By: Mew Ami
Beta Reader: Miakemi
A/N: Sorry for the delay! I had massive writer's block that struck me in the middle of this chapter. If you want to keep updated follow my ML fanfic blog peahawkforever! P.S I suck at describing clothes.
Chapter Six: Conversations
It was Friday and Iris was riding a cab over to Mr. Agreste's house. She wondered what his house was like. Hopefully it was more lively than his office. The man seriously needed a decorator. A plant or just anything that wasn't black!
The cab pulled up to Mr. Agreste's house. Iris paid the driver and stepped out of the car. She found herself standing in front of a tall gate. She could see the house through it. Iris was taken back a bit. The house was huge. She walked over to the gate and found it was unlocked. Iris pushed it open and walked through the courtyard. Was it really necessary to live in such a big house?
Iris walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell. She glanced around some more as she waited. At least he had nice landscaping. The door swung open and there he was dressed up like he was still at work. Which Iris didn't mind. Men always looked good in suits. He let her in and just like his office everything was black. She just looked around and frowned.
"You live in a dull house for someone who's a designer," she said jokingly.
"I'm a fashion designer not an interior designer," he retorted, not amused with her joke.
She rolled her eyes. Looked like he couldn't take a joke. Which was odd since he made a fashion pun when they ran into each other on her first day.
Mr. Agreste studied her for a second. He wasn't sure what to make of her. He just headed up the stairs. "Follow me." Iris follow right behind him. He led her to a big room which was his studio. It had huge windows which allowed sunlight to fill the room. Shelves were up against every wall lined with fabric. He had a drafting board, a sewing machine, mannequins, etc. He had everything she would expect. Iris had died and gone to heaven.
"So, that dress you corrected the other day. I made it and would like you to try it on."
"Alright."
He handed her the dress. "Behind that door is a bathroom." Mr. Agreste motioned toward the door.
Iris nodded her head and went into the bathroom. She shut the door behind her. Iris held up the dress and looked over it. It was a long pastel pink dress. The dress had straps and had white frills at the bottom. She got undressed and laid her clothes on the counter.
Iris slipped into the dress. She looked at herself for a moment. She did a little twirl. It looked cute on her. She liked it a lot. Iris left the bathroom and found Mr. Agreste sitting at his drafting board. He was working on some sketches. She could tell he was really passionate about his work.
"I'm ready."
He turned and looked at her. Mr. Agreste had his glasses on his head. He moved them back onto his face. Again he studied her.
She noticed him staring at her. "What? Cat got your tongue?" she teased him. Iris then quickly looked away. She felt embarrassed. She just flirted with her boss.
Mr. Agreste cleared his throat. His cheeks were slightly red. "How does the dress feel? You seem to be built like my other models so I went with those measurements." He shifted in his seat trying to compose himself.
"It feels fine.." She still didn't look at him. "But it's a little loose in the shoulder straps."
"I can fix that." He grabbed some pins from a bowl and got up from his seat. He walked behind her and started to pin back the straps. They both were silent until he was finished. "How does that feel?"
"Better.." Iris stuttered a little. She felt her heart pounding in her chest. He touched her shoulders.
He just nodded his head and went over to one of his shelves. He pulled out some lace. "If you haven't noticed the frills at the bottom are missing some layers."
She looked down at the dress. He was right. The frills at the bottom didn't look like the sketch.
"I'm going to add the second layer to see what you think."
"Alright.."
He grabbed some thread and a needle from a drawer. Mr. Agreste then came back over to her. He kneeled down on the ground and got to work. He was sewing on the extra frills. It was now silent.
Iris looked out the window as he worked. The sun was slowly starting to set. The lights of Paris were coming on. She could see the Eiffel Tower from a short distance. Iris then looked back at him. He had his glasses on top of his head again. He must be near sided. Should she ask him that? She needed to break the ice somehow. That would be a stupid thing to ask. Iris looked back out the window then back at him. "Nice view." That was less stupid, right?
"It's why I built my house here," he replied without looking up. He grew quiet again.
Iris internally sighed. So much for that. He must hate small talk. God what was with him? There had to be something they could talk about. She glanced out the window again. After much deep thought, she finally came up something. They both liked fashion so why not talk about it? "I started to sew, when I was eight years old."
"Oh?" he actually looked up at her. His eyes were shining brightly without his glasses on.
Iris smiled a little. She had grabbed his attention. He must not like talking about himself. "Yes. My father taught me."
He just nodded his head and went back to sewing.
"I struggled at first," Iris continued. She chuckled a bit. "I constantly pricked my fingers with the needle."
Again he just nodded his head.
She frowned. So much for that. He wasn't as interested as she thought. Without thinking she crossed her arms and pouted.
The dress shifted a bit, when she crossed her arms. He looked up and saw her pouting. "Something wrong?"
"Huh? Oh, nothing." Iris looked away.
"But you're pouting."
"I was just trying to start a conversation," she explained. "If we're working together we might as well get to know each other." she looked back at him.
"Hmm," he just replied and went back to sewing. He was in deep thought.
A piece of hair flew into Iris's face. She blew it away in frustration.
"I was just being polite and listening to your story," he said. "No need to be overemotional."
Iris kicked herself. "Sorry.. I get frustrated easily."
"I can tell."
"Should I continue my story..?" maybe he was interested.
"If you want." he went back to sewing.
Iris looked back at the view trying to think back to her childhood. "After sewing, I learned how to knit. But it wasn't until my father took me to work that I fell in love with fashion. And that's about it.." She laughed. "It's not an exciting story."
"I thought it was."
"When did you start sewing?"
Mr. Agreste was quiet.
Iris fidgeted. Was that wrong for her to ask?
"When I was ten," he finally answered.
Iris just nodded her head. She decided to drop the conversation. She wanted to ask him more, but she could tell he didn't want to talk about it. She could see something in his eyes before he answered.
It was quiet between them for the rest of the evening. The only time there was any conversation it was over the dress. It was mainly about the frills. They debated how much was needed seeing how it looked different from the sketch. Sometimes things looked better drawn.
When it was time to go, Iris went back into the bathroom and changed back into her clothes. She just hung the dress up on a hook which was behind the door. She left and Mr. Agreste walked her down to the front door. As they walked Iris noticed he was deep in thought. The look on his face showed he was debating about something.
"Thank you for today," he said when they arrived at the front door. He opened up for her.
"You're welcome," she said with a smile. "I think we made a lot of progress today." she wished she made more progress with befriending him.
"Yes we did. I think lace at the bottom is a much better idea than frills."
"What can I say I'm a fashion genius." she gave him a goofy look.
Mr. Agreste smiled a little. "Well, goodnight."
"Night." Iris stepped out the door and before she made it to the stairs he called out to her. She turned and looked back at him.
"I wasn't interested in fashion until high school," he said.
She just stared at him wide eye. Was that what he was debating himself earlier? She made more progress than she thought. Iris just smiled at him. "I would love to hear more about it."
Mr. Agreste debated about this for a brief moment. "Would you like to get coffee tomorrow?"
"Sure," Iris replied eagerly.
"Alright, I'll call you tomorrow. Goodnight."
"Night!"
Mr. Agreste closed the door. Iris left the courtyard and stood by the curb waiting for her ride home. She had a stupid grin on her face. She was actually getting somewhere with him. Iris didn't understand why it made her heart beat fast. Could she be? She shook her head. It was harmless attraction, nothing more.
The next morning Iris woke up. She giggled to herself as she thought about her plans for today. She was going to see him outside of a work setting. He probably dressed the same, but he could be more open.
She got out of bed and got ready for the day. As she was taking a shower Iris remembered she made plans with Beau. She wanted to hit herself with her shampoo bottle. How could have she forgotten? Now what she could do? She didn't want to cancel on either of them. She was meeting Beau for dinner at eight so hopefully Mr. Agreste would want to get coffee earlier in the day.
When Iris stepped out of the shower, she heard her phone ring. She left her bathroom and picked up the phone that was in her bedroom. "Hello?"
"Miss Desjardins," Mr. Agreste replied.
"Good morning," she greeted him cheerfully.
"Morning. I hope you're well."
"I am. You?"
"I'm good."
There was an awkward silence. Iris started to play with her hair.
"So is one o'clock okay with you?" Mr. Agreste broke the silence.
"Oh, yes!"
"Alright then. Where do you live?"
"Where do I live?"
"Yes, so I can pick you up."
"We're driving there?"
"Of course," he said like it was no big deal. "The place I have in mind is clear across the city, and I refuse to take public transportation."
Iris was trying not to laugh at him. The way he said it was funny. He sounded like an old man.
"Hello?"
"Oh, sorry," she said and then proceeded to tell him where she lived.
"I'll see you then."
"Okay, bye." Iris hung up the phone. She was relieved they were meeting early in the afternoon. That gave her plenty of time to be with him.
Precisely at one o'clock there was a knock at the door. Iris opened it and greeted Mr. Agreste. Like she thought, he was wearing a suit and tie. They left Iris's apartment and got into his car.
It was a really nice car. Iris understood why he wanted to drive. It had a very sleek look to it. The car was black on both the inside and the outside. It had all leather material. Mr. Agreste beat Iris to the passenger door and opened it for her. She thanked him and slid into her seat. He closed the door for her. Iris took a deep breath. Did that mean something or was he just being a gentleman? When Mr. Agreste got into the car they took off.
On the way there, Iris looked out her window. She was trying to come up with good topics. It didn't help that she barely knew him. All she knew was he started to sew at the age of ten and got into fashion in high school. She hoped that he would tell her how he got into fashion. She looked at him in the corner of her eye. She did tell him she wanted to hear more. Iris returned her gaze to the window.
The coffee shop was fairly crowded, but they managed to find a table by a window. Iris took her seat across from him. A server came by and took their orders. Iris wondered if she had to pay for her drink. This wasn't a date. There was an awkward silence, and Iris was trying not to play with her hair.
"So, you like coffee?" she asked him. It was a stupid thing to ask, but someone had to start the conversation.
"Yes. And you?"
"Yes. I like tea too."
"Same."
"I pretty much like every kind."
"I only like black tea."
Iris just nodded her head. The server came by with their drinks. She grabbed her cup and took a sip. Well that went nowhere. If she asked him any similar questions she would get the same answers. She set her cup down. Iris was slightly annoyed. You ask someone out and you don't even make an effort to talk?
"You look annoyed," Mr. Agreste said. He hadn't touch his coffee yet.
"I do?"
"You're very easy to read."
"Oh," Iris was lost with words. How should she respond to that?
"Sorry, I'm not the most engaging person," he said taking a sip of his drink.
He figured out what was wrong? "It's okay. I'm used to being around talkative people. So this is new to me."
"Miss. Desjardins," he said and placed his cup down. "You wanted to know why I took interest in fashion?"
She just nodded her head. Iris somewhat leaned forward.
"I loved to draw when I was younger, and I loved sewing of course." A brief look of sadness flashed through his eyes. Iris noticed it. "So I just put the two together."
She just nodded her head. Iris knew that wasn't a complete answer, but it was something. She decided to direct him away from his childhood. "Do you still sew?"
"Of course. I have to when making designs."
"No, I meant for fun."
He looked caught off guard. "For fun?"
"Yeah. I buy patterns from craft stores and put my own twists on them. I'm making a skirt right now."
He just shook his head and took another sip of his drink before continuing. "I just sew for work."
"Do you do anything for fun?"
"Work is my life."
Iris just stared at him. "You never give yourself free time?"
"I work out every morning."
"That doesn't count."
"How so? Taking care of one's body is very important."
"But that's still working. Do you ever watch TV? Listen to music?"
"I enjoy classical music. I listen to it while I work."
Iris just took a sip of her drink. She slowly placed the cup down and looked him straight in the eye. "Mr. Agreste, you need to lighten up."
He just stared at her, wide eyed. He was not expecting to hear that from her. His eyes softened a bit and he leaned closer to the table. He looked away as he took another sip of his coffee. "I guess you're right." If you looked closely he was slightly blushing.
Iris just smiled at him. She was glad he didn't get mad at her. Their server came by to check on them. Iris decided to order to a slice of cake. When her cake arrived, she dug in.
"Love sweets?"
"Oh yes! They taste really good with a good cup of coffee."
"I don't really care for them."
Iris took another bite before continuing. "Want a bite?"
"I'm good." He started to play with his cup. It was empty now.
"Cake is my favorite, but I also really love crepes."
"I don't like crepes."
"Stop being such a Debbie Downer."
Mr. Agreste chuckled.
Iris smiled again. She made him laugh.
When Iris was finished with her cake, they talked a little more. They ended up talking about the upcoming fashion show. She really didn't want to talk about work, but it was something. Plus, she had gotten enough out of him today. She was pleased with herself. Hopefully over time he would be more open. The sad look in his eyes indicated something happened to him in his childhood. Iris wanted to know because it could be the reason why he was like this today.
Around three, he dropped her off at her apartment complex. She just waved goodbye to him and thanked him for today. He paid for her order. Iris walked inside the building and slowly climbed the stairs to her apartment. She remembered she was meeting Beau for dinner. Iris wasn't really looking forward to it anymore.