Chapter Seventy-Nine

Chapter Seventy-Nine

The next morning Jesse got to work early so she could clear her emails and phone calls before Jon was due to bring Steph in around ten. She sat at her desk staring at the email from Mr Prashad around the Milan trip details. She still hadn’t had a chance to talk to Jon about that just yet. Picking her second cup off coffee on her desk she took a long sip and closed her eyes. A small smile slipped on her face remembering the night she’d ended up having with Jon after they had retired to bed. Undoubtedly she was the luckiest woman in the world.

Her thoughts turned to Jason’s flowers and his card. Rubbing her temples she didn’t know whether she should be meeting him for dinner, maybe Jon was right and letting the lawyers deal with it was the right thing. But then she still had that small feeling of obligation towards him to be civil and assume the best. He’d let her go without a lot of fuss after all.

George brought in the mail just before ten and sat down in the chair opposite her desk, he always had this uncanny way to know when she needed to talk.

“What is it my Jesse darling, you look so sad for a woman that has almost everything?” he said straightening the cuffs of his pinstripe shirt.

She looked up at him and smiled “I do have everything, and yes I’m happy, Jason left me flowers last night. He wants to meet to discuss the divorce over dinner” She explained watching George’s eyes narrow through that flick of hair that always partially covered one side of his face.

“You don’t think it’s a good idea?” she asked leaning back resting her feet on the foot stool under her desk.

“Well, depends how you feel on that one Jess, he fed you the line of wanting to remain civil and friends? And you feel guilty that you feel like you almost have to?” he asked reading the small worry lines on that usually perfectly smooth face of hers.

She laughed “You’re good, I really want to give him the chance but I don’t want to make things worse, have him think something more could happen, god I don’t know George, why does life need to be so complicated?” she asked burying her face in her hands.

He chuckled “If it wasn’t complicated honey, it’d be too easy. Don’t be so hard on yourself Jesse, you’re launching a fantastic name for yourself here, you lost a husband the same year he comes back from being dead, and you’ve met a fantastic man in-between all that, so its ok to feel frazzled, god I would be” George picked the blue marker up and walked to the board where Jesse kept tally of her sales and updated it.

He stood back and read the figures and grinned.
“At this rate girl you will be five assistants by Christmas time and I have a feeling Milan will help influence that”

“I hope so George, but I couldn’t have done it without you, you know that right? Expect a good Christmas present this year” she winked taking a sip of her coffee opening the next email which indicated more sales for her.

“Look forward to it, can it be your fiancé for an hour?” he asked raising his eyebrow, a wide smirk spreading across his lips.

Jesse choked on her coffee and hysterical laughter started to bubble from her throat.
“Oh George, you fancy Jon huh?” she asked wiping the tears from the corner of her eyes.

“Well I did always say you had great taste” he teased “it just extends to your choice of men as well” he crossed his arms in a matter of fact manner.

She shook her head and was going to reply but the soft knock on the door came. “Speaking of which” she said getting up and walking towards the door. “Shall we ask him if he’s up for it?” she teased opening the door to George snorting and laughing.

Jon and Stephanie were standing behind the door waiting patiently.

“Hey baby” Jon said leaning to kiss Jesse on the cheek still holding back her laughter, he looked at George who looked as though he was about to have kittens.

“OK what’s so funny?” he said leading Steph in.

“Hey, hi Steph” she smiled standing aside so they could walk into the office. “Just a joke baby, George and I were being silly” she said winking at George.

“Just pop your things down on the table in the corner Steph” Jesse pointed to the table in the corner so Steph put down her bag and coat before straightening the jeans and black peasant top she was wearing.

“Steph this is George my assistant, George meet Steph who is here to help us out for the day” Jesse introduced them both.

“Pleased to meet you sweetheart, I can see where you get your good looks from” he said throwing a wink at Jon.

Jon laughed “Thanks George” he smiled as Jesse and Steph had already immediately started talking about what they were going to do today. Jesse had nothing to worry about with Steph he knew his daughter would soon see Jesse for what she really was and love her like he did.

“Ok girls I need to go, I have a few meetings but I have my cell if you need me” he said drawing Jesse into his arms for a quick kiss, the scent of warm vanilla tickled his nose. God she always smelt so good.

Minty fresh and soft his lips were on hers “Ok, will do we’ll see you a little later on” her hands sliding around his waist pulling him close to her body for a second before he let go again. Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear he turned to Stephanie.

“You behave for Jesse now Steph” Jon instructed.

Steph propped her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes “Yes Dad” she moaned. She just wished that he would leave so that she could get on with the day. She’d been waiting so long for this. Once her Dad had disappeared and the funny man that was her assistant had disappeared to Jesse closed the door behind them and breathed out a sigh of relief.

“Well now all the men have gone we can really have some fun” she said with a grin. She cleared away her desk for Steph to sit down and Jesse sat in her own plush visitor’s chair.

“Well you’re in charge now, what do you want to know?” Jesse asked.

Steph sat back in the leather swivel chair and looked around the office in amazement. It had been decorated in plain colours with a red feature wall which hung a number of framed what looked like awards. A large oak table spanned across the back wall with piles of different color materials and an older looking sewing machine on the end. The other table nestled in the corner where she’d put her bag held piles and piles of sketches. The desk in the centre of the room that she now sat out was a lot less cluttered with just a laptop, phone and diary on it. The silver framed photo on the corner was of her Dad pulling a stupid face at the camera which made her laugh.

“For a pretty photogenic guy he can make the most ridiculous faces cant he?” Jesse asked when she saw her laughing at it. Jesse smoothed down her skirt and crossed her legs enjoying Stephanie take in the room.

“Dad can be pretty dorky at times, wait till you see him with Romeo and Jakey” she said remembering the way he acted around her brothers sometimes.

“I can just imagine” she held her hands out to the room “So what do you want to know before we do some work, ask anything you want” she said.

Stephanie stood up and walked over to the table that held all the materials “So you make all your own clothes as well?”

Jesse followed her over “Only the mock ups, when I sketch them I make it as well, so when I have them made up the sewing teams can actually see what I meant, some of the stitching and the way the material grain goes is all in the makeup of the piece” she explained by showing Steph a skirt that displayed a special stitch across the hem.

“I love your work, you always make the most simple things so cool” Stephanie gushed “Like this” she said picking up the white shirt that that plain and simple but it had swirls of navy blue stitching down each sleeve.

“Thanks Steph, every designer is different but my own personal philosophy is that that most clothing is great in its purest form, skirts, shirts, pants but what changes it from being just a shirt is a subtle touch, I am totally into adding just that little bit of flair to something, stitching obviously to make it unique from it just being a shirt or dress.” She explained. She picked up a back large portfolio folder and laid it out on the table.

“And this is my summer collection, it’s highly under wraps so you will be the first to see the sketches and who knows you might have some ideas for me” she winked.

Steph’s eyes widened “Me? What could I know?” she asked amazed Jesse would even ask.

“A lot, you’re in that trendsetter age group so your input is invaluable to designers like me and this will give you a taste of what its like. Just do not tell your dad you helped me design bikinis ok?” she asked spreading out the designs she had sketched so far.

“I won’t promise! These are SO cool!” Stephanie said examining each one excitedly. The door opened at the funny man came back in and asked them if they wanted drinks.

“What do you drink Steph?” Jesse asked her “George goes to Starbucks for us” she said.

“A Chai Latte please if that’s ok?” she asked.

“A Chai it is sweetheart, the usual Jesse?” George said bowing in the girl’s direction. Jesse rolled her eyes while Stephanie laughed.

“You got it hot stuff, make it a double” she teased. George soon left them again and Jesse noticed Stephanie was looking over her the jeans that Jesse had designed.

Stephanie looked at Jesse with a question in her eyes but not really sure how to ask it.

“Yes he is Steph, he’s the sweetest man you will ever meet though” Jesse said sensing she was going to ask about George.

“He seems it, but these make my jeans look so boring” Steph moaned picking up a few pairs of the jeans Jesse had made for the fall collection.

“They aren’t that bad you know, nice cut, bootleg and I bet there is a way we could make them better” she winked moving the stool to the sewing machine.

She is just so awesome Stephanie thought to herself watching Jesse in her zone. She was really nice and she could see why her Dad liked her so much.

Jesse tied up her hair in a loose roll and stuck a pencil through it beofore picking out a long piece of red suede and fired up the sewing machine, it was almost an antique in its black steel appearance. George always was at her to get a new one since she could afford it, but this one held sentimental value to her as well as being reliable. It had been the first sewing machine that had made her first ever piece that was bought by a buyer, and since then Jesse had never had bad luck with it. It had been left to her when her late Grandmother had passed, she being the one that always believed in Jesse as a designer and encouraged her to chase her dream where her parents had seen it as a wasted flimsy career.

She was halfway sewing some purple embroidery on the suede when a knock on the door stopped her. “George you don’t have to knock” she called rolling her eyes at Stephanie. The door opened and standing there was not George, it was Jason.