Page 65 of This Baby Business
“I’ll bet. And the model you’ve been using? That baby is simply precious. You couldn’t do any better. Those bright blue eyes. Like the Gerber baby all over again.”
“Uh-huh.” I swallowed hard. I didn’t like lying to my friend. “Actually, speaking of RockYourBaby.” I patted the folder I’d received from my accountant. “We’re poised to do a record last quarter. I don’t know if you heard, but we’re selling the blog and our brand. And after that viral blog post, we’re likely to get a lot of offers soon.”
Jenny held up her palm. “We’re not interested in RockYourBaby.”
I forced a frozen smile on my face. If we weren’t here to talk about selling RockYourBaby, then what were we here to talk about?
“What I’m interested in is you.”
“Me?” I wasn’t a believer in false modesty, but honestly I had nothing to offer a company like the Cutting Edge. Not yet, anyway.
“I absolutely love the designs on your baby model. That’s all you, isn’t it? I recognized your work.”
“Yes, but I was just fooling around a little.”
“Ironic. Because it’s just what I’ve been looking for to suggest for the new label.”
Jenny went on about the new children’s fashion line they wanted to create, the demographics they wanted to reach. Millennial mothers my age who were interested in dressing their babies and young children just as fashionably as they dressed themselves.
There was a light buzzing sound in the room as Jenny kept talking. The thrumming, light sound of my fingers as they drummed uncontrollably on the table. My leg jiggled, too, practically keeping time.
I interrupted Jenny. “You do know I never completed the program?”
“I know.” Jenny scanned the room and leaned in closer to the screen. “Doyouknow that you’re not the only girl he messed with?”
I so did not want to go there. Alec did not have privileges into this conversation. “You, too?”
“Oh, hell, no. But a few of my friends. He preyed on the students with the least amount of confidence. Built you up just to tear you down. Didn’t he?”
I nodded. Why did people do that? For kicks? A power trip? I didn’t know which, but right now I hated more than anything else that I’d let him win.
“I always thought you were talented. And I swear to you, Carly, had I known what was going on, I would have said something to you. I only found out after the fact.”
I believed that to be true. Jenny would have intervened. She had that kind of chutzpah and determination that I had always wanted. Instead, I’d run home and wasted valuable time. Worked at the Drip. Questioned everything I’d ever wanted to do with my life. All because one teacher/boyfriend had humiliated me. And wasn’t I so sick of myself?
“Is he still teaching?”
Jenny tipped her chin up. “Not at FIT.”
“Good.” Even though I knew that from the school’s website, it was reassuring to hear.
“Come back, Carly. Don’t let the bastard win. If you’re game, I’ll take this to my director. Put a portfolio together of more of what I’ve seen on the blog and send it to me.”
“I don’t have much. I’ve just been having fun with it right now,” I said. “There’s so much I have to do with RockYourBaby.”
“Forgive me for saying so, but maybe it’s time to walk away from RockYourBaby. Your blog really seems to have taken off since you started posting photos of your baby clothes. That’s where your heart is. You’re still a designer.”
“I do want to come back to New York.” I’d just thought it would be to finish my degree.
“Put a portfolio together that I can present to my director, and we can go from there.”
“That’s…generous.”
“I love your work, Carly. I always did. Maybe you need some time to digest.”
Digest. Digest and possibly regurgitate. Because my leg had not stopped jiggling the entire time I’d been speaking to Jenny. I felt as though I’d run a mile but not moved a single inch. Jenny hadnoticedmy work. Maybe it hadn’t been the floor-length gowns I once dreamed I’d design for a movie star to wear to the Academy Awards. But it meant something that I’d caught Jenny’s eye. Jenny was kind, but I also knew that she wouldn’t compliment me unless she meant it.
I’d been worried about what I’d do after selling RockYourBaby. Worried about what direction my life would take. Now I could go back to school and finish, knowing that Alec couldn’t hurt me anymore.
