“Hey. We never got together after the announcement. I’m glad we could do something, and I wanted to thank you for when you subbed for me.” Sabrina pointed at a chair for Madison to take a seat.
“No problem. It helped me out too.” Madison leaned over to hug her, but Sabrina didn’t bother to get up.
“Yeah, you got the headliner position.” Sabrina was stiff and her voice icy.
Madison was confused at Sabrina’s snide tone as if she had taken something from her. “Yeah, it was a surprise to me too. They said they were going to put me on the schedule, not make me a headliner. I got the news today. How did you find out?”
“When I called to get my schedule, one of the girls told me.”
How had anyone else known that she got the position?
Sabrina reached for a napkin. “I was surprised. You said you didn’t like working there.”
“I didn’t, but they made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.” Madison cringed at the mafia reference.
“I bet.” She crumpled the paper in her fist.
Madison didn’t have anything to say to that.
“I was in the running for the headliner position. Seems I lost out to you a second time.”
Madison reached out to comfort Sabrina. “Oh Brina, I didn’t know.” This was horrible, but she couldn’t give it up. She needed the money, and she had already told her other jobs she would be out. She had to depend on this position for the next three months. She needed it to be able to survive.
“When I was at the club, I met Dante the owner, and he offered it to me. I didn’t mean to take it from you.” Sabrina’s hand was cold under hers.
“But you’re not going to give it back, are you? I guess you can’t since he picked you.”
“Yeah. I don’t think I can, and to be honest even if I could, I wouldn’t be able to.”
“I know, you signed a contract.” Sabrina’s hand relaxed.
“Uh, right.” Did she need to? She trusted Dante not to go back on his word. Enzo had called her with the schedule, so she didn’t think he would take it away from her.
“Congratulations on being first in the AS competition.”
“Thanks.” Madison was embarrassed by Brina’s praise and hurt at the undercurrent of venom. She knew she did good work, but she still found it hard to take praise, since she didn’t get a lot of it as she grew up, and it was something she had been working on in therapy. She didn’t understand Sabrina’s animosity. They both knew it was a competition going into it.
“You made it too.”
“Yeah, but by a thread.”
“I don’t think so. Your designs are just as good as anyone else’s.” And she meant it.
“Thanks.” Sabrina smiled the first real smile since they sat down. “That means a lot to me.”
“Anytime.”
Sabrina had needed to run to meet her model after coffee so they hadn’t stayed long, and Sabrina hadn’t been able to give Madison a ride back home, which was ok. Madison sat down at the bus stop when her phone dinged, it was from Sabrina. But when she looked at it, it said message deleted.
****
Madison sat on her sofa and stared at the designs she had pinned up on the wall. They were all good, solid work, but was any of them special enough to walk the runway and win her a job as associate fashion designer at Anastazia Stewart’s house of fashion?
No. She needed to go bigger, and she needed a secret weapon. Her signature was a hidden pocket that she put in all her work. It was for her, and she wanted it to be a trademark. Where people would try and find this hidden pocket that could be used to hold cards or keys.
Madison bit the inside of her cheek and looked at the sketches she had laid out before her on the table. None of these designs spoke to her and if she were honest and didn’t lie to herself, this wasn’t her best work. How could it be with so much on her mind? She decided to start fresh and decided to sketch freeform. Maybe the use of good ole pencil and paper would help her get out of the rut.
She pulled out her pencils and with it came an image of Dante. Where was he at this moment? She tamped it down. She had had more than enough of the Dante show already.
