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“I didn’t hear anything you just said,” I replied. “But thanks though. You’re the best.”
Smiling, she shook her head and returned to eating, and then she asked a question that, up until that moment, hadn’t really crossed my mind.
“How much is she paying you?” Anna asked. “Is it substantial? Was she cheap about it or was there no negotiation?”
My hand stopped, and as I realized my major blunder, which was the fact that I hadn’t even
discussed it with her.
“Let me guess,” Anna said dryly as she looked at me. “You, in your extreme excitement, took a job and didn’t even discuss your payment. What if she can’t afford it, and you're forced fighting a client for money for months again?”
“Ugh,” I groaned. “Well, she hasn’t yet booked it officially. She just said she’d reach out to me next week, so I can just wait for that.”
“Don’t you have her details?” Anna asked. “Why don’t you just send her your fee information?”
"Don’t jump the gun,” I told her. “All will happen in time.”
“This has happened before,” she said. “Have you forgotten?” she asked. “You getting so excited about a project, only for it to fall through, and then you have no food to eat for the next two weeks.”
“It’ll be fine,” I replied. “I’ll look for another gig in the meantime.”
“Or…” she said, and judging by the look on her face, I could almost guess what she was going to say, and I didn’t like it one bit.
“You could, like I keep mentioning, reach out to Victoria.” I instantly fired a glare at her, and instead of her feeling remorse, she was amused.
“I know you don’t like her, especially because of that argument that you both had in our freshman year that nobody remembers or cares about, and neither should you, but okay, keep carrying the grudge anyway and allowing it to keep you so proud that you won’t reach out for her to connect you with all the high-profile clients that she has been gifted to in the city. No. Don’t reach out to her.”
“Wow,” I said. “You’ve really been thinking about this one, haven’t you?”
“You’re too romantic about your work,” she said. “And it shouldn’t be that way because this is New York. You need to eat and pay rent and thrive, not scramble for cheap-paying clients. One of those clients, I’m sure, guarantees you income for at least six months.”
We both stared at each other quietly, and then I gave her a hard blink and looked away.
“You know I’m right,” she said, however, I didn’t respond.
I kept eating silently. Eventually though, I did respond.
“I’m not contacting Victoria because I’m proud nor because I’m holding onto whatever grudge you think we have.”
“You mean you’re admitting to having a grudge with her?” she asked, and I sent her another displeased look.
“Anyway, my point is if I had interests in those kinds of weddings, I’d go after them, but I really don’t enjoy them as much.”
“Have you ever tried, though?” she asked. “You just got started, and you've purposely always gone after the smaller projects which I don’t agree with. Start handling the bigger ones, and maybe, just maybe, you can convince them to add that rustic feel that you like with your projects.”
All of this talking was beginning to give me a headache. For the most part, she was right, but since I wasn’t ready to hear any of it just yet, I decided to simply eat my meal quietly and let the matter go.
Speaking of work,” I asked her. “How did it go with your boss and the date you claimed was not a date?”
“It went fine,” she said, however, I couldn’t miss the fact that she was suddenly so sullen, and I knew that things had not gone as well as she had planned.
“Let me guess, he was formal throughout the whole thing?”
She was quiet for a while, but actually, she replied.
“He didn’t even seem to want to look at me. Meanwhile, on normal days at work, I note the difference between how he treats me and how he treats my coworkers. Even they have noticed the difference, wondering if I was his secret niece or something.”
I listened, and then I nodded.
