"How do I look? I didn't mess up the makeup or anything, did I?" I asked, opening up my compact mirror and looking over my face.
"Oh, relax dear," Vanessa said, closing the mirror and tucking it away into my purse. "You look absolutely gorgeous. You should know by now just how good Gary is at this stuff."
"I know. I'm just worried that I'm going to smudge it or something," I said, now being very acutely aware of how much I was forcing myself to not touch my face. "Or worse, I'll get it onto the dress. Franc de Luce would absolutely kill me."
"Then it's a good thing that you've got me here," Vanessa said as she tilted my chin towards me and planted a kiss onto my lips. "How many times have we been through this?"
I sighed. "At least 18, give or take a few."
"Exactly. So let the professionals do their job and you worry about nailing the interview," Vanessa said, watching as the limousine pulled up to the red carpet. Despite the tinted windows, the flashing cameras still found a way to shine into the limo. Vanessa reached into her purse and pulled out our sunglasses, handing me my pair. "Now, let's get out there and rock this thing!"
She opened the door and stepped out with her usual confidence. The crowd cheered for her, snapping as many pictures as humanly possible. I could hear journalists trying to shout questions at Vanessa, but she ignored them with a smile. She extended her hand out to me and I happily took it, getting out of the limo as well. The crowd went even more ecstatic, as the clicks of the camera shutters filled the air.
"Alright, alright," Summer said as she stepped out of the limo as well and adjusted her suit and tie. "Let's give them all some space now." She reached back into the limo for Danna, who stepped out, careful not to ruffle her teal dress. Summer reached up to her ear and pressed onto her earpiece. "Yeah, we just arrived. Let's make sure the perimeter is good and I want check-ins every 10 minutes. Got it? Good. Let's make this another great night." I smiled at Summer, knowing full well that I was safe with her as my chief of security, and have been safe for the last 25 years. She smiled back at me as she took Danna by the arm.
The four of us walked down the red carpet, smiling at the cameras and making sure that we posed where we were directed to do so. Danna snuck in a quick kiss on my lips, which I'm sure we'll be reading about in the tabloids tomorrow. For now though, it was just another enjoyable night.
Once we made it inside, we were greeted by Lexi and Tae. Lexi ran up and gave me a big hug. "Congratulations Maria!" Lexi had a huge smile plastered on her face. "I think this is your best one yet!"
"Oh, I wouldn't say that," I said, blushing.
"Well, the reception has been pretty good," Tae said, scrolling on her tablet. "People are very excited for it. They're saying that this one might even beat out Of Sex and Spies in terms of rating."
"Oh Goddess, no pressure then, huh?" I said with a nervous chuckle.
Lexi patted me on the back. "Dear, the hard part is already over. You've already done the filming and editing! Now you just gotta wait for the compliments to come in through!"
"Yeah, that's the scary part!" I said, trying not to fidget with my wedding ring. "I mean, what if they don't like it? I worked really hard on it."
Vanessa reached over and held my hand. "And we all know it. You're gonna show the world your latest masterpiece and they're going to love it. I just know it."
"But, what if they don't?" I asked, my feet fidgeting with each other.
"You've gotta be kidding me. She's still on this worry." We all turned around to see Regina approaching us, smiling and with her arm around Carmen. "You have got to have more confidence. You look way sexier with it."
"I know, I know," I said with a sigh. "I just can never get past all these pre-showing jitters."
"You've done this how many times and you're still nervous?" Carmen said with a chuckle. "Still haven't fully shaken off those college years, have you?"