The Rise of Rachel Price T-Girl Pt. 10

As the appointed night approached, the limousine arrived with impeccable timing. Charlie was waiting within, a bottle of Champagne in hand and a warm embrace ready for Denver. The sky was beginning to darken as Denver arrived at the entrance to the hotel, a place he had vowed never to set foot in again. A shiver passed over Denver as he crossed the threshold. Things felt familiar but in the echo chamber of his mind, Denver couldn't silence the voices questioning why Levant was doing this. The Thornbury stood resplendent as it always did gold glittering, guests well dressed, genteel. Charlie led Denver back to suite 1442, where they would change for the evening.

Denver surveyed the room as the door clicked behind him. He noted the smaller selection of clothing on the rack. He spotted the sequinned dress, draped over a chair in plastic to protect it from dust. The floor had a number of Amazon packages. Beth looked up at him with a smile.

"I'm glad you could make it," Beth said, rummaging through a box from Amazon. The first thing she did was remove Denver's cheap heavy set glasses and pass him a box of contact disposable lenses. These were also slightly tinted but in a deeper brown.

Charlie retrieved a particularly lacy item from a different box, and Denver couldn't help but notice it.

"It's a gaff made for longer-term use," Charlie said. "I've been getting all these targeted adverts on Amazon, and I threw the old one away. It fits on and gets tucked away. I thought you could give it a go." Denver didn't seem that impressed.

"Before we get started, you're going to have to sign this," Charlie said, pointing to a document on the table.

"What is it?" Denver asked, feeling suspicion with every breath.

"It's an NDA, a non-disclosure agreement. Both parties agree not to go to the press or media and talk about anything that happens without permission. If either of you does, then you agree to forfeit millions," Charlie said, handing over a thick pen.

"It covers both of us?" Denver said, liking the idea of a legal contract that stopped Levant from talking.

"Yep," Charlie said, while Denver put his signature on it. "Including photos."

Denver stood there as Charlie handed over the gaff, the bra, some fake breasts, and surgical tape.

"Why don't you get shaved? The bathroom is free," Charlie added, gesturing with a nod of her head.

Silently, Denver went to the bathroom. His stomach filled with lead, but his skin became electric. The shower started up like warm heavy rain in New Orleans. The whole process seemed more routine this time. Denver shaved himself all over. The tucking process took a bit longer. Soon, Rachel was standing with a full bra on, holding the larger silicon breast and feeling the weight cut into her shoulders.

"OK, Denver is tucked away. You can come in," Rachel shouted in her English accent.

Charlie entered and ran her hand over Denver's back, looking for stubble. She haded Rachel a glass of wine matching the one she carried her self. Beth came in with the sticky silicon patches for Rachel's legs and buttocks. Rachel stood still while Charlie lined them up on Rachel's thighs and then tucked them under the strap of the gaff.

Hands bracing against the shower wall, Rachel looked like she was being patted down by the police. She mentally threw away the time this had happened for real to Denver.

"You know, I don't remember Rachel's chest being this heavy," Rachel said.

"He put in a request for more up top," Charlie explained, looking at Rachel's chest. "Let's see how it looks with the clothes on. We can always go back to a smaller size. I thought we could try the wet-look leggings."

Rachel sat down while Beth pinned up her damp hair. Hair-spray was used to hold it in place, then a new wig was pulled down. This one was blonde, straight hair in a firm strict almost mechanical curve. It hid some of her face, really bringing out Rachel's feminine features. The quality of the hair felt very natural it must have been quite expensive. She gave Rachel a set of wet look leggings and helped her squeeze them on over the thigh pads.

Within twenty minutes, Rachel, wearing no makeup, was walking in high heels back and forth in the wet-look leggings and a slightly baggy top.

Beth seemed pleased. "You can't see the edge of the silicon anywhere. Yeah, cute butt."

Rachel posed and Beth took a photo. Charlie grabbed the phone and flipped back and forth through the images.

"It's less formal. I think he wants something more evening-y," Charlie said, pulling down a dress from the rack.

"Where do you get all these dresses?" Rachel asked, carefully taking the leggings off.

"Oh, I have a friend who works in fashion. She runs a shop, not just her own stuff," Charlie said. If Denver was hostile, Rachel seemed more relaxed, perhaps due to the wine she was sipping. They switched to a simple black dress.

"Every woman has a little black halter neck dress," Charlie said as she passed a set of very sheer dark Chanel stockings over to Rachel. Rachel held them; they felt like the finest gossamer. They had dots at intervals. Rolling them up and pushing her foot into them made Rachel's legs look very shapely. They felt sublimely sophisticated. Rachel then stepped into the dress and with Beth's help, pulled it up, sticking her arms through the holes. As Beth pulled the zipper up, the dress conformed to her shape. A few seconds of tugging and adjusting, and Rachel could see herself in the mirror. It was tight across Rachel's stomach and had a narrow waist. She had a very sensuous shape, and the dress showed a fair amount of leg. It made her look young, sophisticated, exuberant, even wild, elegant but not formal. She looked suave enough to dine in the most expensive restaurant but fun enough to say she didn't care.

Charlie handed over a pair of three-inch patent high heels with an ankle strap. Soon on, they made Rachel stand upright, bust out, neck up. She felt how she looked; sophisticated with a hint of sultry wild-child in for good measure.

"Nice shoulders," Rachel said, running her fingers over them for a second. "Let's try a jacket."

The jacket was black and a mixture of sheer mesh and black silk. It was short enough to be a shrug. It ended up emphasizing Rachel's bust.. It covered Rachel's arms camouflaging what remained of Denver.

Charlie seemed pleased.

"OK, Beth, you can get started on the face and nails. Rachel, keep practicing the voice. I'm going hunting for some jewelry. We have about an hour before they're meeting for cocktails."

Beth retrieved a box of colored contact lenses and Rachel slipped them on. While Beth worked on her face and neck, Rachel kept her eyes open this time. She noticed a few drawings of faces that had been worked on with colors.

"What are they?" Rachel asked.

"Oh, these are makeup sketches Mr. Levant wanted to approve. One for tonight, you know, a more glamorous look like the first night, and something a bit toned down, more for day wear. I've been sending drawings back and forth for his approval for the better part of a week. Geez, he's a hard man to please. This is too slutty, this is too sexy, this is too 70s, she's not an Egyptian, no more bringing out the eyes. I even had to do one of the staff for him to do a final check.' Beth said. "He's been fussing about the hair, too."

"A week?" Rachel said. "But Charlie only found me about four days ago."

Beth scoffed as she worked foundation up Rachel's neck, trying to hide what was left of Rachel's Adam's apple. "Yeah, he's been on Charlie's back about it for what? Three weeks now. He was very pissed she couldn't pull you out of thin air."

"Yeah," Rachel said, "I blocked Charlie's number and switched off my phone."

Beth continued, "They ended up having to hire a detective. He even had me in, asking if I had told you anything they could use. He really gave me the third degree. 'Is there anything you can tell me, Beth? Absolutely anything at all?' He had me in twice himself, and the detective too. All I could tell them was to look in a project."

"In a project?" Rachel said.

"Yeah, I smelled it on your trainers. They use a kind of cheap disinfectant to clean the corridors and stairs. I recognized it from my childhood."

Before they could talk more, Charlie rushed in.

"Levant is waiting. He wants to know if Rachel can get ready faster?" Charlie said, coming in.

Beth looked up. "Well, if someone could do the nails," she said.

Charlie nodded. "I'll phone down to the nail bar," she said, going to the suite's phone.

Rachel looked over. "Err, I'm not sure someone looking intently at my hands for a while...I'm not sure it might not...you know, give me away."

Charlie came over. "Oh, it will be all right..." She began, then stopped herself. "Actually, I know just the person."

Charlie pulled out her phone. "Its Charlie, Phone nail bar, ground floor, now," she said. "Hi, it's Ms. Bechtel. Can you send up Mimi to room 1442? Yes, it's urgent...it's for Mr. Levant's...project. Yeah, that project."

Rachel looked over. "Mimi? Like, contest Mimi?"

Charlie nodded. "The very same. Someone got a green card application as payment, along with a one-way flight. Mimi is working in the nail bar while things get sorted. That was the work of one of my dumb-ass competitors."

"Now close your eyes," Beth added. "And don't disturb me. I don't like pressure. Normally, people don't care about the time and just want pampering."

Soon, there was a knock at the door.

"It's Mimi. Is everything OK? They sent me to help," a slightly out of breath voice from the outside said.

Charlie opened the door. All Rachel could really tell was that Charlie was busy on her phone, sending emails and texts.

"Hey, Rachel, right?" Said Mimi's voice. "They found you good. Everyone, don't be crazy now."

"Look, be quiet and don't disturb Beth when she's concentrating. The nails on this card," Charlie said.

"On the subject of cards, I saw the drawings. How are you going to make my eyebrows like that?" Rachel said.

"Well, tweezers or threading," Charlie said.

"Hey, I said nothing permanent. We agreed on that. I'm not walking around with plucked eyebrows after. It's not happening. If you break the contract, I'm walking out," Rachel said firmly.

"You look so nice, it no hurt," Mimi said, taking Rachel's hand.

"Shut the fuck up Mimi" Charlie said. You could hear the phone going to her ear. "How much?"

It"s not about the money," Rachel said. "It"s about looking normal afterward."

"Five hundred more would that do?" Said Charlie, moving further away. The door to the bedroom in the suite shut, and you could hear half a conversation running behind it.

"It was all right last time, right?" Rachel said.

Beth suddenly interrupted, "Mr. Levant generally gets what Mr. Levant wants." You could almost hear Beth talking with her tongue in her cheek.

Charlie walked round, "What are you looking for?"

Rachel piped up. "I"m looking to walk out of here and not let my parents guess what I"ve been up to. Tell him he can have the same as last time, and we can be ready in like fifteen minutes."

Charlie pulled her head through the doorway from the bedroom, putting the phone to her ear. Rachel could hear an animated conversation. A minute later, Charlie popped her head in.

"He actually said, "OK, if you"re down in ten," Charlie said.

"Done," said Rachel.

Beth rushed and spit a lot of time combing Rachel's eyebrows into shape. After working color on to the eyelids and brow she attached some false eyelashes then went to work with mascara and dark eye liner. When done Beth went to work Rachel opened her eyes and looked over the contract. Rachel noticed that she could feel them every time she blinked. As Beth finished Mimi handed over a small hand mirror and Rachel could see herself. Levant had demanded a smokey eyes look, this was very heavy, with gold glitter in places. Rachel's eyes looked very bold almost black rings sucking your to Rachels's eyes like tiny black holes of attention. There was a lot of black under Rachel's eyes. Soon Beth finished applying enough lipgloss to make Rachel's vermillion lips look like she was a vampire being caught after a fresh kill. Pushing the inverted bob with bangs back into place Rachel felt fabulous. She looked provocative enough to turn heads wherever she went.

"So jealous. you look too fabulous." Mimi said.

"I can't take my eyes off of you, you look incredible, that's the best smokey eyes look I've seen," Charlie said the helped Rachel to her feet.

Rachel tilted her head for a second. It looked like Levant wanted to date a sensual seductress and he was about to get what he ordered.

"I should be fine except if there are any male pandas on heat out there," Rachel said looking at her self. As the sheet Beth used to protect the dress came away.

About five minutes later, Charlie led them to a service elevator. As they walked, Charlie picked up Rachel's wrist and put a gold bangle on one wrist and a ring on another. They got into the elevator while she screwed in an earring. The descent gave them more time to fuss over Rachel. Rachel could feel Charlie screwing in the earrings. The service elevator was lined with hessian bags to protect the interior. As they descended, Charlie kept giving advice. "Remember to keep your knees together. Sit up straight, agree with anything he says. At dinner, you start with the outside cutlery and work your way in."

The door opened, and she stepped out to see another girl walking out of the elevator opposite. She did a double take and it wasn't until she noticed Charlie behind she was sure it was her self.

"Stop," Charlie said.

"What now?" Rachel said. The clock was ticking.

Charlie took out a bottle of perfume and sprayed it in the air.

"Walk through it," Charlie said. "This is Bond No. 9 Scent of Peace Swarovski Fountain Eau de Parfum. I've driven cheaper cars."

Rachel walked through it. "People do this? It"s a thing, really?" Then she held her nose. "Oh, it smells like someone threw up in a smoothie factory."

"I will be near the women's if you need me," Beth said.

Rachel nodded an gave a wet cheery red smile "I think I will need you unless you can share a trick for eating without using your lips."

As Rachel stepped out of the service elevator, she was momentarily blinded by the bright lights of the restaurant level. She took a moment to adjust her eyes, and when she did, she was struck by the opulence of the space. The floors were made of gleaming marble, and the walls were adorned with gold leaf and intricate moldings. Crystal chandeliers sparkled above, casting a warm glow on the room.

As she walked towards the restaurant entrance, Rachel couldn't help but feel a sense of awe. The sheer size and grandeur of the hotel was overwhelming, and she couldn't believe that she was a part of it all. She could feel the eyes of the other dinners on her as she walked past, and she knew that she looked every inch the glamorous and sophisticated woman that she had been transformed into.

Charlie walked alongside her, her high heels clicking against the marble floor. Rachel could feel the energy and excitement emanating from her friend, and it only added to her own sense of nervous anticipation. As they approached the main entrance, Charlie pulled out her phone and checked the time.

"It's almost time," she said, a hint of excitement in her voice. "Are you ready?"

Rachel took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes, I'm ready," she said, trying to mask the nervousness in her voice.

Rachel strode quickly into the restaurant, her high heels clicking on the tiled floor. She nearly tripped over a small step and reached out to steady herself, her hand grasping a decorative arch for support. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she scanned the room, searching for Levant. The restaurant was abuzz with activity, the sound of clinking glasses and chatter filling the air.

Finally, her eyes landed on Levant's figure in a corner near the window. The tables on either side of him were conspicuously empty. Beyond him, the sky was painted with the last pinks and oranges of the sunset, creating a breathtaking view of the city before it was shrouded in darkness.

Levant was sitting with his head turned away, his attention focused on his phone. Rachel hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should interrupt him, but then he looked up and noticed her. Not smiling, he gave her a slight wave as if he was trying to flag down a waitress. Rachel took a deep breath and began to make her way over to him, her heart beat raising with each step.

As she approached, she noticed Levant straightening his tie and standing up to greet her. He waved at the bartender, indicating that they would like to order some drinks.

"You look good," Levant said, gesturing towards the tub chair opposite him.

His expression was serious, and Rachel couldn't tell if he was angry or not. She couldn't help but wonder if she had done something to offend him.

"Thanks, your approval means a lot to me," Rachel let out, then regretted what she had said. As she sat down, she was careful to keep her knees together.

A waiter came over. "Can I get you anything?" the waiter said.

"A bottle of the '38," Levant request came out smoothly, as if he had been practicing it in his head for weeks.

There was a tiny hint of alarm on the waiter's face.

Rachel wanted to joke and say, "I'll have a bottle of the '38' as well," but given Levant's mood, she thought better of it.

"Thanks," she said instead.

The waiter came back with a bottle of champagne and poured it into a glass so thin it looked like it was spun from gossamer. Rachel waited while her glass was filled, and the waiter filled up one for Levant. Picking up the glass, Rachel could feel the bubbles pop on her nose.

"What are we celebrating?" she said, taking a sip.

"Dinner," Levant said coldly.

Rachel smiled. "I was thinking the last repayment on my washing machine, but I'm up for that." There was a pause.

"You probably think I'm some kind of monster," Levant began. He paused to take another sip of the champagne. "Don't bother to deny it. I know many people see me like that. I don't have any illusions, particularly illusions about myself. People like having someone to blame. I'm a large hanging target. You see, I'm the only one who doesn't need to feel like I have to apologize for who they are. People don't like that, which is fine."

Rachel tilted her head. "Actually, what I was wondering was why you wanted to meet me again?"

Levant kept staring at her to a level she felt bordered on uncomfortable. "You know how I knew you were fake? Women just respond to me. This response, it's only natural - like breathing. Melanie responded, which is why I knew she was a fake."

"Technically, she was a fake fake," Rachel interjected.

"We can't condemn what nature has seen fit to bestow on us. I can see it in their eyes, all women respond to me. Except you. You see, many women love me. I don't mind saying it. So if so many women love me, why look elsewhere you might ask? Well, I'm not. Looking, that is. You see, not many people know or possibly remember today is the anniversary of my first wife Jane's funeral."

"I'm sorry," Rachel said, holding the glass gently warming in her hand.

"You see, before her, I was just loud and drunk. I thought it was being a playboy and she helped me realize I was being... what do you Brits call it... being a punk, a jerk, yeah, a git. I like that git. She helped me be a better man. She saw I could be more than a reproduction of my father. She helped me realize that I wanted to change the world for her. You ever felt like that?"

Rachel looked on. "Not yet."

"One day you will, it will be worth the wait" Levant promised.