"No. We must do it now," Crystal said, and listed a litany of reasons why she had to meet Saturday or move on to another designer.
Serena was this close to telling the snooty woman to do just that when Suzanne peered into her office. She waved Suzanne in and reluctantly told Crystal she'd be there Saturday morning. "How is eight o'clock?" Maybe if they met early enough she could still make the tasting.
"That won't work. I have an appointment at the salon. We can do eleven o'clock, and please don't be late. My husband has a difficult time with people who aren't punctual."
Despite her frustration, Serena feigned a smile and agreed, quickly ending the call.
"Sorry, Suzanne. That was Crystal Bernard. I'm meeting with her Saturday at eleven."
"Good. The pool house project." She crossed her legs and flicked an imaginary piece of lint from her skirt.
"Yes." Serena wrote the appointment in her calendar beside Desiree's tasting session, trying to ignore the tweak to her heart. "Was there something you needed?" Like maybe giving me more difficult, time-sucking clients?
"I just received a call from Seth Braden. It appears he and Jared Stone are quite pleased with you."
"The feeling is mutual. They're a joy to work with, and their project is coming along nicely."
"I'm glad to hear it. Muriel Younger also contacted me. It seems she's taken your advice for a change in her new offices. Kudos to you."
Serena sat up a little straighter, soaking in the compliment. "Thank you."
Suzanne rose to her feet and said, "I know we have our differences of opinion, but when it comes to professionalism and quality, I'm glad to hear we're on the same page." She headed for the door and said, "Good job," as she walked out.
Serena's mouth was still hanging open when Gavin wandered into her office.
"What are you gaping at?" He sat down in the chair across from her.
"A compliment from Suzanne."
"Nice. Pocket it away. They're few and far between. You're heading back to the Cape again this weekend for that wedding-cake thing, right?"
"Nope. Thanks to the Bernards, I'm stuck here checking out their pool house."
"Aw, that bites."
"No kidding," she said with a sigh. "We were all supposed to go tubing, too. I haven't gone tubing in forever. Why do I feel like my life is passing me by while I make everyone else's life prettier?"
He gritted his teeth. "Because it is?"
"Thanks," she said sarcastically. "You want to know what's worse?" She lowered her voice and said, "When that new client said she would take her business elsewhere, I was ready to let her. Until Suzanne walked in."
"I have something that might make you feel better. Be right back." He left her office, and when he returned, he placed a big chocolate chip cookie on her desk.
She snagged the cookie. "Where'd you steal this from? Are there more?"
Gavin closed the door.
"Oh no. You're not going to get all creepy on me, are you?" She couldn't resist teasing him. They'd had lunch together a few times and had become close, sharing the trials and tribulations of their days and getting to know each other better. He was not the least bit creepy, but his confused expression was hilarious. He reminded her of Rick and Dean, funny, a little protective, and he never crossed lines with her. She had a feeling he missed his own family and friends back home, because he loved hearing about her trips home and about her friends.
"What do you think it is? A nookie cookie?"
She laughed. "If it is, you should know that I have a mean knee."
He sat down again and shook his head. "I bet you do. Eat the stupid thing. I want to tell you something." He leaned forward, elbows on knees, and said, "A headhunter contacted me last week about a job with Taylor, Fine, and Rickter."
"Shut up!" She couldn't hide her surprise. "They're our biggest competitor."
"I know. I met with them yesterday, and today they offered me the job."
"Great. So my best friend in Boston is leaving." She shook the remaining cookie at him. "Can you please go steal about five more of these for me?"
"Relax. I'm not taking it." He sighed loudly and sat back.
"What? Why not?" She came around the desk and sat in the chair beside him. "They're bigger. They have more awards. It would be a step up."
"Listen to Cape girl go all bigger is better on me."
Her mouth dropped open again. "I don't understand."
"If you got an offer from them, would you take it?"
"No, but that's because I haven't decided if I'm cut out for this type of company. I love the work, but it's very … prestige driven, and I'm not like that." She waved at his designer suit and said, "You fit right in, and you never go head-to-head with your superiors. You know how to play the game."
"That is why I'm not going. I'm not prestige driven. Or maybe I've become that way, but it's not who I want to be, and that's on you, girly. You reminded me of the person I used to be, and now I'm determined to get back to being myself."
"Oh, no, no, no." She got up and paced. "You cannot put this on me."
"I'm thanking you."
"Thanking me? For what? Making you think you're too good?" She flopped back down into the chair and covered her face with her hands. "I need more cookies. I can't take this. First I have to miss out on the wedding-cake tasting of one of my closest friends and a day of tubing because of some snotty client. And now this is just the guilt icing on the messed-up cake."
He grabbed her hand and moved it away from her face. "Stop. This is a good thing. I called my old man this morning and had a long talk with him. I haven't made the time to do that in months because of this ridiculous job. This is a good thing for me. Like I said before, I don't know my path yet, but I know I'm finally heading in the right direction. I think we should go out and celebrate."
"Oh, good. Maybe I can find a small dog to kick along the way."
"Serena, stop it," he said with a coaxing smile. "I'm being serious. This is all good."
"It won't be when you realize you just turned down your only opportunity to earn more money than you're earning now. Then you'll hate me for opening my big mouth at all."
He looked at her like she was being ridiculous. "I have enough money. I'm taking my cue from the rational girl I met a few weeks ago. You might know her. Stubborn, mouthy, refuses to let anyone walk all over her?"
"Didn't you get the memo? That girl got trampled over and is missing Desiree and Rick's wedding-cake tasting."
"Then let's get out of here and go find her before word gets out." He pushed to his feet and hauled her up to hers. "It's time to celebrate new directions."
She grabbed her things from her desk and parroted, "New directions. Desiree and Rick are starting a new direction; they're getting married."
"Great. Let's celebrate their upcoming wedding."
"Drake has a new music store, and Emery and Dean are getting married." There were lots of reasons to celebrate, but she worried about Gavin making the wrong decision.
He grabbed her arm and headed for the elevators. "We have to get out of here before Suzanne comes back and corners us into discussing something boring."
"Mira, my bestie, is having another baby. That's another new direction."
"Yup." He pushed the elevator button. "See? We're due a drink or two."
The elevator arrived, and they stepped inside. As he pushed the button for the lobby, she said, "What if I accidentally ruined your life by saying those things to you?"
"What if you saved it?"
She thought about that as they rode down to the lobby. "Okay, so there's a fifty-fifty chance I shouldn't feel guilty. But either way, you're going to leave this company eventually. Then who will I commiserate with?"
"Suzanne, if you're not careful."
Chapter Twenty
BY TWO O'CLOCK Saturday afternoon, Drake was getting worried. He finally gave in and called Serena. She answered after the third ring.
"Hi." She sounded like she had a mouth full of cotton.
"Hey, Supergirl. You okay? Where are you?"
"Mm-hm. Hold on." There was a long silence. "Sorry. I was eating a doughnut."
Why did that make him happy? Because it makes her happy, of course.
"I have to put you on speaker to talk to Abby. You won't believe what she did. Hold on." She put him on speakerphone and said, "Are you there?"
"Yeah. I'm here."
"Okay, Abby, tell Drake what you just told me."
"Hi, Drake. Serena and I have been talking for a few weeks now, and she's always raving about you, how much she misses you and how happy she is when she sees you. Well, you get the picture. Anyway, I was making a new doughnut, and it reminded me of you and Serena."