“I want to featureyou, Jordan. We’ve got enough still shots for the before and during photos. All we’d need to do is come out for a shoot once the reno is finished. And, of course, an in-depth interview with you about the design, your inspiration.”
Jordan stood up and glanced around the Lapis Room. The thought of seeing her design, her beloved family home in the glossy pages ofOrchid—it was almost too much to process.
“I... I don’t know what to say,” she said.
“There’s more.”
Jordan sat back down. “Oh?”
“As I mentioned, the network execs weren’t happy about the canceled episode.”
“Yeah. I’m sor—”
“But,” Natasha cut in, “I showed them your design plan for the Everwood. They lost their minds over it, Jordan.”
“Like... in a good way?”
Natasha laughed. “Yes. In a good way. And they want to bring you in as a junior designer.”
“They... I’m sorry, they what?”
“You heard me.”
“What does that mean?”
“Well, at first, it basically means you do whatever they ask you to do. That might include consulting on various shows behind the scenes, but if they like what you bring to the table, you could be a featured designer on shows likeHousematesandDuel Design, where there isn’t one regular designer, but several who cycle through episodes.”
“I’d... I’d be on TV?”
“Yeah, you’d be on TV. And a designer for the network. And, if you’re as good as I think you are, it could all lead to your own show one day. Hell, you could be the next me, Jordan Everwood.”
Jordan laughed at Natasha’s teasing tone, but there was an echo of truth to her words.
“So what do you say?” Natasha asked.
Jordan stood up again and scrubbed a hand through her hair. Then she just left her fingers tangled in her locks, tugging a little, hoping the sting might jolt her back into reality.
But this was real.
Natasha was on the phone, offering her the opportunity of a lifetime.
Offering her a way to save the Everwood.
Offering her...
Jordan let her hand drop to her side. This was what she wanted. Natasha was offering Jordan what shewanted. She wanted the credit for this design. She wanted the world to knowshedid this, she made this happen. It felt like such a selfish thought, but she couldn’t help herself. She wanted to build kitchen cabinets and bookshelves and coffee tables, but she wanted to design too. Rooms, apartments, whole houses. She wanted to transform the spaces where people lived and loved, just as she’d done with the Everwood.
And more than that, she deserved it.
Even if she made a mess of it all.
Even if she had no idea what she was doing.
Even if.
She deserved to be happy.
“Yes,” Jordan said to Natasha now. “Yes to all of it.”
