Jane let out a little sigh. She was doing it again. Overthinking. She found a parking spot across the store, killed the engine, and got out, taking her purse and a heavy bag of samples with her. She crossed the street and for a moment, she stood outside the doorstep of her main store. She took a deep breath, like had Jacob taught her.
Most days she took for granted, but it was fine to sometimes take it slow.
Jane always had an endless list of tasks to do. She liked to keep busy, tending to freak out when things didn’t go according to schedule or if there was a delay in shipments. Jane eyed the wedding gown on display in the window. It was one of her first ones. White, classic, and with a sweetheart neckline. One of her bestsellers. She still owned the battered sketchbook containing the rough design of this dress.
Jane pushed the door open. Her assistants, Mary and Gina were already there, gossiping. Both women were behind the counter, looking at Gina’s phone. Neither had heard her come in.
Jane was about to tell them to get back to work, but she heard the venomous words of the video they were watching. Some kind of entertainment channel.
“Supermodel Azalea Swan dissed fashion designer Jane Sparrow’s latest creation as ‘nothing special,’ ‘banal,’ and ‘boring’. Swan tells Gossip News that she’s considering another designer for her wedding with famous actor—”
Seeing her, Gina widened her eyes and hit pause on her video.
“Hey, I want to listen to the rest of the news,” Mary protested but Gina gave her a sharp nudge in the ribs.
“Morning, Jane, didn’t see you there,” Gina said.
“Isn’t there work to do?” Jane didn’t like how sharp her voice sounded. Both women were suddenly busy. They started pulling racks of gowns from the storeroom. Jane took a deep breath. “I’ll be in my workroom if anyone needs me.”
She went to the room in the back and closed the door behind her. Then she dumped her fabrics on the big table in the center of the room. Finding it hard to breathe, the first thing she did was yank open the curtains of the two big windows. She opened them both, letting fresh air in.
Azalea Swan had been a difficult client to work for. Jane had gritted her teeth and designed the dress the way model wanted, exactly to the last detail because she knew Swan could bring her more famous clients. She wasted four months of her time for that dress to be perfect. Frustration welled up inside her.
She dragged out a chair, sat down, and looked at her hands. She knew it was pointless, letting comments like that get to her. Not everyone would like her designs. Going into this line of work, she should’ve learned to accept criticisms and harsh reviews by now. She closed her eyes and tried to think of something positive.
“Just move past this,” she told herself. Except she took out her phone to watch the original video. It only made her feel worse.
“… I urged my bestie, actress Violet Wild, and my other model friends to consider getting another designer to make their wedding dresses. Jane’s an uppity and cold-hearted bitch,” Swan finished.
Jane turned off the video, hating Swan but mostly herself for taking on the job in the first place. Her staff and other designers warned her what a spoiled princess Swan could be, but Jane didn’t listen. She’d persisted, thinking it would be a good idea at that time.
She pulled out the fabric samples from her bag, letting them spill onto the table. Jane took out her sketchbook next, but she didn’t feel particularly inspired. There was a knock on her door and Gina entered.
“Jane, I’m taking my lunch break. Mary’s helping a client and shipments for blue lace came in. Just thought you should know.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
Gina paused. “Are you okay?”
Jane looked up. She’d been unaware of time swiftly passing her by. Jane had a long to-do list on her agenda, but she’d accomplished nothing so far today. She knew sitting here and trying to somehow salvage the rest of her day wouldn’t do her any good.
“I think I’ll take the rest of the day off. Call me on my cell if there’s an issue,” she said.
“Will do, Jane.”
Long after Gina left, Jane heard her phone beep. She was about to ignore it. It was probably just a reminder of some task she ought to be doing. Jane swiped her finger over the screen and blinked. A message from Jacob.
Jacob:I’ve been thinking about you all week long.
The dark cloud over her head lifted slightly. She found herself smiling and found she could breathe again.
“Jane?”
She looked up from her phone, seeing Mary. Mary looked baffled, surprised almost.
“What is it?”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile like that. Something good happen?” Mary shook her head. “Sorry, that’s not what I wanted to say. Can you help me with a client? She has a lot of questions.”