Avery studies the young woman in front of her. She's wearing a simple dress made out of a light, expertly woven cotton. The dress looks as if it was custom-made for herit shows off her slim waist and petite figure. Her face is lovely and classically beautiful. Dark curly lashes fra her large, green eyes, and her heart-shaped lips are a natural pale pink. Her expression is kind and friendly, but she seems a bit shy.
"Avery, let introduce you to Rebecca Arlington," Sophie says. "She's the daughter of a friend of mine, and she's just co back to the country. She grew up abroad, you see. She saw so of your sketches, and she fell in love with your work."
"Miss Arlington, it's nice to et you too," Avery says.
Rebecca smiles and reaches into her handbag. She pulls out a small pink box and shows it to Avery.
"I've brought a small gift for you," Rebecca says. "I hope you like it."
Avery feels herself blush and says, "Oh, you're too kind, but we've just t. I can't accept it."
"Really, it's nothing," Rebecca insists. "Please take it."
Avery takes the small pink box and murmurs a quiet thanks. Rejecting the gift would be rude, and Rebecca seems like a kind person. She doesn't want to hurt Rebecca's feelings, even if the gift is a little odd.
Sophie ushers them back to the sofas, and her assistant brings a silver tray with a blue and white china teapot. She offers each woman a cup and fills it to the brim with fragrant, rosehip tea. She offers the won sugar and cream, but the delicate tea tastes better on its own, and the won refuse.
"It's not often I have such beautiful young won in my office," Sophie jokes. "You put my roses to sha."
Rebecca laughs politely and says, "Don't flatter . Miss Peters is stunning, thoughI wonder if all won in this country are as beautiful as she is."
As Rebecca talks, Avery notices a subtle, almost musical accent in her voice. She smiles at Rebecca and takes another sip of her tea. Rebecca crosses her legs at the ankle and swirls her teacup. Every movent is as graceful as a dance step.
Sophie's assistant walks over and whispers sothing to Sophie, and Sophie's eyes widen slightly. Before Avery can ask what's wrong, Sophie smiles and stands.
"Excuse , I'm afraid I have to attend to sothing," she says. "I hope you and Avery can continue the conversation without ."
"Don't worry about it," Rebecca says. "I believe that Miss Peters and I will get along very well." She turns to Avery and smiles, "Do you mind if I call you, Avery? Please, feel free to call Rebeccathere's no need for us to be so formal with each other."
Avery nods, wondering why Sophie has introduced her to Rebecca. Does Sophie want to design sothing for Rebecca? She thinks. I'd be happy to do it, but I'm already working on these cufflinks. I want to finish them before I accept a new project.
Rebecca leans forward and puts her teacup on the glass-topped coffee table. Her movents are perfectly silentthe teacup doesn't even make a noise as it touches the table. Rebecca smiles and stands. Avery follows her lead.
"Avery, thanks so much for coming to et in person," Rebecca says. "It's really thoughtful. I'm so grateful you agreed to design the cufflinks for . Sophie told you were on leave and pregnant, but I just knew no one else would be able to do as good a job as you."
Avery looks at Rebecca in surprise. She assud a male client had asked her to design the cufflinksshe wasn't picturing soone as small and feminine as Rebecca.
"I'm happy to show you so of my ideas," Avery says. "Let's go downstairs to the offices."
In the elevator, Rebecca clears her throat and says, "I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but you're so slim I almost can't believe you're pregnant. I hope soday when I have children, and I'll carry them with your grace."
As she talks about having children, a subtle blush creeps up her face, making her look innocent and girlish. Avery laughs and waves the complint away. She wants to ask Rebecca about the cufflinks, but she's not sure where to begin.
The doors of the elevator slide open, and a clerk pushing a cart loaded with a tall pile of boxes rush forward without looking. Avery wraps her arms around her stomach and braces herself for the crash, but it doesn't co. Rebecca jumps in front of her and throws her arms out to block the cart. The sloppily piled boxes tumble down, and the clerk yelps an apology. Rebecca takes Avery's arm and leads her around the ss and out of the elevator.
"Thank you," Avery says. "Not many people would throw themselves into harm's way for such a new acquaintance."
"Well, you're pregnant," Rebecca says. "Besides, I wasn't hurt at all."
Avery squeezes Rebecca's hand and leads her onto the sixth floor. They weave their way through the design apartnt to the consultation room at the back. As they walk, Avery can feel the employees staring at them. Most of them scowl and whisper behind their hands, but a few give her shy, friendly smiles.
She shows Rebecca to the small consultation room between Crystal and Emily's offices. Crystal's door is closed, and Avery hopes she's busy with other clients. But Emily's door is wide open. Before Avery can pop her head in to say hello, Emily cos rushing out.
"Oh, Avery, it's so good to see you," Emily says. "Sophie said you were coming in today, and I was hoping I'd run into you. I was so worried when you had to cancel our plans to et with my father. And then Sophie said you had to take a leave of absence, but I'm glad you're back now. You look well."
"It's great to see you too, and I'd love to reschedule our eting, but I'm with a client right now," Avery says. "Is there a sketchpad around here I could use?"
Emily nods and points at a pile of sketch pads and pens on a nearby table. Avery grabs a pad and flips through the first few pages to check that it's empty, then she takes a few pens and heads into the consultation room.
"So, you want a pair of cufflinks?" Avery asks. "Can you tell more about what you're looking for?"
"Yes, they're for my boyfriend," Rebecca says. "I want sothing as unique as my boyfriend, sothing to show him how much I love him."
Avery smiles and asks, "Did you have anything particular in mind? Gold, silver, platinum? Or is there a specific stone you want to use?"
"I've heard that rose quartz symbolizes love," Rebecca says. "Actually, if it's not too pushy, I already have the stone I'd like you to use."
Rebecca reaches into her bag and pulls out another small box. She opens it and shows Avery the gem inside. The stone is clear and flawless. Avery holds it up to the light, and the sharp edges sparkle and glitter.
"I've known my boyfriend for a long ti, but the relationship is still very new," Rebecca explains, blushing again. "I've seen your work, and I love the way you use jewelry to tell a story. I was hoping you could use this quartz to tell the story of my love for my boyfriend."
Avery puts the stone in the box, already thinking about possible designs. She makes a few notes in the sketchbook and slides the box back to Rebecca.
"If you need any help, just let know," Rebecca says. "I've just moved here, and I don't have much to do yet. Besides, I'd be happy to help with whatever you need. This project ans a lot to ."
"Your boyfriend is lucky to have a woman like you," Avery says.
"Oh, trust , I'm the lucky one," Rebecca says with a small smile. "He deserves the best, but still, he chose ."
"He must be an excellent man," Avery says. "Is he from your country?"
"Oh no, he's from here," Rebecca says. "Honestly, he's a huge part of the reason I've moved here."
"Hmm, how did you et?" Avery asks. "The more I know about your story, the easier it'll be to design the cufflinks."
"I t him at a banquet when I was a child, and I liked him very much," Rebecca says with a small laugh. "I guess you could say, that's when my feelings began. Every few years, I see him at a social event or dinner, and my feelings have only grown stronger. Honestly, I've always dread of marrying him."
"He must be a wonderful man," Avery says. "I wish you two the best."
"Thank you, I think he's the best man in this whole country," Rebecca says.
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