Blossoming

*** Chapter 2. Victoria deJong.

Victoria de Jong was born in Belgium, the only child of a devout English mother who had died when she was small and a Dutch father.

Her father was a pastor in the city of Ghent, with a very dedicated vocation. He was a handsome man with a very Moorish look. His Lutheran beliefs had dictated her upbringing, as her father was strict and unbending when it came to criticizing her unorthodox dress, and casual attitude towards life. She had left Belgium willingly to study business marketing in London, relieved to get away from that hemmed in feeling.

She was a brown eyed 5ft 7inches tall blonde with a voluptuous 36C, 25inch waist and 36inch figure, who loved haute couture and all of its nuances. She especially loved fine lingerie and had a collection of beautiful retro slips, chemises and panties sets from all over Europe.

At 33 years of age she kept her figure by a tireless regime of good eating, plenty of exercise and long hours in work. Victoria was an enigmatic woman, with an aura of Moorish mystery. She had risen to the role of Sales and Marketing Manager in the company, and had a staff of five regional sales managers throughout Europe. She spoke French, English, Flemish, and German. She had an exceedingly well paid job which financed her beautiful hilltop penthouse apartment, with all of its artwork and fine furniture. Her company funded red Porsche sports car was her pride and joy, along with her extensive Bose home cinema and stereo system.

The current project that she had just completed was the bringing together of the entire European management team to a Gala Night close to their Company HQ in Southampton in honour of Derek Prentice one of the original management team who had sadly passed away suddenly. She had acted as hostess for the evening, putting people at ease, assisting the Hotel with the special dietary needs of some of her important guests, arranging publicity, and being interviewed by the local press. She had really enjoyed meeting Tiffany, Derek's very attractive wife who was so young to be widowed. She noticed that Tiffany's friends kept close to her and assumed that she was still emotionally fragile after her recent bereavement.

Victoria was single, and had not dated for some time. She kept her private life separate from work and this led to many lusty stares from her male colleagues as well as some not so cordial comments from jealous female employees who could not match her beauty or style. She avoided any liaison with her colleagues despite many earnest invitations to a date from all of the eligible bachelors.

The Gala evening had been a great success which had lead to her CEO inviting her to dance, praising her for the success of the event and appreciative of the publicity it would bring. The gruff Scot had skillfully danced her around the ballroom and as she followed his lead he offered her a position on the Board of Directors. Although initially tongue tied she did accept the appointment which he had said was 'totally merited for your dedication to the company'.

A celebration ensued at the directors table, where she was toasted on her promotion, and was welcomed on board by all of the management team, especially a normally reserved Financial Controller. Having danced with most of the team, she made her excuses and headed for the foyer where her taxi awaited. As she returned to her apartment she was proud and elated at her good fortune. She was delighted that she had made it to the pinnacle of the Chemical industry that she loved working in.

She knew that the next few months would be a tremendous challenge but was eagerly looking forward to her new role.

She recalled the photo shoot at the front of the hotel and the lingering perfume of a green eyed beauty, whose touch had completely unnerved her for a moment. For the first night in a long time she went asleep without recalling the heartbreak of her lost love.

*** Chapter 3. The first blossom.

As Autumn moved towards winter, Tiffany returned to work and was caught up in the pre-Christmas sales planning campaign in her boutique. She was aiming for a new look for their window and display areas to help entice shoppers. There was a good natured competitive edge to the Christmas window design between the local traders as the December issue of the City magazine always had a photo shoot of the best window designs.

Detailed design discussions took place between the three girls to eventually decide on the shop front display. Emma had a large input on this, and had put heart and soul into the final design.

As Emma left for a lunch date, Liz sat with Tiffany over their coffee break and informed her that Emma's love life had taken a turn for the better. Liz had spotted a new gold necklace and locket on Emma's neck which was a telltale sign that things were going well. As they both giggled, they agreed that it was good for Emma to have a man in her life again. 'One down one to go!' said Liz who never tired of trying to get Tiffany interested in going on a date with a carefully selected suitor.

In the meantime they received an unexpected invitation to a masked Halloween ball being run by his company from Emma's new boyfriend, Bill. They decided in the spirit of fun to all go to it and dress up for the night. They spent an evening in Emma's flat designing and making three outfits. Liz and Emma both decided that Tiffany should go as a demure Snow White while they would both go as two flirty elves.

The evening went very well and during the evening Tiffany met a dramatically made up tuxedo dressed 1950's styled femme fatale, with a dark Venetian Mask. The androgynous nature of the costume had intrigued Tiffany and she felt compelled to look into the beautiful eyes of the mysterious stranger sporting a dramatic moustache. She was intrigued as Victoria introduced herself in a very husky French accent which captivated Tiffany. Tiffany complimented Victoria on the clever outfit, for which she got a huge smile of thanks. They all got on well together and had a great time voting for the best outfit which Victoria deservedly won.

In the course of the evening Tiffany once again sat down with Victoria and confirmed that she was going to Belgium for a brief sales trip. As Victoria was also going there for a quarterly Sales and Marketing review they agreed that they would try to meet if time allowed. Victoria also recommended a clothing manufacturer with a good label in Brussels that she purchased some of her extensive wardrobe collection from. The night was a resounding success and Tiffany was glad that Emma and her boyfriend were getting along so well. She silently hoped for a wedding so that she could try out her own skills as a dress designer.

Tiffany was pleased that she had met Victoria and planned her two day trip in great detail to ensure that she would have a little time for her favourite pastime, antique hunting. Having ensured that her staff would cover for her while she was away she flew to Zavendum Airport close to Brussels. A hotel coach collected her and got her to her Hotel in about half an hour and she took the first evening to settle in and get set for her day at the fashion show. She intended combining this with a visit to her favorite suppliers.

The following morning, having checked the weather outlook she added in a visit to a new supplier that Victoria recommended and the day's trip proved very fruitful. The day of selecting and purchasing stock went well. She was pleased with the overall mix and style of clothing and accessories for her boutique that she had ordered.

Tiffany enjoyed her time in Brussels and her stay in a plush Avenue Louise Hotel left her feeling refreshed and pampered. On her second afternoon she got a message to ring Victoria, and they agreed to meet at the Grand Place in the Old city centre at 6pm, and go for a casual meal in a small restaurant at the old canal side in the St. Catherine district. As they stood to admire the view in the Grand Place, a professional Photographer took a picture of them against the imposing backdrop of the 17th century Hotel De Ville buildings. It felt entirely natural to stand close and place an arm around each other, even though the hair on the back of her neck stood up at the touch of Victoria's hand on the nape of her neck.

As if she felt an urge to be less formal and make the offer of friendship, Victoria suddenly drew back she said:-
'Please call me Vicky. Victoria is unnecessary as I hope we will be friends.'
'Thank you. Do please call me Tiffany, or Tiff as all my friends and family do.'

They wended their way to the restaurant, through a cobble locked street called Rue des Bouchers teeming with restaurants, the smell of which only added to their appetite. They chatted and walked through the streets browsing at the ladies shoe and bag fashion past Boulevard Ansbach and on towards their chosen destination. The food was delicious in the small Italian restaurant which Victoria said was one of her favorites. The Italian music group played a cheerful Napoli medley that had all of the diners holding hands and swaying as they sang. Both Vicky and Tiffany joined in with the happy refrain and the ambiance of the restaurant relaxed them both. Vicky's hand held hers tight during the medley and she found this very reassuring.

Tiffany felt completely at ease and invigorated in Vicky's company as they chatted about life in Southampton, and they were firm friends before the meal finished. They both shrugged off their lack of a current love life jokingly. Tiffany noticed that Victoria had a glint in her eye as they toasted each other. She passed a hopeful comment: - 'Here's to us, hoping that romance might bloom with the upcoming Christmas social scene back home in Southampton'. Tiffany gave a heartfelt nod of agreement to this, and silently hoped that her own heart could thaw enough to include someone in her life again.

She could not help being impressed with Vicky's beautiful creamy mocha coloured skin which complimented the light top and swinging mid thigh length A-line silk skirt she was wearing so well. They agreed to go to the Movies once back in Southampton to see a new movie they were both keen to see. As Tiffany got into her cab to head back to her hotel she got a fleeting glimpse of Vicky's beautiful thigh and derriere climbing into another cab. The picture of a beautiful stocking clad calf lingered for a while in Tiffany's mind.

The following morning Tiffany made a quick taxi trip to the antique district that she loved so well, before she headed home.

When she got back home, Tiffany immersed herself in her boutique and began to enjoy the feeling of job satisfaction again even though she felt tired at first. The sales for the Third quarter had been a steady improvement on the previous six months which was a great reassurance to Tiffany that she was doing well in her business venture. Her Bank Manager congratulated her on her business success, and offered their continued support if needed. On a personal level she felt that there was something missing from her life but she couldn't rationalize what it was or how to get it.

Before long Victoria rang and arranged to pick her up to go to the movies. The local Cinema Complex had a special screening in it's intimate studio theatre. They enjoyed the movie in two very comfortable armchair style seats. As the romantic movie developed, a scene showed the lovers kissing passionately. Victoria moved her shoulder closer to Tiffany and sighed and cried at the poignancy of the scene.

Tiffany held her hand as she found a new side to Victoria's character which normally looked so poised and confident. Tiffany realized that Victoria had a more vulnerable side, when it came to anything romantic.

As they moved off to Victoria's favourite coffee shop, Tiffany enjoyed a cafe au lait as Victoria enjoyed a tall Hot Chocolate with lots of frothy cream. Tiffany laughed as she saw Victoria assiduously lick her lips and purr in pure enjoyment. She blushed very prettily as Tiffany studied her reactions. Victoria admitted to taking an almost sinful pleasure in her enjoyment of her hot chocolate. They cemented their friendship there and then.

Victoria dropped her home to her cottage, getting out of her sports car for a hug before heading home.