It was an early day to work, with crunch deadlines for next year’s spring/summer lines. As was often the case, I was the only one in the parking lot. I needed to get a head start, so that I could be prepared for my meeting with Kate. We were going over my sketches for dresses today, a category that is critical for the Spring/Summer business.
As I was setting up for the meeting, Audrey, our CEO, walked into the office. She came to the table and started asking me questions about my work.
“These look amazing, Olivia! How did you come up with these silhouettes? I am impressed!"
I explained how I do my research. It involves going through trend services but is also inspired by old Hollywood films and details from pictures taken while "inspiration" shopping.
We chatted for a little bit, then Kate walked into the room.
“Sorry I'm late. I was caught in terrible traffic!”
“Good morning, Kate. Funny, I didn’t hit any on my way in. It must have started to pile up after we arrived at the office,” said Audrey, as she made her way to her office.
There was always a little tension between those two. Kate was hired by the former CEO, and Audrey was not her biggest fan. Kate knew this, which made her very insecure about her role and a terror to work with most of the time. This was intensified by the fact that she knew Audrey favored me. She had her good days, but they were few and far between. And, this was not going to be one of them.
Kate went through and critiqued every sketch.
“This is too long and too dressy. Our customer will never wear this.”
“Why did you pick this print? It looks like roadkill.”
You get the gist. She was angry that Audrey had complimented my work and did her best to try to knock me down.
“Hey, what are you doing?,“ said Phoebe.
“Well, I just got chewed out by Kate. She was angry that Audrey looked at my sketches before she did.”
“It’s not like you can keep the CEO from looking at your work. If Kate said anything to Audrey about it, she would appear petty and insecure, which is what she is! Ugh…that woman!”
“Unfortunately, she is my boss and not going anywhere anytime soon, so I need to deal with it.”
“Does she ever bring up that promotion to Director that she promised you?
“Of course not. Enough about me. What’s up with you? “
“I have an interview today for the VP of Marketing role “
“What? That is exciting! What are you wearing?"
“I was going to wear this.”
“You cannot wear that for an interview.”
“I know, but why bother? I am not going to get it anyway.”
“Well, not with that attitude! Or outfit. Let me find something for you in the sample closet.”
Phoebe was lucky to be a sample size 8. She was always asking me to style her for special events, or if she just felt like she needed a pick-me-up. She looks great in the clothes, and I love doing it for her.
I disappeared into the closet and pulled out a printed peasant dress and lace-up platforms.
“Voila! What do you think?,“ said Phoebe.
“Now you're ready for that interview! You are going to knock them dead. Are we still on for the rock-climbing class tomorrow?“
“Yes. I need to get my head examined for agreeing to do this with you.”
“Oh, come on. It will be fun!“
Phoebe and I were on a mission to become at least half as athletic as the rest of the population of Mountain City. Today, we decided to take a rock-climbing class at the local gym. We met our instructor (Joe) and reiterated to him that we were novices. He then went through the basics as we suited up into our harnesses and ropes.
“Contrary to popular belief, rock climbing is all about your footing and leg strength, not arms,” Joe said. “Keep your feet quiet, don’t scramble around for a foothold. Climb with intention.”
We each had our turn belaying (supporting the other person by holding their rope to keep it secure). Phoebe did a good job and got halfway up the wall. That is where she froze, and we had to calmly talk her back down.
Next was my turn. I talked to myself the whole way up. “You can do it, keep breathing, plan the next foothold, use your feet.” By the time I looked up, I was at the top. "Fantastic! Now, how do I get down?”
This is where the person belaying you is critical. There was already some disparity between us because of the difference in our height and weight. It is harder to belay a person that is heavier than you.
As I started to descend, I heard Phoebe screaming. “Are you ready?“
It was her job to release the rope gradually to allow me to bounce down the wall gracefully.
“Yes,“ I said. Then I started to feel myself fall at a very quick pace. I looked down and Phoebe was staggering left and right, losing control. There I was hanging away from the wall, legs swinging as I was falling. This was NOT graceful! Then all of a sudden, I halted to a stop! This caused a massive wedgy, which was both shocking and painful.
I looked down, and Joe had taken over the reins. “Put your feet on the wall,” he said. “Get your breath back. I am going to release the rope slowly and you can calmly bounce down.” Finally, I made it down to safety as Phoebe was apologizing profusely. Needless to say, that was the last time we stepped foot in that gym.
We met up with Charlie for brunch. “Phoebe tried to kill me,” I said, as we approached our table. Charlie was laughing so hard when we relayed our rock-climbing experience, that she spit out her cappuccino.
Charlie is one of those natural athletes that does not experience the same level of discomfort around these activities, but she was proud of us for trying. “Well” said Charlie “You did it and now you know it’s not your thing.”
“Yeah, I think we are going to try mountain biking next weekend. That looks like fun,” Phoebe said.
“I am looking forward to that,” I said.
“Did you hear from Matt recently?“ I asked Charlie.
Matt and Charlie had continued to chat after our trip to Costa Rica. Dean was a great guy, and we are still friends on social media, but both of us were clear that our thing was more of a holiday fling.
“Yes, I just talked to him last night. He mentioned wanting to come out for a visit.”
“That is awesome,” I said. “Are you excited to see him?”
“Of course! I would love to see him. Let’s just see if it actually happens. His yellow light might come on and then all bets are off,” Charlie said laughing.
Monday came too soon, and I had the post weekend blues. Phoebe popped into my office to chat, which always makes me feel better.
“What’s up Buttercup?“ she said. Phoebe always has a funny way of phrasing things, like a Hollywood actress from the 30’s.
“Pretty good. I have a meeting with Kate in an hour. I am just not feeling inspired right now. I would rather be on a hiking trail or something.”
“You just need to get into the groove of the work week. Mondays are always a slow start for me. You just need to turn that frown upside down!"
I couldn’t help but smile. “Ok, I feel better. Now get out of here before Kate comes in and thinks I am slacking."
“Ok! Later skater!"
“Oh, this is FABulous!” Kate said in her dramatic manner.
She was looking at a blue and green printed dress that had just come in. “And is that sweater part of the group? That color is divine.”
“Yes, I thought they could work in the same story. She won’t wear this sweater with that dress, but I can design a coordinating outfit. Maybe a woven tank top in the same print? With some white frayed edge jeans?”
“I love that idea! Very summery. Great job. Keep it up!"
I have no idea what got into Kate, but I am not complaining. Maybe she had a good date over the weekend or got an amazing massage.
“So, what is next on your list?" Kate said.
“I have to finish designing the bottoms for summer and then I have to do artwork and strike off comments for the prints.”
“No rest for the weary! Ok, let’s meet on Thursday to circle back.”
“Ok sounds good.”
My Monday just got a million times better after that meeting. Maybe this will be a good week after all!
It was Friday night and Phoebe and I decided to grab a drink at The Whiskey, a local whiskey distillery and bar. They had yummy craft cocktails using their signature High West Whiskey. I was having a Lickety Split, and Phoebe was drinking a Riata.
“Any word on the interview?” I asked Phoebe.
“Not yet, but I think it went well. I was very calm and clear when explaining my contribution to the brand and how I can leverage that combined with my background for the new role. I took all emotion out of it. Normally, I am a sweaty nervous wreck and talk too much. Not this time.”
“That is great, Phoebe! I have a good feeling about this. We are so lucky that Mosaic is doing well. Many other brands are not right now, especially post-Covid. That reminds me. I got an email from my old assistant that I worked with 10 years ago. It seems like she is going through a tough time. She recently got divorced from her husband, which is kind of surreal because I was at her wedding.
She has a son and the company that she's working for is struggling right now. Their top customer closed during the pandemic. She asked if there was any opportunity to work with Mosaic. I told her to send some product and I could show it to Kate. Just not sure that the aesthetic is right for us.”
“That is tough,” Phoebe said. “It is nice of you to try to help. This drink is so delish! Should we get another one?“
“Probably not, if we are going to be on our game for our mountain biking class.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot! It will be hard enough to keep it all together without adding a hangover to the mix.”
Our class was first thing in the morning, and we were A+ students. Our instructor said we did so well that we were ready to go out on our own. Phoebe pulled out the trail map and we were on our way.
There was something so beautiful and, at the same time, so desolate about the high desert topography of Mountain City. The rolling hills and sagebrush were the backdrop for our mountain biking adventure.
We got in sync with the pattern of switching gears on the climb and releasing on the downhill, practicing our tripods for turns. This was a blast! We were so confident that we decided to try the more advanced runs.
As we made our way up and down the more difficult hills, Phoebe started to get nervous. “These are so steep and then they go right into sharp turns!”
“You're doing great, Phoebe,” I said to keep her from getting too anxious.
“Ohhh, I don’t like this,” she said, and then proceeded to come to an abrupt halt in the middle of a steep downhill. This is exactly what you should NOT do! It can cause you to do an “end over,” which is when you fly over the handlebars of the bike or the person behind you.
“PHOEBE!!!" I screamed as I pressed the brakes and tried to avoid crashing into her. I was going full speed down the hill, a momentum that now propelled me over the handlebars, flying into the nearest sagebrush bush.
As I sat there in the middle of the bush, I could hear Phoebe calling to me, “Olivia, where are you? Are you alive!?“
“Yes, I am fine,” I screamed as I started to climb out of the bush. I checked myself for cuts and bruises. Apart from a few brush burns, I seemed to have gotten through this debacle unscathed. Although, my helmet was half-cocked on my head, and I was covered in sagebrush branches.
As I was pulling the sagebrush pieces out of my hair, I looked up, and there he was, in the flesh, looking right at me. HOT JOSH!
