Bradley Evans is the founder and owner of Today; one of the most popular shops worldwide. Today is open in around a hundred countries and is still expanding. Why do I know all these things? Because I met Bradley Evans on the fashion show a few days ago. He was one of the group of people I joined for a while. He was the one who said our collection was unique.
Today is a pretty big name. Everyone knows it. Bradley Evans is not. People do not know who it is behind this shop. His name is not famous, which is why it took me a few seconds to remember who it was when I first got the phone call.
Nevertheless, Astro -if I got the name right- told me that Evans has asked his team to contact me to sit down and discuss some potential work opportunity. And although I am a very happy employee at NARAH, I do want to check out all my options and see where this might take me. Afterall, I will choose the place that takes my career to the new level faster.
Right now, I am a designer at NARAH. Like everyone with this same position, I come up with new designs that are then discussed and voted on. If the designs make it past the votes of the board, which is not so frequent considering how many employees are continuously coming up with designs, they are then sent to an auction. In this auction, different companies present different designs that are sold to the highest bidder. The bidders are shop owners who want to take their shops names to the next level. So they buy the designs and sign a contract with NARAH -or any other similar company- to effectively produce the merchandise.
This kind of position includes three income methods. The first one being the fixed salary, which is by itself not much. The second one being a fixed good sum of money that the person receives every time that their design goes past the board and into the auctions. And the third one is another variable sum of money that depends on the price at which the design was sold at the auctions.
I admit that this makes my work very fun and dynamic. When you know you will receive as much as you give, you always put an extra effort in. And I like that. But I also have to admit that it is not so stable. If at any point in the future the board starts disliking my designs, I will be earning close to the minimum salary of any person in this industry. And I might also face elimination. And although both options seem extremely far from what it is now and what it could be tomorrow, I have to take them into consideration when I get a phone call like the one I just received.
****
17 September 2014.
One last day before the photoshoot for me, and another day with a new meeting for Harry. Today, Harry and I wake up at the same time, shower, get dressed, and sit down to drink coffee together before we both have to leave.
Harry and I sit down in opposite chairs on the kitchen table. Both our faces refreshed in the morning sun beams that are coming through the kitchen window. He sips his coffee. He does not say much. One of his eyes looks greener through the light, the other being in the shadow. Both are the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen. His sight makes my heart crack to pieces, how will I ever walk away from your face?
"Lauren." Harry breaks the silence. His gentle voice mending some parts of me. I keep looking at him.
He gets up from his chair and walks over to mine. He turns me to him in my chair and I smile.
"Yes, Harry."
I take both our cups and get up to put them in the sink. Harry makes it hard for me to pass by him one more time.
"What?" I ask, having waited some time without him saying anything.
He takes the cups from my hands, turns around and puts them in the sink. Then, he directly turns again to me.
"Is there something you want to say?" I ask.
"Yes." he says.
I raise my eyebrows a bit. I am still waiting. Harry is still silent, and he still would not let me pass. I look at my watch then show it to him. But he does not look, he does not take his eyes off of me.
"Okay, now it is becoming scary." I say.
"It is indeed scary." Harry replies.
When he says that sentence, I realize what Harry wants to say.
"Look, Harry." I say moving closer. I put my hands on his shoulders. "You do not have to push yourself anywhere with me. You have to understand, that -" I want to tell Harry that he can be as honest as he has always been, but he cuts me off.
"I am not pushing. I am falling. Free-falling, Lauren. And I do not see the end to my fall. And it is indeed scary."
I know how it feels, Harry.
Harry raises his eyebrows. "But..." he says.
"I am loving this fall." He continues. "I am feeling completely in coherence with it. More than that, I am now accustomed to the adrenaline it is releasing inside of me. I no longer care about the end. Where I will land, it does not matter to me. Long as I'm falling for you, I am loving this fall."
I am speechless.
I told Harry I am in love with him. And he replies with all these feelings that I cannot wrap my mind around. I wish I was as good as Harry at talking about everything inside of me. I would have talked to him about it until sunset and then all night long. But I am not. And I am speechless.
"I love you, Lauren."
YOU ARE READING
Under This Roof
RomanceI thought that I can tell a lot about someone's character as soon as I meet them. In fact, I bragged about that to my friends, especially when they make me meet their significant others. I didn't think of it as prejudice. I thought of it as good ana...
