The Essence of Perfection

by Nita Brooks

  Lady Entrepreneur had a wide circulation. Women all over the country subscribed to the magazine, which provided everything from tips for running a business to interviews with successful women on its pages. Of course, she wanted those same women to think of her when they thought of interior design.

  “That’s why I’m here,” Bree said. A recent graduate of design school, they’d met when Yvonne hired Bree as an intern the summer before. After graduation, Yvonne had snatched up the brilliant designer immediately. “Besides, you’ve got a good excuse. I can imagine your head is elsewhere.” Bree grinned and squeezed her hands together in front of her chest. Bree’s curly hair was worn in a cute pixie cut and her brown eyes sparkled with excitement behind a pair of black framed glasses.

  “I know. I’ve been busy thinking about what I need for my first meeting with Sandra Covington.”

  “I’m not talking about that. I mean your proposal over the weekend. The way Nathan surprised you! That was so romantic!”

  Yes. The proposal. You’d think saying yes to the man she loved after he proposed via the jumbotron at the Atlanta Braves game wouldn’t slip her mind. Honestly, she was still getting used to the idea of being engaged. For the past six years, she’d been a single mom and business owner. Now she was part of a team. Of course, she would have a hard time believing it.

  Nathan Lange, home improvement television star, boy-next-door sex symbol, and all-around good guy, was her fiancé. She couldn’t be happier. And if she happened to notice that saying yes to Nathan had gotten her more congratulations and well wishes than starting her own business, being named business woman of the year twice, or working for a star on Celebrity Housewives, she didn’t let it bother her. Not too much.

  Marriage was a big deal. Her son, Jacob, would have a father. She would have a man who loved and supported her. That was worth congratulating.

  She glanced at the three-carat diamond on her left hand. “I can’t wait to marry Nathan, but no, that’s not what distracted me. Now that I’ve got Sandra’s account, I want to make sure I don’t let any other projects slip through the crack.”

  “That’s what you have me for,” Bree said. “As your administrative assistant, I’m determined to keep you on track. But once you and Nathan get the television show, I may need an assistant for all of the work that’s going to come your way.”

  Yvonne knocked three times on the oak surface of her desk, then crossed her fingers. “I hope so. The television show is still up in the air.”

  She’d met Nathan on the set of Celebrity Housewives, where he’d worked as the contractor. The disagreements and attraction between them had sparked almost instantly. So much so, they’d stolen every scene they were in. Their chemistry had given Nathan’s publicist the idea they could be the new helm of a home improvement show. While Yvonne had never thought about television, she wasn’t one to turn down the opportunity to grow her business even further. She’d once been forced to accept whatever scraps she could get from the person who claimed to love her. Not anymore. Neither she, nor her son, would ever be in that position again.

  “You guys will get it.”

  “Maybe, but until then I can’t forget what got me here in the first place. No matter what happens with me and Nathan, Yvonne Cable Designs is and always will be my priority. I fought too hard to build my brand to this point to let it go just because I’m getting married.”

  “But you will be making time to plan your wedding.”

  “You know it!”

  “I’d expect nothing less.” Bree looked at her cell phone. “Five minutes until the call. I’ll leave you alone so you can get ready.”

  Yvonne went through the notes she’d jotted down for why she should be their go-to person for the lifestyle section. When she’d spoken with Lashon, the editor of the magazine, she’d still been considering a few other designers. This call would, hopefully, convince Lashon to go with her.

  Lashon called right on time. They went through the normal pleasantries: quick stories about their kids, Lashon had two girls, and the latest good news from the magazine staffers. Then Lashon got to business.

  “Look, Yvonne, I know you’ve gotten really busy lately.”

  “Not too busy to supply design tips for the readers of your magazine. I was thinking of a focus on commercial spaces. Restaurants, offices, things like that.”

  “Actually, I was thinking we could go in a different direction,” Lashon said before Yvonne could go into the reasons why she was the right choice.

  “You’re no longer looking to include interior design tips?”

  “No, silly. I’m surprised you haven’t already figured that out,” Lashon said laughing. “I want the feature to be with you and Nathan.”

  “Really?” That idea had not crossed her mind.

  “It’s genius, right?”

  “I’m not sure I’m following along.”

  “Lady Entrepreneur is still going to focus on women business owners, but I’m thinking of expanding the lifestyle section to also tackle relationships. Doesn’t that make sense?”

  Not entirely, considering the magazine was supposed to be a business resource, but Yvonne never claimed to be an expert in magazine editing. “I’m intrigued by this new direction. Tell me more.”

  “We did a survey of our subscribers. Many of them are single women who are also struggling to find a balance between work and family. You, my friend, are now the epitome of what so many single women want. You made a successful career despite having a child.”

  “Despite?” A child wasn’t an automatic liability.

  “And even though you are a single mother, you still happened to land a great guy like Nathan Lange. We think a quarterly feature on how you balance being a wife, mother, and business owner would go a long way to giving our readers hope.”

  Giving the readers hope? Landing a great guy like Nathan hadn’t been part of her life goals. If anything, after the disaster that was her relationship with Jacob’s father, she’d never believed she would trust a man again. But she had, and yes, Nathan was great, and she was happy things worked out, but she wouldn’t say her life was now defined by her engagement. Was it?

  “So, what do you say?”

  “Can I think about it? I really wanted to focus on Yvonne Cable Designs.”

  “Yes, of course, you can still mention that, but just include more information about your happy ending. You two are perfect together. Don’t underestimate how much more your brand is worth now that you have him tied to it.”

  How much more her brand is worth? She’d thought her brand was fine as it was. Sure, people called more after she and Nathan’s relationship developed on Celebrity Housewives. They’d done a few interviews promoting the idea of doing a show that focused on blending their styles to achieve southern sophistication, but she was more than the Vonne in their tentatively titled show, Nate and Vonne.

  Or was she? She wasn’t a stranger to being in this situation. Not being enough. She glanced at the Power of Perfection article that had given her such joy just a few minutes ago. Even that interview request had come after she and Nathan appeared on the show.

  “I’ll let you know about the feature with Nathan. I need to talk it over with him first.”

  “Great! Just think about it some more. We love what you’ve done and would like to work with you. Let’s find a way to make that happen.”

  Yvonne turned over the magazine and drummed her fingers on the desk. “Sure. I’ll talk to you later.”

  Yvonne got off the phone and leaned back in her chair. She looked around her office. The awards on the wall. The layouts for projects. Everything she’d built. Maybe Lashon had a point. Maybe people would be more drawn to her business now that she was getting married. Ignoring an angle that allowed her to expand would be ludicrous. Power couples were a big deal. Maybe that was her brand now. One half of a whole.

  She took a deep breath and sat up straight. She’d come too far to backtrack. No matter what happened, she
wouldn’t lose the Yvonne Cable who had overcome adversity and built a small empire. She wasn’t just a master at creating fabulous interior designs. She’d spent the past six years carefully crafting her own image. Maybe it was time for another personal redesign.