Page 70 of Bitter Heat

“I’m handling some things for my father,” she said.

“Back in the business world, huh?”

She let out a non-committal noise and looked around the boutique. “This is my first time here.”

“You’re a bad friend,” Dai admonished before she went to the entrance and spread her arms wide. “When you come in, I want you to be dazzled and imported into another world. Were you dazzled?”

“Absolutely.”

“Good,” she said crisply and took two steps forward. “I want to design it all. Edgy street wear all the way to elegant wedding gowns. I don’t want to be put into a box. I want to be everything and nothing, you see?”

Dai embodied the attitude of a New York artist—defiant, vulnerable, poetic, and vibrant. Dai’s black shirt was two sizes too big for her and hung off one shoulder. She wore ripped yoga pants and dirty sneakers with a metallic gold fanny pack as a belt that jutted out on her tiny hip. She had a blunt bob with jagged bangs that hung in her eyes and oversized hoop earrings. Jasmine would bet money that the half-moon spectacles on the edge of her nose weren’t prescription.

Black Jade was beautifully done with chandeliers, gleaming floors, and amazing lighting. The large shop windows featured everything from grunge and punk clothes to avant-garde pieces. The clothes were categorized by color, which paired formal pieces beside jackets covered in spikes or fringe.

“Let’s get you out of those hideous clothes,” Dai said and pushed her toward a riot of color.

“I don’t—”

“Yes, you do. That’s why you were drawn to my shop. Your fashion sense knew it needed me. Okay, what are you looking for?”

“I’m not—”

“Never mind. You don’t know what you need. I do.”

Dai walked along the racks and started yanking stuff off at random without looking at sizes.

“I’ve gained some weight.”

Dai looked at her over her half-moon glasses. “Am I a genius or not?”

“Yes?”

“Yes, I am. I know exactly what size you are. Now, get in the dressing room.”

She stared at her for thirty seconds before she decided to obey. The dressing room at the back of the shop was just as glamorous as the rest of Black Jade. In the middle of four rooms were an oversized ottoman that could seat up to six people and a platform to model clothes in front of a massive three-fold mirror. The luxe dressing room had a unique ottoman covered in white satin and gold studs. She surveyed herself in the mirror. She didn’t look bad.

Dai banged the door open and tossed the clothes on the cushion. “Take off that ugly coat. I’m bringing back velvet.”

She held up a cranberry coat that Jasmine had to admit looked divine. Unlike Bloomingdale’s, Dai’s clothes were all about the details and texture. Dai brought her a cascade of colors from an olive corduroy jacket to a cherry-colored vinyl trench coat. Despite Dai’s bossiness, she was having a great time and had to admit the clothes looked amazing on her.

“Maybe you are a genius,” she mused as she stared at her reflection.

“There’s no maybe. I am,” Dai said and tilted her head to the side as she examined her. “You need some dresses.”

“I think I’m good.”

“You’re not. I’ll get my measuring tape.” Dai ran out of the room, shouted to one of her clerks, and then raced back. “Got it.”

As she spread her arms obediently, Dai got to work.

“What’s with you and your ex?” Dai asked as she measured Jasmine from crotch to ankle.

“What?”

Dai glanced up. “The ex-hubby.”

“What about him?”

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