Linda suddenly got embarrassed when she realized so many people were in the office. She tried her best to put the dresses behind her back and apologized, "I'm really sorry, I didn't realize that there was a meeting going on. I'll return at a more appropriate time."
I laughed at her attempt to recover from her earlier blunder. However, I didn't give her a hard time. "Don't worry, Linda. We were actually just wrapping up our meeting, so you have come at a good time."
Linda did not believe me. She tilted her head and questioned, "oh, really?"
Paul seemed to think that my words meant that he should see himself out, so he bowed before saying, "My Lord, thank you for the opportunity. I will return tomorrow morning to begin my work."
I shook my head. "No, please stay. This whole situation Linda is going to bring up might just be the first task that I give you."
Paul was quick on the uptake, "I understand, my Lord."
Paul started looking keenly at Linda, so I knew he was focusing on trying to make the best of the money making scheme she would be presenting. I turned back towards Linda. As I got my thoughts sorted, there was one big thing that I was shocked about.
"Linda how were you able to make these three dresses in a little over a week?! The people at the dress shop said it would take a week and a half for one dress at best!"
Linda was still hesitant to show the dresses. "My Lord…is it okay to show these while my Lady is here? I thought it was supposed to be a surprise?"
I rolled my eyes jokingly, "I have already agreed to keep no more secrets from Becca, so it's okay for her to be involved in our conversation. Especially because she will have to try on the dresses to see how she likes them."
Linda nodded her head, then answered my earlier question, "the reason I was able to do three dresses in the time that they could do one is because they are estimating the time assuming working during shop hours.
Thanks to you allowing me to working while I was on library duty, I was able to pretty much work on the dresses every moment of the day that I wasn't eating, going to the bathroom, or sleeping. Also, I was always known as a fast worker when I worked at the dress shop, so I finished at around the time that I expected."
I was happy to have the dresses so early, but I didn't love the idea that Linda worked herself so hard.
"Linda, I appreciate the effort, but you didn't have to overwork yourself like that. I wasn't in such a rush for them to be finished."
Linda laughed, "I wasn't overworking myself. I just loss track of time when I get excited about a project. I was so focused that a week fly by before I knew it and the final dress was finally completed."
"If you say so…but you shouldn't get so engrossed in the future. You at least need to take breaks in between and also eat and sleep well…"
Linda scratched her cheek, "thanks for thinking about my well being. You sound just like my Mother when she would scold me for staying up all night sketching dresses as a kid."
I don't mind being compared to a mom if it means my workers know I care about their health.
"Ok, don't keep me waiting anymore. Let's see the dresses!"
Linda agreed and pulled out the spaghetti strap sun dress I asked her to make. Becca and I both walked up to look at it and feel the fabric.
"Wow Linda! This looks so good! It's exactly what I was thinking about!"
The material was thin and breathable. The knee length and high chest cut made it modest and comfortable. It perfectly nailed the cute look.
Becca asked, "what kind of dress is this? I have never seen one like this before."
I explained, "it's a more casual outfit that you can wear around the house when you don't want to have your movements restricted. This is the type of dress I want to introduce to noble women instead of the usually restrictive dresses they have to wear now.
It goes for the cute and fashionable look that would be perfect for you, Becca. I'll take you to our room real quick to try it on.
Becca agreed, "it does look a lot more comfortable than my usual dresses. Let me try it on to see how it looks on me."
"Once she puts it on, I'll bring her back with it still on so you guys can see it too."
I put my hand on Becca's shoulder and teleported us back to our room. Once she put the dress on, she did a little twirl to show it off to me.
I was shocked for a second, she looked like my dream girl. "It looks so beautiful on you Becca…what do you think about it?"
Becca was smiling brightly. "I really like it! The freedom I gain while still being well dressed is amazing. I think this could get popular pretty fast."
"That's good to hear. I think any noble woman that sees how good you look in this dress would instantly want to get one for themselves."
Soon, I teleported back to my office, so Linda could see her own handy work.
Once Linda saw Becca wearing the dress, she started jumping up and down. "My lady, this style fits you perfectly! It makes you look especially cute!"
James and Paul also studied the dress. I asked, "so what do you think Paul? Do you think it will have a good market if this type of dress is sold to nobles?"
Paul thought about it for a second. He replied, "it's hard to tell without it being released to the market. The key is we need to convince noble women that the dress is still fancy enough that people can't look down on them for wearing it.
Nobles are usually stuck in their ways and don't like changes to tradition, so it will not be easy. However, noble women are always looking for the thing that will make them the most fashionable. We just have to market it well.
It would be better if there were some conventional dresses to balance out the risk of trying to introduce such a novel type of dress."