Elric couldn't help but freeze when he saw Ember walking out into the lobby.
Threads of gold sparkled with an enchanting light, intertwined with clean, pearly-white cloth. Near the shoulders, the golden threads converged together, forming small geometric patterns that matched the ones on Elric's suit. The dress shifted with every step Ember took, being just short enough to not catch on her feet.
Ember's similarly golden hair had been braided together and was held by a small white pin. The only thing breaking the white/gold color scheme was the girl's face, which had a closer color to her ruby eyes. Her eyes angled down as she approached Elric, but he could see a small smile on her face.
"W- well, how do I look?"
The stun duration from seeing her ended just in time for Elric to respond.
"Beautiful. You are easily the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
Ember looked up at Elric's face, then blushed a bit more.
"You look handsome, too…"
Off to the side, West looked a bit downcast. Not only did he have to attend this party with one of the lads crossdressing, but he knew there was no way Eira would be able to match up against this. Ember put any famously pretty actresses to shame.
Ember's ever-present faint scent of lilacs seemed to be slightly stronger, but Elric's nose wasn't the only one twitching. Ember leaned in toward him, and after taking in a few whiffs, her inquisitive gaze refocused on his face.
"Elric… why do you smell like a new car? It's not that I don't like it, but…"
Elric frowned, then lifted up his sleeve to take a sniff. Ember was right!
Just as he was about to turn and ask the helpers about it, he heard cocky laughter off to the side.
"Hm, that isn't him that you are smelling. That is the true essence of my manliness."
West struck a pose. It was the other Villainous who had applied his cologne so strongly that it wafted all of the way over to Elric.
"You seriously sprayed yourself with that damn 'New Car Smell' stuff after all of the work we put into making you look passable?!"
The assistant designer who'd helped West prepare stomped up to the flamboyant young man.
"And I smell glorious now, right, Grace?"
West gave a poor attempt at a 'seductive' look toward the designer assistant, and she recoiled in disgust.
"No! It's bad, and you ruined all of my hard work, again! You're a joke, and I'm quitting!"
West looked genuinely regretful as he watched the girl stomp off toward the back of the store.
"Madam Sela, could you please go after her and convince her to stay? I didn't think this would make her so mad."
The head designer just stood there, a disappointed look on her face.
"I'm on her side. Your poor attempts to hit on that girl just made you come off as a prick. Why should she stay?"
Seeing that their ride had already pulled up outside and was waiting for them, West hurriedly responded to Madam Sela.
"I'll give her a raise, and I'll try to stop being rude! Please, ask her to give me another chance!"
Seeing the head designer nod and start walking toward the back, West heaved a sigh of relief.
"Sigh, this has already happened a few times, and she always decides to stay. I really do need to figure this out, though… Elric, I'll need to ask you for some tips. How can I get her to show any interest in me?"
Elric pondered for a minute, thinking of how he met Ember.
'I think… didn't I kinda just make fun of her? Yikes, now that I think about it, I was being a bit of a prick myself. Why exactly did Ember start to like me?'
Realizing he probably shouldn't say that aloud, Elric placed a hand on West's shoulder and looked into his eyes.
"Just be yourself, and be confident. Even if that Grace girl doesn't fall for you, someone else will."
West's smile returned after he heard Elric's words.
"Yes, you're right! With my position, I can have as many partners as I wish for. I can build a harem of only the most beautiful women!"
The trio reached the exit of the shop, and Ember looked at West with a hint of disgust. This guy was clearly an unfaithful playboy.
The car they were taking wasn't a normal one- West had rented out a high-class limo for their trip to the party. When they got inside, West continued talking about how he would surely be prolific in his future romantic ventures.
When he noticed that Ember was clearly getting tired of hearing West speak, Elric directed the conversation to change to their goals for the party. There wasn't any reason for Ember to not help out with watching Ned, so she agreed to join in, though she wasn't sure why they were so interested in the rival designer.
–
–
Back inside the clothing shop, Madam Sela's expression looked concerned as she faced the assistant designer, Grace.
"He asked me to give you a raise again… you're already making more than me."
Grace leaned against her locker space, a conflicted expression on her face.
"Madam Sela, what do I do? I really don't want to lose this pay, I know I'll never be able to get a job like this again… but it's clear it isn't because of my work."
The head designer didn't look like she knew what to suggest.
"If I was in your position… I don't know. I would probably try to stick around and make as much money as I can. Tony is clearly a playboy, and he obviously has eyes for you… as long as you only interact with him at work and make sure not to go elsewhere with him, you should be safe."
West's real name was Tony Engburn, and despite some of his actions, his recent assignment to manage his father's clothing business was an overall benefit to the workers.
Grace shook her head.
"I'm not worried about being in danger, I can easily take that twink in a fight. It's just… I feel like I'm almost taking advantage of him. Look at how much I'm being paid, it's way more than what I'm worth! If he was just a random playboy, I wouldn't care, but he does seem like a genuinely nice person, and he's made a lot of changes to help out the workers here since he took over. I'm just not interested in a relationship right now, and not with someone as free as him."
Grace tapped her foot against the floor as she debated her options. Leave, and lose an extremely well-paying job. Stay, make money, but continue having to endure West's advances.
"Madam Sela, can I ask you for a favor? When he gets back, I'll have a talk with him. If he refuses to listen to me, I'll quit on the spot."
The head designer nodded, then suggested that they have Leonard be present as well. The hairdresser was the only person West was more afraid of than his own father.