It only took about twenty minutes each for Carrie and the guy who she found out was named Billy to speak with Gael and the team. When it was Blue's turn her nerves had built up so much that she felt like she was buzzing audibly and was sure they would all hear.

She sat back down next to Arjun and waited. Gael was writing something down quickly and when he finished he closed the folder and looked up right at her and smiled that genuine smile again as she handed him her portfolio. He flipped through it as he spoke, "Blue, thanks for coming in today. I heard your show just finished and I know it's an extremely quick turnaround time, so I appreciate you being willing to work with us."

"It's not a problem at all! I actually get antsy if I have too much downtime, so I'd be pretty happy to jump right in if I end up being a good fit."

Arjun rolled his eyes, making it very clear he felt she was indeed the best fit for the job.

Gael laughed at Arjun, "It's pretty obvious some of the team already thinks you should have been signed yesterday. I have to admit, I am familiar with your work on To Tell A Lie. What you did was subtly mind-blowing, if that makes sense? I mean, costumes are so critical for a good production, but it's not usually at the forefront of my mind. I mostly get caught up in the music and script, or feel drawn to an actor's performance. But I clearly remember thinking 'wow, these costumes are as vital to this play as any of the characters are' and I know I'm not the only one who thought that."

Blue almost blushed at the compliment, but years in the business had taught her to accept it kindly and return the favor.

"It's funny you say that, when I saw your last show I had almost the exact same experience. Of course, the costume design was great, and I loved the scenery...but the music was so sharp and purposeful. Amazing, really. It stuck with me for a long time and I probably told over twenty people to go see your show, so you can thank me later."

Gael laughed out loud this time and his eyes squinted from his large smile. "I had no idea we had you personally keeping the show afloat, thanks to your marketing."

Blue shrugged, "it's not hard for me to talk incessantly about, well, anything really. But something that powerful? Try and stop me from telling everyone I know."

Gael thanked her again and got down to the business at hand. He asked her if she had pieces she could bring with her from past productions, and how much she would be willing to create new for the show. Typical questions about working well with others and being able to manage a team were unusually easy since she had Arjun literally sitting next to her to vouch for her. They went over the budget for the costume department and he asked how she was at accounting for the money spent. As a penny-pinching production manager, Arjun's favorite story to tell about Blue is when she was "creatively frugal" and had used Dollar Store placemats as fabric for a costume on a show they did together in college. Everyone raved about the quality of the textiles and what an amazing find it was. Little did they know, the entire piece cost about thirteen dollars to create.

"I love that you're willing to use anything and don't seem to be stifled by your creativity, but instead it seems to open up more options for you," Gael said while staring right into her eyes. She was not used to so many compliments coming from anyone other than Arjun, so it was getting more and more difficult to not blush. This business could be harsh; there's a lot of competition, and environments brimming with artists can lead to a lot of drama. He was so sincere though, and she was starting to feel pretty optimistic about landing this job.

After asking about the show in more detail, because she just honestly couldn't hold back her curiosity, Gael noticed the time and realized they had been talking for over forty minutes.

"Wow, we should probably wrap up, I don't want to keep you any longer. Sorry for rambling," Gael apologized.

"It's fine, I seriously had nothing else to do today other than to be here. Well, I mean I did plan on going rock climbing, doing some yoga, and maybe even taking a pottery class before dinner. But I think I still have time for all that," Blue said in jest.

Gael laughed, "oh yeah, you could probably even sneak some bowling in and then go for a bike ride too? Just to top it all off." He was joking, but Blue did think a bike ride might actually be nice and added it to her list of possible activities to keep her mind occupied for the rest of the day.

Gael stood up and offered his hand to her as she turned to leave. She reached across the messy desk to shake it and felt a jolt when they touched, as though she was shocked by static electricity. "I am really glad to have met you today, Blue." The look on his face showed he meant it.

Why was she so affected by this guy? It felt like she was in middle school again and couldn't control her prefrontal cortex. She had to admit, his smoothness was charming in a way she did not expect herself to be attracted to. Normally her type was offbeat nerdy guys, with the occasional mishap of ending up with a boring narcissist. He seemed so authentic and charming, she wondered what was hiding underneath - the true Gael. Her nature was not to trust anyone so nice until she got to know them better, which she hoped that if this interview went well enough she'd have the opportunity to do just that.

She promptly giggled at him like an actual school girl and her brain searched for something to say, like it always did in awkward situations. Fill the awkwardness with more awkwardness, that will help.

"Good to meet you too," was all she could muster. Wow. She turned to Arjun and muttered, "walk me out?" It was more of a command than a request; a plea that she needed rescuing.

The look on Arjun's face was pure smugness: absolute bliss in what he just witnessed. She could already imagine what he would have to say as though she could literally hear his thoughts.

Gael thanked her one more time as she was walking out the door of the office and offered, "we will definitely be making our decision by tonight and letting you know ASAP since we are on such a tight schedule. I'll call you, if that's okay?"

Blue told him that was great when truthfully it was not great because she only became more nervous about the impending call, even more nervous than she was earlier about this interview. She forced Arjun out the door with her and shot him a look that told him to 'keep quiet until we are outside '.

As they burst through the doors onto the corner of 49th and 8th, Arjun let out a scream that scared the passersby. Blue looked at them apologetically and then turned to him. "Did what I think just happened, really happen?"

Without holding back, he grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her in for a tight embrace. "My girl Blue, you just got the job and a guy all in one hour!"

"Don't you dare get my hopes up, Arjun!" She glared at him with her hands on her hips.

"I mean, I'm not the only one that saw the way he was looking at you-"

"Oh my God, no! I meant the job! Geez. I'm not looking for a relationship right now, you know how it is. There's no time during production," she suddenly froze and nervously put her hand on her forehead. "So I didn't just imagine all of that? He really was acting like he was into me?"

She wondered if she had been as obvious about his effect on her.

"There's no way you didn't notice the way he looked at you. And let me tell you, I've not seen him that excited to talk to anyone in a while. Lately, he's either stressed or preoccupied - rightfully so during this insanely busy time - but no one has seen that version of Gael in months."

"Okay fine," she relented, "but I feel like I didn't handle it very smoothly."

"Girl, leave the smoothness up to him. I think he has it covered." Arjun said with a dreamy look in his eyes.

Blue huffed and said she needed to get going before she drove herself crazy overthinking. A good distraction was needed so she could not think about what happened or the phone call that was coming later. They said their goodbyes and he headed back inside to delegate with the team and, as subtly as Arjun was capable of, fight for Blue to be hired.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

She took the subway to the best place to erase all her worries and get out of her head for a while: Namaste Yoga Studio. Her monthly membership fees meant she could keep a mat and a change of clothes in the lockers there so she didn't have to make any stops and was able to head right there.

She changed into her black leggings and burnt orange tank top, leaving her shoes off since she preferred doing yoga barefoot, it felt more natural to her. For her, this was a spiritual practice that just so happened to have a physical element to it. While rolling out her mat, she noticed she had a few minutes before the next class started, so she just sat and did some breathing exercises to pass the time.

Her mom was the one that taught her how to breathe the anxiety away. She taught yoga at a studio in Austin in the 1990s and felt it was important that Blue practiced from a young age, so she started teaching her as soon as she could walk. As a kid she was bossy and bold, no one that didn't know her well would have expected the anxious thoughts that could fill her mind from time to time. She often would worry about things that seemed impossible. She felt it was her job to protect those around her and that if she didn't do it, no one would.

And when she was 13, those seemingly impossible dangers became her reality.

A clear soothing voice echoed from the front of the class just in time for Blue to crawl out of the emotional hole she almost fell into. She was grateful; after all, this was supposed to be a time to get out of her head and into her body. The tall and lean teacher named Mira instructed everyone with her musical voice to begin in mountain pose.

"As you stand firmly planted to the earth in tadasana , breathe all of the darkness and negative energy out of your body. Imagine it leaving you as you push the air from your lungs. As you inhale, bring the light and goodness of this world into you. Let it fill you with warmth and peace with every expansion of your chest and abdomen."

Blue could feel the stress melting away with every breath. Each pose helped her move the worry out of her body and let the calmness settle there instead. By the end of the class, she had forgotten the worries she had about what happened with Gael and the uncertainty of getting the job that she realized she wanted pretty bad.

She left the studio refreshed and decided to get some groceries since she was near one of her favorite shops. Plus, it would help the time pass until tonight when she would be getting a phone call-

Just then her phone rang. The streets were loud but she checked to see who it was just in case it was important.

*Century Theater

She wasn't prepared for the call to happen so soon. She quickly switched her brain into professional mode and took a deep breath, secretly allowing herself to hope for good news. That yoga session really did the trick of calming her nerves, apparently. She wanted to come across as confident this time and made sure there was no room for unprofessional awkwardness.

"Hello?" She said into her phone, covering her mouth a little with her hand so the street noises would be muffled.

"Hey Blue, it's Gael. Sorry to call you so quickly after you just left."

"No no, it's totally fine. I'm not busy."

"Great! So we intended to talk it over for a while and make sure we did our due diligence in choosing a costume designer. But honestly..."

Blue tensed up a little, obviously she should have been preparing for bad news instead. Hopefully, he let her down gently, although he seemed gentlemanly enough that she assumed he would try to be as nice about it as possible.

"...we didn't feel like we needed to waste all that time going over what we all basically knew from the start. We would love to sign you on as the costume designer for our show and, if you'll agree, to possibly keep you on as wardrobe supervisor for the full duration of the show while it's playing. If you need time to think about it, that's perfectly fine, we just would love to know for sure by this evening so we can -"

"Yes!" Blue basically shouted into the phone. Great. Super professional. "I'm honored the whole team agrees I'm right for the show and I'd be more than happy to work with y'all"

Gael laughed breathily into the phone and asked, "y'all? I could tell you weren't from New York, but I didn't guess the south."

"Yep, Texan - born and raised. My accent disappeared mostly, unless you get some drinks in me or I get real tired. Then it starts popping up like a prairie dog scanning the horizon."

"Hmm well I can't wait to see you into either of those situations and hear this accent for myself."

The sauciness of this guy was actually impressive. She felt challenged, like he wanted her to match his caliber, if she dared. So, in the most unwavering tone she could muster, she replied, "you outta hear the things that come out of my mouth when I'm in an even more compromising position."

She heard the unmistakable sputter of coffee exiting his mouth at light speed. A small cough turned into a nervous laugh and he said he better go tell the others she had accepted the job and warn them about her accent that could show up at any moment.

So, that actually was the key: he was used to being forward but wasn't used to being on the receiving end. Blue said goodbye and tucked that knowledge away for future use, just in case that might come in handy.

————

Arjun had been texting her nonstop, even though she knew he was probably in meetings for the rest of the day. He promised to call and properly go over the meeting details of when they decided to sign her on, and gushed about how excited he was to work with her again. He held back and only mentioned the ' sexy genius ' a few times, including how frazzled he seemed when he returned from making the call to her.

Success.

Blue was determined to stay as professional as possible with Gael, while still throwing every bit of flirtation he dolled out right back at him. She had no intention of doing anything more than making sure she did her job well and enjoyed every second of it. She needed this, not only financially since her last show was closing, but she had been longing to stretch her creative wings for a while now and Gael's show was sure to give her the expanse to do just that.

She was done grocery shopping and was sitting on the subway with her giant brown paper bag crinkling more in her lap with every bump the subway car hit. Due to the excitement of her day, she over-shopped a bit and the heavy bag was threatening to burst and spill its sugary contents all over the floor of the train. She carefully made her way up to street level when she got to her stop and navigated the two blocks to her apartment.

As she walked in, obviously struggling, George ran over to her with his hands out ready to catch anything she might lose in her battle with the bag.

"Miss Blue, what in the world are you thinking trying to pack all of these," he peeked into the bag and saw three different types of cookies, "uh...groceries...into one paper bag?" George reprimanded.

"How was I to know these cheap bags can't handle my sustenance choices?? They don't make them like they used to, George."

He laughed and grabbed the bag from her, taking it over to the counter that he normally sat behind. Using the tape from his drawer, he patched the two most threatening holes and informed her she should be able to make it to her apartment now without losing her well balanced and healthy meals. The emphasis on the ' healthy ' was not lost on her.

"Thanks, George, you're a lifesaver. What would I do without you?"

"Honestly, I don't want to think about that. It probably would involve some sort of sugar overdose though, if I had to guess," he pretended to be solemn and shook his head.

Blue thanked him for the tape and swore she would be more conscious of her sugar intake from now on. Maybe.

————

Once she reached her apartment and was finally able to curl up with Molly on the couch to watch Netflix while having a bite of each treat she just bought herself, she let the day settle in her mind.

She did it. She was going to work with Arjun again, possibly create something really big together. Hopefully, they could actualize Gael's genius and bring it all together. Knowing he wrote, composed, is producing, and will be starring in the show was actually comforting. It meant he was 100% dedicated and that he believed in what he was making. It made it a lot easier to give yourself completely to a cause when the leader was so compelling and committed.

Her phone started buzzing next to her on the couch and she saw Arjun's face appear on the screen. She answered quickly and immediately was launched into the details of the meeting about her that she missed.

"Okay, so he started out talking about all three candidates, how they all were impressive, blah blah blah, niceties that he had to say to not be obvious. The other guys brought up Billy first and decided quickly he was a huge no, not risky enough for this show. Carrie was basically not even an option because her interview was so terrible, I am pretty sure there's bad history between them, but haven't gathered enough intel to corroborate that claim just yet..."

Blue almost felt the tiniest little spark of jealousy...almost. Who knows if that's even true, but Arjun had a pretty good eye when it came to this stuff. She wondered why she even cared? This thought shouldn't have even entered into existence. She told her brain to stop.

"...so that led to you, of course. When we started talking about you I swear he lit up like a Caribbean sunrise. He became more animated and his hands started flying around. He went on about how he loved your previous work and really felt like you could bring something to the show that was innovative, etcetera...basically saying ' she's amazing and she gets my vote so I dare any of you to defy me ' which no one did, obviously."

"Arjun, I highly doubt he cares that much. I'm not saying my role isn't important, but showrunners don't usually have that much to say about the costume designer. We are important, but not generally well revered."

"Hmm, you're right. Maybe there's some other random reason why he would be so adamant about signing you on for the job? I don't even know, what could that be?" he feigned ignorance while getting his point across very clearly.

"And with that, I say goodnight,” she laughed. “Thanks again for today, I wouldn't have been there if you didn't think of me for the job and put my name in the hat. You're a better friend than any girl could ever hope for."

"Aww, you're going to make me cry!" She knew the best way to get him off the topic of Gael's interest in her was to shift gears into praising him. He never could resist a mushy heartfelt thank you. "Get some rest, my girl, because in only a few days we are going to be starting a journey that will take every bit of energy you have in that tiny little body of yours."

"Don't worry, I think I'm up for it. Just make sure you can keep up with me," she teased.

After she hung up, she unpaused her show and resumed taste-testing each of her treats to decide on which one she would devour completely that night. Molly purred as a request to be petted, and her soft fur made her think of how soft Gael's dark hair had looked. She wondered what it felt like to run her hands through his hair like he had a few times that morning.

Her eyes widened. Staying professional was going to be more difficult than she thought.