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I stare at the numbers on the screen. I’m not an accountant, and ledgers make me feel sick, but there’s no denying what I’m seeing.
“We’re opening the offices here. I’ve decided. I don’t even care what you say.”
I laugh despite myself. “We’re partners; youneedme to be on board.”
“But this is too good,” Michelle says. “And…what do you say?”
I’m still laughing when I look at the spreadsheets again. “Tell me your plan.”
“I want to stay. I’ll be here with my parents for a while, but I’ll put things in motion here. And then, in no time at all, we’ll have doubled it all.”
“It’s not that simple,” I say. “We need office space, designers, seamstresses, people to run the shop. We need capital and a whole bunch of other employees—”
“What do you think I’ll be doing while I stay?” Michelle says, interrupting me. “Iknowwhat we need. And I’m going to make it happen. Now is the time to strike, and if we get this up and running as soon as possible, we can ride the wave of our Fashion Week success. We’ll approach those bloggers and reporters that interviewed us the first night. They’ll run with it and then we’re through.”
Michelle’s excitement is contagious. The more she talks, the more I can see how this is a good idea. And she’s right—she’s always been the business mind behind the brand. I’m the creative mind.
“Okay,” I finally say.
“Yeah?” Michelle looks shocked that I agree but filled with glee. She must have known I wasn’t going to fight her on it. When Michelle runs with something, I usually let her go because she knows what she’s doing, and this is her area of expertise.
“Yeah,” I say with a laugh. “Let’s do this.”
“You’ve never been this daring before,” Michelle says.
I shrug. “Sometimes, you have to close your eyes and jump.”
Her face sobers a little. “It counts for more areas of your life, you know.”
I sigh and fall back on the pillows. “I can’t apply it to everything, Mish. One thing at a time, okay? Take your win while you have it.”
She grins. “You’re right. And I’ll take it!”
She gets up, unable to stay seated.
“It’s going to be amazing. I can’t wait to get things going. This is everything we were aiming for. Just wait until we do London.”
“Easy,” I say, shaking my head, but I’m still smiling at Michelle and how excited she is about our future. “Let’s just do one thing at a time, okay? I don’t think I can handle another Fashion Week right now.”
“That’s okay,” Michelle says, dropping herself on the bed again. “The next string is only in September so we have six months to relax, plan our next move, and make sure the offices here are running smoothly so we can rinse and repeat.”
I laugh. “Let’s just see how it goes.”
Michelle nods, but her eyes still sparkle.
At least, this is something that’s working out in our favor. I can use the good news. I’m excited about how things might go for us. Michelle has put her hopes on this Fashion Week, and I was excited about it, but I was weary of wanting too much. It looks like it will all happen now, though.
And we’re going to make it.
It will be good for me to keep busy running the Paris branch while Michelle sorts things out here. It will distract me from everything that’s gone wrong. Work is the best remedy for a broken heart—it’s not my first rodeo. And it’s not the first time it’s thanks to Noah that I’m drowning myself in the attempt to build a brighter future.
When I think about him, a pang shoots into my chest. I feel horrible about what I said to him. I should go back and apologize; Michelle is right. But to do that means putting my pride in my pocket and admitting that I was wrong. And I can’t do that—I can’t be wrong in protecting Ava.
That’s not what this is about, but I’m going to stick with that until I feel better.
Until I’ve convinced myself that what I’m doing now is the best course of action.
When Michelle’s parents call for supper, we walk to the dining room like two teenagers still living with their parents, and I’m looking forward to the last day I have off before I have to head home and get back to my life.
