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It wasn’t that she didn’t like you. Rather, it was quite the opposite. You were nothing like her. You were kind and lacked pride. You were not one to fight back when insulted. You were passive and at times quite dull. And still despite all of that, in her own way, she was still fond of you. And that perplexed her to no end. What about you was worth liking so much? She could find nothing, but still yet, she did.
At first, she didn’t want to take you on as an apprentice. She wasn’t a fool. She had her standards. And you? You had absolutely no background in fashion at all having quit your well paying job just a day before approaching her. You said you were inspired by her work the moment you first laid eyes on it. You wanted nothing more than to follow in her footsteps. She kicked you out not a second later.
Much to her dismay, you were not one to give up. Every single day following you’d burst into her store begging her to take you on as an apprentice. And when that didn’t work, you started bringing your attempts at garments you made in your free time. Quite frankly, they were horrible. The colors were off, the stitchwork was shoddily done, and the style was mismatched and chaotic.
But then, things slowly began to change. The garments you brought in, though still disproportionate and sloppy, began to evolve. It was slow, but with proper skill and work put into them, she began to realize they did, in fact, hold a glimmer of potential. But your background was in finance, not fashion. So where did that come from?
Eventually, she gave in and agreed to take you on as a probationary apprentice. Really, you forced her hand. Your incessant begging was reaching the point where she was just about ready to throw you through the window, but you were not rude or unruly enough to deserve that. Perhaps if you were put through the wringer, you would finally give up and leave her be.
She simply had you cutting fabric at first. How you managed to fail that, she had no clue. How many yards of fabric you managed to ruin she did not understand. But you improved, didn’t you? It was slow at first, but soon you became even more skilled than her most senior assistants. Neither did you let any ruined fabric go to waste, opting to create weird, if not fascinating accessories with them instead.
But no matter how much she scolded you and no matter how much she would force you to complete the same tasks over and over again, you’d always follow through with a smile. And though you could never stop talking and asking questions when she wanted silence the most, you’d listen with the most rapt attention anyone could ever give her.
You were weird, strange, ultimately a bothersome person. You’d design the strangest things before looking to her for approval. You’d simply laugh when dealing with difficult customers, yet still managing to assist them with ease. That wasn’t even mentioning the natural ease you had dealing with her often brusque personality. What was even stranger was that she didn’t mind. You were weird, and she, dare she say it, liked that.
It didn’t help that she was no stranger to the way you acted around her—how flustered you became when your hands touched, how you stuttered when she complimented you on a job well done. She saw how much you yearned for her attention. As much as you tried to keep your crush lowkey, it was plain for the world to see. And she thought it was cute, endearing even.
So when the day finally came when you decided to shoot your shot, because of course a weirdo like you wasn’t intimidated by her enough not to, she couldn’t help the smirk that found its way to her lips. Taking steps toward you, her hips swaying side to side, her eyes narrowed in delight as your posture stiffened even straighter.
“Hotel Debord. Dinner. Seven o’clock sharp,” she answered before taking your tie and yanking you towards her. “I expect you to wear something new, something I haven’t seen before. Am I clear?”
When you nodded furiously, too flustered to speak, she nodded before letting you free and making her way to the front door of the boutique.
“And I will say this now. I don’t stand for latecomers. So be on time, will you?”
“O-Of course!” You finally blurted out. “You won’t have to worry about a thing!”
She nodded.
“Good. Then I’ll see you there.”