7. Sierra #2
I grinned. He really wanted the gangster-chic look. “We’ll make sure you both look fabulous. I want the costumes to help you get in touch with your characters. To make you feel like you’re actually stepping into their lives.”
Shaw blinked at me as I draped a swatch of pale blue silk across her.
“I want the boning in your formal dresses to help you understand how constrained Evelyn feels. And then the subtle details in your later costumes, like the fringe, to put you in touch with the confidence and free-spirit attitude of the Roaring Twenties. Almost…flapper-esque.”
I heard the door open again, and Finn blew in like a storm, in the middle of an intense phone call. The energy in the shop shifted instantly, everyone immediately nervous around the big boss. I handed my measuring tape to Trin. “Finish up and have them get dressed. ”
I stepped out past the curtain just as Finn hung up. He was staring at the board where Paisley had pinned my initial design ideas.
“Is this what we’re working with?” he said abruptly.
My guard immediately went up. Why did I feel like a prickly hedgehog around him? “Yes.”
He rubbed at his chin. “I think the costumes should be more modern.”
I frowned at him. “Did you forget you hired me to work on a period piece?”
“I’m well aware of what film we’re making.”
“Because if it’s unclear,” I said, “I can get you the dictionary definition.”
He huffed. “ Every Day hinges on Evelyn being ahead of her time, seeing things other people couldn’t. More modern styling would make her stand out visually from the start—and it would make the story that much more accessible to audiences. Who can relate to a woman in a corset?”
To my surprise, his justification wasn’t horrible. My thoughts drifted to comparable films, like Baz Luhrman’s Romeo + Juliet . Strategically layering modern influences into that film had helped the centuries-old language connect with audiences right away.
It was frustrating to admit, but the idea Finn was pitching sounded halfway decent. It just wasn’t necessarily my vision or the one presented in the biography—not to mention, X needed to be involved in the conversation if he wasn’t already.
“I think that’ll be cool,” Kaiden said, stepping out from behind his curtain, dressed in his own clothes again. “Sort of like the choice to use modern music in the latest Gatsby film. Audiences loved that.”
“Exactly,” Finn said .
Shaw appeared a moment later, unsure of what to say.
Her eyes kept flickering back and forth between Finn and me, as if she was worried one of us would ask her to take sides.
The last thing I wanted was for the actors to feel stuck in the middle, like they were being forced to listen to mommy and daddy fight.
“Paisley,” I said, “could you go with Brenna to show Shaw and Kaiden to hair and makeup?” Paisley nodded once and ushered everyone out, including Carter and Trin.
I turned to Finn, prepared to offer a compromise. “What if we do more modern cuts for the costumes but in twenties fabrics? That way the shapes will make sense to a modern audience, but the palette and texture will still capture an authentic feel.”
Finn crossed his arms. “I think you’re missing the obvious metaphor.
It shouldn’t be everyone in more modern clothes.
It should be Evelyn and Tommy, specifically.
They’re the ones trying to break away from the constraints of society.
What better way to show that than in their clothes?
Everyone else, the ones trapped in the past, should dress like it. ”
I was shocked. “That’s actually a really great idea.” I pulled down one of my sketches, tracing over the top of it. Images took shape in my mind faster than I could get them on paper.
“Something like this,” I said, feeling Finn at my shoulder. His presence was all heat, yet I fought off a shiver. “The style should evolve over the course of the film as attitudes shift.”
“Yes,” he said, nodding along. Were we actually agreeing on something? He hummed, and I felt his breath along the side of my neck. I resisted the urge to tug at the collar of my shirt, but when I turned my head, finding him right there , my pulse skipped.
“What?” he said, catching my eye with that gaze that made me a little dizzy .
“Nothing. Just surprised you actually had a good idea.”
“All my ideas are good,” he growled.
I opened my mouth to respond. To say that maybe there was a chance that working for him wouldn’t be a complete nightmare after all. But Brenna raced back in, holding out another phone to Finn. “It’s the construction crew. Sets are behind.”
Finn took the phone, his attitude shifting so quickly it gave me whiplash. “Tony, we agreed to yesterday!” he snapped. “And when that fell through, you promised me this morning.”
He stormed across the room in a huff. I caught Brenna’s eye and winced. “Poor Tony,” I whispered.
She nodded. “He needs our prayers.” I snorted at that. I really liked her.
“Get me and X more polished versions of those new designs!” Finn snapped at me from the doorway. “By the end of the day.”
And then he was gone, probably to make Tony’s day miserable.
“Brenna!” he called behind him.
“Gotta go,” she said, taking off after him.
Okay, Mr. Bigshot. I took back all my earlier thoughts. Working for Finn Lockhart was nothing short of nightmarish. But as I glanced down at the new costume direction in my hand, I realized he was a nightmare who might actually know what he was doing.
Not that I’d ever admit that to him, of course.