Dirtying Diana

2

Diana parked in her reserved parking spot outside of Blackwood, Inc. and smiled. The building was once a warehouse that Diana had gutted and redesigned. The exterior was freshened up, but not by much and gave off an industrial feel.

As she made her way into the building, she received many greetings and smiled or nodded in response. The crystal-clear elevators had been her favorite feature of the building. She loved seeing everyone as she rode up and down.

Diana made her way to her office and smiled at her assistant, fellow designer and brother, Theodore. "Tangie!" Diana squealed at her younger brother as he groaned. "Will you stop calling me that?! We're no longer 2 and 5 years old. I'm 27 and you're 30! Act like you got some sense!" Theodore growled causing Diana to chuckle.

She knew he hated the nickname, but she'd been calling him that since forever. "I'll refrain from calling you that amazing nickname in the office, how about that?" Theodore huffed but nodded.

"What do I have in store for me today?" Theodore held up his tablet and rattled off her agenda for the day. At the mention of her meeting with Javier Ortiz she frowned. "It won't be bad, Ana. He's really nice." Diana leveled her brother with a look.

"That's code for 'he's fuckable' in Theodore speak." He shrugged his shoulder before smirking. "That man is straighter than a needle or I would have been thrown it back." Diana laughed at her brother and settled in behind her desk.

"I forgot to tell you. Nathan called to schedule a lunch date today. I told him I'd get back to him on your behalf, so what's your answer?" Diana groaned. "Hell no. I had to power through dinner with that fool last night. I'm definitely not doing a back-to-back session."

She waved her hand. "Schedule dinner with him for next week Wednesday or Thursday. I want to get this remaining few days over with." Theodore shook his head and made a note. "I'm going to work on those Milan designs until my meeting at 11. Please make sure I am not disturbed." He nodded in understanding and closed her door behind him.

Diana never could understand why her brother settled on being her assistant 90% of the time and a fellow Blackwood designer 10% of the time. He had his own line of clothes that had a strong following, but Theodore was the king of procrastination and only came out with new styles every blue moon. He was an excellent designer, but he was an even better assistant and kept her sharp and productive at every turn.

Diana sighed and removed her blazer before pulling out her digital pad. This was another happy space. She looked over the designs she had sketched so far and smiled. They were going to be instant hits and she reveled in that fact.

The media could never get enough of a Blackwood original reveal and the fashion show in Milan in a few months was already garnering attention. She settled into her comfortable leather chair and sketched to her heart's content.

Eleven o'clock came sooner than she'd hoped and with a buzz from Theodore she groaned and set down her digital pad. "Let's get this shit over with." She grumbled as she grabbed her portfolio and made her way to conference room D with her brother beside her.

Conference room D was her favorite one decorated with plants and meditative colors. She wasn't surprised that they had beat Javier there. He did not cross her as someone who knew it was professionally polite to be early. She sat at the head of the table and looked over the documents she had printed in hopes of going over the projections for Q2.

Javier strolled in right at 11 causing Diana to roll her eyes. Thankfully, she was looking down so he didn't catch her in the act. "Good morning, Diana. Don't you look lovely." She gave him a tight smile and handed him a copy of the document as he took his seat to her left.