Preparations were underway.
The precious stones and metals were finalized and sent off to be polished, cut and prepared for us to adhere it to the dress form. While that was going we decided to work on a few dress forms and styles to see what was the best material to hold the stones and which style of dress was best to hold the weight.
We were expecting the final version for both the dress and suit to be quite heavy and extremely expensive.
A couple of years ago a lingerie company contracted us to create a bra made entirely of gemstones which was to be showcased at a gala event for their company. It took several hundred hours to create and used a couple thousands stones to complete.
It was a successful campaign for me as it was when I first introduced my jewelry company and the hype around the bra was perfect. While similar this project was different.
Making something at a much larger scale was more tricky though not impossible. Cost wise unlike with the bra, as the lingerie company paid for it, this is something I would take the hit for. The bra itself was worth a couple million and I have yet to finalize the cost of the dress and suit.
Considering the potential cost, I had to consider protective measures during the exhibition as well as security measures for transport. Thankfully Dean was on the same page and handled the security for me.
'I have a lot of artists whose works are also high value. Trust me I am making sure everyones art is secure and safe for the time the exhibition is running.'
I was confused on how people thought he was just a good for nothing party animal. During the weeks leading up to the gala he was very dependable. He answered every call and text and was always ready with an answer for our meetings. We have met both at his apartment and his office and never once was he unprepared.
I rarely saw my parents as I was coming in late from the studio every night confirming both our upcoming launch and finalizing the contracts for our new brand ambassador Fallon. I ended up meeting her and she was a total sweetheart. She was in the middle of a break after her last album so she felt it was a great opportunity to get her creative flow going for her next album.
With everything going on, the Cortez family gala snuck up on me. I barely had time to say my goodbyes to my family before they left for Milan so I felt more frazzled than usual as I had no time to mentally prepare for the event.
"Don't worry about socializing with the other partners. Enjoy the party and come home early if you can." These were the words my mom and dad left for me before leaving. I could tell they wanted to postpone the trip but my grandparents could no wait.
My Mama Ines pulled me aside and secretly shared with me as to me why she could not wait. "Now I normally would not want to leave you alone but I need to check on something. My friend called me a few days ago and told me that her grandson Dante left behind something for you."
"He what now." My grandmother shushed me and looked around the hallway. Her eyes giving me a warning glance. She clasped her hands around mine and rubbed them softly. "I guess after he left for his business trip he sent a couple of things back. One of which had your name on it. I am not going to open it but considering he is sending stuff back already his grandparents suspect he is coming home soon. So I am trying to see if I can figure it out so I can give you the heads up."
My mama always did this. She hated being left in the dark and always wanted to be the first to know. I sighed and slumped my head back. 'Lord give me some patience.' I knew this was her way to help me but I was felt in my heart Dante would text me first before letting his family know when he would come.
'Whatever makes her feel better I guess.' I squeezed her hands and took a deep breath. "Ok ok sounds like a plan then." Her face morphed into a happy sun, she smiled so brightly and was genuinely happy that she could contribute more.
After they left it was time to prepare for the gala. My stylist Gina was already hard at work coming up with a dress for me to wear. Today was when our fittings would happen and be done the same night. Which would then be ready for the actual gala which was the next evening. Gina liked to have my outfits ready with more time but something happened which caused her to get behind.
"My muse I am here!" I heard her voice from the foyer and I went out to greet her. It was a day of goodbyes and hellos it seemed. As we headed over to my room I felt her energy get more excited. 'She seems happy with the dress design.' Though I was not too sure why.
For formal events like these I had a uniform of sorts. It normally consisted of A-line formal gowns which were normally a dark solid color. However when she pulled out the dress it was nothing like what we talked about.
The dress was a beautiful pastel green and was made of sheer material which made it look airy and ethereal. The square neckline was held up by ribbon straps which looked like with one pull would come lose. Despite being a square neckline the dress had a revealing low back.
"G what is this? While very pretty this is not what we discussed." She started grabbing her pins and handed over the dress to get fitted. "This is why I was held up, I had a vision an awakening if you will. Trust me I think you will like this more than you expect. Try it on for me. I want this to be your revenge dress."