Studio 22 | Mary-Kate Olsen

Chapter Sixty

September 25th 2023 - New York City - Studio 22

Two weeks without speaking to my dad had been possibly the longest two weeks of my life. We had gotten word he had arrived safely but nothing more from him. Nothing from Sage either. He was refusing to see anyone. We drove down last weekend and he wouldn't even speak to us. I gave him a letter telling him about what was happening... Good things only. Though not much of that around at the moment.

I had been in my new role at work for two weeks too. And it's been two weeks of being frozen out by the other interns. I knew why, they didn't believe I deserved my promotion. Alice was promoted too but they were all still talking to her. I spent my days with the other designers in meetings or in my office designing for the collections. Sometimes I'd take a little trip to the first floor to see my girlfriend and actually talk to someone who liked me. I like the role a lot. I liked it was more creative and less admission based. I liked being able to shut the word out as I go into my own world whilst I'm designing and I'm actually doing something I really enjoy. I just wished I hadn't lost all my friends as a result of it.

They had been making comments when I walked past them, by them I mean Cam. He had been the worst. The one causing the problem, making me feel uncomfortable for sitting at a table with people I used to spend a lot of my days with and even evenings. But my patience was wearing thin with him. I haven't been in the most pleasant mood recently and he wasn't helping. I tried to keep it professional at work because it's my job and it's my girlfriend's company, I didn't want to show her up. Or have her regret giving me this opportunity in the first place. But the comments were starting to get under my skin.

I walked into my final meeting of the day, I had spent my morning with Eric, my lunch with clients and my afternoon trying to fix an ordering issue before Mary-Kate lost her mind. Her new intern hasn't taken to my role as quickly as I did and she was messing up a little too often... I was trying my best to supervise her and do my actual job but I can't follow her to her home and make sure she doesn't muck anything up from there. My point being it had been a very long day and I wanted nothing more for this evening meeting to be over so Mary-K and I can go out with Erin, Rudy and Tilly and enjoy the night. I just wanted a few hours where I could let loose and forget about the growing problems on my shoulders. But I had to get this meeting over and done with first. It was a whole company meeting. Meaning all the interns were there.

I walked in with my sketchbook and notebook under my arm and a tray of coffees in each hand. I handed the drinks out trying to remember people's drinks from the months I had been doing this job. "Fucking her not enough to keep your job? You gotta kiss ass too?" Cam said when I walked past him. I shake my head and continue to make my way to my seat with the rest of the designers. Cameron's eyes were stuck to me so I watched him back. "Slut." "Real mature." Alice said to him, giving him the side eye from her seat across from me. I looked down at the table and got my notes ready. I was still in the habit of taking detailed notes and they were helpful, little things that are said in these meetings have been the start of a collections theme in the past and I didn't want to miss an opportunity to help push The Row in the right direction.

MK made eye contact with me and I smiled softly at her. She blushed and got all giggly as she looked down at her own notes. I refocused when the meeting started and went back to being a professional. I ignored Cam's daggers that he was throwing at me whenever I contributed to the meetings and he managed to disagree with every last thing I said. He was making himself look like a fool honestly so I just left him to it. I kept myself in line, I took the hits and continued on with the meeting like the professional I am.

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"You're hot when you take control in meetings." MK joked as we walked out of the front doors of Studio 22. I laughed at her holding the door open as she slipped through. "Going to marry her for your next promotion?" Cameron called us. "Ignore him." Mary-Kate said tugging my jacket sleeve so she could take my hand in hers. I ignored him and we walked a little away from the building. "Or are you going to score her some crack this time!" I spun on my heels so fast I didn't even have a chance to think before I took strides towards him.