chapter 6

Derrick watched Valerie and Denise go, he admired the full backsides that sashayed away. Denise seemed concerned about his exes dress exposing more than intended, she was so nice. He would have let her wander the venue, embarrassing herself.

He raised the glass and sniffed the beverage he had in his hand. His nose wrinkled at the astringent odor, he set it down on a marble pillar holding up a piece of art. One of the staff scooped it up, scowling at his back as they moved to the next misplaced dish.

Derrick's attention was drawn to the mass of copper curls as they bounced in the distance. He casually began making his way towards their owner, pausing at some of the sculptures and paintings.

Eventually he saw more of the woman the hair was attached to. She was lithe and wrapped in an off the shoulder black dress. As Derrick made the final approach he saw her drain a glass and make a face.

“It’s not that great eh?”

Her hair swayed back and forth as she shakes her head.

“Tastes like peach scented floor polish”

Derrick didn’t argue with her comparison, shrugging idly.

“At least it’s free”

“I suppose. You work for the company?”
“Nah, friend of mine invited me with the promise of free food and booze”

“I haven’t seen any food yet”

Both of them looked over to a line of white cloth covered tables. A few staff patiently explained the empty trays and clean plates nearby. The company responsible for catering the event hadn’t shown yet.

“You have a friend that promised you the same?”

She shook her head again, the curls bobbled.

“I was hired to promote the product, along with a few others”

She smiled, raised the glass, and leaned forward in a practiced motion.

“Ah, so you’re a model?”

“Basically, not everything’s runways or photoshoots”

“Do you enjoy it?”

She turned her head away for a moment and her free hand drifted to her abdomen. As she turned back a flush had crept into her cheeks along with a confused expression.

“Sorry. It pays the bills and sometimes the venues can be fun. But it’s work and you’d never believe how many people you have to fend off from hitting on you”

“I’ll bet.”

Derrick’s gaze shifted to an approaching staff member holding a tray of full glasses. Her vest strained under the bulge of her stomach and breasts. He noted that it seemed a bit unprofessional for her to wear such ill-fitting clothes, but shrugged it off before commenting.

“Don’t you need a full glass or your manager or whatever will complain?”

The red head nodded before she switched her empty one for a full one on the tray. Derrick also took another glass, though he didn’t move it to his lips. His eyes lingered on the prominent panty-lines in the dress pants of the staff member as she walked away. His attention was brought back to the model in the black dress as she answered.

“Yeah, there’s fewer of us than initially requested. Something about cutting back on expenses.”

Derrick raised an eyebrow.

“Maybe they canceled the food to reduce cost as well.”

“Kinda makes this a shit show if that’s true.”

Derrick looked around the venue, noticing that most of the staff working seemed to be having issues with their clothes fitting. His eyes settled on one of the attendees, a plump looking woman whose bosom overflowed the top of her dress. Something seemed wrong with what he saw but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

“Not to be forward, but did you drive here?”

He took a moment to bring his gaze back to the redhead, not wanting to seem too eager. As he took in her form again he felt another odd sense of disquiet. Her fingers rested on her stomach which bowed out in front of her as if she had finished a large meal. How had he not noticed that before.