Blossoming

*** Chapter 4. Dressing Victoria for her trip.

In November Tiffany unveiled all of the new stock she had purchased in Brussels to Liz and Emma in the Boutique. They agreed that the styles she had purchased including those from her new supplier would do very well. As they unveiled the Christmas window they were delighted with the response their stock and display received with its clever lanterns, and old fashioned mock up coach which they used as their centerpiece.

The display itself was an extremely clever use of the space available and featured some fetching negligee and lace bustier combinations, as well as some stunning cocktail dresses and faux fur stoles.
That Tuesday as she got into the role of planning for the pre-Christmas Sale, Tiffany got an unexpected call from her husband's company. ' Hi, it's Victoria deJong, could I speak to Tiffany Prentice please?'

' Hi Vicky, this is an unexpected call, how can I help you?'
'Tiffany, great to hear from you again!, I wondered if it would be possible to drop into our company HQ, as there are a number of items belonging to your husband of a personal nature that we would like you to have. There are a few gifts from his colleagues for you that need to be collected as well'
'No problem, what time would suit best?'

' This afternoon at about four o'clock if you can make it'
' Fine, I will see you there.'

That afternoon as the weather turned rather chilly, she got her SUV from the parking lot and headed out to her husband's company offices. Victoria deJong was on hand to greet her in reception and took her into the company meeting room.

Tiffany was immediately struck by the elegance of her hostess who was dressed in a cream wrap around dress that hugged her figure in all of the right places. Tiffany once again noticed the Dior fragrance and beautiful designer shoes, which complimented her hair and latte coloured skin so well. Victoria helped her take her large tweed coat off and complimented her on her appearance. The touch of Victoria's hand on her small of her back made Tiffany blush slightly, and the sensation of this touch lingered long after she moved away to a chair that Victoria had arranged for her.

Alice, her PA, offered Tiffany a choice of herbal tea, coffee or hot chocolate as it was such a cold day out. 'Please have the hot chocolate as I do not want to indulge in this hidden vice by myself. I know that Alice will make plenty, as she loves it herself!' said Victoria. Tiffany gladly accepted this offer.
As they went through the items to be collected one by one, Tiffany sensed that she had Victoria's undivided attention, and when Alice brought in the tray of hot chocolate they both gave an appreciative sigh as they sipped the frothy concoction.

Tiffany smiled when she caught Victoria try to lick off all of the creamy froth from her upper lip, and caught Victoria's raised eyebrows when she realised that her top lip was equally frothy.
She hastily moved the tip of her tongue over her upper lip to remove the offending delicious froth and caught a quickly veiled reaction in Vicky's eyes.

' It is a little sinful, n'est pas?'
' Yes, but yummy!'

Alice placed all of the items on to a portable office tray and Victoria helped to get all of the items out to Tiffany's SUV. 'I will give you a call when I can free up some time to meet, hopefully it will be sooner rather than later!' said Victoria as she smiled and waved goodbye. Tiffany drove home to her cottage blessing her departed husband for selecting such a lovely home for them. The image of Tiffany's heavily creamed lips unsettled Vicky as she distractedly made her way back to her office.

Tiffany returned to her boutique the next day a little absent minded for no apparent reason also, but the striking design of her shop front got her back to reality again. The shop front was a resounding success which brought in an endless stream of potential customers for their stock, and a short listing for best shop front design from the local Chamber of Commerce. On the Thursday evening Tiffany answered the phone and immediately recognised the slightly unusual accent. 'Hello Vicky, how are you? '

'I am fine thank you, Tiffany. It is time for me to plan my outfits for the upcoming Winter and Spring Sales Meetings so I will need your expertise if you can make the time. I cannot put this off for much longer but I recently got a promotion which meant that I have been settling into a new job role for the last few weeks, and haven't had a minute to myself!'

'No problem Vicky. How about meeting for a coffee in that Hotel that the gala night was in, to discuss what you might need?'
' That would be great, how about tomorrow evening at about 6pm?'
' That suits me fine, see you at 6!'

Tiffany got together with Emma and Liz to discuss what stock they thought might be suitable, and got the brochures into a presentation folder for her meeting with Victoria. The girls were full of praise for Tiffany for getting this potential customer who they felt could do wonders for their business.
The following evening Tiffany got to the Hotel and immediately noticed that Victoria although elegant looked a little ill at ease as she fussed over her business skirt hem. 'Is there anything wrong Vicky, has something upset you?'

Vicky gazed intently at Tiffany as she said :- 'You are very perceptive! You are right, I am just a little self conscious when it comes to going to a boutique and getting undressed for a clothes fitting. To be honest, I get so nervous in front of strangers that I break out in hives even at the idea of it!'
'Well we can't have that! If that's the only problem thatâ€s upsetting you, maybe I could offer to bring the folder and some samples along to your home, if that's O.K.?'
'Tiffany you are super to think of that, and so kind to give your time to me this way. That would be really great!'

'How about you follow me in your car to the boutique and we can get some samples to take to your home. I could follow you to your home in my SUV which has loads of clothes hanging space for whatever you'd like to try on'
'Great, let's go!'

As they pulled in to the kerb, Liz was ready to leave work to head home to her two children for the evening. Tiffany had called her to explain about Victoria's unease at coming to the boutique while other customers were there. So Liz took the hint and was pleased to get the nod to head home a little early, leaving the shop to Tiffany.

Tiffany showed Vicky into the boutique. She quickly pulled the front window blinds down, posted the "Closed" sign on, and began by offering her some refreshments. She quipped;- ' I am sorry that I cannot offer you some hot chocolate!' They both then went through the stock selections that Tiffany had prepared and from that they selected some samples to take to Vicky's home.

Tiffany tentatively asked for permission to take some measurements to ensure she brought only properly fitting stock. As Vicky somewhat slowly nodded Tiffany said 'I have five years experience in the business so I expect that I will be able to get the fitting done quickly once I know what size you are'.
As Tiffany began to measure Vicky's shoulder and chest area she jumped slightly, and Tiffany said :- " Sorry, are my hands cold?'

Even though she knew exactly what caused her reaction Vicky said 'No, not at all, I get just a little uneasy that's all'

'Not to worry, I will not ask you to undress here, so there's no need to be worried or upset'. Vicky gave a noticeable sigh of relief and slowly nodded as she smiled. With that Tiffany took all of the lingerie options and clothes samples they had agreed to her SUV and followed Vicky home to her apartment.
Once they got there Tiffany took the stock out and they went up in the key controlled lift to the penthouse.

As Vicky opened the front door, Tiffany felt absurdly pleased and unaccountably shy as she noticed the framed picture of their day in Brussels resting on a small table in the hall. As she moved in to the apartment lounge she was stunned by the decor and the fabulous view of the English Channel with the lights of the Harbour and the incoming Cruise liner dancing out at sea. Vicky offered Tiffany the choice of a diet Coke or glass of Amarone wine and poured herself some wine.

Having had a quick tour of the apartment and a glance at that photo again, Tiffany decided to begin the fitting by coaxing Vicky to try on some lingerie first, although she noticed a little tremor of reluctance to this in Vicky's eyes.
However, as she relaxed with her wine in her armchair Vicky appeared to become more comfortable, and she rose and undressed to her underwear for Tiffany.

'There's no need to be so shy, you are absolutely gorgeous '. Vicky's eyes sparkled at the compliment and as she blushed slightly she turned away to loosen her bra. As she turned back to gaze at Tiffany, her breasts bounced out of their cover, which caused Tiffany to gasp at the most beautiful breasts that she had ever seen. 'Oh my, I know this will sound outrageous Vicky, but we will have to make sure you are properly fitted to make the most of your wonderful figure'. As they both laughed Vicky finally appeared to be a little less inhibited. 'Thanks, I do feel more comfortable doing this at home here. At least I haven't any hives so far!'

Tiffany then selected a creamy chocolate coloured Bra based on her measurements, which Vicky quickly clipped on, and settled herself into. At once Vicky was impressed with how comfortable it was. Tiffany nodded and said:-

'Not only that but it looks really sexy on you. I must tell you that it's the new Gossard range and this is a 36D so you are even shapelier than you realized. That may be some of the reason for the strap marks that your bra made on your shoulders. Please leave that half slip on as well. I must say that it looks beautiful on you. Hopefully you won't feel so exposed so you can relax a little for me'.

As Vicky tried on a slightly revealing spring dress that made the most of her new bra fitting, she noticed that the dress straps were too loose so Tiffany agreed to pin the strap to the right place so the dress fitted better. When she touched Vicky's shoulder to set the strap at the right level, she noticed a slight tremor go down Vicky's back. The fair hair on her own arm stood up and she suddenly got goose bumps which caused her to frown slightly at this unexpected reaction.

Slowly they got through the rest of the fitting of all her selections without further alterations being required until at last they were down to last item that Vicky selected, the stunning Japanese print silk skirt.
'Vicky can you walk over and check this out in your mirror. Is the length OK or would you like it a little shorter perhaps?'
'Well actually, it's a little too long. Could you pin it up by about two inches so that it falls to my knee? '

'Of course I can'. Tiffany grabbed a pin from her lapel to begin the pin up. As Tiffany reached under the skirt she touched Vicky's leg through her slip, and the surge of electricity she felt left her breathless for a moment. The sheer silence in the room was almost overpowering. She thought she felt Vicky take a sharp intake of breath but wasn't sure if she imagined it. She couldn't recall that reaction happening to her before but decided to say nothing as she didn't want to make Vicky any more uneasy. So Vicky finally agreed on the clothes she would bring to Europe with her and Tiffany promised to ring her when the alterations were finalized.

'I would like to return the favour for that beautiful meal we had in Brussels. Would you like to come for a meal to my house to try on the dress, and skirt just to make sure you happy with the altered tailoring? I will have all your order ready soon and would love to show you my cottage'.

Vicky readily agreed. 'That would be great, I would like two of the lace bustiers from the Legaby catalogue, the gold one and the light coloured one in the 36D size as well if you can get them?'

'That's no problem, when I have all the order filled I will give you a call to arrange that meal'
'I would really enjoy that, thank you.'

As Vicky got dressed she asked Tiffany if she would like to go for a walk as she was feeling too buzzed for sleep and needed the walk to help tire her out. So they got their coats and headed down the small hill into the city centre and on to the seafront.