Another Day
AN: This is a different version of something I did a long time ago that I started thinking about after reading one of the chapters of on_the_road_again's Evil Author Day series over on Ao3. I thought I would let it be free after years of sitting around and collecting dust.
He was rushing down the streets of central London, making his way toward Oscar de la Renta. When he'd gone to pull the pieces for his boss's look tonight, he'd discovered that Elizabeth's evening gown was missing. After some thinking, he'd realized that the dress had been left in its garment bag, hanging on the back of the closet door at the house in Georgetown.
It was his fault... Well, her fault for forgetting to grab it on her way out the door, but it was his fault for assuming that he didn't need to check that she had it. Keep in mind, this was the same woman who he had to remind to eat.
So, while Elizabeth was attending roundtable discussions across town, he was out shopping for tonight. Unfortunately, it was taking longer than he'd hoped because a new dress meant new shoes to match. And, of course, a different neckline required different jewelry.
Bags in hand, he thanked God that all the tasks on his to-do list were almost checked off. His last stop was picking up the dress he had on hold.
When he turned down Mount Street, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. Pulling it out, he saw Jay's name flashing across the top of the screen. After he slid his thumb over the bottom, he pressed it to his ear. "Yeah?"
"We have a problem," Jay whispered. He sounded in distress, which was rare for him. "Elizabeth, she... She um..."
"Spit it out," Blake urged.
"She bled through her dress during the meeting." His voice cracked halfway through the sentence. "She's upset, and I—I don't know what to do."
Stepping off to one side of the sidewalk, he closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. Time hadn't been on his side this morning. And now, his boss's hormones weren't either.
"Blake?"
His eyes snapped open. "Get her to a bathroom if you haven't already. Keep her calm." In his head, he started calculating how fast he could make it across town. "I'll be there in twenty minutes." As the words left his lips, Blake added in the time it would take to buy her a new outfit to wear. It would be faster than stopping at the hotel. "Make that thirty," he corrected.
"Okay," Jay breathed. "She's really embarrassed. I feel like I don't know the right thing to say. I've never—"
"Just be kind. Remind her that accidents happen." Looking both ways down the street, he stepped off of the curb and out into the road. "Do you want me to talk to her?"
"No," Jay said. "Just do what you need to and get here as fast as you can."
"Always."