Chase and Company

Chapter Twenty One: Friends, New and Old

                I didn’t dare stay in the office.

               Aiden and I went back to work the following morning after our encounter with Brody. We didn’t discuss about staying in the city. We didn’t have to. There was just simply no point in going back to a vacation neither of us were going to enjoy.

               “We’re coming back right now,” Camille’s voice crackled through my phone.

               “Camille, no,” I said, pushing a hand through my hair. “Enjoy the rest of the vacation. You guys only have a few more days left anyway and I’ll be at work.”

               I didn’t bother to mention that Aiden and I couldn’t even stay in the same room together, much less the same house. He retreated back to the mansion and I was able to cry in the solitude of the empty lodge. He even left for work without me this morning, so I had to drive myself.

               “If you’re sure—“

               “I am. Have fun and I’ll see you guys soon. I’ve got to go, I’m at work. Bye bye.” I hung up before Camille could object. I refused to let my love life ruin her and everyone else’s vacation; I would tell them about the fallout between Aiden and me later.

        Sighing, I continued my exploration of the building. My instructions from Ms. Evelina was to think up new ideas to alter the show that it would be different from Capello’s. And there was no way I could think in an office where Aiden sat less than fifteen feet away, hating me.

               Abruptly, I stopped walking. I forgot where I had taken a turn and was now down an unfamiliar hallway. I tentatively crept towards the room at the end of the hall.

               I poked my head in to peek inside what turned out to be a large studio. The panel of windows that made up a sort of half-sun roof flooded the space with natural light. The oak floors shone almost as bright as the three-way mirror in the corner, next to the numerous racks of clothes varying in length, fabric, color, and design. Sketch stations were set up all around the room and I stepped up to the closest one.

               “You know, a lot of people in this office come in here just to draw,” a voice called behind me. A boy not much older than I was stood in the doorway, smiling. His jet-black hair was perfectly coiffed, his slacks smartly tailored, and his yellow bowtie was perfection against his dark blue shirt.

               Dark as Aiden’s eyes.

               “They say letting their creative juices flow helps them relax when they’re stressed,” he said, still smiling.

               “Oh, uh, I’m not, uh, stressed or anything,” I stuttered. Biggest lie ever. “I was just wandering around.”

               “Honey, the first thing a stressed person would do is wander,” he said, pushing himself off from the doorframe. He walked over to where I was. “Cop a seat and I’ll show you how it’s done.”

               Curious, I sat on the stool designated for the station I was at. He took a seat at the station next to me, ordering me to watch. Plucking a pencil from one of the various holders, he began to draw with sweeping gestures and short flicks of his wrist. I watched in awe as the once blank paper now held a swirling evening gown.

               “Now I color this in and all my worries are gone,” he joked. “It’s like coloring back in preschool. Simpler times.”