Tenth Chapter

Tate reaches the street and cannot believe what just happened.  She learned that her current boss has had a discussion about her with Jon.  She's not sure why that happened and she doesn't know what she really felt about it, but something felt wrong.

After she grabs a cab and gives the driver her desired destination, she reaches into her pocketbook and grabs her iPhone.  Scrolling through her contacts, she has no idea what she's going to say, but she knows she's sending Jon a text.  Once she reaches his contact info she starts to compose a text.  Just left the Marshall's, can you please not discuss me with your friends?  I work for him, he needs to know nothing about my personal life.  I'd really appreciate that.  Send.  And it's on it's way to Jon. 

She drops her phone back into her bag, and focus her eyes on everything that passes her by as she tries to figure out why she feels the way that she feels.  The yellow blurs blow by, the people walking close to the car, the sounds of the city in the middle of the day, the smell of the inside of a New York City taxi cab - it all reminds Tate why she's here.  Why she's fighting her fight in a dog eat dog world.  How she managed to land the biggest account of her career, one that could catapult her to the top of her game.  One that could send her to the top of a short list, a list of A-lister decorators that clients fight over, haggle over and bid on.  Tate feels like she has arrived, but now she needs to be even more diligent, more driven and careful in what she does.

She feels a vibration on her leg and it startles her.  She reaches into her bag and grabs her phone.  She sees it's a text from Jon.  I'm sorry if I upset you, but I tend to talk about the things that make me happy, things that make me smile.  For a moment, her heart skips a beat as she finds herself smiling.   She quickly taps a response, I could drive you mad, will you share that?  SEND

Tate makes her way to her office, a place where she finds peace, her own little corner of the world.  Her world, the place that she's created for herself.  Pulling up the elevator door, that opens into her office, she can hear Beyonce playing loudly.  That tells her that Alex is there, but she's has no idea why.  She gave him the day off, knowing she was tight in her Marshall design and that he's not part of her Poly Prep gig.  "ALEX!"  she yells over the music as she walks toward the fabric room.  She doesn't get a response, but the music softens, telling her that Alex did hear her.  From around the corner he pops, "Tater, what are you doing here?"  He asks her with an ear to ear simile, genuinely happy to see her.

"What are YOU doing here?" she asks him, dropping her bags on the cutting table.  "You're off today."

"Well, I thought I'd come in and clean up the mess.  I hope you don't mind." he gestures, resting his hand on his hip.  "The upcoming week is going to be busy, so I thought I'd get a jump on it."

"Did you clean my office?" she asks in a mild panic, remembering that she left all of the Marshall swatches on her desk with her latest design boards.  "The Marshall design?" she walks to the corner of the office space that she made her own.

"Haven't even been in there." he trails behind her, "Wouldn't dare."

"Good, the Marshall's have additional things they want done." she tells her assistant, looking back over her shoulder, "Lots of things added, but they love what we've done."

"That's great!"

"The additions have a deadline and I have a project that will conflict."  She plops down into her chair, "The master bedroom, they want fabric wallpaper.  Where are we going to find fabric wallpaper on such short notice?  Do they even make it anymore?"   Her head goes back as she laughs.

"Fabric wallpaper?  That's a thing?"  Alex falls in line, shocked to hear that that even exists.