~ Happiness Is…
Hanna Rivers leaned back in her office chair, daring it to break and let her hit the ground. It didn't of course, it was Parker House Huntington and had cost her well over $2,000. Almost everything in her office was that pricey, from the Vera Wang drapes blocking the sunlight from entering the dimly lit room, to the Parnian Oak desk that was covered in her files and notes. Her white iPhone dangled from her left hand and her right hand fingered the Bluetooth in her ear.
"Yes, Aria. I already told you. Everything is totally in place and on schedule. You can come pick up the dress around 2:30ish if that works for you? Great, see you then. Got to run, talk to you later. Bye."
Hanna pressed the end button and sighed, exasperated. She had been on the phone with Aria for the last 25 minutes, and frankly, she was exhausted. Aria had been calling her nonstop for the last month and a half, this past week especially, wanting to make sure that every little detail of her wedding dress was up to par. Hanna could almost say she was a bit insulted by Aria's constant doubt. When Hanna had offered to design Aria's dress as well as the bridesmaid dresses for a discounted price, Aria had seemed ecstatic. Now that they both lived in New York, it was almost too convenient. Hanna was more than happy to do Aria this favor. But as the month went on, she became less excited and more nervous about the details. Hanna couldn't blame her though, it was natural for any bride-to-be to have jitters about her dress, especially when her upcoming nuptials were in 6 weeks. Hanna could relate; she had felt the same way when she was to wed Caleb almost 5 years ago. She could have easily made the dresses herself, but everyone knows it's in bad taste to design your own wedding attire.
Hanna yanked the Bluetooth off of her ear and placed it on her desk next to her phone. She blew a puff of air out of her cheeks and stood up to stretch, her limbs being stiff from sitting in the same place for so long. She took a moment to glance around her home office, making sure everything to the naked eye was in place. Hanna was much more concerned with the neatness of her home office than her office at her company, Rivers & Co. , which was located in the heart of Manhattan. Everything looked to be in place, so she quickly stacked the loose papers on her desk in a neat pile and placed them in a yellow folder, which went with the other yellow folders in the 2nd drawer. Hanna hadn't always been so anal about organization, in fact that had always been more of Spencer's thing. Being the head of a major design company must do that you.
Hanna left her office and bounced to the kitchen, suddenly in a much better mood now that her endless phone conversation was over. She checked her gold Rolex, a gift from Caleb for her birthday. 1:26. She had an hour until she had to meet Aria at the bridal shop to present the semi final copy her wedding dress, as well as the bridesmaid dresses. She swung the fridge open, hoping there would be some delicious thing to quench her boredom. All she could find were some random fruits and a few expensive beers in the back. Hanna selected an apple and took a seat at the kitchen table. She contemplated calling Caleb to say hi, but then remembered that he was supposed to have a big meeting today at work and it likely was still going on.
Caleb worked as one of the head inventors at Apple, helping to brainstorm, design, and create new products that appealed to people. He did more of the technological aspect of it, as in the costs and necessities to physically build things, while his partners did more of the creativity. Sometimes he would come home, exhausted from 8 hour days of work, too tired to eat dinner or hang out with Hanna at all. But on certain days, he would come home floating on cloud 9 about a break though of some sort, and he and Hanna would have passionate sex all night long. Those were always fun days for her.
Hanna absent mindedly wondered how Rivers & Co was doing without her there. Twice a week she worked from home, designing and drawing in her personal office and making trips to boutiques around the city. On those days, the company was left in the hands of Hanna's second-in-command, Charlene. Hanna didn't doubt Charlene, not one bit. She was every bit as capable as Hanna was, but still Hanna worried about her company. It was her baby, the one thing she had literally put everything she had into. It was a thriving, fabulous fashion empire, what Hanna had always dreamed of. She was like an overprotective parent.
Without missing a beat, Hanna jumped up from her chair and grabbed the landline phone, quickly dialing the number for R&C, which she had memorized. It rung twice before a receptionist with a smooth voice picked up.
"Rivers & Company, how may I help you?"
"Wait, let me think. It's…Olivia right?" Hanna tried her best to learn the names and recognize the voices of every employee at her company, which wasn't an easy job to do.
"That's correct. This is Mrs. Rivers, right?"
"I'd hope you remember me." Hanna smiled and chuckled.
"Of course!" Hanna heard Olivia laugh on the other end.
"Could you please put me through to Charlene?" Hanna tapped her red nails on the kitchen counter.
"Of course, just hold for a minute please."
"Thank you."
Hanna could have easily called Charlene's office phone, but she much preferred to be put through. It was a nice reminder that the company was bigger than just her.
After a few moments, Charlene picked up. "Hey, Han!"
"Hey, Char. Just calling to check up. I know you don't need it but you know how I am." Hanna smiled at her words.
"No problem at all. The Fuse Line scarves and socks just arrived and the boxes are in storage, and almost all the models have RSVP'd for the audition Friday. It'll be great."
"You're the best. Have I told you that lately?" Hanna leaned her back against the counter.
Charlene laughed. "Only every day."
"Well even that's not enough. You. Are. Fabulous."
"Gee, thanks doll. So how's Aria's dress coming along?
"Oh it's a tireless effort, but it's fantastic. Okay that sounded conceited but it looks amazing. She's actually meeting me for a fitting in like half an hour so I need to get ready. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
"See you then."
Hanna quickly hung up the phone and raced back to her office. She picked out a bright pink folder from a rainbow colored pile in the corner of her desk and looked through it. All the information about Aria's dresses. Sizes, measurements, prices, etc. She tucked it into her black Chanel tote bag and grabbed her cell phone, which she had left on her desk. Turning it on, she noticed that she had 3 missed calls from Aria, as well as a text reading: Call me asap. She shook her head and hurried to her Mercedes parked in the building garage. Aria was probably just having more anxiety and wanted to vent. Hanna keyed the ignition and made her way to Betsey's Bridal, which was only a few blocks away from Apple's HQ. Maybe she would surprise Caleb later.
. . .
"Hanna, it looks fantastic. I really can't thank you enough for doing this." Aria twirled around for the millionth time in front of the full length mirror at Betsey's, admiring the way the shiny white fabric of her dress clung to her toned body.
"Of course, Aria! I'm happy to do it. And I think I know your body well enough, I've been jealous of it for the last 16 years!" Both women laughed. Hanna stepped away from Aria's stepstool to admire her work. The dress really did look fabulous. It had a sweetheart neckline and cinched at Aria's tiny waist, while it puffed out elegantly with layers of white lace and fabric down to her toes. It could possibly be one of her best wedding dresses yet. Although she didn't do many, she did do Spencer's about 3 years back. Spencer's was a Marin-Rivers original of course, but it was nowhere near as beautiful as Aria's had come out. It didn't look like it needed any adjustments.
"How does it feel around the waist? Is it too tight?" Hanna moved closer and inspected the seams of the dress to look for any tearing, an indication that it needed work done.
Aria wiggled a little bit and shook her head. "Not at all. It feel perfect!"
Hanna smiled. "Great. So why don't you take it off and I'll show you the bridesmaids dresses?"
Aria grinned widely. "Sounds great!" She practically bounced into the dressing room. Hanna chuckled and shook her head slightly. She knew what it was like to be giddy during wedding preparation. Then again, Aria was probably just relieved that the dress came out okay.
Once Aria had changed, she took a seat on the stepstool as Hanna wheeled over some mannequins. "Okay, so here I have a list of preferences you gave me when I first asked you about what you wanted for the dresses a month ago," Hanna smiled and read a list from her phone, which she had saved from her and Aria's first meeting about the dresses. She had wanted to reread the list aloud to see how the finished product compared. Aria's nervousness seemed to have returned and she picked at her pink manicure. "You said you wanted the main color to be a light purple, with splashes of white. You also asked for spaghetti straps and a slightly higher than knee length. So here it is." Hanna pulled the cover off the first mannequin and watched Aria's jaw drop. The dress was a beautiful lavender that could only be described as a combination of grapes and milk. The material was soft Fawad Khan from Pakistan, and the dress overlapped in smooth layers until ending just above the knee, as Aria had wanted. A bow around the waist was a bright white, as was a slip underneath.
Aria was speechless for a few moments. Once she could talk, she jumped up and enveloped Hanna in an enormous hug. "Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!" She screamed, jumping up and down and bringing Hanna with her. "They're amazing!"
Hanna patted Aria on the back softly. "It's my pleasure. As long as you're happy."
"I am, I am!" Aria laughed as she wiped tears forming in her hazel eyes. "I'm just so happy everything's worked out."
"I'm glad you're happy, Ari."
. . .
After Hanna and Aria had worked out pricing details for the wedding dress, as well as the 5 bridesmaid dresses for her, Spencer, Emily, Mike's girlfriend Natasha, and her cousin Victoria, Hanna made her way out of Betsey's She stepped out into the crisp September air and said goodbye to Aria. They took off in separate directions, Aria walking back to her loft which was a few blocks down, and Hanna walking to Apple where she planned to surprise Caleb. Today was a good day, and hopefully it would get even better.
. . .
Next chapter she surprises Caleb! Sorry there was no haleb fluff in this chapter, but I needed to introduce all the aspects of their life and the situation. There will be mucho fluff in the next chapter, I promise. So what do you guys think? This is my first haleb story, but I read haleb fanfiction everyday (it's my obsession). I really hope this came out okay because I worked super hard on it. So leave me a review telling me your thoughts. Should I continue? What you liked/didn't like, storylines or characters you'd like to see, or anything. I'm not totally sure where I'm going with this yet drama-wise, so any suggestions for drama or storylines would be extremely helpful. Thanks guys, hope to update soon!
-Jordana
