“Hello, I’m a staff member from ZM. Our manager asked me to deliver this to you.”
Hearing this, Niamh finally understood–Vivian had sent someone to bring her a dress.
Vivian was the manager at ZM, and Niamh had known her for years.
“Impressive that you could guess who I was, even though we’ve never met,” Niamh remarked with a casual smile.
The staffer grinned. “Our manager gave me clear instructions–don’t worry if you don’t know Miss Rivers, just look for the most beautiful woman in the hotel. That’ll be her, guaranteed.”
The flattery caught Niamh off–guard, leaving her a bit embarrassed, while nearby, Marina and her friends looked on with barely concealed resentment.
Niamh ignored them, cradled the dress in her arms, and turned to find the changing rooms. Just then, a cleaning lady hurried over, apologizing profusely as she offered to lead the way.
“I’m so sorry about your clothes earlier–the manager asked me to take you up to the second–floor changing room.”
And with that, Niamh left, leaving Marina, Preston Winslow, Lily, and Olive standing in awkward silence, exchanging uneasy glances.
yin
When Niamh reappeared, she took everyone’s breath away in the glittering lobby of
the Grand Riverview Hotel.
She descended the sweeping staircase from the second floor–not in her cleaning uniform anymore, but in a gown fit for royalty.
Her long, softly waved hair caught the light from the crystal chandelier overhead, each strand shimmering with a metallic sheen.
The dress was a masterpiece: a full black skirt with a bodice intricately embroidered with deep red roses and adorned with Swarovski crystals–dazzling, elegant, and strikingly sophisticated.
With each step she took, she exuded the commanding presence of a queen making her entrance, leaving the entire room spellbound.
Niamh walked to the center of the hall, sat before the double–manual keyboard, and began to play.
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Chapter 35
Marina was completely at a loss.
How had Niamh transformed from a janitor into a virtuoso?
And that dress–wasn’t it from ZM?
It might not be as expensive as what she usually wore, but ZM was the hottest new designer label in the formalwear scene, coveted by socialites and debutantes, nearly impossible to buy or even borrow.
Wearing ZM had become a symbol of status.
How did Niamh pull this off?
Marina refused to believe Jonathan was the one who sent Niamh that dress.
So that meant…
Niamh had found herself a new patron, hadn’t she?
The thought made Marina’s head spin; she was in no mood to appreciate Niamh’s performance.
Lily and Olive were just as lost–too busy simmering with envy to pay attention.
But the person most stunned was Preston Winslow.
He’d never known Niamh could play the double–manual keyboard, and certainly not with this level of artistry.
For Niamh, though, the piano keys–black and white–were sething she’d sworn
never to touch again.
Tonight, she was only here as a favor to Lana.
Lana’s cousin managed the hotel lobby. Tonight, his boss was throwing a dinner party for a friend–a renowned pianist–and needed someone gifted enough to play, so as not to embarrass himself.
Lana had searched everywhere and, with nowhere else to turn, finally reached out to Niamh on WhatsApp, asking for help.
Niamh could tell Lana was desperate–she wouldn’t have asked otherwise. So she made a request: could Lana’s cousin swap the grand piano for a double–manual keyboard?
It could mimic a piano’s sound, and back when Niamh was at the Juvenile Rehabilitation Center, the only way she could play at all was on the battered electric organ they had there.
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Chapter 35
So, at the last minute, the grand piano was replaced.
Then, as luck would have it, a cleaner accidentally ruined Niamh’s clothes. In a panic, she called Vivian at ZM and asked for an emergency dress delivery.
While she waited, she changed into a staff uniform–the only option available–because the cleaner had sent her own clothes out for cleaning.
11.31
