Love In Logan Beach

“I want to show you something, but get your coffee and settle first.”

She knew he had no appointments.

At least he hadn’t mentioned any. David was good about keeping her up-to-date and letting her know when he was leaving the office.

“I had coffee on the way in.”

“Then sit down. I have something I want to present.”

He entered the room, taking a seat near the computer and across from her.

“One of the comments you made last week was to ask me what I would do if the store was completely mine and I could design it the way I wanted it.”

Glancing at David, she wanted to know what he was thinking. Her heart beat a little faster and she knew it wasn’t due to her being nervous about her presentation. Each time she saw him her body did things that surprised her, things she knew shouldn’t happen.

David nodded for her to continue.

“This is a computer rendering of the six retail floors.” Her voice was several notes higher than normal. She took a moment to clear her throat.

She tapped a key on the computer and the entire outside facade of the store was projected on the screen at the end of the polished conference table.

David faced the screen, sitting forward in his seat.

“This may not be your vision of the store, but I wanted to start at the beginning.”

There were large display windows with miniature models in them wearing the latest summer fashions. Rose’s 3-D model had real dolls she found in a thrift store.

David nodded, but didn’t give an opinion.

She went on. Every few minutes, as she added more and more floors to the store and explained where everything would be placed and how the lighting would display it, David nodded. He asked a question now and then. She tried to read his expression, but he had his lawyer face on.

Rose continued. She was proud of the design. When she got into the project, she found it didn’t tire her out. It inspired her. When the Bachs retired, her plan was to change some of the departments, but with Thorn’s she had a blank slate. She visited the other stores online, incorporating some of the recurring layouts and creating others. She thought about crowd flow and the natural movement of people from one department to another.

David had said it was scientific and she kept that in mind as she completed her presentation.

“I’ve made a mock-up of the first three floors,” she said when she finished the computer simulation.

Unveiling the three-dimensional model, she stood behind it. David came around to look at it.

“Is this done to scale?” he asked, his first question in a long time. She heard the awe in his voice and didn’t know if it meant he approved or was just surprised.

“You must have worked for days on this.”

“Just the weekend,” she said, keeping to herself the number of hours she’d put in. Unfortunately, she yawned at that moment, putting her hand up to stifle it and hoping he didn’t see it.

David turned the model around, perusing it from every angle. He stooped down, leveling his eye with the model.

“This is beautiful. You should have told me you were an artist.”

He glanced at Rose and she smiled, yet she didn’t want to be complimented on the art. She wanted him to like the layout, approve the design and at least let some of it be used.

“If I approve this, do you think, among your duties, you can work with the designers to implement it?”

Rose blinked, unsure of what she’d inferred.

“Are you giving me approval?” Her voice was more tentative than she would have liked it to be.

“Not yet.” He shook his head. “Email me a copy of the proposal and I’ll present it to the Board and get back to you.”

Rose’s face fell, but she quickly lifted her chin and looked David square in the eye. She knew what his comment meant. He needed time to find a reason to reject it. She knew it was good—better than good—but it wasn’t created by the House of Thorn or any of their agents.

“Don’t get me wrong, Rosanna. It’s a great design.”

Rose nodded absently. “What about the designers?”

“I wish I’d met you before I hired them. I could have saved the family a lot of money.”

Rose smiled for real then.

“One thing,” he said.

She froze, feeling like “here it comes.”

“The outside of the building.”

“Yes?” she prompted.

“Because of the previous storms, we’ve committed to shoring up the foundation. The windows are made of special glass that can resist hurricane-force winds. The building, while it will have the look of the other Thorn stores, will be different than what you have here.”

Rose nodded. “That sounds like a good thing.”

“And the lettering of the logo.” He put his finger on the word Thorn’s.

Rose smiled. “I couldn’t find the right font.”

“I’ll have to pass this by the board, my family, and see what they think,” he repeated.

Rose’s heart hammered and her face burned as if she was on a hot beach, but she was pragmatic. Board, she thought. Even if they were his family, they would never approve a project already in progress, one they’d laid out money for a team of designers to complete. She’d been excited for a moment, but now she knew she didn’t stand a chance. It didn’t matter that hers was better, she’d wasted time and energy thinking David would even seriously consider it. Still, in the back of her mind, she held out a tiny amount of hope.

“I can fix that logo before you go if you know the font name,” she said evenly.

“I’ll find out and let you know.”

He stood up from his crouched position.

“Good job, Rosanna.”

“Rose,” she said. “My friends call me Rose.”