Pain Lived, Love Found 2 by Thalia Lake Read Free Book Online

impress, then I needed to stand out, which in turn would make my client stand out.
    “Sarah, I don’t think this is a good idea,” Sandy said cautiously, as she sat in the plush leather chair in the dressing room while she waited for me to come out in the red, Vera Wang, mermaid-styled gown. It is an absolutely stunning, one-shouldered dress with beautiful lace detailing. I knew it would show off my curves perfectly once I had it on. Finally I stepped out of the dressing room and stepped up on the small stage in front of the three-way mirrors and modeled the dress for her as I too looked at myself from every angle. Sandy’s eyes were as big as saucers as she looked at me.
    “Oh my goodness…you look beautiful Sarah! That dress is gorgeous, it’s perfect!” she exclaimed.
    “Now do you see what I’m saying?” I responded smiling. “I’m covered up, no boobs are spilling out, and it’s classy, elegant, and beautiful. Trust me, Sandy, he will not fuss at me for wearing this. Look at how good I look!” Sandy uncrossed her long legs and stood up on her five-inch stilettos and said “I shouldn’t trust you on this, but I will. Take that dress off so I can pay for it. Now we have to find some shoes, a matching clutch, and jewelry.”
    Sandy winked at me and I smiled in return before I went back inside of my dressing room to carefully take off the dress. We continued our shopping until we had everything I needed. I felt like Cinderella going to the ball only I had no clue who my prince was. Sandy liked to keep that bit of information from her girls until the day of the date so we wouldn’t prejudge them and not give our all in making sure they got what they paid for.
    Once all of our shopping as complete, we went to an Indian restaurant to have lunch. We had a wonderful time laughing and talking and reminiscing about old times. Sandy always knew how to make me laugh, and she put me in a good mood. Shortly after my release from rehab, I shared with her some of the low points of my life and my experiences at the rehab facility. I’d never shared such personal things like my drug and alcohol use and what led me to them with Sandy before. I know I have said that my clients over the years got me into drugs and alcohol, but that’s not entirely true. I made the decision to do them, and to keep doing them. Like a true best friend, she sympathized with me, laughed with me, and cried with me. She listened to me without judgment and without ever interrupting. Ever since I shared those things with her, she always made it a point to make me laugh.
    When we were finally back at Sandy’s home, I took a quick shower and laid down for a much-needed nap. I slept for about an hour before I woke up and wandered out of my room stretching and thinking about what to do with the rest of my day. I walked towards Sandy’s room which was just two doors down from mine. Her door was closed but I could hear her on the phone. It didn’t take me long to figure out that she was on the phone with her fiancé Philip.
    “Philip, I love you and you know that. You know I want to spend the rest of my life with you, but pulling up roots and moving to the Bahamas to be barefoot and pregnant is not what I want to do. You’re a businessman and I’m a businesswoman. You can’t just expect me to drop what I’ve built from the ground up,” Sandy said, passionately. There was a short pause as I’m sure Philip was now making his case. “Yes, we agreed to have kids too, but why can’t I have my career and have kids? I can take as much time off as I want Philip, why are you making it seem like everything I want to do is impossible? It can’t just be me doing all of the compromising. There has to be a give and take, and right now you are being so bullheaded and stubborn that it’s driving me crazy!” I hated to eavesdrop but I couldn’t help myself. She didn’t talk to me much about her and Philip, but I did know that she was crazy about him and