I moved my pencil across the paper, letting my imagination take over. More often than not, I started with one idea and ended up with something completely different. I’d designed plenty of times for Rory before, and this time I wanted to do something new. Something that would make Lucah want to propose for real this time.
A half hour later, I had a dress that I was really happy with. It was one-shouldered with beading along the top that flowed into a long skirt with delicate flower appliques. It was going to be a bitch to make, but I was totally okay with that. I could put one of my interns to work doing the beading and sewing on the flowers. I hadn’t decided what color I wanted it to be yet. I’d have to go through my stock and maybe go fabric shopping.
The dress done, I moved on to the lingerie, echoing the beading and flowers. The whole thing was going to be spectacular, and I almost wished I could be on the date with them so I could see his reaction.
I set my pencil down and stretched my arms up. “Come with Me Now” was playing, so I started dancing around the room. Maybe I should get a cat or something. I still wasn’t used to Rory being down the hall. Even when she worked crazy hours, I still knew that she was eventually coming home. I could head to my studio nearby, but it was kind of late. Not that lateness had ever stopped me before.
Instead, I turned to a new page and started making more dresses and lingerie. By the time my eyes started to close I had five new outfits.
Now I just had to make them.
I checked my phone just to make sure Ryder hadn’t called or texted. Nada.
Guess he was going to keep his word this time.
~*~*~
I could say that Ryder and I agreeing we couldn’t be friends anymore wasn’t affecting me, but then I’d be a liar as well as a good cook and a fashion designer.
I had a habit of making my interns cry, but I’d never made three of them cry in one day. That was a new record. And those three that cried? All quit. Those that were left seemed on the verge of tears, so I closed myself off in my little office and took a breather.
A few minutes later, there was a tentative knock. Inari, my assistant and sanity-keeper, was there with a cup of coffee and a sympathetic ear.
“If they can’t take this, then there’s no way they could ever make it in the real world,” she said, handing me a bakery bag with a cherry Danish in it. God bless this woman.
“I know that’s true, but interns don’t grow on trees, and the good ones are hard to find for someone like me.” Most of the college students willing to work for free wanted to head to New York and hang out with Ralph Lauren or Betsey Johnson, not spend their time in Boston getting yelled at by me, Sloane Harris of SH Designs.
Inari gave me a sympathetic look from behind her white-rimmed glasses. The first time I saw her, I knew I wanted her to work for me. Inari is the kind of girl who could rock dreadlocks and a bohemian dress with heels and a set of pearls like few people could. Plus, she could sew.
“Well, I can go through the applications again, if you want.” We’d done that song and dance so many times before.
“Guess we’re going to have to.” I hated hiring new people. There was such a steep learning curve, especially if they’d been taught bad habits. I could work with some idiot who didn’t know how to thread a sewing machine, or didn’t know what a French seam was, but I couldn’t do a whole lot with someone who had learned the incorrect way of doing everything. Bad habits were hard to break.
“On the bright side, we still have Toby, Marina, Z, and Logan. That’s enough to keep things going for a while.” We both knew it wasn’t. I had a lot coming up and I needed extra hands. I had Inari, Jason, Kelly, and Paris as full-time employees supplemented with interns. But Kelly was talking about wanting to have a baby, and Jason was in a long-distance relationship and considering a move to Seattle.
I needed more people. If only I could stop making the ones I had cry.
The moment I stepped out of my office, everyone froze. It was almost funny.
“Calm down. I’ve had some coffee and a Danish, and you can all stop cowering.” They continued to stare at me. Great.
I sighed. “Okay, who wants coffee and donuts? On me?” That made their eyes light up. I glanced at Inari, and she smiled back at me and started taking orders. I guess I owed them for being such a bitch earlier. But you know what? Bitches got shit done.
The mood in the studio was much lighter after the donuts and coffee arrived, and the work actually started to improve. I’d spent the day working with one intern (one of the ones left, anyway), Vivien, on her sewing skills. She wanted to learn, but she just didn’t pick things up that quickly, but the important part was that she tried.
“I’m so stupid,” she said as she made a crooked hem.
I held my frustration and took a breath. “You just need to slow down, that’s all. Just take your time and double check that everything is straight before throwing it through the machine. When I first started, I had the worst time getting anything to go straight.” I didn’t mention that I was ten when I got my first sewing machine. I’d saved up all my birthday money and spare change I boosted from my dad’s pants pocket every now and then, and a few dollars from walking dogs in the neighborhood. It was a piece of shit, and I had to take it apart, clean the entire thing, buy new parts, and put it back together. It took me all summer, but I got it done. My parents thought I was mental. Guess I should have been running around and getting caught messing with boys and smoking like my sister had. Instead, I ran a successful company and graduated from an Ivy League college, which you’d think they’d be over the moon about. Nope.
She tried again, and finally got a straight seam. Hallelujah.
“Good job.” I sometimes forgot the whole positive reinforcement bit. Usually I just screamed at them when they did stuff wrong.
“Thanks!” she said with a bright smile. It was much better than the look of fear most of them wore. I looked up to find everyone else staring at me, as if I’d done something I’d never done before. I’d given out praise in the past. I knew I had. I must have. Hadn’t I?
“Get back to work!” I barked, and they scurried to go back to what they had been doing. Inari gave me a look. Yeah, yeah.
~*~*~