no longer wanted to remember those difficult times when I needed to force myself to dance on the laps of old hags just for money.

It was all different now. I could get whatever I wanted in just one quick snap. Everything could be purchased so long as I used the black card, which had my name imprinted on it.

With the help, of course, of my husband, Chase Maxwell, I could easily buy anything that I wanted without breaking a sweat.

Mia's eyes widened as I took out the black card from my wallet.

"Oh, holy cow, Reese! Is that the invite only prestige card of the Whales Bank?" She then took the card from my hand in an instant. "Only a select few members are getting these types of cards. Only the elite of the elites! This is my dream card!" she exclaimed.

I was shocked to see how excited she was for one brief moment. When she suddenly came back to her senses, she then gave it back to me.

"I'm sorry, I was just too excited to see it in person! I had only seen such cards before during a lunch meeting that I joined with my dad and a few of his business friends in Europe," she explained.

"Oh that's fine," I said in a monotonous tone.

I was not truly aware of the background of this card. I believed that it was only given to me by Chase so he could trace my spendings.

I then handed my card to the cashier, and one of the sales ladies asked me if I could hire her as my personal shopper. I was taken aback and I was wondering what it meant to have a personal shopper.

"Ms. Reese, please consider me. Hire me as your personal shopper. I would like to work with you. I hope you can consider me to be part of your glam team! You have a great eye for fashion. I can sense that and to be honest, I was a huge fan of yours when you were still in the sports field before. I was one of the people that supported you as an athlete. I didn't know that you have such a fashion taste until I saw it with my own eyes!" she said, that made me want to gather my thoughts.

I guess she knew more about Reese compared to me, knowing that she was a fan of hers, but having a great eye for fashion like what she said was a different case. It was my real passion, as Olivia.

I took a deep breath and I pulled out my calling card for my business phone.

"Here. you can contact me on this number, but please just send me a text message or email as I don't pick up calls right away," I said, then I went to Mia for us to check some makeup.

"Thank you so much, Ms. Reese!" I heard her screaming with glee. I smiled a bit and continued walking past her with Mia.

"What's going on there?" Mia asked curiously.

"Nothing…" I answered and shrugged.

Someone from the store assisted us and grabbed the bags of clothes that we bought. It wasn't that much because we already wore the main dresses that we would like to show off at tonight's party. I instructed the store staff to help me and go to the parking lot where Mathias was waiting.

"Alright, let's check out some make up," I said to Mia.

"Sure, I bet you already have a team or some professional make-up artist that would help us to check them, isn't it right?" Mia asked.

"Oh, Mia! No need to call a professional, and I don't have a "glam team" or some sort of that. I can do this on my own!" I giggled, which surprised her.

"You don't have a team to do your makeup? I thought that you did have the help of a professional. I always see rich people have their own team to manage their hair, their make up, their dress, just to make sure they're looking good!" she said.

"Oh, yeah, right. Back then, when I was working, I had someone put makeup on me. Her name was Lara, but most of the time I can do my own makeup and my hair. But you gave me an idea! I might need that in the future," I replied.

I then went to the makeup store and from there I checked the makeup brands that I only see in the magazines. I was impressed to see them, and I immediately checked Mia's skin tone.

"Let's find your perfect shade, Mia," I said to her, which made her dumbfounded.

"Excuse me, Miss. Can you help us to check what's best for her skin tone?" I asked the consultant standing beside the make up kits.

After a long conversation with her and checking Mia's skin type, I then picked up all the things that we needed and we decided to go to a room where we could put the makeup on.

"Here you go, beautiful lady. Slay!" I said after putting the finishing touches on her face.

"What the hell? Is this me?" She screamed like a little girl and jumped.

I saw her standing straight, feeling good about herself. She got a new level of confidence in herself. I felt something inside me just got inspired. Perhaps this was my calling?

I don't know…

"Can I do this as my first business? Anything that involves making other girls feel beautiful — you see, every woman deserves to feel beautiful," I said, smiling while staring at Mia.

I couldn't help but see myself in Mia. I was just like her many years ago. Lara helped me to feel beautiful and to realize that I could be pretty like the others too.

I controlled my emotions and I went to the comfort room because I couldn't afford to cry with my makeup. My eyes glanced at the mirror, then a part of me was proud.

This was no longer about Reese Jones; it was about Olivia, a girl who didn't know her family but had a desire to better herself. Perhaps, this was my calling, not just to pretend to be someone else.

I then went outside of the comfort room and I asked Mia for us to leave the shopping center.

We went inside the car. Mathias was blinking and tapping his face with his hands.

"You look so stunning, Madame Reese and Ms. Mia," he said. That made me happy.

We drove near to the seaside, and as we approached the location, I noticed some great looking cars that were already arriving at the port.

"Mathias, we will come back here at twelve midnight since the party will start at eight in the evening," I informed Mathias, as he should be waiting for us while we were in the port. Once my plan succeeded, I would go home.

I glanced at Mia and she was more confident than ever.