Hi Stacy,
Thanks for the quick response and all the great input. I’m so glad you liked the work. I’ve attached a new version of the logo for you to look at. What do you think?
Also, thanks for recommending me to your friend, Allan. I’ll be on the lookout for his email.
All the best,
Frankie
She hit Send and went back to her inbox, but what she really needed to do now was get cracking on Stacy’s T-shirt designs. Frankie wanted to turn out five that were so good, Stacy wouldn’t be able to decide on just three. Frankie hoped to sell all of them to her.
As was her routine, she went to the loveseat with her tablet and stylus and started sketching away. At some point, she’d have to give Jack her estimate. She was curious what his response would be. She’d pretty much decided she was going to tell him sixty-five hundred dollars.
It was a lot of money. She knew that. But she also knew how much time and effort such a painting was going to take her. She wanted the job very much, but it terrified her slightly to give him that price. It wasn’t something she could afford to do it at a loss, though. He would understand that, wouldn’t he?
Maybe he would, maybe he wouldn’t. But she had to believe that if she didn’t get this job, there would be another one aroundthe corner. Maybe the book cover for Stacy’s friend would come through. That would be great. Book covers was definitely something she’d like to get into. She thought that one or two good covers could really open that door for her.
Word of mouth. That’s what she needed. Lucas had proven that with his one mention of her on his live broadcast. That had done wonders for her. Her shop was still bringing in more money on a daily basis than it ever had before.
Which made her wonder if she shouldn’t regularly be adding more designs and products so that the shop stayed fresh and gave people a reason to come back. She looked at the T-shirt design she’d just pulled up on her tablet. Maybe what she would do was repurpose any designs Stacy didn’t want.
It was well within Frankie’s right to do that. It was her artwork, and she held the rights until it was turned over to the client. Whatever Stacy didn’t buy remained Frankie’s property.
Frankie could turn those unwanted designs into T-shirts, mugs, note cards, whatever the bestselling product was. It was a good way to make use of something that wouldn’t get used otherwise.
She’d probably change the designs enough that they didn’t look as though they could have belonged to Stacy, but that wouldn’t be a big deal.
Head down, she focused on the current design. At the moment, she was drawing big, overblown cabbage roses to serve as a backdrop for the word Bloom. She wanted the roses to have a romantic look but still incorporate the bolder colors of the new logo.
It was coming out beautifully. The roses would be perfect with just about any word laid over them. Frankie had jotted down a few that seemed popular, like Queen and Boss. She and Stacy hadn’t gone into the designs too much, so Frankie knewthis might all be for naught, but again, anything Stacy didn’t want, Frankie would use in her own shop.
She finished up the roses just as her stomach started rumbling. It was no wonder, considering how little she’d eaten today. She saved her work, then went into the kitchen. Had anyone else eaten? If so, she hadn’t heard them. What a weird day this was.
She guessed Willa was at the pool. She had no idea where Harper was. Over at Mitch’s maybe? Frankie pulled together a tuna salad sandwich, added a pile of baby carrots on the side and a ramekin of ranch dressing. She took her food and a glass of water to the table, then remembered she’d left her phone in the office.
She went back for it mostly because she expected Stacy to respond about the new logo soon and Frankie wanted to know what she thought.
As she sat to eat, she heard the door at the end of the hall open. A few seconds later, Harper and Mitch walked in. There was only one place they could be coming from: The guest house. They both had pensive looks on their faces.
“Hey,” Frankie said. “What’s up? Everything all right?” She was itching to know what was going on with Jack but wasn’t going to press.
Harper glanced at Mitch, then back at Frankie. “I hate keeping stuff from you, but there’s a lot going on I can’t talk about. It’s Jack’s business. That’s all I can really say.”
Frankie shrugged and crunched through a carrot. “I respect that. Is he okay? Just wondering if he’s serious about commissioning that painting of his dad.”
Harper nodded. “I’m sure he is. Have you started working on it yet?”
“No. I haven’t even given him the price.”
Mitch put his hand on Harper’s arm. “I should get to work.”
She nodded, then he tipped his head at Frankie. “Nice to see you, Frankie.”
“You, too,” Frankie said.
He let himself out the front door. Harper came to sit at the table, snagging a carrot off Frankie’s plate. “I’m sure Jack will tell you what’s going on when he’s ready.”
Frankie shook her head. “It’s not my business and he doesn’t know me like he knows you. I wouldn’t expect him to share anything private with me.”
