Ask Me (Mess with Me 2)

“Mr. Lavin, a Cassandra Michaels is here to see you from the Mirage Agency.”

It’s a wonder I don’t break the button with how fast I hit it again. “Send her in, Kate. And hold all my other calls.”

A few moments later, the door opens and Casey steps in. Instantly my shitty mood elevates and I don’t bother to hide my pleasure at seeing her again.

“Casey. This is a surprise.”

She thanks Kate over her shoulder before the door closes behind her. Looking around nervously, she hugs the folder she’s carrying to her chest.

“How have you been? Did you have a good holiday?”

She looks puzzled for a moment. “Holiday? Oh right. I didn’t go home for Thanksgiving. My mom is a nurse and she usually volunteers to work that day so the people with families can stay home.”

“Your mother sounds very kind.”

The smile that covers her face is breathtaking. “My mom is the best.” She holds out the folder. “I’m so sorry if I interrupted anything. I tried to tell your assistant that I was only here to drop this off.”

My hand extends for the folder but really it’s an excuse to get close to her again. There’s something about being near her that just makes me happy.

That’s what this is, I realize. This unexpected lightness, this buoyancy every time I see her. It’s happiness. Clearly I didn’t recognize it because it’s been so long.

The folder contains the final markups from the first ad campaign. Jason has been asking for these. He’s worried about the excess costs to change advertising at the last minute, so I asked Mya to finalize at least one ad that we could run at Fashion Week.

It has several panels, each with a model wearing a different outfit from our new line. There’s a square representing the new Bridal division, the existing menswear line and then the first promo image from our new line of underwear.

“Thank you. I’ll get this over to Jason immediately.”

Casey smiles. “Mya might have mentioned that he was asking for it.”

Which means Jason has also been making a nuisance of himself by calling the designers directly. “I’ll have to ask his assistant to tighten his leash. He shouldn’t be allowed to interact with too many people outside of the company.”

Her eyes move around the room, taking in the mannequin in the corner and the board across from my desk where I keep all approved sketches for the next line. It inspires me to see what the rest of my design team has created and then I can design the central piece to complement them.

“Did you draw these?” She points at the board.

“Not all of them. This one is by Cristiane Laveque. She was just promoted this year to Creative Director. She’s been with us since the inception of my menswear line.”

I motion to the right side of the board where a rougher pencil sketch of a slinky evening dress is pinned.

”That’s one of mine. One of the things I’m known for is mixing masculine and feminine elements so I decided to create evening wear for women. That’s one of the reasons I employed Mirage, to help us change our image from a menswear brand, to an everyone brand.”

“Maybe, if you’re okay with it, we could use some sketches like these in some of the advertising.”

“Like this one? It’s just a quick pencil drawing. It’s not even finished.”

“I know! That’s what makes it so cool.” Her hands move as she talks, her excitement evident.

“I’ve never really thought about the whole process of how a design comes to life. But looking at this makes it seem really relatable, somehow. This drawing will then be turned into a pattern and created and then worn. If it’s this interesting to me then I’m sure other people want to see it, too. People love behind the scenes stuff.”

“Well, if you want to see what’s really behind the scenes, I can show you around. You can actually see some of the junior designers at work creating sample pieces.”

“Really. Right now?”

I laugh at her excitement. She’s like a little kid with a new toy. “Of course. I have time if you don’t need to get back.”

She pulls out her phone. “I’m sure Mya won’t mind. This is research after all.”

Looking at her phone, I chuckle.