The CEO's Unwanted Wife novel · Chapter 11 of 24

Chapter 11: The Gala

The stylist stood frozen by the fitting room door with a pincushion strapped to her wrist.

Two other women in the shop had stopped pretending to look at scarves.

"Take your time, Vanessa," I said. "I'd hate to rush a woman who has to borrow."

Vanessa smoothed the beading over her hip.

"Oh, I'm not borrowing. Stanford told me the foundation paid for it."

She smiled.

"And you're leaving tonight, aren't you? It would be a shame to waste a gown that fits so well."

"It fits you in the hips," I said. "The shoulders are going to fall off by dessert."

One of the women by the scarves made a noise and turned it into a cough.

Vanessa's smile stayed exactly where it was, but a pink line crept up her neck.

"I'll see you tonight, Linnea."

"I'll be the one in the family seat."

The bell above the door rang before she could answer.

A driver in a grey coat came in with a long garment bag over both arms.

Behind him came a cane tapping the tile.

Agnes Merrow wore her best black coat and a hat with a small feather.

"I took the liberty," she said, to nobody and everybody.

The driver laid the bag on the counter and unzipped it.

Inside lay a gown of deep green velvet with a plain square neck and long sleeves, cut by hand fifty years ago.

"I wore it the night my husband became foundation chair," Agnes said.

"It was the only time he ever stood still while I walked into a room."

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