~VICTORIA~

The door opened and a gorgeous woman in her thirties walked in. Wearing a stylish yellow tunic and boots, she exuded confidence and elegance.

"Sebastian, honey, it's been so long," she cooed.

He kissed her on the cheek. "Hello, Deb," he said. "You look as breathtaking as ever."

"So do you, darling," she said, looking him up and down admiringly. She turned to me and smiled. "You must be Victoria."

"Uh...yes," I said. I wondered if she noticed how nervous I was.

"Ms. Slade has decided she would leave everything to you," said Sebastian. "She's completely in your hands."

"Let me take a look at you, honey," Deborah said, walking around me in appraisal. I stood rooted in place, trying to resist the urge to run away. "Hmmm...beautiful hair. I always love working with redheads. And you have a good figure. I don't believe we'll have any problems finding you a few things for work."

"Thanks," I said. "I mean, good. I think." Great, now I was babbling.

"Sit down, honey. Sebastian, make yourself comfortable. Shall I call for coffee?"

"Okay," I said.

"Maybe not coffee," said Sebastian. He sat down on a large leather chair. "How about some white wine?"

"Of course," said Deborah. "Champagne, perhaps?"

"That would be perfect, thank you," Sebastian replied.

"I didn't mind coffee," I whispered to him when Deborah left. I sat down. The couch was white; I hoped I didn't have any food stains on my clothes.

"You serve coffee all day," he said. "Aren't you sick of it yet?"

"Well, yes, but... champagne seems a bit much—"

"Deborah will serve us a goat's head on a platter if I ask for it," Sebastian cut in.

I couldn't help it. The sight of the beautiful and polished Deborah carrying in an enormous tray with an animal's head on it made me giggle.

"Besides, you look like you need a drink," he added. "You should learn to take the good things people offer you."

"I'm just a tutor, Mr. Chase," I said. "When someone offers me champagne for buying a couple of dresses, I feel like a fraud."

"Well," he said, resting his elbow on the arm rest and leaning his forehead on the knuckles of his fingers. He cocked his head and regarded me with mild amusement. "I believe there will be a lot more than just a couple of dresses."

"Oh God," I said, eyeing the rack of clothes Deborah wheeled in front of me in horror. They looked expensive. And they smelled even nicer than I did.

"She means they're lovely, thank you," said Sebastian.

"Oh, no," I said. Did she think I didn't like the clothes? "I'm sorry. It's just that..."

"Come, sweetie," Deborah said, taking my hand and helping me to my feet. "You're completely in my hands, remember? Don't think, just try these on. I'm here if you need help zipping up."

I shot Sebastian a panicked look at Sebastian as Deborah led me away to the fitting room. His face was devoid of expression, and he merely lifted his glass .

"I never told you my size," I said.

Deborah waved her hand dismissively. "Honey, I do this for a living. Now go try this first," she said, and handed me a white suit with red trim.

It fit perfectly. I buttoned up the jacket and stepped out to Deborah's critical appraisal.

"That will do nicely for PTA meetings, don't you think?" she said. "Here, this is something more comfortable for when you're going over the books with little Benson." She handed me a pair of grey slacks and a dark blue top.

"Does Mr. Chase need me to show him what I'm getting?"

"Honey, this isn't Pretty Woman." Deborah smiled slyly. "Or is it?"

"Oh no! I mean, he and I aren't..." I felt my face turn red. "I just thought that since he's paying for this..."

"This is barely going to make a dent in his black card, sweetie," Deborah assured me. "You're obviously a nice girl who wants to be considerate, so what you need to do is not dilly-dally around worrying about money, because what Sebastian is really losing here is time."

"Time?"

"You realize how much he's losing taking a few hours during a workday just to take you clothes shopping?" My eyes went wide, and she added, "Now, don't worry about it. It's something he wants to do, obviously. If you know him long enough, you'll realize he's the kind of man who does what he wants for his own reasons."

As I put on the blue blouse and slacks, I wondered just what those reasons were. Was Sebastian toying with me? Did I seem so pathetic to him that he decided to take it upon himself to show me charity? Or maybe it was just really important that I looked the part of his son's tutor that he had to personally drag me out of work and take me to Barneys just to make sure I was dressed the way he wanted the next time I was at his house?

I felt dejected, even as Deborah's face lit up in approval when she saw me. "Lovely," she said. "Do you always wear neutrals, honey? That works with your coloring, but jewel tones look fantastic on you too."

"Thank you." I should really feel more excited about getting fancy new clothes but I couldn't seem to muster any enthusiasm.

"What's wrong? Oh dear, was it what I said about Sebastian?"

"N-n-no. I mean—"

"Don't think about it too much," she said, and started going through the rack choosing the next outfit. "He thinks this is important, so you should trust him. And I'm confident he wouldn't be going through all this if he didn't think you were worth it."

"Worth it?"

"When Sebastian sees potential in a person, he tries to help them grow into whatever it is he thinks they should become. He can't help himself."

"So I'm a project," I said.

"You're an investment," Deborah corrected me. "If a smart businessman like him sees value in you, that means something." She handed me a white sleeveless cashmere top. "So enough with the long face and go try this on."

.

"Suitable," said Deborah several minutes later, as she looked over the dark violet jersey dress I wore.

I had to admit I really liked the dress. It was made of soft material, and clung to my curves effortlessly without being constricting. What I wasn't comfortable with was the lace thong and matching bra Deborah had made me wear under it.

"Honey, there's nothing wrong with your underwear," the older woman had said to me when I protested wearing the thong. "But you can't wear anything with visible seams under that dress, you'll ruin it."

"But I'm only trying on the dress," said Victoria, shaking her head as Deborah held up a black box containing the delicate undergarments. "It's not like I'm going anywhere in it right now."

"Well, do you have any thongs at home you can wear under that dress?"

"Not really, no," I had admitted. All my underwear was pretty but practical. I'd never even worn a thong before.

"So you might as well take this then."

With a sigh, I had acquiesced. The bra was all right but the thong had felt uncomfortable, and it took all my self-control to not fidget with it.

However, now that I had put on the dress, I could appreciate how the uncomfortable underwear made the dress look better on me.

After nodding her approval, Deborah picked up a shoe box and handed it to me. "Try these."

It was a pair of black suede flats. "I suppose you don't wear heels a lot, do you?" Deborah said.

"Sometimes," I said. "Like, clubbing, you know? But guys tend to get scared off when you're as tall as they are." I smiled ruefully.

"Well, then you should only go out with either tall men or really confident ones," said Deborah. "Turn around."

Sebastian is tall. And confident.

I shook my head, trying to banish thoughts of my boss. I could almost believe that the astute Deborah could read my mind.

I turned obediently. I felt a slight tug behind me and heard the sound of a pair of scissors as Deborah snipped off the price tags.

"Come. Sebastian has been waiting a couple of hours," Deborah said. "I'll have the new clothes sent to your place, and the ones you were wearing when you came in."

***

~SEBASTIAN~

I was on the phone with my VP for Marketing, and just as the latter had hung up, Deborah burst in. Behind her followed Victoria wearing a dark violet dress and an embarrassed expression.

It was hard not to stare. I let my gaze flicker over the younger woman then wander sideways to the wall. "That's all right," I spoke on the phone to no one. "Send it to me first thing in the morning." I pretended to hang up.

"I hope you didn't miss us too much, honey," said Deborah. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Not at all, Deborah," I said, putting my phone in my pocket. I kept my expression neutral as I looked at Victoria, trying to keep my eyes on hers instead of wandering downward to the curves of her breasts and hips in the soft clingy dress. "How was the root canal, Ms. Slade?"

"It wasn't so bad," Victoria said. "I'm really sorry we took so long." She had her hands clasped together in front of her, as though she was trying to keep them from escaping.

"It's all right. Shall we?"

Victoria nodded, and grabbed her purse.

I did not, of course, expect the savvy stylist to dress my son's tutor in oversized shirts, but nothing prepared me for how stunning Victoria looked when she came back from the fitting. I couldn't believe I had pretended to still be having a conversation on the phone just so to get a  little time to compose myself after the initial shock.

"Thank you, Mr. Chase," said Victoria, as we left Barneys in my car. "I really do appreciate this. I'm sorry you had to drag me there yourself."

"Maybe if you weren't so stubborn, I wouldn't have had to," I said.

I spoke a little too brusquely, and immediately regretted my words when I saw her expression change. The way she hung her head after I'd spoken — hell, I might as well have yelled at her.

I'm sorry, I wanted to say. It may be that having spent a lifetime of never having to apologize for anything, but I couldn't say it.

I swallowed hard, trying to quell the unexpected ache in my chest. Unable to think of anything more to say, I just let the silence settle between us.

Perhaps it was better this way, I thought. I was thinking about her too much. I'd taken off in the middle of a workday just to see her in a dress. It was better for the both of is if I kept my emotional distance. Well, better for me, at least.

Once I had strengthened my resolve, I allowed myself one glance at her.

Victoria was staring out the window of her side of the car, her hands resting on the purse on her lap. Her face was expressionless.

Damn it.

I made a decision I hoped I wouldn't regret.