Read Unleash Me, Vol. 2 (Unleash Me, Annihilate Me Series) Online
Authors: Christina Ross
I gave it some thought, told her what I thought I might do,
and then the waiter stopped by our table and took our order for lunch.
We moved off the subject until our lunch
arrived, but then, midway through what had to be among the more decadent meals
I
’
d
ever experienced, Jennifer asked me how I was feeling about Tank
’
s
proposal.
“
I don
’
t want to deal with it now,
”
I said.
“
I
’
ve been through enough
drama.
First, I need to get through
this Wenn Publishing party, which is only two days away.
Then, I
’
ll continue to think
about it and give him my answer, which could change by the end of this meal.
”
“
All right,
”
she said.
“
So
take your time.
”
“
I think I have to.
”
“
Then how about this?
I
’
ll call Blackwell when I return to Wenn, and ask her to
setup a little party of our own before the Wenn party.
”
“
What do you mean?
”
“
I
’
ll ask Barbara if Bernie can make all of us up.
I
’
ll make sure we have martinis on
hand.
We
’
ll
try to take your mind off things.
Then, we
’
ll attend the Wenn party, we
’
ll meet some new
people, we
’
ll have some fun, and we
’
ll just forget about
all of this boyfriend shit until we need to deal with it.
That way, there
’
s
no pressure on either of us.
”
“
I love you, Jennifer.
”
She blew a kiss at me.
“
I love you more.
”
Two days later, at five o
’
clock in the
afternoon, when it was time for Blackwell and Bernie to whip Jennifer and me
into shape for the party, we arrived at Blackwell
’
s office and followed
her into the empty conference room that served as our mock dressing room at
Wenn.
Blackwell looked smashing in her fitted black suit, which
she paired only with a string of pearls.
At her eyes was a pair of new, severe-looking black-rimmed glasses that
lifted slightly at the edges.
Would
she wear them tonight?
Of course
she would.
She
’
d
wear them for effect.
Her hair,
usually worn in a sharp bob, had a spikey, more dramatic flair to it
—
not
unlike the way she
’
d worn it the day that she had fired Marco Boss.
Watching her, it was clear that Bernie
already had styled her
—
and that it had been a success.
As usual, Bernie was waiting for us in the conference
room.
He had everything set up and
because he didn
’
t know about the threats against my life, he was his usual
buoyant self.
He hadn
’
t
seen Jennifer in months, so he went to her first.
He held her in his embrace, and
whispered something in her ear that made her giggle.
Then, he met me with a warm hug and a
kiss on each cheek.
I held him back
and met his eyes with my own, but I skipped his cheek.
Instead, I went in for a brief kiss on
the lips.
“
Well, if it
’
s going to be like that, perhaps we
should turn down the lights and play Donna Summer
’
s
‘
Love
to Love You, Baby,
’”
he
said.
“
That
song got me laid throughout my entire youth.
Not with women, of course.
But with baskets full of men.
You know how it is.
”
“
Bernie!
”
Blackwell
said.
“
Just playing along.
”
He looked at each of us.
“
You both look fabulous.
”
I winked at him.
“
I think I
’
ll look extra fabulous after you
’
ve
had your way with me.
”
“
Same here,
”
Jennifer
echoed.
“
I
haven
’
t
had my hair properly done in weeks.
”
“
I have just the magic to take care of that, Jennifer.
”
“
You have the magic to fix anything, Bernie.
Don
’
t you agree, Barbara?
”
“
Of course I do.
Look at me now
—
you think I made this happen on my own?
Oh, how I wish.
I know how to dress, but the rest of it
—
I
know how to judge, but I don
’
t know how to do what Bernie
does.
There
’
s a
difference.
And look at what he
’
s
done with both of you in the past
—
from pure ruin to pure beauty in less
than an hour.
All with a few clever
clips and brush strokes.
Bernie is
our forever genius.
Love, love,
love to you, Bernie.
That
’
s
how I feel about you, my dear friend, who has saved my ass from the two
potholes that I like to refer to as Jennifer and Lisa.
”
“
Really?
”
Jennifer
said.
“
Serious?
”
I
countered.
“
You two are deluded if you think otherwise.
Now, let
’
s get to it.
”
“
Where is Iris?
”
I
asked.
“
You
said she
’
d be coming tonight.
”
“
She is
—
she saw Bernie earlier today.
He took that burning red bush of hers
and, from what I hear, gave it a rather ruthless makeover
—
we
might not even recognize her tonight!
I also helped her out.
I
sent her a pretty Valentino dress because I refuse to be with someone for an
entire evening if they insist on dressing like a man.
Don
’
t you worry.
We
’
ve taken care of Iris.
She
’
ll meet us at the Frick at eight.
”
“
Perfect,
”
I
said.
“
I
can
’
t
wait to see what you both did to her.
”
“
I don
’
t watch
‘
The
Miracle Worker
’
every
week for just any reason, Lisa.
And
neither does Bernie.
”
“
You are a crippled human being,
”
I said to her.
“
Not so.
”
“
Please.
You
’
re
filled with judgment.
”
“
Maybe partly.
But you love it.
My judgment
will only make you shine, so get over it and get in the chair
—
you
’
re
first.
”
When I stepped into the chair, Blackwell naturally couldn
’
t
help herself, so she stood just behind Bernie so she could monitor what he did
to me.
“
My perfect little size zero,
”
she said.
“
Look
at you.
So pretty.
So petite.
So flat-chested and in need of a
makeover.
At the very least, Bernie
will give you the latter.
I
’
ll
do my best to achieve the former.
We can
’
t have you looking like one of your undead things.
”
“
My undead peeps?
”
I
said.
“
I don
’
t know what that means.
What I do know is that you need some
work if you
’
re going to knock them dead tonight.
”
“
Dead
…
?
”
I said.
“
I
can do dead.
”
“
Don
’
t get ahead of yourself.
We want you looking fresh and alive.
”
“
Am I that bad?
”
I
asked, looking at myself in the mirror.
I turned my head from side to side, and as I did, my face fell.
I was happy to be here now, but I had to
admit that the stress of the past two days was starting to take its toll on
me.
I rarely looked as tired as I
looked now.
But I did.
There was no denying it.
I looked drawn.
“
You
’
re worse than bad,
”
Blackwell said.
“
Look at your pallor.
You
’
ve practically become one of your
characters.
”
“
That
’
s a little harsh.
”
“
It
’
s also the truth.
Bernie, please get rid of the dark
circles beneath her eyes, and for the love of God, give her a healthy glow,
complete with a fresh flash of buoyant blonde hair.
I have a feeling that she
’
s
been working so hard to finish her novel
—
probably in sweats and a T-shirt, the
thought of which makes me want to itch
—
that she
’
s
almost undead herself.
We need to
spank this girl to life.
We need to
pinch her cheeks
—
all of them.
”
She paused for a moment, and then
said to me,
“
That is, of course, if you still want to continue to
capture Tank
’
s attention.
”
“
Oh, I think I
’
ve captured that.
”
“
What does that mean?
”
“
You can
’
t handle it.
”
“
I can handle anything.
”
We
’
ll see about that.
“
He
’
s asked me to move in
with him.
”