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Well, she was dead now. He was going to have toWeekend at Bernie’s her for the rest of the day.
Everly died again when he didn’t immediately move away. “It’s like strawberries in a garden or something—”
“Dude, you’re in her shot.” Logan’s voice exploded from the corner, low and deep like a growl. It took physical effort for Everly not to glance his way.
Sady waved her hands at him, her brow furrowed, but he didn’t seem to notice.
When James didn’t react, Logan inched a step closer. “Hey.” The word was a low rumble, thunder about to crash overhead. Everly felt it in her knees, in the sudden goose bumps that speckled her skin. “Let go of her and move out of frame.”
James glanced around like he still wasn’t sure who Logan was talking to. Before he could say anything, Sady insisted he stay put.
She cleared her throat and turned to Logan. “What are you doing? Why don’t you come around this way, so we don’t lose this great moment?”
Their eyes locked, something passing between them, though neither said a word. It reminded Everly of the way that Ellis and Becca could have whole conversations with just a stare.
When he finally glanced away, Logan looked humbled and dutifully changed positions. “There’s some great footage around Everly’s art here, and we shouldn’t mess with it. That’s all I’m saying.”
“We’re not.” Sady’s voice was strained.
Everly took the opportunity to duck out from under James’s arm. Turning, she addressed Alex. “Do you really think there’s something there?” Logan wasn’t wrong that this meeting was supposed to be about her future career, not James cozying up to her.
“Oh, absolutely.” They flicked through the images of her book covers one more time. “Are you freelancing?”
“No. I don’t even know where to start.” In reality, she was too afraid to try to find out.
“I’ll put you in touch with one of my friends.” Alex handed Everly back her phone. “You have an eye for this, for sure. James has shown me your tweaks to his stuff, too. Honestly, it’s only a matter of you deciding what you want to do at this point. The doors are open.”
Their words filled Everly’s chest with something light, something that pushed at the deadened weight of fear that usually clung there.
Something like hope. Excitement.
For the next half hour, Alex walked Everly through the responsibilities of their job. The whole time, James kept bumping shoulders with her and interjecting with examples of ways she’d already done this or that while helping him with his designs.
The final part of the meeting involved the three of them collaborating on a logo forOn the Plus Side. At Stanton’s urging, Everly took the lead. She assigned Alex to mock up the design, and had James focus on color, while she made sure everything harmonized visually. Once they were finished, she used her smart pen to make final tweaks, highlighting the font and adjusting the shadowing so the show’s title was the focal point. As she stepped back to get a better perspective, James gently took her hand in his and guided the pen. “A little bit more, I think, no?”
A grunt issued from the direction of the camera. In her peripheral vision, Everly saw Logan’s face was bright red, his mouth a tense line.
Sady nudged his arm, and Everly heard him whisper, “This is supposed to be her design.”
Embarrassment tugged at her stomach. Logan was right. How many times had James come to her for help? Now suddenly, they were on TV, and he was acting like her mentor?
And she was letting him.
She reclaimed the pen and erased his work. Even if he was simply trying to help, she was supposed to be the lead designer. “Any more shadowing makes it too dark.”
“Everly’s right. The words stand out better this way.” Alex rubbed their chin as they inspected the final design. “I think it’s perfect.”
Stanton joined them, mimicking their stance. “Me too.” He winked at Everly.
Once they were done, Alex collected their phone and water bottle to head back to their office. “Does Bob know?” they asked, already halfway out the door.
Everly glanced up. “Know about what?”
“That you want to do design.”
“No.” Another thing tucked snugly in Schrödinger’s box.
“Show him your portfolio. He should know we have an up-and-coming talent right in the office.”
