Mistletoe, Mayhem & Mr. Right, page 12
part #1 of The McKenna Sister Series
“I’m Ann, we spoke yesterday.”
“Jesus, you’re Ann? Crap I’m sorry, father forgive me…”
“Nice to meet you,” she said, smiling at him and pulling out a seat. “Join me. I’m interested in hearing what sort of favor Sebastian needs.”
“You’re a nun? I thought you dated him.”
“Yes, I am a nun. You’re quite observant. And yes, I did date him. He was actually the reason I entered the convent.”
“That bad?”
“No, he was sweet and kind when I told him I felt conflicted about taking our relationship to the next level. We ended as friends. Can I help?”
“I doubt it unless you have any hot friends. Sorry, geez that would be a negative right? Darn, nuns are difficult to talk to.”
Molly interrupted. “Excuse him—we are just in sort of a bind.” She explained their plight.
“I wish I could help but all my friends are sort of spoken for by the big guy upstairs.” She winked. “Good luck, you seem like good friends to Sebastian. God bless you both,” she said as she headed to the door.
“This is a bad sign,” said Molly, stretching the fabric away from her neck.
“Look, we got that out of the way. You know the worst is over. Right?”
“Holly Jolly Christmas” rang out as the door opened and a blonde carrying a ton of presents pushed the door in with her butt.
“That’s Baily,” said Molly. She said she would be wearing a red coat with black fur trim.
“Thank God,” said Hunter, looking at the platinum locks that fell to her waist.
“Don’t thank him so soon,” said Molly as Baily turned around to reveal a watermelon sized bump under her jacket. She was more than willing to help, but warned her water could break at any moment. Things didn’t get much better. There was Colleen, the waitress who snorted when she laughed and whistled when she said ‘s,’ due to her new braces. Then there was Danny who was midway through her transition to a male, an awkward mix of boobs and a beard, she made Ann look better and better. Elle, a fashion model, was perfect except she brought her bodybuilder boyfriend who dangled Hunter above the toy train threatening his life if he contacted her again. After four hours, a large woman with three chins walked over and greeted Molly and Hunter with a bear hug guaranteed to crush a spine. She sat down and immediately started reminiscing about Sebastian. Hunter’s eyes glazed over as he studied the rotund woman. “You look surprised?” said Farrah.
“I didn’t expect you to, well to…”
“Be so big?” Farrah laughed.
“I’m not the girl he dated, but she is still inside,” she said, pointing to her stomach.
“You ate her?”
Kicking Hunter hard under the table Molly listened as Farrah told her love story with Sebastian. Lovely, funny and sweet, Molly wished Farrah would meet the approval of Price, but sadly she knew this was not the woman he spoke of. Farrah explained she would love to help but quite honestly wasn’t interested in going backwards. Hunter sighed with relief. Molly applauded her strength.
After Farrah left, panic crept in. With one possible contender left, things were looking bleak. Then the door of Maggie’s swung open and in walked one of the most beautiful women Molly had ever seen. Her long black silky hair shined in the twinkling lights. Her body was simply outstanding. Every eye in the coffee shop was drawn to her like a magnet. Hunter quickly flipped open the little black book to refresh himself on any notes. “ROG” written in red across the entire page signaled this was one hot woman. The acronym stood for something, but what? Really, outrageously gorgeous, ridiculously outstandingly great, the possibilities were endless, but the bottom line was they had found their girl.
“Hello, my name is Gina. I believe you called me about Sebi. I must admit I was surprised at first but if anyone can help him it’s me. We were engaged and shared a home. Our history is deep. If he needs me, I’m there. Name it.”
“As strange as this sounds, we were wondering if you could accompany Sebastian to an event tomorrow night. I know it’s sort of short notice, but it would mean a lot.”
The brunette’s eyes lit up, her smile spread rapidly across her face as she closed her eyes and sighed. “Finally, he came to his senses.”
“Hmm, what did you say about senses?” asked Hunter, his left eye squinting a little.
“We ended quite abruptly. One day he mentioned his best friend had recently gotten married, so naturally, I took that as a proposal. I realized it seemed soon to some people given we had only known each other for two days, but I ran with it.”
Molly stretched the turtleneck down, swabbing her neck with ice water on a napkin to slow the developing patch of hives.
“Long story short, that day I bought a wedding gown, broke my lease with my landlord and had all my belongings moved into his place.”
“Naturally,” said Hunter.
“Here’s the crazy part,” said Gina.
“We didn’t get there yet?” asked Hunter.
“I arrive back to our home and the police are there to escort me out, slapping me with a restraining order. Crazy, right? It states I’m not allowed within fifty feet of Sebi. I’m glad to see that has been lifted, right?”
Molly reached in her purse pulled out her bottle of liquid Benadryl, swigging it from the bottle like a flask.
Hunter stood up and said, “You know, for your safety we are going to make sure of that the whole restraining order has in fact been lifted, and we’ll call you with the details. Thanks for your time.” Hunter, ushered her to the door.
“Candy Canes! What have we done? This is insane. We introduced a psycho back into his life. This is bad, bad, bad, bad,” said Molly, grating her neck,
“Are candy canes good or bad as far as a reference goes? I get so confused since well no one in the world uses it. Relax let me crack this code. ROG, Restraining Order Gina, crap that was a hard one,” said Hunter.
“Now what? It’s nearly six o’clock on Thursday, the day before we need a freaking date.”
“Pipe down there Red. We still have time.”
“Time for what?” she said, pacing while scratching. “We’ve tracked down everyone in that damn book except Marcy, who is out of town.”
“Let’s go home. We’ll get something to eat, regroup and start calling every escort agency in the city.”
The two braved the cold, crowded streets, stopping at Minnelli’s for dinner. Molly’s neck, now frozen, settled a bit from the row of hives.
A small Italian man greeted them. “So lovely, this young woman is. You take care of your girlfriend, my friend.”
“Oh no, she’s not my girlfriend,” said Hunter, following him to the table.
“Why not?”
Molly blushed.
Hunter tripping over his own words answered, “She’s my best friend.”
“Exactly, my wife is my best friend too,” said the little man handing them two menus and walking away.
“That was weird, right?” said Molly.
“Very. Could you imagine us?” He laughed.
“Ridiculous,” she said with a giggle.
“Let’s eat so we can muster enough energy to make some desperate calls,” Hunter said taking them away from the awkward banter.
After the two ate a delicious pasta and chicken meal, they felt rejuvenated and headed back to the apartment. They strolled arm in arm taking in the twinkling lights on store fronts. They made it back to the apartment and settled in with a few bottles of wine. Then they picked up the phones. They dialed away explaining their plight to every escort agency in the city. Every girl was booked. They didn’t give up. Around midnight, they started leaving messages for the New Jersey agencies. Night turned to day without the two realizing they had fallen asleep on the couch, phones in hand. Startled by a knock on the door, they popped up, banging heads.
“What, where are we?” Molly screeched in full on panic mode as she jumped to her wobbly feet.
“The door, the door,” said a groggy Hunter.
Hunter opened the door to see Kyle with coffee and bagels. “All-nighters, not as easy as in college, eh?”
“What time is it?” asked Hunter.
“Noon. Did we drink a bit too much last night?”
Molly’s phone sang Mariah. Flipping the couch cushions, she struggled to find it.
“Hello.”
“Ms. McKenna, this is Price. I trust you were successful in finding a beauty for Tate. I need her here at the office by six. I believe Tate bought a very expensive dress for Victoria. You can stop by and pick it up for the young lady, size two. Hope she’s a fit one. That is all.”
“Yes, of course she’ll be there,” she said before hanging up. “I’ve become a seasoned fibber. Who am I?” she said, dropping face down on the couch.
“I can’t address your fibber problems, when I’m about to lose my job,” said Hunter.
“What’s the problem exactly?” said Kyle trying to keep up.
“We need a girl by six o’clock tonight to escort Mr. Tate. We have six hours. We failed. We are going to be on the unemployment line on Monday.”
“Wait, why?” asked a very intrigued Kyle.
“Where are we going to find a size two girl in like, ten minutes?”
Kyle sat crossed leg on Molly’s bean bag chair. He looked sheepishly at Hunter and then diverted his eyes to Molly who was flung onto the couch with one leg over the back and her hand over her eyes.
“She’s a girl,” said Kyle pointing to Molly.
“This is not a time for joking,” said Hunter.
“I’m not joking. Do you need a girl or not? Last I checked Molly had all the parts to qualify as one.”
“Did we say girl? We meant a stunning girl, no insult intended, Hunter said. Molly remained slumped seemingly unaware of the whole idea.
“Sure, she needs a little—well, a big overhaul, but that is why you two have me.”
“Molly what do you think?” asked Hunter hesitantly.
Molly peeked out from behind her hands. “To what? I was absorbed in wallowing.”
“You know you being our girl. Molly, look at me. We don’t have a choice here. We’re out of options. Do you want to let Price down, the company down, and more importantly, the love of your life down?”
“No, nope, not a good idea. It’s actually a bad idea, very bad. Have you two thought this through? I can’t walk in heels, wear glasses and in case you haven’t noticed, I’m not exactly a beauty.”
“Get your coat Molly. I’ve got just the guy who can change all that,” said Kyle.
As Molly retreated to the bedroom, Hunter pulled Kyle aside. “Are you sure about this?”
“Sure, as ever, my friend. You go pick up the dress you speak of and meet me at the studio. Leave the rest to me.”
“Hey Moll, what are you doing in there? Hunter is going to beat us to the studio,” Kyle said waiting patiently.
Molly stood frozen in front of her full-length mirror. Yes, she knew her hair was unruly, at best. She knew her padded bras were her best friends. She knew that the words beautiful, stunning, gorgeous were not generally used in conjunction with her name, but she couldn’t help but wonder what it would feel like. If she were being honest, she secretly longed to know what it was to be admired by every guy in the room, but this was a risk that carried way too much weight. Sebastian, the Australian God, would never be seen with a girl like her. But, what if, what if by some magical chance, Kyle and his studio could transform her? She had seen before and after pictures of the stars, but acknowledged they had a better blank slate to start with.
Bang, bang. Kyle pounded on the door before pushing it open.
“What’s the hold up?”
“I’m not sure about this,” Molly said placing her hand over her heart and inhaling deeply.
Kyle gave her the once over, then snapped his fingers above his head. “Molly have I ever steered you wrong? My boy Levon is the best. You’ll be sensational.”
“I mean I know I’m smart, and kind of cute, right? I’m just a realist. I know my potential. I don’t want to let Sebastian down, or Hunter for that matter.”
“Let’s make a deal. We go—we give my boy Levon a chance. If you’re not happy, you don’t have to go through with it.”
“Thank you, Kyle,” she said, throwing her arms around his neck.
The two headed to the studio. They entered through the back entrance just as Hunter came flying around the corner dress in hand. Levon, a tall, pencil thin man with deep mocha-colored skin sailed in and checked his reflection in the mirrors of the dressing room. “Welcome all,” he said.
Kyle took the dress in one hand and with his best Vanna White flourish, showcased the green sequined stunner.
“On this side, I have a dress, on the other side I have a girl. I need you to marry them.”
Levon first examined the exquisite dress, the detailing, the open back, front side slit. “Remarkable.”
Then he turned to Molly, who at this point had cowered deeper into her hooded parka.
“I see a dress. I’m not convinced there is in fact a girl in that lump of, dare I say, ‘nylon.’”
“Sorry I’m so caught up in the business at hand I forgot to introduce you. Molly this is Levon, the best damn stylist ever to hit Hollywood,” said Kyle.
Molly slowly eased out of her hood and extended her hand. “Pleased to meet you.”
“Off with the coat,” said Levon.
Molly hesitantly slid the coat off. Levon walked around her, eyeing her from head to toe.
“What am I to do with this?”
“You need to make her look completely different,” said Kyle.
“Obviously, but how?”
Levon pointed to her gray tortoise glasses and asked, “What is this?”
“My glasses?” said Molly.
“Shh…a rhetorical question.” Next, he pulled the sleeve of her sweater up, examining her skin. “You make a vampire look as if she just arrived home from the Caribbean. I’m used to working with skin and bones, but it’s usually accompanied by height.” Last he pulled the claw out of her hair. The spirals twisted and turned unleashing a mane three times the size of her head. He gasped, leaped backward and gnawed on his knuckles. “I am Levon. I am fabulous, but I’m not a miracle worker.”
Molly’s eyes teared up. “Hunter, I’m sorry. I can’t do this.”
“Red, you’re the most fearless woman I know. You kicked butt in that pitch. You have it all, that fool just needs to be clobbered over the head to realize it, but man, when he does, you’ll have your prince charming,” said Hunter. “Molly, you’re my hero, win, lose or draw—enjoy this!”
*****
Levon, may I have a word with you in private?” asked Kyle.
Pulling Levon aside, Kyle put both hands firmly on his shoulders. “Levon, have you ever loved someone from afar, hoped desperately they would notice you even for a minute? Molly’s career rests on this night being successful, but more than that, it is her chance to impress the man she has loved from afar for three years. He doesn’t even know her name. For a few hours
she gets to be that girl he can’t take his eyes off of.”
“Everett Randal, senior year. God, how I adored him. I did everything in my power to get him to notice me, but no. Every stupid jock in the school had his eye. For everyone who has had Everett, I will do it!” he said, his voice breaking, then bellowing with promise.
Levon ran back toward Molly. He called out to his staff, “I need Joss in hair, Frederick in makeup, Charlene for a Mani and Pedi. Snap to it people, chop, chop.”
He walked over to Molly and took both of her hands. “Tonight, darling, you will live the fantasy for all of us.”
Molly rushed off, hand-in-hand with Levon.
A spray tan turned her milky complexion a warm shade of bronze. Levon studied her face before deciding to toss the glasses.
“Eyes are the windows to your soul. Why do you hide those large emerald green beauties behind the unforgiving plastic bottles? They are meant to be seen, and I’m pretty sure under those caterpillar brows are arches like the Golden Gate Bridge.” He held her chin in his hand, tilted her head to the left then the right. “Good bone structure. With a little waxing and dusting…”
“Waxing, uh, I’m not really into waxing,” said Molly, rubbing her fingers across her caterpillar eyebrows.
“Not a question darling, just a statement. Don’t argue with me. I like the fullness but for God’s sake, woman, tame them.”
“Joss, hair consult, now,” he said, pulling wiry ringlets apart while wincing.
Joss, dressed in black head to toe immediately began parting, combing and wrestling with her mane. Next charts of hair color strands were laid on her head. Then like a stroke of lightning, Joss screamed with a revelation. “Yes, yes oh yes. I’ve got this. It is a bit risky, but we’re going for it,” said Joss, grabbing handfuls of platinum blonde extensions.
“Risky?” said Molly, grabbing two handfuls of curls.
“Let the genius work,” said Levon. “This is Charlene. She’ll be taking care of your mani-pedi.”
“I’m actually wearing closed toed shoes, so I won’t be needing the Pedi.”
“Darling, the Pedi is for when he slips those stilettos off.”
“I don’t think they’ll be coming off.”
“Let me spell this out. They come off when you move your dance party to the bedroom,” he said with a wink.
Molly’s eyes widened, and a crimson color washed over her face. “I’m just going to a dance with him. That’s all. That will be enough, more than enough.”
“We shall see, girlfriend. You’ve never seen the work of Levon.” Three hours passed and the moment had finally come for the big reveal. Levon zipped her in and instructed her to bend over and shimmy everything in place. “Hmm, we need more,” he said, opening a drawer and returning with two silicone cutlets.
“These are for what Mama didn’t give you. Put one inside each bra cup and voila! Now you can shake what Levon gave you.”
“That’s awkward,” said Molly, shimmying, tucking and molding her breasts. “I’m not sure how I feel about all this,” she said, reaching for her black pumps from her bag.
