“Believe it or not, I really didn’t know this was your book,” she says calmly. “Who starts drawing on the last page? Anyway, if you wanted to show Miss Arlington your designs, all you had to do was ask me.”
Crystal flushes and tries to grab the book from Leilani, but Leilani dodges her. She’s sure that Crystal left her book in the pile outside on purpose. She knows that Crystal would do anything to get her designs seen by an important client like Rebecca.
Crystal turns to the designers behind her and asks, “Do any of you believe, Leilani?”
They all shake their heads and glared at Leilani. Leilani looks between them and recognizes them as members of Crystal’s team. They all gave her a hard time on her first day, and they’re all completely loyal to Crystal. Crystal glares at the intern and clears her throat, and the young woman steps forward.
“I know I’m new here, but this seems unfair,” the intern says, looking at Crystal for approval. “We all worked hard to get here, but Leilani didn’t. She doesn’t have a degree in jewelry design, and she doesn’t even have any work experience. Everyone else has studied and worked for years—they’re some of the best designers in the country. It seems to me that maybe Leilani wanted to steal Miss Stone’s ideas and pretend they were her own.”
Crystal glances back at her flunkies, and they all rush to agree with the intern. They whisper behind their hands and nudge each other while glaring at Leilani. Finally, a man steps forward and puts his hand on his hip.
“I saw Crystal’s cufflink designs, and I have to say, they’re lovely,” the man says. “I don’t think anyone could outdo her, least of all some nobody who didn’t even earn her place here. If I were a client, I’d want Crystal to be my designer. After all, she’s had years of experience. She’s our top designer.”
Rebecca stands and says, “Miss Stone, I’m sure there’s been some sort of misunderstanding. I trust Leilani. I’ve already seen her designs, and I love them—that’s why I asked her in the first place.”
“How do you know she really drew them?” the intern asks.
“Yeah, maybe she hired someone to draw them for her,” the man says.
“I’m just trying to protect the company,” Crystal says with a sniff. “I respect Ms. Johnson, but I have no idea what she thought when she hired an inexperienced nobody.”
“I respect you both as designers,” Rebecca says. “I don’t want to cause any problems here, so why don’t we have a competition? You can both make designs for the cufflinks, and I can show the sketches to my boyfriend. I’ll let him choose the design he prefers.”
Crystal flashes a charming smile at Rebecca, and Leilani scowls down at the floor. She was really looking forward to working with Rebecca, and she doesn’t want to lose the opportunity. She knows that Rebecca is paying an incredibly high commission for the design, and she’s sure Crystal is only doing this for the money.
I just have to design something more meaningful than Crystal, Leilani thinks. It shouldn’t be too hard; Crystal is a fine designer, but her work is cold and emotionless. She doesn’t know how to tell a story, least of all such a tender love story. I just hope Rebecca’s boyfriend has some understanding of jewelry.
“Whatever Rebecca wants is fine with me,” Leilani says.
Crystal casts one last despising glance at Leilani, “I just hope Miss Peters can come up with something original. I wouldn’t want our client’s boyfriend to think there’s only one good designer at D.O.”
“Thanks for your concern, but I’m not worried,” Leilani says. “One glance at your designs instantly reminded me of Kay O’Brien’s work last season. If anyone should worry about originality, it’s you. I wouldn’t want our client’s boyfriend to think that D.O. designers steal their ideas from others.”
Crystal’s face goes bright red, and she balls her hands into fists. Her flunkies stare open-mouthed at Leilani—they’ve clearly never heard anyone challenge their boss.
“That’s a strong accusation,” Crystal says. “But my designs are copyrighted. If you don’t believe me, you can check the records.”
Leilani shrugs and passes Crystal her sketchbook. Crystal takes it and marches out of the room. Her flunkies swarm around her, congratulating her. Leilani sighs and sits down, rubbing her temples with both hands.
“I’m sorry, Leilani,” Rebecca says. “I hope you don’t mind. I still mean to choose your design, but I didn’t want to create problems in the office. Besides, once they see your ideas for the cufflinks, they might understand why Sophie chose you. If you beat Crystal fair and square, they’ll have to give you the respect you deserve.”
“I don’t mind,” Leilani says. “I know you have good intentions.”
“Great,” Rebecca says. “So now that I’ve done a favor for you, will you do one for me?”
“Of course,” Leilani says.
“Will you have dinner with me tonight?” Rebecca asks. “I’m not used to eating without my family, and I have to admit I can feel a bit lonely sometimes.”
“What about your boyfriend?” Leilani asks.
Rebecca sighs and says, “He’s very busy with work. He picked me up at the airport when I arrived a few days ago, but I haven’t seen him since then.”
Leilani gives Rebecca a sympathetic look. Rebecca does an excellent job of hiding it, but the delicate skin under her eyes is puffy as if she’s been crying a lot. I wonder if she’s having problems with her boyfriend, Leilani thinks. I’d be devastated if I moved across the world to be with my boyfriend only to find out he’s too busy to see me.
“Come on, let’s go,” Leilani says. “I just have to stop on the way out and say goodbye to a friend.”
“Of course, take your time,” Rebecca says, picking up her purse and smoothing her skirt. “I’ll wait for you in the garage.”
Leilani pops her head into Emily’s office and explains the situation with Rebecca. Emily promises to schedule a meeting with her father as soon as he’s back from his business trip. Leilani gives her a quick hug goodbye and heads down to the garage, dismissing Andrew’s driver on the way.
Rebecca is waiting for her in the driver’s seat of a cherry-red Porsche. She gives Leilani a happy wave and opens the passenger door. Leilani climbs in, and Rebecca drives out of the garage, working the manual transmission with ease.
“Are you sure your husband doesn’t mind that I’m stealing his wife for dinner?” Rebecca asks.
“I don’t think so,” Leilani says.
It seems too difficult to explain her situation with Andrew to Rebecca. Besides, Leilani knows she needs to be careful—Rebecca may look trustworthy, but she’s a virtual stranger.
“That’s sweet,” Rebecca says with a sad smile. “You guys seem very comfortable together—I envy that. I hope I can have your happiness someday.”
Rebecca steers the car onto the highway and away from the city center. Highway signs flash overhead as they get further and further from the city. Soon they’re in a residential area, far from all the restaurants. Rebecca exits the highway and turns into a gated community of French-style villas called Garden City. She pulls into a gravel driveway and parks the car.
“I hope you don’t mind,” she says. “I seldom eat at restaurants in my own country because I love cooking. I thought I’d make you a home-cooked meal if that’s okay.”
“You can cook?” Leilani asks.
“A little,” Rebecca says, but her cheeks glow with pride.
Rebecca hands the car keys to a waiting servant and leads Leilani into the house. I’m impressed, Leilani thinks. She has the grace and manners of a noblewoman, but she’s so modest. She drives her own car and cooks her own food. I don’t know any upper-class women here who do that.
The entryway is large but almost empty. A small antique cabinet sits next to the door, and Rebecca kneels down and pulls out two pairs of slippers. There’s a small pink pair and a much larger navy blue pair.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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