The next day, Eve walked from her apartment to Kendall's. It took almost an hour, but she wasn't about to spend money for a cab, and subways were treacherous even in the daytime. She had been to Kendall's before, of course, since it was as much a tourist attraction as a department store. When she had first arrived in Metropolis, she would play a game with the other girls at The Bobcat where they would all guess the price of a perfectly average dress, then look at the price tag to see the actual, astronomical figure. It had been fun at first, but once Sandra figured out how exactly long they would have to work in order to afford a plain white blouse, it quickly became disheartening.
The memory disappeared, however, as she saw Lex emerge from a long black car. He was even cuter than she remembered, especially since some weird trick of the light made him look much blonder.
He walked up to her and gestured to the building. "Well, shall we?"
"Good to see you too, Lex."
Walking in, she failed to resist the urge to look up and the glass ceiling the store was famous for. She didn't have the chance to stare for long, however, as they were immediately surrounded by salesgirls who obviously knew who had just walked in. When Lex told them that Eve needed a dress for a political function, they selected the most conservative clothes they could find, racing over with ankle-length skirts and black or grey blazers. Lex had slightly different ideas, though, and unceremoniously sent them away. He and Eve looked for dresses on their own, and went through the same routine every time she found a dress; she showed it to him, he shook his head in varying degrees of disgust and mixed with pity for her lack of taste, then he would promptly pick out something sexier, brighter, or even more sequined. Judging by the way he dressed, she knew all of his choices were the right ones, so she didn't feel disappointed at having to put hers away.
Once they had a selection of fourteen dresses, Eve headed toward the fitting room with trepidation. After putting the first dress on, she turned towards the mirror and looked at herself. She looked expensive. Her whole life, she'd always looked cheap, been called cheap. In her tawdry stripper clothes that shed glitter every time she took a step, and even in her respectable yet ancient street clothes, she felt like a tramp. But now, she was something else. In the black dress, she looked like a princess. Best of all, it was just low-cut enough that her breasts were still tantalizingly on display.
She stepped out of the dressing room, and tried to hide her excited smile as she showed it to Lex.
"It's nice." He gave her only a perfunctory glance before continuing. "A little too asymmetrical, but it's a definite contender. Why don't you try on the yellow next?"
"Oh, okay."
She tried on all fourteen dresses, from which Lex selected one winner, an essentially see-through piece of material with embroidered blue and gold flowers over the nipples and crotch areas. It was the pretty beyond words, not to mention the most glamorous thing she had ever seen, with the possible exceptions of the matching shoes and bag that Lex begrudgingly bought her as well.
"Now, Miss Teschmacher, if you're free, which I'm sure you are, we should probably go to the makeup and hair department. See if something can be done with you."
"Excuse me? I don't see anyone paying twenty dollars to sleep with you."
"I'm sorry, Miss Teschmacher, but aren't you a little old for drugstore lipsticks and dollar-store curling irons?"
"Aren't you a little old to play cheap tricks for money instead of getting a job?"
"Unlike you, whose job is nothing but cheap tricks."
She rolled her eyes to prevent any further discussion, when they finally reached the beauty department. After two hours of treatment, she emerged with a soft up-do to go with the dress, and a bag of make-up to complete the look, after she and the saleslady convinced Lex that getting all the makeup in full sizes was somehow more economical than getting sample-sizes.
"God, Lex" she sighed as the two of them walked out of the store and he couldn't change his mind about any of the purchases. "This guy must have serious cash on him if you're willing to spend that much money for a couple of pictures."
"Oh, believe me, he does." He led her to his waiting car, where his chauffer was surreptitiously reading a magazine.
"Philip!"
"Oh, yeah, yeah, yes sir. Sorry sir!" The driver leapt out of the car and opened the door for the two of them, magazine still clutched in his hand. Lex groaned in frustration as he and Eve got into the back of the car.
"Just drive, Philip. I just have to fill Miss Teschmacher in on a few details."
"Oh, is she your new Miss Deland?"
"Yes, Philip, now drive."
"Yessir" Philip obeyed instantaneously.
"All right, Miss Teschmacher." Lex reached into a compartment in the car and pulled out a few photographs. "Here's the guy, Senator Vauxhall."
"Oh, he's…cute." He was, in a way, a very senatorial way.
"Glad to know your priorities are in order."
"You're not the one who has to fuck him."
"And here" he placed a photograph and a blueprint in her lap before pointing at a room depicted on the house plan "is the bedroom you're going to do it in. It should be the most convenient one to get to, since the party is over here" he moved his finger to a larger square on the drawing.
"Now, Philip" he pointed at the photograph "is going to be hiding in this closet right here taking the pictures, so be sure that Vauxhall is very visible from this closet door. Now, while we don't actually need you to fuck him, unless the spirit moves you, make sure you get him into a very awkward position, and not just one that he can brush off as harmless male fun."
"Oh, I think I can manage that part."
"Good. The party's at 9:00 this Saturday, and here's an invitation."
"Ooh, how'd you get that?" she fondled the thick paper
"Miss Teschmacher, when one is the greatest criminal mind of the twentieth century, forging a party invitation is tantamount to tying one's shoelaces."
"Oh, right. Sorry for asking." She looked at the invitation again, unsure of whether to treat his comment as a joke. "So, what happens after?"
"The money will be delivered to you if and when we get results."
"Well, that doesn't seem fair if you're paying me for my time. Besides, how much are you making from blackmailing him?"
"I'm not quite sure yet. Somewhere in the two thousand range."
"Gosh, Mr. Luthor" Philip piped up "I thought you said you was getting five mil from him."
Lex groaned again as Eve stared at him.
"Five million. Five million dollars, and you expect me to be happy with a miserable little forty dollars? No, I'm sorry. You couldn't do it without me, and I just can't accept that."
"All right, Miss Teschmacher, what could you accept?"
"Fifty thousand."
"Eighty"
"Forty thousand."
"Two hundred."
"Twenty thousand."
"Four hundred, with at least a picture of him groping your, um…"
"Tits?"
"Yes, thank you, Miss Teschmacher."
"All right, deal. But I still get forty for my time. And I get to keep everything you bought me."
"Deal" They shook hands, and she tried to fathom all that she could do with four hundred and forty dollars.
When they neared her neighborhood, she hopped out of the car and waved. "I'll see you soon."
He gave a distracted wave back before Philip drove away. It wasn't until she reached her room that she realized she had never told him where she lived. But, she thought, taking her new dress out of the bag, for the greatest criminal mind of the twentieth century, it probably hadn't been difficult getting her address. Nothing about him would have surprised her at that point anyway.