Page 7 of Aquarius Awakening (BLP Signs of Love #20)

Working as a Team

The walk from my office to the design area was full of stares from my staff.

I was sure everyone was aware that Leon had walked out.

The sound of whispers as they all chatted amongst themselves was typical office behavior.

They would really whisper when they found out I was going to design again.

As I approached the design area, the five members of the team all stopped their conversation.

All eyes were on me as uncertainty was etched on all their faces.

I was nervous, but as their leader, I needed to show them we would be fine.

“I know you all heard that Leon quit this morning,” I asserted.

“What are we going to do? There’s no way Leon can be replaced now.” Louisa, one of my newest designers, panicked.

“You are partially right. While there’s no time to hire someone from outside, I’ll be resuming my place as head designer. It’ll be just like it was long before Leon joined Love Faith,” I affirmed.

Low, audible gasps escaped from a few of them. The design team was relatively new with the exception of two older members.

“Based on what I saw this morning, we have a lot of work to do. Who designed the breast cancer bikini?” I asked.

“That would be me,” Louisa stated as she raised her hand.

“It was good, but you can do better. I want you to design three more swimsuits. Once you have your designs together, we will review them. Go ahead and get started,” I commanded.

Louisa took off to her workstation. With one task down, I could focus on the other team members. I decided to design five pieces of resort wear. The remaining members of the team would focus on accessories. With those responsibilities assigned, we would have a full line.

As everyone took off to their respective workstations, I headed to a familiar place.

Leon’s office was my former office and design station.

I walked in and felt a wave of nostalgia come over me.

There were plenty of late nights spent in this space.

One reason everyone knew Imani so well was that she would often come and keep me company.

As I sat in my old chair, I pulled out my phone. I snapped a picture to send to my sister.

Once the picture was finally uploaded, I added a message.

Me:

Don’t you want to come keep me company for old times’ sake?

Imani:

You at the design table could only mean one thing. Leon twirled his ass on out of there, huh? LOL.

Me:

LOL. It’s not funny. You know we have a tight deadline.

Imani:

Baby sis, please. You got this. I’ll be there in a bit with some goodies for the crew.

Me:

Thank you! Love you.

Imani:

Love you more.

My first order of business was clearing the clutter Leon left behind.

I kept a tidy space. Clutter would only hinder my creative flow.

There happened to be an empty box in the hall, so I grabbed it and then put Leon’s things in it.

Once the office was clear, I grabbed a clean sketchbook and some pencils.

I put on my headphones and found a soft jazz playlist then got to work.

The first sketch ended up on the floor. I reminded myself not to let my nerves get the best of me.

The more time spent on sketching, the less time the seamstress would have to make the clothes.

By taking on the full resort portion of the line, I gave myself a lot of responsibility.

Being a leader, I preferred to take on that stress rather than burden my team.

I stared at the blank page for far too long. The urge to move the pencil jogged something in my brain. As the melodic sounds of the jazz music took over my thoughts of insecurity, I began to sketch.

In the midst of perfecting my first sketch, I saw Imani standing outside the office door.

“I figured you guys could use something sweet,” she declared.

“Thanks. I’m sure we could all use any type of distraction at this point,” I insisted.

“Let me go tell everyone I brought some goodies. I’ll be right back,” Imani stated as she made her way down the hall.

While she took some bags for the team, she left one on the desk for me. I grabbed it and realized Imani had gone to my favorite bakery. It was a cute French-style place not too far from the office. Imani popped back in just as I pulled the cake out of the bag.

“How are things with you and Mason?” Imani asked as she entered the office and closed the door.

I took a deep sigh. “Where do I begin? I moved into the rental house yesterday. He called me this morning, talking crazy to me. By the end of the unpleasant conversation, we agreed to divorce,” I explained.

“Are you okay with that? Is this what you want?” she asked, her voice laced with concern.

“You know what? Our conversation over dinner helped me come to terms with some things. Everything you said made a lot of sense, even if I didn’t want to hear it.

I look in the mirror, and the woman staring back at me is a shell of myself.

So, right now, am I okay? No, but I’ll be just fine,” I somberly replied.

“As long as you have faith that something better will come from this, you will be. Mason wanting a divorce and Leon quitting are both blessings in disguise. They are both opportunities for you to start fresh and get back to your roots. Just wait and see,” she affirmed.

I didn’t want to dwell on the things that had turned my life upside down over the past twenty-four hours. As I opened the box the cake came in, I wasn’t surprised to find my favorite dessert—a slice of blueberry lemon cake with lemon icing.

“Aww, you do love me,” I joked.

“I’ve got to do something to encourage you. What have you come up with so far?” she asked.

I typically never shared my premature sketches until I had gone over them a few times.

However, Imani was the only exception to that rule.

My sister was one of the first people to learn about my love of drawing.

She always supported me, even when my designs weren’t great.

She would gently give me criticism. Imani was always careful not to bruise my Aquarian faltering ego.

I slid over the sketch for her to look over.

“I see you haven’t lost your touch. This is so cute. The girlies are going to eat this up!” she exclaimed.

“Really? You don’t think it looks like something we have done before?” I questioned.

“No, I think this is a fresh take on some of your earlier designs. With the right accessories, the girls will go crazy over this dress. It is perfect for a beachy getaway,” she insisted.

That confirmation was all the encouragement I needed to keep going.

The hardest part of designing was maintaining freshness and originality.

As an Aquarius, I never wanted to be dressed like another person.

One of the reasons I started to design my own clothes was to ensure I always stood out.

With Imani’s encouragement, I was comfortable enough to start working on my next look.

Imani took a seat in one of the chairs and made herself comfortable.

She was here for moral support, and I appreciated her more than she could ever know.

A couple of days later, it was time for the design team to meet. We checked in with each other but kept our work to ourselves. With everyone’s nerves at an all-time high, we met in the conference room to review everyone’s progress.

“Who wants to go first?” I asked.

Louisa stood up and presented her sketches for the remaining swimwear pieces. As I looked over her sketches, I saw she had taken my feedback to heart. The sketches she made were sexy but classy. They truly represented the Love Faith brand.

“Where have you been hiding this talent? I love all the designs. Fellas, what do you think?” I asked the other members of the team.

They nodded their heads in unison and agreed. Now that I was confident our swimwear portion of the show was saved, it was time to share my designs.

“Before I share my designs, I want to remind you to be honest. In this moment, I’m a fellow designer, not your boss. If anything needs to be altered, I will not be offended,” I reminded them.

I placed my sketches on the desk for them to view. They each took their time reviewing the five sketches. I was nervous because I knew how difficult it could be to criticize your boss. This was a pivotal moment for us because I needed to know I could trust my team.

“I have a slight suggestion on this piece,” Louisa commented.

“Go ahead. I’m listening,” I stated.

“I think the V-neck of the dress should come up a little more. With the cutouts on the side, we don’t want the piece to be too revealing,” she offered.

I walked over to the sketch to view it again. Louisa had made a valid point.

“Any other suggestions?” I asked.

A series of “no’s” could be heard from the other members of the team. “Okay, Louisa, I agree with the suggestion,” I affirmed.

Next, we focused on the accessories. As I looked at the sketches, my heart beamed with pride.

We had a full line, and it was all coming together.

I was so happy I could cry tears of joy.

Now, it was time for the team of seamstresses to do their thing and bring everything to life.

When Leon walked the other day, I had no idea what we would do.

Now, I could laugh because the real talent was still here with me.