Fashion It Away

15

FIVE MONTHS LATER...

'... thank you for your co-operation. I'll make sure the order reaches you in time.' I kept the phone on the table and let out a breath that I didn't know I'd been holding inside for a long time. Rajat knocked on the door, leaning on the door frame. I looked up at him and smiled the widest. It didn't take me anything to say to him before he welcomed me open-armed.

'I knew you would get it,' he said, while my cheeks met his chest. I let myself get comfortable in his warmth and smiled.

I've been smiling a lot lately. Our small start-up wasn't really small any more. I have closed an impressive number of deals in the last 20 weeks. All with very prominent clothing boutiques and social media celebrities from in and out of Delhi.

The deal that I closed 5 minutes ago, was with another fashion influencer, who showed her interest in our brand.

The crowd had started recognizing my work. Our brand especially. Our small, but not-so-small business was doing great. All these thoughts were overwhelming, yet calming.

Rajat didn't speak a word. He just held me. Tight. Resting his chin on top of my head. Letting me cling to his body and soak up his fragrance.

Meanwhile, my phone rang again. Breaking the calm spell that we were in. I looked up at Rajat with a frown. He met my gaze with a grin, and my heart did a cartwheel. It has been a while since we moved in together. And I have been watching him throwing such grins more than he should. Yet every time I would find myself swooning over them. God. What did this man do to me? 'Go. Take it,' he said, giving me a peck on my lips.

Unwillingly, I took my phone. 'Hello?', 'Ma'am, I just called to update you that this week's order has been delivered. I'll mail you the numbers by tomorrow.' The person from the other side said. 'Thank you. You know you could just mail me the numbers straight, right Ketan?', 'I'll keep that in mind. Bye. Have a fun weekend,' he chuckled, and cut the line.

I still wonder, how I ended up finding somebody like Ketan, in such a short period. With Daffodils going up and orders flooding our portal, I wasn't able to keep track of everything alone. Yes, I had Aanchal and Rajat through all of it, but Aanchal had her goals. She was getting shoots and projects constantly. It was finally her time to dazzle.

And Rajat, well, he had a stable job, with responsibilities to take care of. He had also applied for his Ph.D. program at universities and was yet to hear back from any of them. He was stressed. More than I would like for him to take regarding this, but he was managing well. It was then I realized, I needed somebody with me in the field. Our orders were coming in and I had the money to hire. So why not?

That's when I met Ketan. I remembered him well, because, you know, if it wasn't for him, I would have never met Rajat. Seeing him wandering in the mall on a weekday, really caught me by surprise, as their café used to be fully packed on weekdays.

It didn't take me much to get him to tell me, how he was sacked and was looking for a job. I asked him to come by the next day and boom! I got my most efficient employee. It didn't even take him much time to understand and learn everything.

I also tied up with three elderly tailors in my locality to help me with the orders. Honestly, I was skeptical about reaching out to tailors outside for our business. But with the orders, stitching them, and dispatching them within the desired timeline, were becoming harder to handle day by day as I said. I knew I had to trust people to start with, I just didn't know if trusting local tailors would be the right way to go.

But later when I saw what they made out of my sketch, I knew Daffodils has found the perfect hands it would need in the long run. I couldn't have asked anybody else for the job.

With everything settling slowly, I still had to figure out a way to qualify for the Fashion Festival at Global Fashion Society. After all, all this was for that one thing that I have been dreaming of for years. Getting the title of the 'Best Designer'.

It's not like I had nothing to start with. I had some leads. But working that way would take me years to get to where I wish to be. The easiest way would have been to get Malini Chaubay to feature my work in her magazine.

She was one of the popular fashion critics all around the world while being a member of the Global Fashion Society. She is a very reserved person, and well-known for being brutally honest.

So, when she appreciates somebody's work, you have to know it is actually that good. Getting featured by her would actually be my ticket to the GFS. But I still had no idea how to reach her.

'Hey, how do you feel about Thai for lunch?', Aanchal asked from my door. 'Given that I have never had it, I feel good.' I replied nodding. 'Great. Rajat is taking us out.'

Meanwhile, he appeared behind Aanchal. Both of their faces had the same smug-ish expression. 'What's up, guys?' I looked at them back and forth.

'He got in.' 'I got in.' Both of them said at the same time. 'What?'

'I got in Nitya. I got in.' His cheeks bubbled up from his grin. And that's when I realized. 'Oh, my God! Congratulations. I knew you'd get in.' I ran to hug him.

Two months back he wouldn't believe me when I told him that he was going to get it. No matter how much I tried. But I knew he would. Life gives us all our cues to shine. Look at Aanchal. Look at Daffodils. Not that he wasn't doing well before, but now it was his time to shine brighter than ever.

'Guys, let's go. I'm starving.' Aanchal's voice tore us apart, and we left for lunch.