Entering JL boutique, Madison was blown away by the dresses on display. Every type of evening gown and cocktail dress was hanging on the shelves and they were all beautiful in her eyes.
At this point, Nick's sister Joanne saw her brother and Madison walking in and stepped forward to meet them.
"Hi brother. What a surprise seeing you here. Who's this beautiful hot blonde?" greeted Joanne.
"Haha, hi sister. Don't get any ideas. Do you remember my childhood friend Derek Smith? This is his cousin Madison." replied Madison.
"Hi Madison. I'm Joanne, Nick's sister." Joanne greeted as she extended her hand.
"Nice to meet you Joanne." replied Madison, shaking hands with Joanne.
"Madison is looking for a cocktail dress for an event in a couple of months' time. Do you have anything for her?" asked Nick.
"Before I answer that, Madison, what type of event is that?" asked Joanne.
"Well, that event is where the Quinton Consortium announces who wins the bid to rebuild this mall. My family received an invitation and I need a dress for that event." replied Madison.
"Oh? Interesting. As tenants of this mall, we are invited to that event too." said Nick.
"Well since that's the case, I can't let you choose an ordinary cocktail dress. Come with me, Madison. Let me show you our finest evening gowns." Joanne said as she pulled Madison with her to the evening gown section.
Seeing his sister was the only person in the boutique, Nick stayed watch as Joanne and Madison looked at the evening gowns.
About 15 minutes later, Madison came out of the fitting room in a stunning yellow gold, mermaid style, bare back halter gown, complete with a matching shawl and four inch high heels.
Nick saw Madison coming out of the fitting room and his jaw dropped immediately.
Nick had already thought Madison looked beautiful when he saw her in her BMW. Seeing Madison in that gown sent Nick over the top.
"Nick! Don't look at me like that. It's embarrassing." Madison was starting to blush.
"I'm sorry. I can't help it. Seeing you in that gown....you're like a fine piece of 24 karat gold jewellery. Stunning." replied Nick, still taking in what he just saw.
"I know right." replied Joanne.
"What do you think, Madison? Most important is do you like the dress?" asked Nick.
Madison took another look at the mirror. She was really happy with Joanne's recommendation. The dress helped not only to accentuate all the sexy curves on her body; but also allowed her to shine bright, almost literally.
"This is perfect for me. I have the appropriate jewellery pieces at home to match this outfit. Thanks, Joanne. I'll buy this dress." said Madison, much to Nick and Joanne's delight.
Madison passed her credit card to Joanne to charge while she went back to the fitting room to change.
While Joanne was processing Madison's purchase of her gown, she looked at Nick and asked, "Hey brother, Madison does look stunning. Have you thought of asking her out on a date?"
Nick looked stunned for second; but soon collected his thoughts.
"Seriously sis? Oh wait, you meant if I thought of asking her to be my plus one for the Quinton Consortium event, right?"
"Are you that much of a blockhead?" replied Joanne exasperately. "Of course not! I mean a plus one for the event is fine but you know that's not what I meant."
"Come on sister. She's from a rich family. I know we're not that far off from them but you know their spending power. Did you know her cousin Derek bought one of my finest suits from my shop this morning?" replied Nick.
"What did you say, Nick?" Madison's voice was heard from the fitting room.
Within seconds, Madison walked out from the fitting room to face Nick.
Fortunately, Madison had already changed back to her work attire; otherwise the situation would have been awkward and embarrassing.
Madison wanted to question Nick further; but at that time, two female customers entered the shop.
Not wanting to make the situation any more awkward, Joanne finished processing Madison's purchase, returned Madison's credit card to her and passed the dress in a bag for her.
"Nick, I have questions for you. Let's go to the nearby Starb*cks cafe. Joanne, thanks for the dress. I absolutely love it."
With that, Madison took her bag with her newly purchased dress and pulled Nick with her out of Joanne's boutique.
'Good luck brother. I think you're going to need it.' thought Joanne as she proceed to tend to her customers.
Nick and Madison went to the Starb*cks cafe outside BDT mall, where a budding team leader was there to meet them.
"Hi Ms Madison, welcome back." greeted the team leader.
"Hi Steph! Glad to be back. I'll have a normal coffee. Oh and one more coffee for my friend here. His name is Nick." replied Madison.
"Right away Ms Madison. Your corner spot is currently vacant so I'll serve your coffees to you there." said Steph.
"That will do nicely, Steph.... in fact, if you are free, can you join us too? I have a feeling what I'm going to discuss with Nick may involve you too."
"Okay.... I hope it's nothing awkward." replied Steph.
Madison and Nick proceeded to her corner table. Five minutes later, Steph served them their coffees and sat down with them.
"So, Ms. Madison, what did you want to discuss about? You seem very serious just now." enquired Steph.
"Sorry to inconvenience you Steph, especially when you are on duty; but I feel this is too important not to ask you to join us." replied Madison.
"What's this discussion about?" asked Steph.
Nick replied, "It's about her cousin Derek."