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Chapter 34
The plane touched down and everyone removed their seatbelts. Everyone was Liz, Jason, Max, Milo, Rory, and Paulie. The six travelers walked out of the aircraft to find a small greeting party awaiting them. Keys to cars were turned over and while she was getting in the passenger seat of her car Liz heard some laughter coming from the security teams.
"You okay over there?" Jason asked once he was behind the wheel. Liz had been quiet since they left for the airport back home. He was thinking it was because they were leaving for New York, but wanted to check in just in case he was wrong.
"Yeah." Liz leaned her head back and looked over at her boyfriend. "It comes in waves. The realization that I'm putting on a show during fashion week. Right after Kate left I pushed it out of my mind because it was a little distracting. In the best possible way, but I just couldn't concentrate on anything else when it popped into my brain." Liz tried to explain what she was feeling.
After their lunch Liz bought the editor back to the boutique and they walked the store room brainstorming about what looks to show. Kate had made sure Liz knew that she had the final say, and to not let anyone else push her around. In some regards Liz had it easy in that she would be showing looks from her current collection. Most designer debuted looks during this week. If Liz ever got invited back she would move into that category.
Jason nodded understanding what she was talking about. They hadn't really discussed the upcoming show much. This was not an area he could offer any help. All he could do was give her his support. He was giving his girl space to get ready, but from time to time he would walk in the room to find her with a shocked look on her face. She was still processing. That wouldn't change for a while now. Even once the show was over she would have things to process.
"Even when I wasn't thinking about it, this show was affecting everything else. I had lunch with Em to talk about the Deception ads, and I had looks that I didn't share because they would be in the show." Liz explained to him. "After that I pushed it away again, then I got a call from Venus and it came rushing back that I had a show at fashion week." Venus was Kate's right hand gal, and Liz's contact for everything happening in Manhattan this week. The other woman was super nice, and Liz was grateful for all her help. This was something much easier to navigate with someone who was in the know.
Jason followed the car with Max and Rory as they headed to their accommodations. "It's a lot to take in. Any time you do something for the first time it can be scary. That feeling might have been magnified by the fact that you were doing everything on your own." He looked over as he stopped at a light. With no assistant meant his girl was arranging the show, keeping an eye on her store, working with Deception, and still creating clothes. He knew she was giving more consideration to hiring an assistant sooner rather than later. "Your next show will much easier to fit into the schedule."
Liz just laughed. "My next show." She repeated his words. "Let me survive this one first. Leading up to this trip I was convinced that my clothes wouldn't show up, which doesn't make sense because I knew we were bringing them with us. Now I just need to worry my models won't make it." She had four models she normally used on her site. When Karen stepped down to work on her business, Liz hired someone new to take her place and things moved forward. For fashion week she was presenting twenty looks so more models had to be hired, and then have their outfits altered. Interviewing the girls the agency sent over had been time consuming. That was what had Liz considering getting an assistant now.
"We are flying the models down, so don't worry about that." Jason had helped wherever he could. Renting a plane for the models, their parents where necessary, and the glam squad had not been a problem. "Elton was apparently thrilled that you are using Deception cosmetics for your show."
"One hand washing and all that." Liz wouldn't have used anyone else. "Now that Em is working there it was a no brainer." In the almost month since Kate's surprise visit to Port Charles things had changed. Alexis has a nice big belly, she and baby girl Corinthos were doing great. Carly and AJ announced they were expecting which had been celebrated. Johnny and Karen were doing great, same with all the other couples. Life in upstate New York was pretty dang wonderful.
"I have lots of samples of Deception to give out at the after party. Kate said stepping out with such an established and well-known brand will only help my brand's image." Liz was going to make the most of this week. Networking was going to happen, and she was okay with that. Like she told Jason, awards weren't the goal. However success for her company was.
Jason was thinking that this week his girlfriend was going to be very much in demand. They were going to a party every night. Johnny had laughed his ass off when he learned that. Only for Elizabeth would Jason do this much socializing. Talking to people wasn't going to be the pain, it was the week of suits Jason wasn't looking forward to. "Your talent is what will help your image's brand. You make good clothes, and don't charge people outrageous amounts of money for them. People will notice and respect that." Yes some of Elizabeth's clothes were more expensive than others, but there were things on the site that everyone could afford.
"Where are we?" Liz asked as they pulled into an underground garage.
"We are at East 58th Street." Jason followed Max to the reserved parking spaces. The guard had flown down last week to do a walkthrough of the space. Upstairs there would be a guard from the Jameson family who controlled the territory. The guards that had been at the airport worked for that family.
"We aren't staying at a hotel?" They were at a private high rise residence.
Jason parked and turned the car off before looking at his girl. "I believe in you. Which is something you know." As he watched she nodded and smiled. "I know that you have no desire to move to New York, for which I am grateful. I also know that New York has a lot of people you need to keep in contact with. Some of that can be done via email, phone calls, and skyping." Owning an international business Jason knew that in today's age a lot of his work was done over the internet. It would be the same for Elizabeth. "From time to time you will need to be here for work. The plane will be at your disposal when you have to fly down. I'll come with you when I can, but when I can't its imperative for me to know you are safe. That starts with where you are staying. A hotel isn't going to cut it. Not if you need to come down often." He was guessing that she would be down here at least every few months.
"You bought an apartment." Liz knew where this was going.
"I bought a floor." Jason corrected with a grin.
"An entire floor?" Liz shifted so that she was facing him fully. "Seriously?" New York real estate was not cheap so this was surprising.
"That sounds more impressive than it is. There are only four units on the floor we'll be staying on. I bought them all because they are all currently empty. One is ours, one is for the guards. I sold one to Diane, because she comes down a lot for business and to socialize. The last one I sold to Sonny because when the families meet its generally in New York." Maximus liked the city very much. "It also means I know who your neighbors are." Again that had to be considered when they were done here.
"Anytime any of us comes down we now have a home base." Liz saw how that would work. It was also telling because he didn't even own homes in most of the places he had businesses. For her he decided that they needed to own a home. "Thank you."
"You're welcome. Come on up. You can tell me what you think. The units are all furnished. I had new mattresses delivered for all the bedrooms and that's it." Jason took her hand in his as they went to the elevator where the guys were waiting.
They were now residents of the Sutton Place neighborhood, meaning they were minutes from anything she might want to do. Walking into the unit she had been greeted with fresh flowers and a copy of Crimson with her on the cover. A copy of her itinerary for the week was in an envelope next to the bouquet. She had gotten it in an email two weeks ago, and was already tired just thinking of that many hours in heels.
Now Liz was on the balcony looking at the east side of Midtown Manhattan. If she stood up she could see the lush green of Central Park. This was going to be one of her favorite spots in the apartment in warmer months. In colder months she would have plenty of space inside so that feeling cramped wouldn't happen. They had three bedrooms, one of which was going to become an office for her. "Meeting done?"
"Yeah." Jason sat down next to her. "The guys are betting how long it will take me to curl up in a ball and cry from all the parties."
"They haven't talked to Milo then." Liz was laughing. "I gave him instructions that he is to keep everyone away from you this week."
"No one is interested in me that will help. I'll just stand there and look pretty." Jason said with a wide smile. "I'm also around for purse holding, if you need that."
"I'll keep that in mind. We don't have anything planned tonight. Want to walk around the neighborhood?" She needed to know where the grocery store was.
"Paulie can play tour guide. He grew up around here." Jason stood up and helped Elizabeth to her feet. Tonight would be relaxing because tomorrow they were going to be guests at three different fashion shows. It was going to be a crazy week.
Venus waited until Elizabeth finished inspecting the outfit that was on the model. Yesterday they had done their rehearsal and now it was show time. The green dress was beautiful, and Venus saw it yesterday as Elizabeth did a check to make sure all the looks were accounted for. Venus had not hesitated to whip out her phone, go onto the Audrey March website and buy that dress. It was going to sell out, she had been doing this long enough to spot a winner.
Elizabeth was coming into the week with high expectations having been placed on her. The eyes of the fashion community were on her because Kate did not make it a habit of backing designers. As the editor of the foremost fashion magazine out there she did her best to stay neutral. However when she saw someone with exceptional talent she spoke up. Kate's last pick had been Angel Ellis, and now the designer was a house hold name. Venus could already tell that her boss had picked another winner.
"Hi." Liz smiled at Venus. The other woman had been very patient with her. "I'm being overly critical. Considering I did the adjustments you would think I would be satisfied."
"There is nothing wrong with making sure everything is just so. There are a lot of people with cameras out there, and the HD lenses pick up every detail." Venus said smiling. She had enjoyed working with Liz this week. Considering her level of talent the designer had zero ego. "I just wanted to let you know the last of the girls are in hair and makeup."
Liz nodded still looking the outfit over. "Thank you." That meant they were going to be heading over to the dressing area shortly. None of the girls were doing more than one look because Kate suggested that each outfit be displayed again during the final walk. That was when Elizabeth would go out and take her bow, and she would be wearing one of her looks to close the show. "Also thank you for your help this week. It was invaluable." Venus had been her escort to the shows and after parties.
"You're welcome." The red head replied smiling. There it was again, that lack of ego. She would eat her phone if Liz ever changed. Some people were changed by being in the industry. The petite woman in front of her wouldn't be. "How are you doing?"
"Terrified." Liz said with a wide smile. "I have the Friday night slot at fashion week." As the Young Designer of the Year she got the coveted time. The Designer of the Year got the best spot of the week, Saturday night. This year it was Angel Ellis, and Liz was super excited to go to that show tomorrow. She would be sitting front row center, next to Kate. They were best seats in the house. "At the same time I stand by my designs. This is me, and this is what I do. I'm confident in what I'm presenting."
"Good." Venus had to smile. There was nothing wrong with being proud of what you had created. It's when you decided the universe revolved around you that problems started. "The seats are all filling up now. Your personal guests are all here." Liz had a lot of support from her home town. "We have another staff member who is on standby to escort everyone to the shuttle that will take them to the after party."
Liz would get to the celebration late because she had a host of interviews to do once her show was completed. By then she would be in the outfit she had selected for herself. Right now she was in jeans, a t-shirt, and sneakers. With a nod she let the model leave and opened the final garment bags. She was showing four looks from active wear, four from her everyday line, four from corporate, and four of her gowns. "My friends are excited to be here." They had arrived last night and Sonny had made dinner in his unit. "They are hoping for some celebrity sightings." Since Kate was going to be at the party there was a chance that might happen.
"Want to take a peek at out front?" Venus asked since Liz had a free minute.
"Yeah." Getting a glimpse of Jason would relax her. He wasn't backstage because honestly he would just be in the way. Liz peeked through the heavy curtain that the models would walk through. Her guy was sitting front row on the right side of the catwalk. Emily was on one side of him, and Lila was on the other. The rest of the crew filled in the first and second rows, with folks who bought tickets behind them.
Looking to the left Liz's eyes got wide. Kate was seated in the center of the front row, that wasn't surprising. On her right was Angel Ellis. "Angel Ellis is here." Liz said turning and looking at Venus. "I didn't know she was coming."
"We weren't sure she was going to make it." Venus explained. Normally it would be hard to fit someone in the day of the show, but they just bumped someone else. Brenda Barrett had wanted a ticket, but the model was on Kate's shit list at the moment so they told her no.
"That's not surprising, her show is tomorrow night." Liz hadn't gone to any shows yesterday because of prep. She looked back at the audience.
The other designer really wanted to be at this show, but Venus wasn't going to mention that and make Liz even more nervous. Angel was a big fan of Audrey March.
"She's wearing one of my dresses!" Liz said telling herself to breathe and to not go all fangirl backstage at her own show. "From last fall." Angel Ellis was in something she created. Elizabeth looked closer at Kate, and the editor was also in an Audrey March dress. "Wow. I'm gonna need a minute."
"Sorry, you don't have one." Venus said looking over her shoulder. "A model just came in from hair and makeup."
"Actually that's good." Liz said walking away from the curtain. "Keeping busy will stop me from thinking." She grabbed needed outfit and helped her model get dressed.
The music started and Liz took a deep breath. This was it. The moment she checked another item off of her professional bucket list. Even if she never got an invite back to fashion week, she was here now. The girls were lined up and ready to go. Hair and makeup was fairly tame, based on some of the other shows Liz had gone to. But over the top didn't fit with her clothes. No matter what she had promised herself that she was going to stay true to who she was. She wasn't going to try to be anyone else. Now she was standing to the side watching as the first model approached the curtain, because she wouldn't be the one sending the girls down the runway.
"Here we go." Venus looked at over at Elizabeth. "Congratulations."
"Thank you for all the hard work you put in this week." Liz could feel her eyes burning as she talked to the other woman. Looking over her shoulder she smiled at her guy. Once everything calmed down, about ten minutes ago, she realized she wanted Jason here with her. He didn't hesitate to come back stage to basically hold her hand. "Thanks, for everything." She told him. The list of all the ways he had been there for her was too long to go into right now. But he knew what he brought to her life, because she told him every day.
"You're welcome." Jason kissed her forehead. He was hanging back, and trying to stay out of the way.
Liz faced front and watched the show runner nod sending the first model out. Her show had started, and there was no going back now. Oddly enough now that she couldn't make any more changes, now that things were out of her hands the tension left her. The first model returned with a huge smile on her face and the second look was underway.
When the last model stepped out the hair and makeup team touched up Elizabeth's look. When they were done she gave herself a quick look in the mirror. Her outfit choice was a black sleeveless wrap style tuxedo dress with a pleated skirt from her current line. She had paired it with black and white shoes, her ring, and her Gram's earrings. It was a polished and sophisticated first look at the designer behind the brand. It was also a complete three sixty from the look she sported in her Crimson magazine where she had on jeans and one of her tops. The choices were deliberate. Liz wanted to let everyone know there was more than one side to her.
Jason dropped her a wink when she turned back around. Elizabeth just beamed with the silent praise. Walking over she linked her fingers with his as the final model returned. "I did it." Her show was almost over.
"Never had a doubt." Jason always believed in her. "Go take your bow. You've earned it."
Liz nodded and walked over to stand behind the last of her models. Once again they filed out, this time in a single line while applauding. When the show runner nodded the curtain opened one final time and Liz walked out to a standing ovation.
"Okay, that was the last of the interviews." Venus had been ushering the reporters in and out of the press area. "You did very well."
"It helped that I spent most of the time talking about something I am passionate about." Liz had struggled some on the questions about herself. It just felt odd to have strangers wanting to know about her. Realistically most of the time they wouldn't care about her, but right now she was in the spotlight. From this week Liz learned that talking about her clothes and future collections was much easier.
"Now you can sit back and enjoy the weekend." Venus figured there would still be reporters who wanted to talk to Liz, but her official duties were done. "I'll see you at the party." The official reception for this show was at the Crimson building.
"How are you getting over?" Liz wanted to make sure Venus wasn't going to be trying to flag down a cab.
"A car is waiting for me, thanks." Venus gave a wave before going to get the rest of her items.
"How are we getting to the party?" Liz asked her guy who had been patiently waiting for her for the last hour.
"Limo." Jason had been texting with the guys while waiting for his girlfriend. The crew was at the party sending over pictures of the celebrities they were meeting. He learned earlier in the week that a lot of famous people flocked to New York for these shows.
"I'm going to have to stay at the party until it ends." She as they grabbed her garment bag. "Sorry I've been ignoring you all night."
"You haven't been ignoring me." Jason cleared that up immediately. "You were working." When they went to business dinners the situation would be reversed, and he knew Elizabeth wouldn't complain. "I enjoyed sitting back and watching everyone give you the adoration you deserve."
Liz just laughed at that statement. Jason was the only person whose adoration she wanted. She passed the garment bag with the clothes she wore over to their driver who would put it in the trunk. Her guy opened the door and she got inside the vehicle. "Jason." She said softly looking at the interior. The seat opposite where they were sitting was covered in flowers.
"You need your hands free, so I thought I'd put the flowers here." He said sitting next to her. "They are all in pots, and when we get home tonight we'll take them up to the units. They can go on the balconies." Right now there weren't any plants in the outside space.
"I would love that." Liz leaned forward and gave him a lingering kiss. "This has been an amazing night, in what has been an amazing week. Having you beside me every step of the way has meant everything to me."
"I'll always do my best to be there when you need me. As far as I'm concerned it's my primary purpose in life." Jason lifted her hand and kissed below where his ring was resting. "Now it's time to party."
"Yes, it is." Liz leaned into him. It was time to celebrate with everyone who loved her. They had dropped everything to come witness this moment in her life. They would be there tomorrow when she officially received her Young Designer of the Year award at the Fashion Council luncheon. Everyone was making it clear that they supported her dream. Now though, now they were waiting for her to join them, and she was anxious to hear what they thought of the show. This was her night, and she wasn't ever going to forget a second of it.
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