Chapter 17 #2
Caleb reached down and patted something off the camera. “Quiet, Charlie. This is a solo project! There aren’t any backup vocals here!”
Evie smiled. Love filled her body as she realized then and there that Charlie had gone everywhere with Caleb. He was in nearly every photo of him, even in his truck, and in every video when he was on work sites.
He must’ve been a therapy dog.
Caleb began again nervously, yet cutely, “I’m the greatest singer in the world, so you know.”
She snickered. He was so damn charming when he was playful. She adored this side of him.
He strummed and sang, Brooks and Dunn’s “Brand New Man.”
No amount of restraint could contain her laughter.
Evie squeezed her face and laughed so hard she about choked!
It was one of her favorite songs, and the lyrics were perfect in that moment in their lives.
Joy absolutely consumed her as she danced and sang along.
It didn’t mean anything to her that he was off pitch and a little off time.
His deep country accent and darling smile were all that he needed to charm her.
Then she hit the harmonies when they came in on the second verse.
Evie threw her head back and let it all out with happiness. She sang loudly, happily, and giggled with everything he did. There was no way in hell she could possibly be afraid of her presentations now.
Or even life for that matter.
He was in her corner. He was standing behind her, beside her, and leading her all at the same time. Tears came of both delight and comfort.
That dopamine rush hit like a metric ton of cocaine and ecstasy all at once without the lethal effects. Caleb was one intense drug, one that left her with no ill side effects. Just pure good things.
After the song was over, he simply smiled and said, “Love you, baby. You got this.”
The video ended, and she giggled. She had tried to control her emotional side a bit since being with him, but no girl in her right mind would’ve been stoic after that.
She called him, and he answered. She chuckled and said, “You have no idea how much you made me smile! You’re an absolute man!”
He laughed and looked at his workers getting the sander ready. “Well, you’re an absolute woman! I recorded that a while ago. Normally you jump on my messages in an instant. I started to feel like I was no longer your number one guy.”
She laughed at his sarcasm. It was his cute way of flirting. “You’re always going to be my number one guy. Especially with those amazing singing skills.”
“Yeah, I meant to tell you. I’m leavin’ for Nashville next week. Dolly and I got a date planned for a record deal.”
Evie snickered, holding her knuckles to her face. “Tell her I said ‘hello’, I love her music, and that I’ll happily share.”
He turned and rolled his head in laughter. “Ah, you got me on that one!”
They both laughed. Caleb’s workers started looking at him. He had been acting a bit differently those days, and they definitely weren’t complaining.
“In all seriousness,” Evie said, “thank you. That was so incredibly sweet of you to send me that.”
He smiled and put his hand on his hip, looking down at the floor. He idly scooted a paint pan with his foot. “You’re welcome. How are you today?”
“I am sorry I didn’t respond quicker. I was driving.”
“You’re alright! Besides, if any other guy messes with you, tell ‘em what I do and he’ll leave you alone.”
“That you’re in the Navy?”
He laughed. “Nah, that I’ll take a sander to his face.”
Her mouth widened and she shouted back with hilarity, “You’re a brutal man, Caleb. Can I paint his face with latex-based paint?”
“Oh my God, you’re learning! I’m so proud of you!” he laughed back.
“Yep! But back to your question. I got here fine. I think you’d be proud of me.”
“I’m always proud of you, but why would you say that?”
“I had a fucked-up altercation with a few weird road ragers on the way to work and ended up having to pull over on the shoulder. I skidded a bit, but I’m okay and handled it like a boss!”
His throat tightened. “What the fuck? I mean, I’m proud of you for handling it, but are you alright? Did you call the cops?”
“Yeah, I did. Highway patrol got a hold of them. I thought the truck was Alan, but it wasn’t.”
“What was the other one?”
“A black sedan. They kept wanting to stay behind me but eventually they got off on an exit.”
He took a breath on the other side. She heard it.
“Caleb, it’s okay. Hunt told me about the black Nissan you’ve been seeing on the camera.”
“I’m sorry. I should’ve told you.”
“It’s okay. But…I haven’t noticed anything. And I think I’m alright. You having a good day at work?”
“I’m having a great day!” He walked out on the front porch and sat down. “You make my days a bit better. I can’t stop thinking about what you did for me at the inn the other night.”
He paused. She listened. Then he slowly said, “I never got to thank you for that.”
“You actually did. Besides, that little video was all I needed.”
He smiled on the other end, and so did she. “I better get goin’,” he said. “I got—”
She smiled. “I know. A lot of work to do.”
“Yep! You got it, girl.”
Her smile never left her lips. “I love you.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. He remembered when it came to him that telling her he loved her could’ve been a bad idea. He had done it so fast and without thinking at all. But maybe he wasn’t thinking.
Maybe this time, Caleb was just feeling.
Without any further hesitation, he said, “I love you too, Evie.”
“Good morning, everyone!” Evie announced.
She stood in front of a room of at least twenty people, and they were not going to be an easy crowd.
The client of the day was a locally owned fashion brand that touted sustainable fabrics and garment making.
The founder and main executive was none other than Bailey Bones, a socialite and debutante of the entire Kansas City Metro with a killer surname moniker.
Her rich daddy was investing over a million dollars in her company, and Bailey was looking for a company to not only design their logo and marketing designs, but also host the release party for her debut collection.
This was Evie’s biggest client ever. If she played her cards right, her work would be shown on a website that would host hundreds of thousands of visits a month, and her logo would be displayed on the catwalk at KC Fashion Week in which Jamboree was hosting the music and the lighting flair for.
Bailey was a younger woman, about twenty-five years old.
As she sat on a chair, she felt her hands up on her slick ponytail.
She wore it like Arianna Grande, but her hair was jet-black and glossy like an onyx mirror.
Even though Bailey was younger, she dressed like a full-blown businesswoman.
With a tangerine sweater dress and large gold hoop earrings, her white boots showed off she was both business and fun.
Bailey was about to be the first successful Black fashion designer in Kansas City, and Evie was bound and determined to contribute to that success.
Evie’s confidence shone like a diamond. “I’m very honored to have been selected for the opportunity to demonstrate how I can contribute to DVine.
I have prepared five samples of the work that I can provide, each with their own style and flair.
Given the collection colors, I tried to adhere to those golden and orange tones. ”
She passed out the folders, and Bailey took one and passed the others along.
Evie clicked to turn on the sleek projector. The lights were dimmed, and she gave a glance to Mr. Perry, who remained expressionless.
Evie couldn’t care less. She wasn’t trying to impress him. The fashionable Bailey Bones was her goal.
The screen showcased a beautiful logo of a blonde copper palette and abstract leaves with clear lines as the background.
The name “DVine” was simply stylized in solid white serif font with the D and V capitalized, and the I was dotted with a beautiful leaf that had another little baby leaf out below it.
Bailey’s brows went up, and she gave a surprised nod. “I’m feelin’ this, girl. Give me more.”
Evie smiled. “I’m very glad to hear that!
Every brand needs to have a logo that people can correlate them with.
With Chanel, it’s the reversed C’s. With Dolce and Gabbana, it’s the large D and G.
Nike has their infamous swoosh. You were very crafty in utilizing a capital D with a simple leaf inside of it, and so I wanted to pay homage and respect to that for brand continuity. ”
The first presentation carried on, and it stirred numerous murmurs, sounds of pens scribbling, and smiles. Not once did Evie’s heart rate elevate. Not once did she panic or feel dizzy. She ignored Mr. Perry and focused straight on her client, her target. Her mission.
After ten minutes, Evie took a breath. “Now, we’re going to move on to my second presentation.”
Mr. Perry spoke up, “I hope you realized that our client is a trendy young girl, not an editorial fashion company.”
Evie didn’t even need to compose herself this time. She was already calm. “I would appreciate all feedback to be reserved for Jamboree’s prospective client and not for anyone else.”
But Bailey Bones held her hand up. “I don’t wanna see anymore.”
Evie breathed calmly.
Mr. Perry shot her a look.
Miss Bones smiled. “I’ve already made my decision. I’m in love with this first one. You got me hook, line, and sinker.”
All the way home, Evie absolutely gushed to Caleb on her car’s speaker phone. He was beyond thrilled for her and eagerly took time away from his work to listen. She couldn’t stop talking about how she singlehandedly got Jamboree their biggest client to date.
“I mean, I’m so freaking happy!”
“You should be! You did all of this hard work on your own! And you know what you need to do now?”
“Celebrate!” she said.
“Well, yeah! But why don’t you go to the salon to let Sandy and Kelly hear all about it?”
“You’re terrible,” she laughed.
“Damn straight! Hell, I’ll pay for it. I’ll send you some money. Go out and tell the hens at the salon I paid for it.”
“Wait, why would you wanna do that?”
“Because if you were to be active on Facebook, you would see that everybody knows. It’s no secret anymore, and I’m so damn proud of you and to be with you. So go ahead and show the world how much I care about you.”
She paused. “Wait, are you serious right now? You really want me to do that?”
“Yep. I’m about as sure as adding an extra block of cream cheese to a casserole dish to make it better.”
Evie laughed again.
She looked around at the cars passing her by on the interstate. There was so much goodness in her life now that sometimes it felt overwhelming. She took a deep breath and nodded. “You got it, daddy.”
“Hey,” he snapped.
Oh shit. I thought he liked that? she thought.
“Don’t you be callin’ me those sexy things when I’m at work and can’t have you.” He glanced around to make sure no one was watching him talk outside.
She playfully giggled. “Yes, daddy.”
“I hate you,” he replied with a laugh.
Within the hour, Evie strutted in to the salon and saw Myla there at her empty station reading a magazine. Kelly and Sandy were there. And all of the ladies that were getting their blowouts, pedicures, perms and more, all turned and glared at her.
There Evelyn Morgan stood. Her first time back at the salon in almost four months.
She lifted her chin and smiled to everyone.
The hum of the dryers continued, but the flipping of pages and filing of nails stopped.
She was radiant in her white turtleneck dress with black cowboy boots and a sporty leather jacket.
Her light-brown hair was flowing like a crown of wild grasses down her shoulders.
Her rosy cheeks had been bitten by the cold, and she pursed her lips in a proud smile.
“Hello, old friends!” she said and waved. Myla looked up to her and put her magazine down. Evie sat right across from her and held her nails out. “Help a girl celebrate?”
Myla grinned deviously as she chewed her bagel from Songbird Café. “Tell me,” she said as she shimmied her shoulders, “are we celebrating something with your job, the fact that you’re back, or that tall, cool glass of water Caleb Wright?” She narrowed her eyes when she said the word ‘cool’.
“All of it! But Caleb is paying for this, so give me the works, my love, and remember to keep the nails short.”
Myla put her bagel down.
All the women stared at her.
Sandy was sitting at the station next to her with her hair up in a wrap to let her highlights set in.
She turned to Evie with a dirty look. “Caleb Wright is paying for this?” She threw the magazine down on the workstation.
Her tech looked at her. “I knew it. I just fucking knew it. You tried to be all demure about it and-”
“Shut up, Sandy!” Evie snapped. Sandy withdrew.
“No one cares about your gossiping antics. You fucked me up real bad with what you said. All I wanted to do was to figure out who tried to ruin Caleb’s life, because it was about him, not me.
You’re an adult, act like one. Caleb is paying for this, and he and I are dating.
The whole town knows it so…” She sat upright proudly before glaring at her again.
“Why don’t you tell the town something they don’t know about me and go spit your daggers elsewhere? ”
Every woman came over in a cackling frenzy of a hurry to talk to Evie. Sandy and Kelly sat dumbfounded. The women wanted to know what he was like, how she was handling his PTSD, and some even pulled up chairs to indulge themselves.
But Myla shooed them off. “Leave this girl be! This ain’t about none of y’all.”
“Yeah,” Evie groaned.
There came the banker, Miss Margie Atwood. She shooed all the girls away with her magazine. “Don’t y’all have a spice rack to rearrange or something? A casserole to go burn?”
The women left in a drone of disappointment. Myla giggled and went to work. “Pink?”
“You know it.”
Myla smiled and let her pick out her color. “Mmmm, let’s go with peach. I want pink, but not too pink, you know?”
“That’s my little graphic designer.”
As she began, Myla smiled. “I’m so proud of you to see you back. I’ve missed you.”
“Thank you for always being so nice to me.”
Myla grinned and tilted her head. “So, you want the works today?”
“Yep! Caleb’s paying for it.”
“As a good man should. One trip around the world, comin’ up!”
Myla got up to get her a glass of wine, and together they sat down to catch up. “Now, darlin’, tell me everything.”