“But this is all secret design stuff,” Arlo said to the waitress with a grin on his face. “No telling anyone what you see here tonight.
“Oh no, Mr. Pratt, you don’t have to worry about me,” she smiled. “You are my best tipping customer; there’s no way I would leak any of your ideas.”
He seemed pleased with her answer and gave her a smile and a nod before she walked off to give us a chance to look over the menu. Arlo knew the menu by heart, but it was my mission to try every single dish here.
“Cheers,” he said as he lifted his glass to mine. “On our first collaboration and a new phase in our relationship.”
I clinked my glass to his and then took a long and delectable sip of wine.
Cheers, I thought in my head. This was a long time coming.
2
Chapter Two (Arlo)
If one more person asked me why I didn’t have a girlfriend, I was going to seriously slap them. Why was it that no one seemed to understand how busy running your own brand was? I could barely keep up with Luscious on a daily basis as it was, but now, with this new line on the brink of creation, I was busier than ever.
I knew that when I first started Lucious, it had the potential to be big. I just had no idea how big it would actually be, or how fast it would rise in fame. If I hadn’t had the funds early on to invest in this venture, it would have been a different story, and I would probably have just finished the same grad program that Hensley was now in. But I had made a bold move and invested in my dream and made my own fashion brand a reality. Being twenty-five and already a billionaire in a high-profile and cutting-edge, creative industry also made me fair game for a lot of women who just wanted to get in my pants for the sheer purpose of landing a wealthy husband or a well-known name in the industry. I had dated a few girls, had my fair share of one-night stands, and then just gotten too busy to care about it for a while. I had my eyes set on launching this new line, and there was already a huge buzz going around about how highly anticipated the runway show would be.
Having Hensley on the team was the best thing that could have happened, both for me and for the project itself. She was absolutely the most creative and innovative person I knew—in addition to her being the most quirky, which was a perfect combination. My entire staff and all of the models were always so high-maintenance, and there was never any shortage of drama and ludicrous demands to go around. I was happy to have a friend on my team this time who had a level head about her and a vested interest in seeing this be successful.
It was a big risk to change the entire line and the entire runway show by handing it to a single designer instead of a few. But I knew that Hensley could do it, and the fantasy concept for this project was so completely her that I wanted to hand her full reign and creative control over it. Things wouldn’t turn out the same if I gave her other designers to work with. As amazing a designer as Hensley was, she was that kind of creative type who had trouble relating to other people. She did her best work when she was left alone to her own devices. Plus, she was a promising new designer, and several people had their eyes on her potential. If she could knock this runway show out of the park, she would be noticed and her career would take off. She deserved that opportunity for how hard she worked and how talented she was.
The designs Hensley had shown me the other night over dinner were incredible. She had done just what I had hoped that she would do; she took the simple fantasy-forest concept and turned it into a virtual wonderland of magic and mystery, in designs that would completely captivate the audience. She showed me the ideas for the first ten pieces, which would be the most dramatic and obscure pieces to be the new line’s flagship. Those pieces would be walking the runway. Then she showed me her ideas for some of the more wearable, everyday fashion pieces inspired by the flagship pieces but toned down a bit for retail. It all looked fantastic to me, and later today, she would be swinging by my office to show me the actual crafted mock-up designs for the ten pieces.
I had been hoping that at least a few of the models would still be here when she arrived so that I could see what the pieces looked like on a human form, but the models had already left, even though it was barely even noon. They whined about needing coffee that tasted like it was freshly roasted over Peruvian firepits instead of lattes that were overworked by human hands. Honestly, I didn’t have the first clue what they were even complaining about. If they weren’t such physically beautiful people who showcased my designs to perfection, I wouldn’t put up with all of their high-maintenance demands.
“Okay, are you ready for all this?” Hensley said as soon as she got into my office and dumped an armful of sketchbooks and supplies down onto my desk. She had rolled in a small, portable clothing rack behind her that had the ten mock-ups for the runway show all hanging neatly in black garment bags that I couldn’t see inside of. I was more than ready.
“Can’t wait!” I said with excitement lining my voice. “None of my models are here, though.”
“Oh no, really?” she said. “That kind of sucks because you really need to see the designs on someone. It won’t do then justice just hanging on hangers. Most of the pieces have a lot of depth and layers to them that can only be shown off if they’re on a person and can move while they walk and turn. Do you want to do this on a different day instead, one that your models are here for?”
“No, we can’t wait. The date of the show is already too close as it is. I need to see the outfits and approve them so that you can start working on the final designs, or you won’t have enough time to finish.”
Hensley stood there, thinking for a moment. I could always tell when she was deep in thought because she did this thing where she twisted her mouth to the side. It was actually really cute.
“Okay, well, I guess I can put them on just so you can get an idea of how they look. But you’ll have to take into consideration that I am definitely not a supermodel, so you can’t hold that against my designs!”
I laughed. Hensley might not have been the towering height or the piercing-free image as the models were, but she was still beautiful.
“They will look perfect on you, I’m sure,” I said. “And I don’t even need to get you a Peruvian firepit, so you’re already making the whole process easier.”
“Huh?” she asked as she looked at me in confusion.
“Nothing,” I chuckled as I brushed off my comment. “I’ll turn around so you can get changed into the first one.”
I swiveled the desk chair around and listened as Hensley got the first design out of the bag. I heard the zipper pulled and the gentle shuffle of her sliding fabric over her body. It surprised me how much I wanted to turn around and look at it before she was ready, but I waited patiently for her to give the word.
“These things are a lot harder to get into and out of then regular street clothes,” she huffed. It sounded like she was having a bit of trouble. “I’m usually the one helping the models into these things, not putting them on myself.”
“Well, now you get to feel both sides of the process,” I said.
“Yeah,” she laughed. “And you get to have a private fashion show with your friend.”