Chapter 38
“Ms. Tran.”
Zoe jumped in surprise. She’d been so focused on beading the headdress that she hadn’t heard Greg enter the costume shop.
TJ and the rest of the staff had gone for a coffee run. She didn’t want to lose her flow so she’d asked them to bring her
a double shot extra-sugar latte.
“Hi, Greg,” Zoe said with too much fake cheer. “If you’re looking for Derek, he’s not here.”
They’d agreed to stop their afternoon trysts and his coffee runs for now. Zoe hated not seeing Derek every afternoon. But
keeping things more professional at Prestige meant less fodder for Greg to do whatever the hell Greg did to make their lives
harder.
“That’s not who I’m looking for. As artistic director, it’s my duty to make sure everything is running smoothly.”
“Of course.” She set down her beading needles and slipped her snips into their leather cover less she be tempted to stab the
man with them. Lucky for him that blood stains were a bitch to clean off fabric.
“Since you were preoccupied on Friday”—he cleared his throat loudly—“I’m here for my tour today.”
Zoe’s heart raced and her mouth felt like she’d swallowed cotton balls. This isn’t college. I already have this job. I don’t have anything to prove to him , she reminded herself silently.
“Please, over here.” She walked briskly to the other side of the room, where the mostly finished pieces hung.
He followed so closely behind her that a breeze accompanied his strides. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. Huge mistake.
His heavy cologne assaulted her nostrils.
“Why don’t we start with our leads?”
Zoe reached for Katie Mai’s costumes, which were a little farther down. She was grateful for a little distance between them.
“Katie Mai has the most costume changes, since she’s reincarnated into various things but those are mostly accessories,” Zoe
explained. “She wears a simple midi-length áo dài that’s sheer from the waist down and pencil pants.”
“Hmmm” was all Greg said, but he waved for her to continue.
“My favorite is what she wears to the festival, since it’s her transformation moment. The first one at least.”
Zoe pulled the costume off the rack and laid it on the worktable closest to them. She’d designed a gown that T ? m could slip over her plainer outfit. The formal dress was bright red, the color of luck to foreshadow her marriage to the
Emperor. Katie Mai loved the long, billowy sleeves, which worked well with the choreography for the festival dance number.
“We can’t forget the shoes, which are the catalyst for her relationship with the Emperor.” Zoe unclipped a Polaroid photo
from the hanger to show Greg.
He took the picture from her, frowning as he studied it.
“They’re at the cobbler right now so he can add rubber soles to them. We can’t have Katie Mai slipping during the dance numbers,”
she quickly added.
Zoe knew she was talking too fast, but Greg’s silence increased her anxiety. This man had an opinion about everything. Was
he holding back because he didn’t want to give her bad feedback? Would he make Derek fire her instead of being the bad guy?
The more costumes she showed the artistic director, the more her thoughts spun. She fumbled over her words and basically sounded the opposite of confident. Instead of reassuring him of her ability, she made things worse.
The torture was over after she’d shown him the final costume. Or so she thought.
“Well, Ms. Tran, the story your designs tell will read very well onstage.”
“Oh, thank you.” It was the second time this afternoon that Greg had surprised her.
“But I’m concerned that you still have so many unfinished pieces.”
He leaned in so close that she started to choke on his cologne. He pulled back so she didn’t cough in his face.
“Has Shawn not spoken to you about your time management? You’re not even close to finishing the rest of the costumes. You’ll
need to scale back. Make compromises.”
He pressed his lips together like a disapproving school teacher. Or maybe even like her college professor, who’d told her
that she had no choice but to do as he asked or he’d flunk her from the theater program and tell everyone who asked that she
was too difficult to work with.
She plastered on a smile, hoping that she didn’t look like a deer in headlights.
“I-I-it’s all under control,” she stammered, taking a step back, but she was stopped by the worktable.
He’d trapped her. She breathed through her mouth and shot a glance at the door. TJ and Shawn had to come back from their break
soon. They’d been gone for at least thirty minutes.
“Derek’s not coming to rescue you today. He’s got problems of his own.” The man’s blue eyes crinkled with glee. He was enjoying
his power over her.
“What did you do?” she demanded.
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
“You’re trying to sabotage the production,” she accused.
“Why would I do that to a theater that I run? To my mentee of all people?” he replied innocently. But she knew better.
“You can’t stand the fact that he’s going to be even more successful, more famous, than you’ll ever be.”
Greg’s face blanched. He stepped back at her boldness. Zoe edged herself out from between him and the table. She inhaled air
that hadn’t been poisoned by his fragrance.
“Derek will never be more successful than me unless I allow it,” Greg sneered in condescension. “He hasn’t earned his dues
yet. Neither have you.”
“I don’t need to earn anything. I’m here because I want to be.” Zoe straightened her spine as her confidence returned. “I
already have a successful business.”
“Lingerie, how classy.”
“I don’t need you or your approval, Greg.”
“Keep telling yourself that.”
They both turned to the door as voices echoed in the hallway. Finally she wouldn’t be alone with the awful excuse for a human.
“If you change your mind, come up to my office. I have a few suggestions on how you can pay your dues.” Greg’s smile left
no question as to what he meant.
Zoe swallowed and kept her face neutral. She refused to give him the joy of watching her squirm.
“Thank you for your feedback,” she said coldly. “I’d appreciate it if you scheduled any further meetings through Shawn or
Heather.”
Greg huffed and stomped out of the room, almost running into the staff coming into the shop. TJ’s head swiveled as he tried
to figure out what had happened.
“Excuse me,” TJ yelled down the hallway, but Greg had long disappeared. “What happened here?”
“Greg wanted an update. And he got more than he bargained for.” Zoe laughed uneasily. She fought the urge to run home and
take a long hot shower.
She needed to warn Derek. They had to stick together and stand up to Greg.