Fashioned for Love (A Silver Script Novel Book 3) (12 page)

Debra waited her turn to throw her arms around his neck. “Congratulations. She’s beautiful. And how’s Sophia?”

“She’s good. They stitched her up so now she’s resting. Anyway, I’m going to go back and watch them bathe Anna, but you’re welcome to come and look through the window.” He took Aiden by the hand and left the room.

The relief Debra felt as she walked toward the nursery with her mom was overwhelming. Everything was okay. Now, if only everything would be okay with Lance. She ached to have him there with her. They stayed for a while watching her niece as they cleaned her up and put a pretty purple bow in her thick black hair.

It was an hour later when they were finally able to hold Anna. When Debra’s mom handed Debra the small bundle, she touched the delicate fingers, nose and cheeks, amazed at what a new life could bring. She couldn’t help tearing up at the perfection, but she also wanted to run away from the joy that she felt. Anna squirmed, so Aaron took her back with a smile on his face.

Debra backed away, trying to smile and stay positive, but she really just wanted distance. She kissed her brother on the cheek. “I’m going to take off. I have a meeting in the morning, and I need to get back. Congratulations.”

“Thank you. Do you need a ride?” He turned to his parents.

“No, I don’t want to take them away from you. I’ll be fine. There’s a bus right outside. I’ll be back this weekend, okay?”

He nodded. “Thanks for coming. It meant a lot to Aiden.”

Debra smiled and turned away, leaving her family behind. She wanted to get out before anyone else tried to convince her to stay. She had to get out. Too much happiness around her. She stepped onto the bus and looked back at the hospital. She’d be back to see them again. There were just some things that needed to be figured out first.

If it was possible to die of boredom, Lance was pretty sure it would happen to him. He’d done everything he could with his computer from David, and had sent the new fashion ideas to his assistants. They’d okayed everything and promised to get back to him as soon as they had a pattern to work with. But now even his creativity had taken a break, and he spent his time staring up at the ceiling.

Debra hadn’t called since he’d pushed her away two days ago. Erin had taken over the account, which meant that he was out of luck that way. And Nikki had brought his keys back to him. It made a tempting getaway. But he’d already tried that once, and he was back in a hospital. At least the view outside of his window had changed.

His parents had left for Africa once they were sure he was okay. He’d finally convinced them not to redo the house just for him. He didn’t plan to spend much time there anyway. The second he got out, he’d be back in his studio. Attending the awards show was out of the question by now, but the show was that weekend and he needed to be ready for it.

“Hey, Lance. How are you feeling today?” Dr. Carter came in with one of his assistants.

“Loving life. You?” He repositioned himself. Not that there was much he could do with his leg up in the air.

“Does that mean you don’t want to leave? Because I can just tear up your discharge papers if you want me to.” He held up the pages.

Lance could have hugged him. “Really? I can leave?”

Dr. Carter stuck an x-ray onto the screen and turned on the light. “Everything looks great. As long as you promise not to use that leg, you’ll be just fine. We’ll get the casts on, and then you can leave.”

“I promise. I learned my lesson the last time. No more walking until they’re perfect. Scouts honor.” He held up two fingers.

“Are you even a scout?” Dr. Carter raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, thanks to my grandma.”

Dr. Carter chuckled. “Fair enough.”

Lance stared at his phone for several moments after his doctor left. He ached to call Debra and apologize, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He had been rude to her, and asking for a favor was not the way to make up for what had happened. Especially after waiting a few days. He dialed David’s number.

David answered on the first ring. “Hey, buddy. I haven’t heard from you in a while. I wondered if you were still alive.”

“Barely. I hate to ask, but can you give me a ride? They’re finally letting me out of this place and I have no way to leave.” That sounded really lame, but the truth hurt. And he’d done it to himself.

“Of course. I was just about to leave the office, so I can head over right now.”

“Thanks, man. I owe you one.”

By the time David arrived at the hospital, Lance was ready to leave. He sported a cast on his hand and leg, and strict instructions not to get out of his wheelchair for any reason except to sleep or shower. As long as he could make it to his show, he was perfectly happy with the idea.

Once they were both in David’s car, he turned to Lance. “Okay, where to?”

“I need to get some stuff from home, and then if you’re good with it, I need some groceries. I’ll be staying at work until I can drive again.”

“You realize that could be six weeks, right? You have to go home sometime.” David pulled out of the hospital and headed south.

“If the healing goes well, I’ll be able to walk sooner than that. Besides, I’ll be traveling off and on for the next few weeks anyway.” There were several shows coming up, and he wanted to attempt to make it to France to see his sister and show off a few of his pieces.

David pulled up to the house. “I’d forgotten about the travel. That’s going to be pretty rough, isn’t it?”

Lance shrugged. “I’ll do what I can.  This shouldn’t take too long. My parents were supposed to get a few things together for me.”

Once they were in the house, Lance went straight for his room. A duffel bag sat on his bed filled with sweaters, pants, and button up shirts. Lance added a few other things, and went to find some food while David zipped up the bag and took it to the car.

Labeled containers sat inside the fridge, and Lance grabbed what he could to take with him. After he checked to make sure the thermostat was set correctly and ran faucets to make sure there were no frozen pipes, he locked up and went back toward the car. He’d call to set up a house sitter in the morning until he could get back.

David filled Lance in with what had been happening at the ad agency and with his wedding, and Lance told him about the newest line that was coming out.

By the time they got into the city, the sun had set, and a cold breeze whipped through the city streets. As they got nearer to Lance’s office, they noticed flashing lights and several fire trucks. A crowd gathered around his building. David stopped and parked as close as he could before grabbing Lance’s chair.

Lance pushed himself as quickly as he could toward the building, grateful that the cast helped protect his hand. He stopped the nearest firefighter that he could find. “What happened?”

“Small fire on the second floor. Please move back.”

Thoughts of the basement ran through Lance’s mind. “How is the rest of the building?”

“Smoke damage probably on the floors near it, but otherwise it should be untouched.”

“Can I go in? I need to check my storage unit.” Panic rose in his throat.

The fireman narrowed his eyes at him. “And you are?”

David stepped up next him. “He’s Lance Walker of Walker Apparel. Is there any threat of the building collapsing?”

“N—no. Go right in. Just don’t go near where anyone is working.” The fireman glanced down at Lance. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Walker. I’m a huge fan of yours.”

Lance held out his good hand to shake. “It’s nice to meet you too. Good work in there. Come in sometime, and I’ll help you out. The firemen of this city need to be recognized for their bravery.”

The man stammered as David pushed Lance past him and into the building. As they went for the elevator, David chuckled.

“Did you see the guy’s face? I thought he was going to faint.” David pushed the button, and then pushed it again. “Uh, we have a problem. They would have shut the elevators down for the fire. We’ll have to take the stairs.”

Lance moved over to the stairs and opened the door. “Let’s go.”

“Wait, I can’t exactly pull you down them. And you can’t walk.” David gripped the back of the chair.

Lance turned and looked up at David. “Look, decades of clothing are down in that storage room. Decades. This came from collections, my uncle’s line, and all the clothing I’ve designed over the years. The system is to keep the temperatures regulated, but it can’t stop it if the water runs through the vents. I need to get in there. Even if it means yet another stay in the hospital.”

“Wow, you’re serious if you’re willing to do that. Okay, I’ll carry the chair. You slide down one step at a time. It’s only one flight, right?”

“Yep, let’s go.” He climbed out of the chair and sat down on the steps as David folded the chair and went past him. Lance took one step at a time, imagining the storage area slowly filling with water.

David ran back up the stairs and scooped Lance up. “You were taking too long.”

They went down the last several steps and around to Lance’s chair. Lance put the code into the door and it slid open, showing the devastation inside. Lance’s eyes filled with tears as he watched water drip onto the boxes below. The floor above was all tile, so nothing had stopped the water from the firefighters’ hoses.

“Be back.” David ran back the way they’d come and Lance could hear his feet pound up the stairs.

Water had pooled on the ground, soaking into the boxes that stored his life, his memories. Lance rubbed his eyes, and pushed forward, trying to figure out where to start.

David came back shortly after, followed by several people in coveralls with logos from a disaster cleanup place. “Okay, tell them what needs to be done.”

Lance stared at the boxes. “We need a dumpster for the bad boxes, and we need hangers to try to dry out the clothing. The material won’t hold up to a washer at this point, so we need to see what we can salvage. We have several racks in the back, and some upstairs in my showroom.”

“You heard him. Let’s do it.” David moved Lance away from the entrance and crouched down near Lance. “These are some of the best cleaners I know. They’ll take good care of your clothing.”

“How do you know them?” Lance watched as they pulled out the racks from the back. This was going to take months.

David nodded toward a guy who was telling the others what to do. “He’s my brother-in-law. His office just a couple blocks away, so I convinced him to come and help. He’s calling in more people. And if we need more people, I’ll send in a request at work to have people come down here.”

“Thank you.” Lance swallowed the lump in his throat. “I need to contact my insurance. I’ll be out in the hallway.”

David set his hand on Lance’s shoulder. “We’ll fix this.”

Lance nodded and searched his phone for his agent’s number. David left him in the hallway while he explained what happened. They wanted to send out their own group of disaster cleanup people, but Lance insisted that they use the one that was already here. When he was done with that, he called and put in an urgent order for more racks and hangers.

Shortly after, he heard the thundering of footsteps as a group of people came downstairs. He groaned when he saw the news reporters. “Hey, what are you doing down here? This is a private storage area.”

A reporter turned and straightened her skirt as she sauntered over to him. “Just who we were looking for. We heard of the flooding and wanted to check out the damage.”

Lance rolled his eyes. “Please stay out of the area so we can get things cleaned up. We’re racing the clock, trying to save as much as we can.”

“Fine. But at least let us ask you some questions.”

As much as he wanted out of the news, it was better to give them what they wanted instead of letting them make up their own stories. “What would you like to know?”

Debra leaned back in her desk chair and stretched her legs. It had been a long day, and she still wanted to try to make it back to the hospital. She’d promised Aaron she’d be there over the weekend, but she was going to get there late.

She finished the Smithson account and closed her laptop just as Erin burst through the door. She leaned against the counter to catch her breath.

“Follow me.” Erin left the office again and Debra and to run to catch her. They met in a conference room where a TV was on. “I was in here watching the news to make sure that Jake’s soda commercial aired like it was supposed to, and came across this.”

“What’s this?” Debra folded her arms and stared at the screen.

The news came back on and Erin pointed. “They said this was next.”

Debra felt like the floor was collapsing beneath her as she watched the nightmare unfold. All of the boxes in Lance’s warehouse were being emptied and sorted through. That evening played through her mind as he told her about where the clothing had come from, and now everything was soaked in old sprinkler water that had rusted in the pipes.

Erin nudged her toward the door. “Go. He needs you.”

Debra nodded and somehow made it back to her office to get her coat. She’d get her other stuff later. Right now, she needed to get there as soon as possible to help out.  Lance had been so sure that the clothes would be protected, and seemed so proud of the ventilation system. And what about the clothes up in the showroom? She hoped the smoke hadn’t damaged them. She waved at Erin on her way out, cursing her heels as they impeded her running.

Traffic was worse than usual as she got closer to his office building, so she finally paid the driver and climbed out to walk the rest of the way. She needed to clear her head anyway. After seeing how much Lance loved what he did, she knew she’d do anything to help him fix this mess. Most of the fire trucks had cleared out since the news clip had been recorded, but cleaners trying to get everything fixed up had replaced them. Instead of waiting for clearance, she slipped around and hurried toward the stairs.

The door to the storage unit was wide open as she walked down the hall, and the room was packed full of workers going through boxes. She was surprised to find David there, standing next to Lance. Debra’s heart beat rapidly at the sight of Lance. He hadn’t shaved in a few days, and it brought out the green in his eyes. His hand was now in a cast, and so was his leg. David looked over at her and grinned, then gestured for Lance to look over.

Lance’s face lit up when he saw her. David pushed the wheelchair forward, but stayed where he was to give them privacy. She smiled at him before looking back at Lance.

“What are you doing here?” Lance stopped. “Sorry, that’s not what I meant. I’m glad to have you here. How’d you know we’d be down here?”

“I saw you on the news and couldn’t get here fast enough. I’m so sorry.” Debra couldn’t tear her eyes away from his. “Sorry for everything.”

Lance shook his head. “You have no reason to be sorry. This was all on me.”

“What can I do to help?” Debra glanced around.

“They keep telling us they have it under control, but I want to make sure everything is in order. If you could help me get these on racks, that would be great. I can pull them out of the box, but the hangers are a bit much for my hand still.”

Debra went to the nearest box and opened it. “This one isn’t too bad. Do you still want it taken apart?”

“Yes, I want to make sure the moisture doesn’t damage them. As they get filled up, they’re being taken up to my showroom. Pretty soon we won’t be able to walk in there.” Lance pulled out a silk blouse and handed it to Debra.

David had disappeared while they were talking, leaving the two of them to work. Debra would have to thank him later. While the workers took their own sections, Lance and Debra stayed in their section and went through each box, sorting them as they hung up. As they got nearer to the bottom, the damage was more evident, and it broke Debra’s heart to see what the rusty water had done to the white sweaters and gowns. They were put in a separate bin to see if anything could be done with them.

At one point, Debra caught Lance staring at her as she hung up a wool coat. “What? Am I doing it wrong?”

Lance chuckled. “No. There’s only one way to hang a coat. I just can’t believe you’re here. I was … really rude to you. What did I do to deserve you?”

Debra’s cheeks burned. “I know how much this meant to you. And that night down here was more fun than I’ve had in a long time. I couldn’t bear to see this place destroyed.”

Lance took her hand and stroked his thumb across her fingers, sending a thrill through her. “You have no idea how much this means to me. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Debra picked up a sweater with flowers embroidered around the buttons. It was something she hadn’t seen before, but it brought her back to her childhood. An idea ran through her head. “Hey, Lance? How close are you to being ready for the show?”

“Everything is ready. Why?” He leaned back in his chair.

“Never mind.” Debra hung up the sweater and moved to the next one.

Lance took her hand again and pulled her around to face him. “What?”

“Well … All these outfits span decades, right?” Debra swept her arm out to indicate the whole room.

“Yes.” He leaned on the armrest of his chair and rubbed his chin.

“What if you used some of them for a show? Like a retro thing. I mean, look at this.” She pulled the sweater of the rack and handed it to him. “It’s beautiful, and it would be back in fashion again. Either that, or I’m way out of the loop.”

Lance studied the sweater for a moment before nodding. “I can see where you’re going with it. There are things I’d have to change since they’ve been used before, and because some of them aren’t my line, but I think we could make it work.”

“Great. I just figured since everything is out on racks, it might be easier to use.” Debra squeezed around the rack and hurried over to another one where she found a pantsuit. From what she could see it was undamaged, so she took it back over to Lance. “Here’s another one you could use.”

Lance pulled out his phone and sent a text. “I’m having Nikki and Ella come down here. They’ve been upstairs supervising the workers up there, but I want to hear their opinion.”

“You’re sure you don’t want to just stick with what you already have? It’s a beautiful line.” The black gown came to mind.

“I can use some of the gowns, but then sell the others for upcoming awards shows. I do have one stipulation, though.” His eyes danced.

Debra’s stomach jumped nervously as Lance took her hand and kissed it. “What’s that?”

“Okay, so two actually. I want you to wear the dress you wore that night. It was perfect on you. It could be the final piece of the night.”

“I’ve never done a show before. I’d probably trip and fall.” Her protests were cut short with another kiss on her hand.

He smiled up at her. “We can teach you. Please. I need you to be in it.”

Debra sighed, and pushed away the wave of panic. “Fine. And what’s the other one?”

“I need a date to the Grammy’s on Sunday, and I’d love for you to accompany me. It’s the only way they’ll get me out there in this thing. I need you there.” His eyes pleaded with her.

Debra leaned down and kissed him softly on the lips—something she’d missed since that night. “Of course I’ll be your date. As long as I get the black gown you designed.”

“Good, because I realized that I’d designed that dress just for you.” Lance kissed her back, putting his arms around her. The warehouse seemed to dissolve around her as she allowed her feelings to come back up to the surface. When they finally broke away, it was hard to stand up straight with her knees as weak as they were.

“Now, let’s get this thing planned.” Lance pushed his way past the rack of clothes and waved Nikki and Ella over. Debra watched as he explained what was going to happen, then took over when he had her explain the vision. Nikki clapped her hands together in excitement, and they got to work finding pieces that would work.