You Can’t Back Out
Chapter 67
Garrett’s POV
Valerie had started this whole thing, but I hadn’t been impressed with either of her dresses. It
looked like she had just phoned in the designs, but I wasn’t a fashion expert. I knew she had cut corners using dresses she already had on her tablet, but she still hadn’t done a good job on them. I knew she had the designs already because she pulled them up immediately at the
very start of their competition.
She was sitting beside me, so I saw what she had done. She copied and pasted the design
and added some details to her original designs. I guess she figured that I still didn’t like
Addison since we had a falling out so many years ago. She probably thought that we were still
at odds since Addison left after her mother’s funeral. That was incorrect. I may have been angry at her hiding my son from me, but I still loved Addison. I was not on Valerie’s side here.
If needed, I would tell Addison what Valerie had done.
She added tassels to the gold dress. She added a big bow, or I guess it could be a flower, on
the shoulder of the green dress. I have never seen a dress as short as the gold one was. She
should have added at least six inches to the length of it. Believe me when I say I have seen
some scantly clad ladies in the club. Hell, I’ve even taken several of them home. But I have
never seen a dress so short in public in my
life.
I hated seeing that Addison would rather sit next to Holden than near me. She had moved across the room quickly to take that seat right after she entered the house. Her jerk of a fiancé had dropped onto the seat next to her before I could. If I hadn’t shut the front door, I might
have been able to cut him off, but I would have looked childish running across the room like
that to keep him from sitting next to Addison. I reminded myself to stay calm. Addison wasn’t in a rush to get married. They hadn’t even set a date yet. I still had plenty of time. I just needed
to be patient here. I was in this as long as it took to get her back.
I hated that Holden got to see what she had designed before I did. Addison was all business
once she started working on her tablet. She was completely wrapped up in the design.
Correction, she was immersed in what she was doing. Phillip occasionally glanced over and
smiled at her tablet, but he said nothing. I knew he was firing off texts. Even with the volume
down, I could hear the pings of each new message. I had to believe he was giving her aunt,
who I knew adored him, a heads–up about what was happening.
I was pissed at Valerie because she didn’t have to be so mean to Addison. Addison was
MA
+8 Point
You Can’t Back Out
bound to our family now because of Corbin. She was aware of that, and still couldn’t stop
herself from being a hateful b***h. No wonder Addison didn’t want her around our son. I
wasn’t worried about the outcome of this contest. Valerie was the one who had started this.
She deserved whatever happened because of it. I was ashamed that she had insulted Addison
right in front of us. I wanted to do something about it, but Addison seemed intent on dealing
with her alone before I could interject. She was intentional about it.
I knew that Valerie was in for it when Addison mentioned that the designs had to be from
today. I also knew that was why Valerie moved to sit next to me instead of our parents. Addison was warning her, and Valerie either didn’t think she would get caught or didn’t care
about getting caught. Valerie was gung–ho about proving that she was the better designer. I
wondered just how humiliated Valerie was about to be: When it came time to sign the contract she was sent, Valerie had just glossed over it, which was a mistake.
She couldn’t have read the whole thing before she signed it. Addison had expressly warned her
to read it over before she signed it. The contract was two pages in length. That was at least a whole page longer than it should have been. That should have been a red flag for Valerie. Instead, she was so caught up in trying to look cute in front of the jerk that she wasn’t paying attention to the contract. I knew what Holden meant by being embarrassed by Valerie now. We
both knew that she was about to be humiliated.
Her dresses were already more than half done at the start of this. She could have done a lot to improve them in two hours, but she didn’t. They were even uglier than they were at the start after she added the little changes. I admit, I was excited about seeing what Addison had done in comparison. That she mentioned that both ideas had come to her while she was painting her front porch impressed me. She was always working, even when she wasn’t at her desk.
I knew my parents were already aware that Addison had warned Valerie. She had done that for them, not for Valerie. Valerie was not deserving of the kindness Addison was showing her. I was trying to sit still in my chair, but I couldn’t wait for Addison to show us what she had created. After the contract was signed and sent in, Addison got up and went to the seat Valerie had been sitting in across from us. Valerie was sitting beside me again, and I didn’t like that at all. She tried to act like she had my support when she didn’t.
“I created this dress for the Christmas season. With just the removal of the overskirt, it can be used throughout the fall and winter seasons,” Addison said before she turned her tablet around to show us what she had drawn. I almost wanted to look at Valerie to see her expression, but I just couldn’t wait to see what Addison had created. I was not disappointed. The outfit was gorgeous. A form–fitting red dress skimmed over the body. It had long sleeves and a slightly low neckline. The wraparound skirt was shown separately from the dress on the first page. It was two looks in one, and they both caught your attention.
2/4
+ Pein
You Can’t Back Out
I heard Valerie gasp when Addison flicked the tablet to the second screen. I could tell she had
just realized that Addison was a much better designer than she would ever be. I preferred the
dress with the overskirt on it. The two pieces became one and complimented each other very
well, as if the dress had always been one piece. Even with the heat of summer blazing outside,
it felt like Christmas in here looking at it. I knew Addison was going to have a good design.
Holden didn’t hand out compliments often, but this was beyond what I had expected to see. I
was so proud of Addison.
“Oh, Addison, that is stunning. I love how it looks like a completely different dress with that
overskirt. So festive. Are you going to release it? I would love to have one for myself,” my
mother was the first to speak.
“Of course, Tandy,” Addison replied.
“With your blonde hair, Tandy, that dress is going to look beautiful on you,” my father agreed,
as if getting the dress was already a done deal. I suspect my mother probably has one or two
of Addison’s creations upstairs in her closet already.
“It’s OK for a first draft. I’ve seen better,” Valerie’s voice cut through their conversation. If we
looked up a sore loser in the dictionary, I am sure Valerie’s current expression would be there.
“It’s gorgeous, love,” Phillip told Addison before glaring at Valerie. He was so proud of her, and it was apparent. His comment just made Valerie frown even harder.
“Well? Where’s your second dress, Addison?” Valerie asked impatiently. I could tell that she
was scared to see it now. She already knew the red dress with the overskirt was the clear
winner. We could all see it. I knew in her heart she hoped the second dress would bomb.
“I created this dress to ring in the new year. Gold sometimes gets overdone at Christmas and
New Year’s, so I wanted this dress to make you stand out from the crowd. To draw everyone’s
eyes towards the wearer. I wanted to let the wearer shine like gold and the dress to
compliment them,” Addison said before turning the tablet around for the rest of us to see.
The dress was a champagne color, and it skimmed down the body like a second skin. The
neckline was high, and the whole effect was effortlessly elegant. Addison flipped it to the next
screen. Spaghetti straps held the dress up and crisscrossed on the back. It had an intricate pattern connecting those straps to the second set. The second set of straps held the material directly under the breasts so no gap would be created to expose the wearer. It was sexy
without being revealing. It allowed the man to lead his partner around the party, with his hand touching his partner’s bare back. I loved it.
My hand itched to be the one who had his hand there, showing everyone else in the room that
Addison was mine. I was planning on purchasing that gown as I knew she would look flawless
3/4
+8 Points
You Can’t Back Out
when Phillip ruined it for me.
“I told your aunt to make sure that they use your measurements for you to own this dress. I
had already told her that I would be paying for it. I thought you could wear it to our
engagement party this winter. There is nothing more valuable in the world to me than you. I know that gown will look perfect on you. I can’t wait to make sure everyone there knows you are mine,” the jerk announced to the room. I saw Addison blush and knew he was aiming his
words at me. Was my expression too obvious? He wanted to draw blood with those
comments. He knew I wanted her back, so it wasn’t a stretch for another red–blooded male to
make that guess.
“No f*****g way! You couldn’t have created those two designs off the top of your head in such a short amount of time. There is no way that you could have done that. You had to have cheated, Addison. I’m calling this competition off,” Valerie shrieked.
It was clear to all that she just wanted to save face. She had to do it now before her horrible designs were posted on the social media sites for Ana and Alex. I didn’t know how bad her designs were until they were put up against Addison’s. I hope the designs will be anonymous. Compared to Addison’s, my sisters were childish and flawed. It was no contest. Even our parents knew who the clear winner was.
“Valerie, I didn’t cheat, and there will be proof. Per your signed contract, we must turn our tablets in to be checked. To ensure that we both created the designs today. I already told you this several times before you signed the contract. But that shouldn’t be a problem, right, Valerie? You already agreed that you would be following the rules. There were not many of them. So, why do you want to back out now? Wait. Didn’t you read the contract you signed, Valerie? You can’t back out of the competition anymore,” Addison advised.
