The Alchemists

They arrived home half an hour later.

"Welcome, Miss. This morning there was a shipment of clothes from Le Pearl Boutique. I have arranged all the clothes in your walk-in closet." Ms Law welcomed Finland in front of her pavilion. "I placed the rest of the clothes in a box because there was not enough space in the closet."

Finland gasped. How could there not be enough space in her closet? Her closet was HUGE! How many clothes did they send?

She entered the pavilion and examined the wardrobe in her walk-in closet next to the bathroom. It was very spacious and was made of 3 cabinets. There should be enough space there to store 100 clothes.

So far Finland never used that space because she did not have many outfits, and she had nothing fancy to display in such beautiful walk-in closet.

Finland gasped and held her breath when she opened the cabinets in her closet. She covered her mouth, mesmerized.

The three cabinets were full of clothes arranged by color. There were about 20 pairs of shoes at the bottom of the closet. On her right she saw various hand bags, sling bags, purses, and wallets. To top it all, there were hundreds of clothes and dresses that filled all the closet hangers...

At the back of the closet she saw a large box filled with goods - items that couldn't be arranged because there was not enough space…

"Wha... what is this?"

She had to hold her chest because her heart was beating so fast. This was as if the whole La Pearl Boutique had been moved into her closet. All the clothes, shoes, bags, and accessories were very expensive, but she now had so many of them.

Even if she won the lottery tomorrow, Finland would never want to spend this much money on mere clothes and shoes...

"This was all delivered by the staff from La Pearl Boutique this morning. Everything is yours, Miss."

Ms. Law smiled at the shocked girl. "Master asked me to take pictures of you wearing these clothes."

Before Finland could react, Ms. Law had taken some pictures Finland's expression when she opened the closet. The girl still could not control herself amid the beautiful items that now belonged to her.

"That's okay... this is a lot..."

Five minutes later Finland received an SMS from Caspar. In it was a picture of herself looking surprised in the walk-in closet that contained her new goods.

[I'm glad you like the clothes I bought you. Don't forget take pictures with the new clothes and send them to me.]

Finland didn't understand.

[How do you know which clothes I like?]

[I know you will like anything that is given to you for free.] Caspar chuckled when he wrote his reply.

Hahahahaha... Finland patted her own forehead. She was convinced that Caspar knew her very well.

She, Finland, did like free items.

Finland selected some of the best clothes that she wanted to try. With Ms. Law's help, she managed to take some beautiful photos with her new dresses.

Indeed, clothing was only a superficial object, but if used by the right person, clothing could emit the wearer's optimal beauty.

Finland felt very beautiful when she wore a black cocktail dress with precious stones scattered at the right places. There was also a light blue summer dress that was pleasing to the eye. It made Finland look fresh and charming. Then there was a pretty yellow dress that looked casual. Finland suddenly felt like a royal princess.

Ms. Law praised her many times.

Finland sent 5 pictures of her wearing several different dresses to Caspar. She finally decided on wearing a beautiful red dress for dinner with the Atlas Company tonight. Caspar praised her appearance on all the photos.

[I don't know which one I like the most; you look beautiful in all of the pictures.]

[Thank you. Thank you for these clothes. You're very kind.] Answered Finland.

[My gift comes with a catch...] Caspar replied.

[Uhmm... a catch? Do you want something from me?]

[I want something from you.]

Wow... For a moment Finland hesitated to accept the clothes given by Caspar. Apparently, these clothes came with a catch. What was his hidden agenda?

[What do you want?] Finland asked hesitatingly.

[I want your time.] Caspar replied, [I want you to take 3 days off and accompany me on vacation.]

Aha!

Finland was no longer on probation so she was able to take time off without getting a salary cut. A three-day leave was not too difficult to get. She would grant Caspar this request.

[OK. Just tell me the dates.]

[The end of this month.]

[Okay.]

Finland was relieved. She didn't expect the catch would be going on a vacation with Caspar. She didn't remember the last time she went on a vacation, or even if she ever did.

A smile curved up on her face when she placed her cellphone in her purse and prepared for the meeting at De Lune Restaurant.