Chapter 1

Lacy Cunningham sat down on her bed in utter frustration. “I don’t have a single thing to wear to the party!” she said aloud. This was going to be the first real office Christmas party she had ever attended and she had nothing suitable to wear!

Lacy had been working for the investment firm Matheson and Grable for almost a year now, having left her previous company when they wouldn’t entertain the idea of advancing her.

Lacy had all the prerequisites for becoming a Certified Financial Planner – she had gotten a Bachelor’s degree in college and had been working at her past job for three and a half years as an intern.

But when she approached the head of the company about getting her license, he would always blow her off or tell her there wasn’t any openings for another CFP at the office just then. Finally she realized that she wasn’t going to advance at that company so she left and came to work for M&G.

While she still hadn’t gotten her license yet, her supervisor at M&G had at least promised her a shot at it and the whole office was a lot more supportive and helpful than her last employer. And in January she would go in to take the exam for certification. If she passed, she would become a Certified Financial Planner and get a healthy promotion and pay raise.

But for now, she just wanted to go to her first office party. Last Christmas at her old company there was an office party around Christmas, but being just an intern, she hadn’t been invited. So this year she was very excited about getting to go and mingle with everyone and feel like a real part of the firm. Only she didn’t have anything to wear!

She looked through her meager clothes closet but nothing she had was suitable for a fancy office Christmas party. “Let’s face it, Lacy” she said to herself, “you dress like an intern!” She knew that if she was going to be taken seriously at this, she needed to look the part. She closed her closet doors and went into the dining room. She’d figure something out – she just HAD to!

She got her dinner started – baked chicken, baby red potatoes, and steamed broccoli – and then sat down to go through the mail while waiting for dinner to cook. As she thumbed through it, mostly just junk mail and a couple bills, she noticed a advertisement for a credit card.

As she read the information she found out that this card had no annual fee, it had a zero per cent introductory interest rate for the first twelve months, and after that it was the regular twelve per cent. And what really caught her eye was that she had been pre-approved for this card! All she had to do was fill in some personal info, sign it, and send it back in their postage-paid envelope!

Lacy sat there at the table playing with the sample card that came with the promotional brochure. She knew she shouldn’t do it, but it would be an easy way to get the money she needed for a new outfit for the party. And the party might be a way to network with the people that could put her career on the fast track to her future as a CFP.

She knew that she didn’t have the money right now for a new dress, and her father had always been a vehement opponent of buying anything unless you had the money in hand for it. The only exception to his cash-in-hand rule was buying a home.

But Lacy reasoned that her father lived in a different time with a different set of values. Nowadays, you needed to be seen with the right people looking the right way if you expected to be taken seriously. It was all about appearances and the impression you left. And she wanted to leave a good impression on this group.

She decided to do it. Against what her father had tried to instill in her about the “evils of credit cards”, she needed that dress and this was the only way she could think of to get it. So after spending a couple minutes filling out the forms, she sent the application off – eagerly anticipating the shopping yet to come.

A few days later she received her brand new plastic friend. She couldn’t wait to go shopping after work tomorrow! She called up her best friend and they planned to make an afternoon of shopping and dinner together afterwards.

The next day after work, Lacy ran home to change out of her work clothes and then drove over to her best friend’s house to pick her up.

“Hi April! Are you ready for some shopping?” Lacy said when April answered the door.

“I sure am! Just let me grab my purse!” she said. April got her purse and locked the front door and the two of them headed for the Brookstone Plaza, the biggest shopping center in town. It took about twenty minutes to get to the Plaza from April’s house, and they chatted along the way.

By the time the girls arrived, they were buzzing with excitement. Lacy found a parking place fairly close to the big glass doors of the Plaza and they went inside. Just inside the front doors of the Plaza was a large pedestal directory that showed the location of all the shops in the multi-level Plaza.

This was a huge place and a one-stop shop for everything from housewares to auto parts to toys to sporting goods – just about anything you wanted could be found here. But the girls knew what they were after and they knew the boutique they wanted was on the second floor.

So they made their way to the escalator and rode it up to the second level, then walked down the hallway to Elegance, the clothing boutique they were headed to.

Both girls had been in Elegance before, window shopping, so they knew what kinds of clothes and accessories they carried. Lacy had stopped by just a couple days earlier to see the lastest offering and noticed a sexy red floor-length dress she wanted another look at.

She had secreted it away behind some other clothes and hoped that no one had noticed it there. She went right to where she had stashed it. “Here it is! It’s still here! Can you believe it, April!” Lacy said excitedly. “Isn’t it just a dream dress?”

“Ooh, it does look nice! You have to try it on – let’s see how it looks on you!” April said.

Lacy took the dress into the changing room and tried it on. She came out to show April and get her opinion of it. “Well, what do you think, April?” Lacy said.

“Oh honey! You look ... amazing! This is your dress, Lacy ... it looks like it was made just for you! It’s gorgeous!” April said excitedly.

“I think so too! Oh, April, I’m going to get it!” Lacy said. “I know it’s more than I should spend but I want to look extra-special at the Christmas party – after all I will be bumping elbows with the people who can really boost my career up!”

“Yeah,” April agreed. “Now how about shoes – do you have any shoes that work with this dress?”

“No, I’m afraid the only heels I have are my black ones and they wouldn’t work very well with this dress!” she said.

“That’s your next stop then!” April said with a big grin.

The girls took the dress up to the cashier and Lacy laid down her brand new credit card to pay for it. After they had finished, they took their purchase and walked down the Plaza to a shoe store to look for heels for her dress.

The girls looked at several styles and types of shoes but nothing really seemed to be perfect. They were starting to get discouraged when the owner of the shoe store, a kindly old man, came out to see if he could help them personally.

“Ladies, may I be of assistance?” he said as he came out from the back of the store.

“Yes, please. We have looked at dozens of pairs of shoes, but can’t seem to find anything we like that would go with this dress!” Lacy said, the frustration obvious in her voice.

“Karen, I will handle this,” he told the girl that was helping Lacy and April. She went out to see if she could help another customer leaving the girls in the owner’s care.

“My name is Thomas Brinkman, and I am the owner of this store,” he said, introducing himself.

“Hello Mr. Brinkman, My name is Lacy and this is April. I have a Christmas party coming up and it’s very important I look my absolute best. The people at this party can make or break my career and I have to make a good impression on them if I am to advance in my job. So I need to find the perfect shoes for my new dress but I can’t seem to find anything. Please say you can help me!” Lacy explained.

“I see. Well I am sure that Karen has done all she could to help you, she really is very good at her job. I’ll tell you what – I have one pair of shoes in the back that I think might just be what you are after. Let me go get them and we’ll see,” he said. He went into the back room of the store and came out with a box a couple minutes later.

“These are very special shoes ... the only pair I have. But I think they will work for you,” he said. He opened the box and Lacy and April saw the most beautiful pair of red peep-toe stilleto heels they had ever seen!

“Ooh!” the girls said in unison. “They are gorgeous!” Lacy added.

“Oh I hope they fit you Lacy!” April said anxiously.

“Don’t worry about that. These shoes have a special ability to fit whoever wears them,” Mr. Brinkman said. Lacy took a seat in a nearby chair and Mr. Brinkman got the shoes ready for her. He slipped the shoes on her feet and Lacy stood. Sure enough, the shoes fit like they were custom made for her!

“How do they feel Lacy?” April asked.

“They feel ... like I’m not wearing heels at all! They are more comfortable than my slippers at home! Oh my god these shoes are amazing!” Lacy said.

“Well, they sure look amazing!” April said.

“I’ll take them!” Lacy announced, and she took them off to put them back in the box.

“I must tell you something about these shoes. They were made in a small town in the Satu-Mare region of northern Romania by a small shoemaker that lives there. They are one-offs, meaning this is the only pair in existence and they have ... magical properties,” he said.

“Magical properties? C’mon – you’re joking right?” Lacy said skeptically.

“No, I’m afraid I’m not kidding. These shoes, when worn, will make you irresistible to anyone who sees you with them on. Male or female whoever sees you in these shoes will be uncontrollably attracted to you. So you’d better be sure that you want these shoes, and if you do decide to get them, be very careful who sees you in them!” he said.

“Well, I’ve already tried them on and nothing happened,” she pointed out.

“That’s because you haven’t bought them. They don’t know that they are yours yet. Once you buy them – if you do – and the shoes realize that you own them, the magic will take effect and you will become irresistible in them,” he explained.

Lacy and April looked at each other. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard! But I love the shoes, so I will take them,” Lacy said.

The shopkeeper shrugged his shoulders and went about putting the shoes back in the box and ringing up the sale. Lacy and April left the store afterwards, with the shoes in hand.

At dinner a few minutes later, they talked a bit about the shoes and what the shopkeeper had told them. “Do you believe what that crazy old shoe salesman said about your shoes Lacy? Have you ever heard of such nonsense?” April said.

“Yeah, it’s right out of one of the fairy tales we used to read when we were younger. Real Cinderella stuff!” she giggled.

“Well if it’s true, then that will work in your favor ... you haven’t exactly been burning up the dating scene lately!” April said.

“Yeah, I know ... it’s just that good guys are so hard to find anymore. And I’m getting real tired of kissing toads looking for my prince!” Lacy sighed wearily.

They chatted about the upcoming Christmas party and what Lacy hoped to accomplish by talking and socializing with the bigwigs at the corporate party. She told April of her plans to take the exam and if she passed how she would become a Certified Financial Planner – her goal for her career.