“Frank,” Primrose said. “You know what an eagle eye Dexter has. Don’t beat yourself up.”
“This is my job, Frank. If you were perfect, I wouldn’t have anything to do.” Dexter patted Frank on the back. “But you know, it’s good you’re pissed off. Keep those standards high.”
Frank huffed as he left the room, mumbling under his breath. Dexter turned to Jeremy. “So, what are the options on presentation?”
I pulled out my Daniels & Co phone, ready to take a note of everything everyone said. Jeremy had just asked me to attend to make sure he remembered Dexter’s and Primrose’s comments, and to help out if he needed an extra pair of hands. I’d only seen one of the concepts, but I knew he’d worked on several ideas.
Jeremy flipped open his laptop. “I have three options.” He launched a video. “I’ve put together a film of the Finnish landscape,” he explained. “The idea is to have the landscape in the backdrop, but add subtle, dynamic movement. Then in the front”—he pointed to three rocks that looked like they’d been fished out of the sea—“I’ve picked out pieces of stone—”
“Rocks,” Primrose said to herself.
“We place the jewelry on the rocks,” Jeremy continued. “And they really stand out. Look, I’ve used some placeholder jewelry in the next bit.”
Jeremy’s gaze flitted between Primrose and Dexter as the video played. “The advantage of this is that it underlines the concept of the collection and it’s the most innovative. I think it will really capture the judges’ attention.”
From where I sat, the presentation just didn’t work. It was pretty and everything, and Jeremy had clearly worked hard on it. But the jewelry was lost in everything going on. There was too much to look at, and the concept didn’t reflect the Daniels & Co brand, which was all about understatement. But what did I know? Perhaps it would be exactly what Dexter and Primrose had envisioned.
Dexter pinched the bridge of his nose. He didn’t like it. I knew I shouldn’t be mentally high-fiving myself because I liked Jeremy and wanted him to impress his boss, but at the same time Finlandian fairies danced about in my stomach because I agreed with Dexter, the most successful jewelry designer in the business.
“What else?” Dexter asked, clearly not wanting to spend more time on the first concept.
Jeremy pressed play on the video of a glass case that reminded me of an ornament Mrs. Daugherty, the woman two trailers down from my parents, had in her living room window. She’d inherited it from her mother—a red rose preserved in a sort-of snow globe, except there was no snow or liquid. It always made me think that if Mrs. Daugherty had the space for it, her trailer would be full of stuffed beavers and animal heads. In Jeremy’s concept, each item of jewelry was encased in a glass dome set on a mirrored stand. It felt old and staid. I glanced at Dexter to see if I was going to be two for two. His face was completely blank.
“I think this is better,” Primrose said. “Less going on. But I wonder if you had a third option?” From what Dexter had said, he’d known Primrose so long, she knew what he wanted almost before he did. The fairies in my stomach were partying like it was 1999 at the thought that I, too, had anticipated Dexter’s reaction. It felt like a victory to be in agreement with Dexter and Primrose, but at the same time I felt bad for Jeremy.
“I don’t have anything else fully developed,” Jeremy confessed, his shoulders hunched and his gaze focused on the computer screen. He looked defeated.
“Why don’t you tell them about what you were telling me earlier,” I chimed in. “You know—about ‘back to basics.’” Jeremy mentioned he’d played around with plain black velvet in a traditional display case, and I was surprised he hadn’t worked that up into a third concept. Dexter and Primrose both turned to me and I stepped back. I was just the intern. I shouldn’t have said anything.
“What’s back to basics?” Dexter asked.
Jeremy shrugged. “That was a very straightforward display on black velvet.”
Dexter nodded. “I was just thinking that might be the way to go.”
“I have some images,” Jeremy said, clicking through to a new file. “I didn’t do a video though.” He brought up some images of a traditional set up with jewelry mounted at different levels on a swath of black velvet. “I also did this,” he said, flicking to what looked like pebbles covered in black velvet.
“It’s simple,” Jeremy said, almost anticipating Dexter and Primrose’s rejection.
“Regal,” I countered, unable to stop myself. “The shapes of the pebbles are elemental. And the black is classic Daniels & Co coloring while still representing the earth, the land of Finland,” I said. I wanted to save Jeremy’s ass and sell the concept to Dexter and Primrose, but also, I believed in it. I thought it was the best option—not just of the three we’d seen. I was a big believer in keeping things simple. I glanced at Jeremy to see if he was preparing to wrestle me to the ground and gag me, but he just winked.