Chapter 1 #2
There had been so many changes over the past few months, Sam falling in love with Ash, Ash moving in with Sam, Drea joining Sam’s company as the head graphic designer.
Drea and Sam had been inseparable since they were kids and she was grappling with where she fit into Sam’s life now.
So much of her existence had centered around Sam and Jake, Sam’s six-year-old son, but with everything changing, Drea felt a bit left behind.
She still saw Sam nearly every day at work, but it wasn’t the same.
She’d just started getting accustomed to sharing Sam’s attention with Ash and now she had to deal with Cassie taking even more of it.
Sam was beginning new chapters in her own life, whereas Drea felt as if she was losing everything she had known.
And at thirty-five, she felt a little old to start all over.
Drea took a breath to center herself and pasted on a warm smile for Cassie, which Cassie returned.
She knew Cassie wasn’t to blame for anything.
Drea was merely feeling insecure about all of the changes and needed to figure out how to roll with them.
She and Sam were best friends. When everything settled down again, they’d be fine. Tight as ever.
A young brunette woman entered the conference room with a hesitant expression. “Hi, sorry I’m late. I had some trouble finding the place.”
“No worries,” Sam said. “It’s perfect timing actually.” Sam turned to the rest of the team. “I want to introduce you all to Erin, our new intern.”
Drea recalled Sam outlining her vision and mission for the company and how important it was to her to give back to the community, including training local university students in marketing through internships.
The fact that Sam had managed to move forward with that goal so soon after launching the firm was further testament to how hard she was working and how much her company meant to her.
Drea tuned back in as Sam continued. “I know it’s been a little crazy getting Crescent City Marketing off the ground these last two months.
And I truly appreciate all your hard work.
Now that we’re starting to hit stable ground, I reached out to Tulane University so we can give local students some firsthand experience.
Erin is our first intern and I hope she will be the first of many over the years.
Erin, do you want to introduce yourself to the team? ”
Erin looked a bit surprised and nervous, but smiled at the faces around the table.
“Sure. Hi, everyone. I’m really grateful to be here and honored to be your first intern.
I’m a junior, majoring in marketing . . .
” When Erin met Drea’s gaze, she seemed to lose her train of thought for a moment and tucked a strand of shoulder-length hair behind her ear.
Drea registered the slight change, something she was used to by now. Women and men, but especially women, tended to falter when she was around. It didn’t always mean something. Though it usually did.
Drea broke eye contact and took a sip of coffee, letting Erin find her words again.
“So, I’m really excited to learn from you all and apply what I’ve learned in the classroom to real projects.” She turned toward Sam with a smile.
“Great, well, we’re happy to have you. And I’m sure the team will be nothing but welcoming.
” Sam locked eyes with Drea for a moment, managing to pass a warning stare without breaking her smile.
It took skill to master that expression, but Sam had a lot of practice.
It was a combo Drea had received often during their many years of friendship.
As Drea and the rest of the team filed out of the conference room, Sam laid her hand on Drea’s shoulder and whispered, “No pranking.”
Drea smiled warmly at her. “You got it.”
Sam held her gaze. “I mean it, Drea.”
Drea saluted and headed to her desk. Sure, Drea had a . . . history of pranking interns and new employees at her previous position, but did Sam really think she’d do that here?
That young girl she’d duct-taped to a rolling chair was a classic story, although she still thought it was largely that girl’s fault for not even trying to put up a fight. Maybe Sam was right in her concern . . . at least a little.
Drea dropped her bag on her desk and took out her laptop. As the screen awoke and the files she’d been working on the previous week stared back at her, she grabbed her thermos, suddenly needing some extra encouragement to get started. She couldn’t pull nearly as many all-nighters as she used to.
“They’re looking for crisp, modern, industrial, and natural tones—browns, grays, and blues—but also inviting.”
Drea nodded and typed notes as Cassie sat across the desk from her and filled her in on their new client.
Beau and Lorna Rush were a husband-and-wife team from Savannah, Georgia, who had relocated to New Orleans two years ago.
Their farm-to-table restaurant, The Well, had one of the city’s most creative cocktail lists—and was even more impressive than their food, which had garnered them several local awards during their short existence.
“Okay, any preferences on the content?” Drea paused typing and glanced at Cassie.
“They’re pretty open to whatever we come up with.
” Cassie swept the strands of the lilac-tinged hair dipping over her eye to the side of her face.
“Going off the farm-to-table idea, maybe some sort of inviting table with a throwback to the nearby land? Or a group of people with cocktails at the table? They’re big into creating community.
Or maybe Beau and Lorna with their dog, Rex, at the farm? He’s a super cute doodle mix.”
Design ideas ran through Drea’s mind, and she typed a few quick notes for later.
When she looked up, she met Cassie’s gaze.
Drea’s eyes fell to the bold lipstick, several shades darker than her hair and in stark contrast to her smooth ivory skin.
But as the corners of Cassie’s lips turned upward, Drea caught herself and turned back to her laptop, typing a nonsensical stream of letters to let the moment pass.
“Not a huge well in the middle of a field or anything?” Drea quipped. She didn’t look up as she joked about the restaurant’s name but smiled to herself. Okay, she was back.
“Um, no.” Cassie laughed. “They might be open to some ideas, though, to better align the restaurant name with their campaign.”
“All right. I’ll have some options for you to look over tomorrow morning.
” Drea was normally a bit more friendly with people, but there was something about Cassie she knew she wanted to keep at arm’s length.
She wasn’t sure if it was Cassie’s role in the company or something else, but she was a bit wary of letting her in.
“I look forward to it.” The warmth in Cassie’s smile and eyes pained Drea a little.
Cassie’s friendliness was disarming, but Drea wasn’t in the market for new friends.
She didn’t like building walls, but everything had been shaky the past few months, and she was trying to protect herself. From what, she wasn’t sure.
As Cassie walked away, Drea scanned the room for Erin, who was pouring a cup of coffee in the break area. When Erin turned around, Drea waved her over.
“Hi Erin, we haven’t been formally introduced. I’m Drea, the graphic designer.” She held out her hand to Erin, who took it with a noticeable gulp. “Ready for a shot at designing a campaign?”
Erin’s eyes lit up. “Yes!”
“All right, pull up a chair.”
Drea spent the rest of the morning covering the basics of campaigns and graphic design along with the specifics for The Well campaign.
Like many Gen Zers Drea had worked with, Erin was a whiz at anything on the computer, especially graphic design.
Drea had always been good with art, but she was old enough that it had taken a bit of training to learn the software and make it work for her particular artistic style. She admired how easily Erin took to it.
“Why don’t you come up with an ad idea and we can discuss it this afternoon? It doesn’t have to be fancy, just enough of a sketch to give me an idea of what you’re thinking for copy and design.”
Erin’s eagerness was palpable. “That would be great. Thank you!”
Cassie, normally an expert multitasker, felt like she was slogging through mud, and it was only early afternoon.
She had a knack for staying on top of things and getting jobs done.
It was her nature—partly due to her strong work ethic, learned from her sister, and partly due to her minor need for perfectionism.
She never let the balls drop. Other people might slip, but she always finished the job.
It’s why she often gravitated toward project leader positions, if only unofficially.
Sam was the first boss who truly saw what she had to offer and gave her the title to match the expectations.
For that, she was grateful. And determined not to let Sam down.
As the head project coordinator, she was the lead for most of the campaigns, at least the ones Sam didn’t take under her wing, but, due to the small staff, she split her time between that and being Sam’s admin.
She liked the hybrid position because it gave her direct access to Sam, and together they could get ahead of most issues before the rest of the team ever knew about them.
It felt like a partnership, one that made her feel seen.
Cassie tried to focus on the schedule for next week, but a burst of laughter drew her attention to Drea’s desk where the giddy intern seemed to be hanging on her every word. Poor sap. She was falling under Drea’s spell, like everyone else it seemed. Except for Cassie, of course.
Cassie had heard of Drea’s reputation long before she ever met her. New Orleans was a surprisingly small city, especially the queer community. Pretty much every woman who set foot in the queer clubs in NOLA had either hooked up with Drea or wished they had.