Chapter Twelve
Spencer was late.
She’d worked in her apartment until the last possible second, getting caught up in her latest creative surge and sketching each image like a maniac as it appeared to her before realizing distantly that, damn it, she had a lunch date with Dez and that overseas contact he wanted to put her in touch with. She’d forgotten all about it and now she was behind the power curve. She had just enough time to make it once she threw on appropriate going-out-in-public clothes, then floored it the whole way there. Now that things felt like they were in a better place with Hadley, she could try and focus on business. Yet playing catch-up had screwed her this time.
She made it to Redbird for lunch to find Dez and the woman already seated and having drinks. She took a moment in the entryway to catch her breath and find her “this is for business” smile. “Hello, everyone. I hope I’m not too late,” she said, accepting a kiss on the cheek from Dez when she arrived at the table.
“Not at all,” he said. “We were early. Spencer Adair, meet Claudette Fournier.”
She turned to the woman with a smile in the same moment that the name registered. Not possible. Claudette Fournier was second in command at Bertrand, the French label people couldn’t get enough of lately. They were just starting to make waves in America, but she followed the trades, and they’d taken Europe by storm in just a short time. Bertrand shows were packed. Impossible to get tickets to. Surely, this was not the Claudette Fournier. She studied her. Dark hair pulled back into a sophisticated bun, makeup done to perfection, and a killer Bertrand pantsuit. All signs pointed to yes.
“Pleased to meet you,” Claudette said with, yes, a subtle French accent. “Desmond has shared a great deal about you. I know your work and feel as if I already know you somewhat.”
“You’re very kind,” Spencer said, taking her seat. She sent Dez a what-the-hell look that he either ignored or didn’t see.
“Thank you,” Claudette said, conservatively.
“Claudette’s in charge of operations for Bertrand. They’re based out of Paris.”
Spencer nodded, allowing him to relay information she already knew and using the time to gather her thoughts.
“She heard rumblings about you from Trudy Day’s circle and asked for an introduction. What she didn’t realize was that I was already looking for a way to put the two of you together in the same room.”
“I know Bertrand well. I own several of their pieces.” Spencer didn’t supply that she’d had to save up for months, and that one of those pieces had been a lavish Christmas present from Kendra. “I’m also an admirer of your work. Bertrand’s work. The whole label. I watch the shows on YouTube as soon as they’re made available.”
“It seems we have a common eye,” Claudette said, with a smile. Where was this all going? Spencer wasn’t sure, but she was eager to find out.
They ordered and Spencer shot Dez another look. He smiled confidently back. He always seemed to have a plan and stayed two steps ahead of her. It’s why she took him on as a partner. She was the creative to his strategic, and that balance had worked wonders for the brand in the past. She owed him a kidney for this caliber of introduction, however.
“Why don’t we get started talking about how you two might work together?” Dez suggested.
“Us?” Spencer swallowed. Work together? “I’d love that.”
“I would, too.” Claudette said, folding her napkin onto the table. “I’ve known Trudy for years, and she has a keen eye. But perhaps, in this instance, she should have held her cards closer to her vest. Desmond is another friend who knows me and what I like. He showed me your spring line earlier this week when I asked.”
Spencer nodded, words failing.
“It’s very good. Unique. It made me go back and look at your past work. Also quite good.”
“Thank you,” she managed. “I’m proud of my designs, but I think this year might be my best yet.”
“You should be more than proud. You should come to Paris.” She sipped from her wine glass.
Spencer looked from Dez, who raised his eyebrows at her subtly, to Claudette, who maintained her mildly interested, calm demeanor. “I love Paris.”
“Everyone loves Paris,” Claudette said, with a wave. “It’s Paris. But I’m not speaking about a visit. I’m speaking about a job. With Bertrand. Are you interested?”
She took a sip of water to calm her nerves. Dez smiled knowingly. “I don’t understand. What kind of job?” she asked.
“We’d like to absorb Spencer Adair and feature it as a smaller collection under the Bertrand label. But you are young and quite green when it comes to large-scale design. I’d want you in Paris with us so we can work with you, develop your talent.”
“I’d still be designing?” It was like her brain couldn’t keep up with the words that were spoken at the table.
“Yes, of course, my darling. You are a designer. That’s what you were born to do. It’s my preference that you design for us. In Paris.”
“What about my line? I already have a major order from Trudy.”
Dez leaned across the table. “Not a problem. We cancel the order. Fine print in the contract protects you. I made sure before you signed. Trudy Day will find her next top designer somewhere else.”
But this wasn’t about Trudy Day, whom she couldn’t care less about. This would affect Hadley. No, no, no. This was all happening too fast. It felt like she couldn’t make her feet touch the floor, no matter how fast she ran to catch up. She needed clarification, and time, and air. She took another sip of ice water, resisting the urge to crunch a big piece of that ice and relieve the nervous tension that billowed and bunched. “When would you want me in Paris?”
“Can you be there next week?” Claudette asked. “We’d be happy to help with all of the arrangements. I know it’s short notice, but the fashion world moves fast, as you know.”
Another sip of water as images of the Eiffel Tower, Parisian cafés, and the most fantastic runway shows dazzled. “I don’t know. Can I have some time to think on this? Make sure it’s the right move for me professionally?” She was crazy not to instantly leap, but there was a bigger picture to consider.
Claudette sat back in her chair and smiled as if what Spencer had said was cute and should be humored. “Of course, my dear heart. Let me know soon. I think we can do a lot for each other, Spencer. You’re a diamond in the rough.”
“I have to agree. I think it’s a fantastic match,” Dez said. “But it’s a big change and would require some renegotiation of the business and the way it’s set up.”
“In other words, our partnership,” Spencer said.
“Among other things, yes.”
“There’ll be plenty of time for negotiating,” Claudette said, with a wave of her fork, indicating that Spencer would be taken care of.
And there it was.
Spencer didn’t finish the rest of her lunch. After that rattling offer, she couldn’t.
Two hours later, her mind still ran in spastic circles. The excitement, the terror, the downright confusion brought on by such an unexpected opportunity had left her in a hurricane she couldn’t see her way out of. Designing for Bertrand? She couldn’t in a million years have predicted a chance like this would come her way. In design school, it would have been a Cinderella story that professors wowed their incoming students with, dangling it in front of them like bait.
She’d made waves in the online retail space, big waves, but this was different. This was the big leagues. She paced her kitchen, picking up Minnie and setting her back down again only to repeat the process eight more times in anxious nonsensical patterns. Her cat must have thought she was crazy, and maybe she was, for not immediately jumping at the opportunity she’d been presented with. She was a nobody who was now the It girl, exploding onto the scene, and she had to choose which path would be best for her.
On one hand, how could she ever turn down Claudette and Paris and the opportunity to design at the top level where she could learn from the best? She’d passed on an internship in Paris years ago and never stopped regretting that decision. On the other, she was actually doing quite well on her own, bolstering the Spencer Adair label right and left. Her life in LA was blossoming both personally and professionally. But it was Hadley herself that had changed everything in so many ways in just the couple of months she’d known her. Spencer always thought they had so much more ahead of them. But if she headed off to Paris permanently? Where did that leave them?
She didn’t sleep that night, but then she didn’t exactly expect to. The next morning, she had to speak to Hadley and knew just where to find her.
The Cat’s Pajamas was virtually on fire with customers buzzing in and out of the shop on their way to a million different places. The long line stretched nearly to the door, full of suited-up business types and beach bums alike. It really had a whole separate vibe in the morning, embracing the hustle bustle. She easily located the table with Hadley, Gia, and Isabel just as Autumn sat down to join them with a tray of pastries. Their Breakfast Club was just getting started.
Gia was the first to spot her. “Well, well, well,” she said, as Spencer approached the table. “A designer in our midst.”
Everyone turned, and Hadley broke into a smile that communicated both excitement and curiosity. “Hi,” she said, gazing up at Spencer. “This is a nice surprise. Want to sit?”
Spencer shook her head and opened her mouth.
“Spencer, I hear congratulations are in order,” Autumn said with a grin, halting her progress. “Your line on Rodeo Drive? I can’t even imagine. Amazing.”
“Thanks,” Spencer said, with a slight hesitation. Everything felt so up in the air that she wasn’t sure how to behave. “I couldn’t believe it myself either.”
“You’re a champ,” Isabel said.
Gia, who wore surf trunks and a hoodie, raised her coffee. “Elle is over the moon. She feels she had some part in all of this.”
“Well, she did,” Hadley pointed out. “A big part.”
Gia pointed at her. “Which is why baked goods keep arriving on her doorstep.”
“Among other reasons, but yes,” Hadley said, beaming. “I don’t anticipate that stopping, by the way. Every time I think of Spencer’s line coming into Silhouette, I start a new batch of brownies for Elle like some kind of Pavlovian soldier.”
“If it makes her a little slower on her board, all the better for me,” Gia said with a competitive smirk. “Keep sending the brownies. I need her number one spot.”
“You’re awful,” Autumn said.
“Please.” Gia scoffed. “Guess who winds up eating most of them? Her name isn’t Elle.”
“So, are you pumped?” Isabel asked Spencer. “This is like the designer Olympics, right? Rodeo Drive, I mean. The Hunger Games of fashion.”
“It’s a fantastic opportunity. I’m lucky in a lot of different ways,” Spencer said, looking at Hadley, which pulled a collective “aww” from the group. She and Hadley exchanged a smile until something in Hadley’s expression changed. She seemed to intuitively know that Spencer was out of sorts and gave her a nod. She knew with just a look.
Hadley stood and addressed her friends. “On that happy note, I better dash. Time to change for work. I’m opening today. Come with me, Spence?”
“Right behind you.” She waved at Hadley’s friends. “Sorry for crashing.”
“You’re welcome at Breakfast Club anytime,” Autumn said.
They said their goodbyes and Spencer followed Hadley out of the shop and to the adjacent courtyard of the apartment complex.
“Hey,” Hadley said, holding tightly to her hand. “Are you okay?”
Spencer nodded. “I’m okay, but my head’s a mess with a meeting I had yesterday. I needed to talk to someone about it and honestly? There’s no one I really want to discuss these kinds of things with as much as you.”
“Okay,” Hadley said, concern creasing her features. “Want to talk to me while I get ready for work?”
Spencer nodded. But just seeing Hadley, being in her presence, reaching out and touching her, centered Spencer in unimaginable ways. The Hadley Effect, as she called it, was powerful.
Hadley had already made her bed for the day, as she did within a half hour of waking up most any day of her life, but Spencer flopped down onto it anyway, enjoying the scent that was all Had. She grabbed a pillow and held it against her as Hadley dressed with the closet door open. “Talk to me,” Hadley said, as she selected a top.
“Have you heard of Claudette Fournier?”
Hadley slipped the top over her head and shimmied into it. If Spencer weren’t in such a state of disarray, they’d have to pause this whole thing for a quickie before work. She swallowed the always present impulse. Hadley studied her. “Everyone’s heard of Claudette Fournier. Why?”
“I had lunch with her yesterday.”
“Shut the front door and come back in and shut it again. You did not.” Hadley’s attention shifted entirely to Spencer. She was half dressed for work, wearing a chic designer black shell and blue yoga pants and flip-flops, straddling her worlds.
“It was the craziest thing. Dez, the business partner I told you about? He set it up and made the introductions. But get this. She wants me to design for Bertrand.”
Hadley shook her head and squinted as if not fully understanding. How could she? Spencer wasn’t sure she understood herself.
Hadley moved toward her, pants in hand. “She wants to bring you on board? At Bertrand?”
Spencer nodded.
Hadley blinked as if the world had shifted. “That’s…amazing. That’s such a huge compliment, Spence. Do you understand the gravity of Claudette Fournier recognizing the value in your work? Babe, this is awesome.” Hadley plopped down next to Spencer and took her face in her hands. “Big things are happening for you, and you deserve every minute of it. I want to kiss you senseless in congratulations.”
“Claudette heard my name when Trudy dropped it. Trudy heard my name because of you.”
Hadley’s eyes sparkled. “Then I will happily pat myself on the back when I’m done making out with you.”
They shared a kiss. It meant everything to Spencer that Hadley was so happy for her. But she didn’t yet know the whole story.
“Are you going to do it?” Hadley asked, tracing her jaw.
Spencer stood and put some distance between them. How was she supposed to work in the next part with Hadley smiling at her, touching her? No, she needed courage to push through, and that meant space. “I don’t know. If I did, there would be ramifications, which is why I’m here. To put the cards on the table.”
Hadley squinted from where she sat on the bed. “Cards. What kind?”
“No deal with Silhouette if I take the job.”
For a moment, Hadley didn’t say anything. “Wait. That part’s a done deal. The order’s in and accepted.”
“Apparently there’s an out in the contract. Dez made sure, just in case.”
“But we planned all of our ordering for the season around your line. We dedicated space for you. We’d be in an awful position. I would be.” It was Hadley’s thinking out loud voice, which she was entirely entitled to.
“I know.”
“Spence, no. You can’t pull the order now. It’s my neck on the line. I vouched for you with Trudy.”
“I know that part, too.”
Silence reigned. Hadley wrapped her arms around her midsection and nodded several times, lost in her own thoughts, working it all out like a math problem.
“Hadley.” Big blue eyes met Spencer’s. “This is not an easy situation for me.”
She nodded. “I understand. I’m just in a difficult spot myself.”
“What can I do?”
Hadley stood and faced her. “Honestly? Don’t pull the order. I went to bat for you.”
“Which I appreciate more than you’ll ever know, but this is business, right?”
“It’s also me. Don’t I deserve a little consideration?”
“Of course you do.” Spencer dropped her head back and stared at the ceiling. “I don’t want to put you in a bad position, Had. I would never want to do that.”
“Then don’t. I understand this is a great opportunity, but don’t discount what you have going. You’re creating a name for yourself, and this is just further proof that people are noticing. If you design for Bertrand, it’s their brand you’re enhancing, not your own.”
“That part hasn’t escaped me. But how do I say no to this?”
Hadley held out her hand. “I’m not sure.”
Spencer crossed her arms. “I haven’t told you all of it.”
Hadley blinked as if not believing there was more. “Okay.”
“The job is in Paris.”
“Paris,” Hadley whispered. She swallowed and stared at the floor. “So, you’d be moving?”
Spencer nodded. “I would have to. On the flip side, I’d be designing alongside some fantastic mentors and they wouldn’t drop my name completely.”
But it was like Hadley couldn’t hear her anymore. “I don’t know what to say. I need to get ready for work.”
“Can you tell me what you’re thinking first?”
“I’m thinking I feel ill.” Hadley stared at her, dejected, sad.
It felt like Spencer had been hit with a two-by-four. She couldn’t stand that anything she’d said or done had put that look there.
“I’m also thinking I should get to work. It sounds like I’m going to have some cleanup to do if I want to save our season and likely my job.”
Spencer moved to Hadley and placed her hands lightly on her waist. “I didn’t say I was taking the offer.”
Hadley smiled up at her wanly. It killed her. “You didn’t have to.”
Spencer dropped her hands. “I’m not going to. Decided.”
Hadley studied her. “I don’t understand.”
“You don’t have to anymore.” Spencer kissed her hand. “You’re right on all counts. I just needed to see your face, hear your voice to be reminded of where I should be, and that’s here with you. I don’t want to go anywhere.” She kissed Hadley, who kissed her back, and before she knew it they were kissing their way to the bed. Clothes came off in a fury and they made love with a new urgency that morning, as if seeking to reassure each other and reaffirm what they had after the difficult conversation. Spencer needed that connection and reveled in it that morning, holding Hadley close.
“I don’t want to go to work. I want to stay here with you,” Hadley said, touching Spencer’s face.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Spencer murmured into Hadley’s hair. “Okay?”
As she held on to her tightly, Hadley nodded and kissed her softly. “Are you sure? I need you to be sure.”
“Yes.” Spencer kissed her again. They lay like that for the next few minutes, staring into each other’s eyes, sharing soft touches, not wanting to separate. She didn’t allow herself to think about the offer, or the confusion, or even her professional future. She gave herself permission to get lost in Hadley, her favorite place to be. The rest would work itself out, and she would be okay. There would be more opportunities like this one in the future. She closed her eyes and inhaled the scent of Hadley’s fresh hibiscus shampoo. There would be other chances, wouldn’t there? She opened her eyes and studied the paint pattern on Hadley’s ceiling and wondered one thing: Why did everything have to come at such a significant price?