Chapter 53 Evasive Maneuvers
Katie was startled at first, but quickly regained her composure and kept walking and smiling. She did some masterful turns to show off the outfit from all angles while the deafening music kept demolishing everyone’s ear drums.
Emily walked swiftly out of the hall to see what was happening. The room next door, a big hall just like the one she had rented, had a sign on it that said “Metal-head Convention: free beer and heavy metal.”
Just her luck! Emily entered the metal room, hoping to ask them to keep the volume down just a little.
Inside, people were dancing and jumping about to the music. Operating the turntables in a Raging Horticulturalist hoodie was none other than her old friend Ruby. This explained everything. Now Emily knew who had stolen her signs.
She called the front desk, asking them if anything could be done about the loud music. The reply was that the metal convention had a right to be there, although the receptionist would ask them to turn the volume down.
Meanwhile, the models kept to their routine. Emily was proud of them for remaining calm, but some of the guests were laughing, while others looked annoyed.
The metal music was turned down, but it still interfered somewhat with the music Emily had planned for the show. She tried her best to remain calm and announce the next models, but the show was pretty much ruined.
Ruby had won this round.
Reading the reviews that came in the next few days, Emily was peeved, to say the least. Her clothes didn’t get nearly as much attention as Ruby’s stupid stunt with the heavy metal.
Some of the reviews were moderately good, but many described her show overall as poorly planned and not well attended.
“How can it be well attended if no one knows about me yet?” she complained. “And no one’s going to know about me if you keep damning me with faint praise.”
Of course, Ruby’s interference didn’t help things.
Emily’s friends sent her messages of condolences and support, but she was still down in the dumps for many days. There didn’t seem to be a way to win. If she tried to put on another event, would Ruby show up and glitter bomb the place?
Glitter bomb, now there’s an idea. But no, Emily didn’t want to stoop to Ruby’s level. She was not going to become someone who sabotaged other people’s work. She needed to take her own work and make it stand out, without Ruby showing up and ruining it all.
When Byron invited her to go sailing on his boat, it sounded like a wonderful idea, mainly because she could forget about the fiasco for a few hours.
“Have you ever been out to sea?” Byron asked as he untied the mooring line and the yacht began to move away from the dock.
“No, though I learned a bit of sailing on Lake Ontario,” Emily said.
The wind and spray began to sting her face, but it felt invigorating.
“The Great Lakes might come close, but there’s nothing like being out in the ocean,” Byron remarked. She had hardly ever seen him so excited. “When you look back to shore and see how quickly it recedes, it makes you feel like all your troubles are behind you. And then there’s the ocean air.”
The air was fresh if a bit chilly, but they were dressed warmly in many layers topped off with waterproof raincoats.
It was true that being out on the ocean created a whole new feeling of lightness and freedom. Emily felt like her problems were not so significant in the grand scheme of things. She watched the city get smaller and smaller as the boat glided over the waves.
She had never seen Byron be so nautical, and it was kind of sexy. He handled the boat expertly, adjusting the angle of the mainsail to get maximum speed from the wind.
“Mind if I take over?” Emily asked.
Byron passed the line to her, and she held on, directing the course and speed of the little yacht.
“Another great thing about boats is they have nothing to do with fashion,” Emily said, “Except nautical stripes and sailor suits, of course, which are very influential. Wait a minute!” She may have just babbled her way into an idea.
“What if the next fashion show I host was on a boat? That way I could make sure Ruby doesn’t get on board. There would be no way for her to ruin it.”
“She might try to sneak in the night before the show,” Byron said.
“I’ll keep the location undisclosed until the very last moment,” Emily said. The fresh air was doing wonders for her creativity. “This is perfect. I’m going to rent a boat...”
“Why rent when you can use one of mine?” Byron said casually.
“You’ve got another boat?” she cried. “Of course you have.”
