Free Charming: A Modern Day Sexy Cinderella Story by Jennifer Miller

my dress for the night up and pull the zipper into place at the side. Spinning to face the mirror, I do a quick inventory. My blonde hair is loose around my shoulders, flowing in soft waves. I went with a smoky eyed look on my lids that makes my gray eyes look striking, soft pink colors my cheeks, with pale lips to finish off the look. My gray maxi dress is cut low in the front and the fabric crisscrosses under my breasts before it flows down to my feet. Slipping my feet into nude sandals completes the look.
    Katie and I stick to our plans of yesterday and made reservations to eat dinner at the restaurant located here on the resort this evening. We heard some guests at the pool raving about it today and that confirmed our choice. We’ll critique it for ourselves. It has a semi-formal dress code, but I’m glad we chose to go to the trouble because damn, I look good tonight. I can’t help but smile at my reflection in the mirror. Dressing up has made me feel confident and beautiful which is a nice feeling given my low self esteem lately after everything with Jeremy - or as Katie has started calling him, ‘fuckwad’.
    Walking into the bathroom, Katie stands next to me and slides lip gloss over her lips. I admire how beautiful she looks in a flowered bohemian style sundress that falls off one shoulder and belts at her waist. The hi-low dress emphasizes her curves and she looks fantastic. She smacks her lips when she finishes glossing them and turns to me. We each give the other a thorough evaluation and smile. “Beautiful darling,” I tell her with a wide smile.
    “Oh, no, no, no, you are beautiful darling,” she replies as we giggle and air kiss.
    “Til we’re old and gray?” she asks me.
    “Until we’re old and gray,” I confirm. “We’re going to be the sexiest old ladies in the nursing home.”
    “You know it!”
    “We’ll rob everyone blind at bingo because they’ll be too busy looking at us to pay attention to their boards.”
    She laughs, “We’ll be the queens of bingo.”
    “You ready?” I ask glancing at my phone to verify the time before putting it into my small clutch. I’ve been carrying mine wherever we go because I have international service. Katie brings hers for the camera, but we left my number with her family and my assistant in case of emergency.
    “Ready.”
    We head out of our room and down the hall toward the main part of the resort. We don’t have far to walk, the restaurant is located smack dab in the middle of the property, all the rooms surrounding it in a semi-circle. We arrive just in time for our reservation, and smile as we’re escorted to our table, passing lit candelabras on the way. The décor is all dark wood, which works strangely perfect against the light backdrop of the sand and ocean. The part of the restaurant where diners are seated is a half circle with floor to ceiling windows all around. We luck out and get a table that sits us mid-center of the large window, with access to a magnificent ocean view. Additionally, we’ve arrived just in time to see the sun begin to set, casting colors of gold, yellow and orange throughout the sky that reflect off the water making it look like it’s on fire. It’s breathtaking and before we even glance at our menus, we spend a few minutes silently taking in the view and taking a few photos.
    Katie and I peruse the menu and each order extravagant meals of lobster and shrimp with baked potatoes. My mouth already waters at the thought. “Not to bring something up that will sour your mood, but have you thought at all about Reveal Design and Marketing and how you’re going to handle everything when you get back?”
    And just like that, my watery mouth dries up like the Phoenix desert in July. “As far as what?”
    Katie sighs and leans closer, “You know what. Your bitch of a stepmother is likely working behind your back even as we speak to do what she can to work her way into the company.”
    “She can try all she wants.