Family By Design

It wasn’t that she still loved him. The idea of love and partnership was appealing, despite her choice to stay single and focus on friendship. She was a modern woman, yet deep down she longed for the fairy-tale love she’d grown up hearing her grandmother talk about.

“Is something wrong?” Simon asked.

“No, of course not.”

He hiked an eyebrow and she shrugged.

“I was thinking about the problem with fairy tales. ‘And they lived happily ever after’ is really just the beginning of the story. Falling in love is easy, but staying in love and making things work is hard. You and your wife succeeded where a lot of people fail.” Rachel squared her shoulders. “Enough of that. How about showing me where the designer does her thing?”

“Sure.”

As they moved past the public area, Rachel studied what she could see of the operation. Sketches, fabric swatches, half-made garments. This was the heart of the process, where the creative production began.

When she tried to open a large wardrobe, she discovered it was locked.

“Are there valuables in here?” she asked.

“That’s where Liv used to store her designs ready for production. I believe it’s still used for the same purpose.”

He took a key ring from his pocket. “Liv gave me this as a way of showing she trusted me. We got married rather quickly and it was kind of a wedding present.”

Rachel grinned. “Does your designer know you have it?”

“Probably not. I’ve got the impression she’s slightly paranoid about her designs being copied, but I wouldn’t give it to her, regardless.”

Of course not. The key symbolized a relationship and it was endearing that Simon carried it with him more than two years after his wife’s death. Hopefully it remained a working key.

He fitted it into the lock and it turned. “Let’s see what secrets are hidden here,” he whispered conspiratorially. “Maybe it’s a dragon’s lair.”

Rachel hadn’t expected the hint of whimsy. Perhaps, deep down, there was a little boy inside the stern man she’d seen so far. The doors opened to show a rack of clothes. She began pulling a garment out, then stopped. “Should we make sure they go back in the same order?”

“Frankly, I don’t care. Under Janine’s contract, her designs belong to the company.”

One by one Rachel took the garments from the cabinet. The fabric was conventional and not unattractive, but far from distinctive. If possible, the clothes were even more blah than the last time she’d taken a look at a Liv’ing Creations collection. She didn’t actually think another designer could capture Olivia Kessler’s style, but surely someone could be found who’d use more color and innovation.

“What do you think?” Simon asked.

“It’s more of the same,” she admitted, deciding to be frank. If he didn’t like what she had to say, he didn’t have to hire her as a consultant. “A clothing designer may do something startling to be unique, which can work great for some people. But Liv’ing Creations made stylish and unusual clothing that everyone could enjoy. That probably doesn’t make sense to you.”

“I think I get what you’re saying. What is your take on this collection?”

“Some of the designs are decent, even classic, but they’re largely in the clone category. They should appeal to women who shop at department stores, wanting to look like other properly dressed midlevel business women, which often means not standing out or grabbing attention.”