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I wink at her and hold up a finger. “Sare Bear, Kinky! Get your asses out hereétutto pronto. That means ‘now’!”
Andie raises an eyebrow, her eyes skimming to the two men setting up their equipment behind me. “Actually, it means ‘it’s ready’.”
Ignoring littlemiss-know-it-all, I toss my coat and bag on her desk.
“Ugh, TJ. I’m not your freaking coatrack.” She frowns, dumping my things on the floor. “You almost tipped my coffee over.”
I give her my best pouty smile. “Butmi casa es su casa, Shorts. I don’t have an office in here, so…wait, why don’t I have my own office again?”
“Because you’re always throwing your shit around everyone else’s?” she grumbles, holding her coffee cup up and wiping down her desk.
“Oh, Shorts, you’re so adorbs, but a little cranky this morning. Maybe this calls for a littlecaféfetch? I’ll take a double whip, caramel macchiato, half sweetened with extra foam. Oh, and can you ask Marco to make a star with the cinnamon, like he did last time? Ooh, and make sure he adds the cute little sprinkles.Muchas dinero. You’re a doll.”
“I’m not going for a coffee run. And itsmuchas gracias, notdinero. That means money. God, I hope you don’t converse with Marco in Spanish.”
Ignoring her, I sweep past her desk, annoyed that Kiki and Sarah haven’t come running from their offices. It’s been six years since we started Nashville Stylists, and we are busier than we’ve ever been. Andie still runs the office and keeps our appointments in order, but she also has a lucrative photography business, shooting family portraits and photos for Kiki’s blog. She’s also published four coffee-table books with her best friend, Mandy, as they travel through Europe showcasing her eye for majestic landscapes and Mandy’s witty writing.
Andie keeps us all organized and focused. I’d never tell her because it would go to her head, but she’s the reason our business has tripled in the last year. She and Cam have been blissfully happy raising their two children, Enzo and sweet, beautiful Charleigh.
My other two besties, Kiki and Sarah, are my styling partners. Three years ago, Kiki started designing wedding dresses and they took off like hotcakes. Her designs have been shown inIn Style Weddings, and she was featured in theHarper’s Bazaarwedding section as the next rising star. She has over two million followers on her style blog,City Girl in the Heart of Country, and she’s married to the hottest country-music star, Tatum Reed. They have their hands full with their two boys, Chase and Drew, who couldn’t be more opposite. Kiki is desperate for a girl, but with Tatum touring and her hectic schedule, they can’t seem to find time for a third.
Sarah continues to slay as a makeup stylist for several celebrities and is often jetting off to awards shows and photo shoots for her craft. She’s married to Lex Ryan, my hubby’s identical twin and the lead guitarist for Tatum’s band. Together, they are raising Jax, the fifteen-year-old product of Lex’s crazy ex-girlfriend, Alana, and his deadbeat cousin on his dad’s side, Liam. They stepped up and adopted Jax a few years ago when Alana ditched town and left her son without a parent. They also have the four-and-a-half-year-old twins, Alexis and Wyatt. Sarah is passionate about photography and has brought national attention to their ranch of rescued horses helping children with trauma with her compassionate photos of the children and animals.
Touching a Dior velvet smoking jacket on a rolling rack in the back corner of the office, I smile. I’ve come a long way from working as the assistant to that creepsadoodle loser, Jonathon, atCufflinksmagazine, who got his kicks by calling me kitten and fetching him disgusting tuna sandwiches. I’m in charge of the men’s side of styling here at Nashville Stylists and have several Nashville-based A-listers in my appointment book on the regular. I’d like to add home décor to our services, but I’ve been so busy styling, I haven’t had the chance to get it rolling.
I shimmy into the jacket and look at myself in the floor-length mirror, pressing down on the lapels. “Looking sharp, you sexy beast.” I blow a kiss to my reflection, my ring glinting in the morning light streaming through the windows. Connor and I celebrated our five-year wedding anniversary last week and not a day goes by that I’m not grateful for my sexy Irishman.
I can’t complain, life is good for all of us, and honestly, it’s about to get a lot better.
“Good morning, bestie! Rise and shine!” I stick my head in Kiki’s office, looking for her amongst the racks of clothes. Movement behind a wedding dress catches my eye. “It’s a mess in here. Are you ever going to take my advice and hire an assistant? Chop chop, early morning meeting out in the main area.”
Kiki pops up, her eyes narrowing. “I’ve been here since seven a.m. Don’t pretend like the day’s starting because you rolled into work at ten.”
“Well, someone’s grumpy this A to the M. Shake it like a polaroid picture and get your ass out here.” I leave Miss Sourpuss to stew and duck into Sarah’s room. “Knock knock? Good morning, Sare Bear!”
Sarah looks up from her phone and smiles. “Morning, TJ.”
“Can you come out to the main area for an important meeting,por favor?”
“Oh, sure.” She sets her phone down and follows me out to Andie’s desk. “Hey, when do you think that rack of fabrics you rolled into my office two months ago will go away?”
“Times that by six.”
“A year? TJ, come on…”
“Well, maybe we need to look for a new space, Sare Bear. I’ve been telling y’all for months. If we keep growing like we are, we’re all going to need assistants with our own space.”
“I know. This place holds so many special memories for us,” she says. “But you’re right, we’ve outgrown it.”
I look around the tiny, cramped area, nostalgia tightening my throat. This was where our humbling beginnings began. But that’s a discussion for a different day. Today I need to talk aboutmynews.
We don’t have room for a conference table, so we all take our usual spots around Andie’s desk. Sarah sits on a loveseat by the windows where Kiki’s cat Oreo is sunning himself. Kiki walks over to the Nespresso machine, while Andie sits officially behind her desk.
I spin in a circle and clap my hands, garnering the three women’s attention. “Ladies…and Kinky.” Kiki flips me off while she makes a latte. “I’d like you to meet Cal, Brody, Tina, and Sam. They’re withNashville Nextand they are doing an exclusive exposé on yours truly. They’re filming us in our natural environment, like zebras in the Sahara. Isn’t that exciting?”
“I think you mean the Serengeti,” Andie says, tapping a pen to her lips.
“Okay, Miss World Traveler.” I roll my eyes. “It’s the same thing. Anyway, they’ll be filming me. You three will just happen to always be around. Like little insignificant planets orbiting the bright, beautiful sun.”
