Chapter 51 It's War
Emily felt like she had just declared war. It involved cute hair clips and dresses covered in ruche and lace, but it was war nonetheless.
The next day, just as she expected, the reviews for the fashion show said practically nothing about her designs. The one person who mentioned it said it was too derivative of the 50s style and not unique enough. What she didn’t completely expect was to see Ruby’s so-called originals receive high praise from the critics.
Emily was excited that the critics approved of ‘Ruby’s’ work, which was basically her own work. The downside, of course, was that she basically had to start over. If she tried to use any of the original designs she had shown Ruby, she would now get accused of copying that lowly cheat.
Those dresses had been reflective of all her work, so now she was faced with the formidable task of completely remaking her own style.
“At least I learned a valuable lesson,” she said to Byron over drinks, “Never show my designs to someone I don’t fully trust.”
“Welcome to the world of business,” he said. “Anyone who’s not smart enough to come up with their own ideas will try to steal yours.”
They met up at Byron’s place again. He took a break from his healthy routine to have a few martinis with her.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to help you set up your own shop?” Byron asked.
“No, thanks, you’ve been more than helpful,” Emily said, “but I need to do this on my own. I have a tiny space picked out in my neighborhood, and I can take out a loan to help me rent it.”
“You’re very brave and enterprising,” he said, “I like that.”
“It took me a while to get here,” Emily admitted, “I didn’t always think I could handle the pressure of the fashion world... but I can’t live without it.”
“Well, I have another offer for you,” Byron said, putting down his drink, “One that has less to do with business.”
Emily grew a little scared. Whatever he was going to say, it sounded like more commitment was going to be involved.
“Why don’t you move in with me?” he asked.
It was true that Emily was growing more and more used to spending most of her nights at his place. She had her own closet and was able to leave a lot of her stuff there. But was she ready to move in?
“I’m not sure,” she said, “Let me take some time to think about it.”
“Okay, no pressure,” Byron replied, “the offer is always there.”
Emily thought about it... She still wanted to know that her brother was doing okay, and so moving out of the apartment they shared would seem irresponsible when he was barely hanging on to a passing grade average at school. Besides, even if the situation with Nick was more stable, she didn’t know if she wanted to settle down yet. Moving in with someone seemed so final, almost like getting married.
Over the next few days, Emily got back to working on her new brand of clothing. It was cute and whimsical just like the last one, but she used completely different silhouettes, more skirt and top combos rather than dresses, and even more eccentric additions than she had before. Sequins, rhinestones, and glittering beads all made it onto the clothes. To balance things out, she also added a simpler collection that even Sylvia would have approved her. It was elegant and classic, but definitely not boring.
Next, she made an offer on the store front in her neighborhood, which was also not far from where Ruby had her boutique. If Ruby wanted to have an easy life with no competition, that dream was about to be taken away from her.
Emily could see how Byron got carried away with his revenge plan and now understood him better. Except this wasn’t revenge... this was justice. Okay, maybe it was a bit of revenge. But unlike him, she wanted to create a worthy product, something people would enjoy.
As for Byron’s offer to move in with him, she still thought about it, but was leaning more and more towards the negative. She knew she would have to tell him soon.
