Page 23 of The Good Neighbour
“Jean-Paul,” Helga barked.
The handsome assistant popped his head up from behind a rail of dresses.
“Oui?”
“Can you go to the Bluebird. Let’s have coffee and pastries all round.”
“Roger that.”
He went into the rear of the shop that held the storeroom and a little kitchen area.
“He’s still a runaway train of excitement,” Josh remarked.
“Some things never change. Go on, I’ll bring your mid-morning treat up when he gets back.”
Josh kissed Helga on the cheek. “Thank you. I know it’s been hard not having me around.”
She squeezed his hand. “You’ve been through hell. We’ll get things on the straight and narrow. Don’t you worry. How about we grab an hour later to talk about complementing lines?”
From the very beginning they had agreed that the boutique wouldn’t be exclusively stocked with Josh’s designs. Instead, they selectively curated stock that complemented his creations.
He made his way upstairs to find Suzanne poring over one of the two huge drawing boards that dominated the first floor. When they’d taken over the building, it had been a little one-bedroomed flat like the other properties on the street. At that time Josh was on his ascent and he got builders in to take down every wall possible.
Then he created a decent-sized loft space that was perfect for designing and even running up prototypes of his creations. Once he was satisfied with the patterns, he would send them out to be made up professionally. Now they had their own dressmakers. Suzanne said it had made things so much easier. He had yet to test their abilities.
He threw his coat off and took a moment. He had dreaded coming here again, yet as soon as he stepped foot in the studio, he realised he’d missed being in this space. He might have kept his hand in remotely during Winston’s illness, but there was nothing quite like being in the centre of it all.
“Well, who do we have here?” Suzanne said, leaning backwards and stretching.
“How are you doing?”
He kissed her on the cheek. He noticed some drawings in front of her. Neither of them had made the digital leap yet. They did touch-ups and things online but the initial sketch had to be done by hand.
“Are these the ideas for the new collection?” he asked.
She nodded. He peered over her shoulder and frowned. The designs were nice enough. They certainly were notCut.
She must have caught his expression.
“What’s the matter?” she snapped.
“Nothing,” he replied, getting closer. “They’re just…”
“Just what?”
“A little safe?”
He immediately realised he should have picked his words a little more carefully. Anger flashed across Suzanne’s face and she took a step away from him.
“A little safe?” she repeated.
The tone in her voice suggested Josh had stepped way over the boundary.
“Suzanne—”
“No, I’m sorry, Josh,” she said, her hands on her hips. “I’ve held the fort here for a bloody year and you come waltzing in here to tell me my designs aresafe?”
He reached out and held her hands. “Please forgive me,” he replied. “I can’t believe I even said that. I do appreciate everything you’ve done to keep this place running. Honestly, I do.”
