Kelly was the first person Alina set eyes on the moment she entered Soléne Couture's glittering, chrome-and-glass building. It was her first day at work, and she couldn't help the joyous skip in her step as she moved towards the reception desk.
She wore her best dress—a simple floral number that stopped just above her knees—a garment she deeply wished felt more Soléne and less… ordinary.
"Good morning, Kelly," Alina said, her voice bubbling with an excitement that made her eyes sparkle like freshly cut crystals.
Raising her head from the leather-bound journal she was intently scribbling in, Kelly offered a faint, practiced smile. She quickly assessed the young woman before her. There she is again, Kelly thought, always in the simplest of clothes.
"Good morning, Alina. You look good," she replied, snapping the journal shut and stacking it neatly with the imposing pile of books and folders already dominating her desk.
