Femme Empire

1st Day

The car stopped. I let out a breath. Time to rock and roll.

My eyes widened the moment I saw the megastructure in front of me. It was 50 floor building covered top to bottom with trillions of tiny glass shards that reflected sunlight and transformed the entire space into a luminescent being. The effect was dazzling. But more dazzling than that was the bold AL symbol on top. Everybody in Los Angeles knew this building.

The House of Aslan-Lemaire

One of the oldest and most respected fashion houses in the world formed by the conjoining of Bilal Aslan and Jean Lemaire established in 1830, which was roughly 7 years before Hermes had even taken off. After the French invasion of Algeria,two unlikely people, one Turk and one French had bonded over an unlikely passion- cotoure. The bonds of friendship had long surpassed enmity. As the French colonized Morocco and the rest of the surrounding regions, the two friends moved to France where they set up the legendary house of Aslan and Lemaire in Paris. They made clothing for royalty. As generations passed, they started more vigorous experimentation with drapes and cloth. Aslan-Lemaire was famous for its blending of French and Turkish-Moroccan styles of clothing. Very few fashion houses had survived this long and this house was the pinnacle of creativity, history and change.

Only someone living under a rock did not know about them. They set the trends, they ruled the markets. Their designers were world famous for popularising unisex clothing. They were inclusive yet at the same time, the upholders of tradition and history.

And Jamal had sent me to work here.

I smiled dryly. This company had a bigger legacy than mine. I would have loved working here.

I walked into the building. The guards at the entrance must have done a double take at my outfit but were too polite and well trained to say a word.

They checked my ID and ushered me inside. What hit me in the face along with a gust of cold air from the ACs was a sweet floral fragrance. Lilies. Everywhere around the lobby, there were flower arrangements kept and all of them had lilies. Beautiful and hardy lilies that could survive the worst weather conditions. It gave the space a royal feel. Stepping into the lobby was like stepping into another era. Antique furniture was blended gracefully with warm inviting blues and yellows. The entire room smelled like an orchard in the summer.

It was beautiful and eccentric. Exactly as I liked it. The glass windows held mannequins in several sitting and standing poses showing off pieces from the latest Autumn-Winter collection in an array of jewelled tones. Eclectically dressed people sashayed in and out of the building.

I even saw an eighteenth century Marie-Antoinette gown on an editor here. My definition of Disneyland.

I reached the reception desk where a very pretty blond was handling a complex system of phones that kept ringing after one another. She mouthed an apology to me as she pointed at the phones.

"Take your time. ", I gestured with a shake of hand.

When she finally got off, the first thing she asked me was,

"Are you a lesbian?"

"Straight.", I said with a straight face. " At least I was last time I checked. I checked very thoroughly"

"Damn.", pretty, blond, girl muttered. "You look exactly like my future wife."

I smiled.