Days before the meeting took place, Blue had been reaching for her portfolio at the top of her closet. Only catching the corner due to her shortness in stature, she accidentally knocked it off the shelf, scattering drawings and photos everywhere.

Great.

She debated on whether or not she could leave this mess for later, or if she should just deal with it now. Her stomach was growling for lunch, quite loudly. Ignoring the protests from her belly, she bent down and started organizing.

With every photo and sketch she picked up, wonderful memories popped into her head like bubbles reflecting her time at each show. The first job she landed that she was proud enough to add to her portfolio was none other than Les Misérables, the play that changed her life when she was only ten years old.

Her Aunt Millie was a retired historian who was married to a surgeon that still practiced and was rarely home. They lived in Dallas in one of those ridiculously large houses in Highland Park. Who could ever fill six thousand square feet of living space? They certainly couldn't, although they tried. Blue remembered marveling at how spaced out all her Aunt's furniture was when she would visit as a child. It seemed like she had to walk ten feet from the couch to the chair, and another ten feet to the coffee table. Aunt Millie did, however, keep an entire snack drawer stocked up with Pop Tarts and Twizzlers, just for when Blue would stay with her for a weekend. She knew the way to Blue's heart was in the form of a sugary treat because she too could easily be bought with processed carbs. Her time spent with her aunt, snacking and talking about life, quickly formed a bond with them that couldn't be broken.

One weekend her Aunt Millie proclaimed, "Bonnie, darlin' we are headed to the theater tonight, and before we go it's high time you learned some proper etiquette for being out in society." She hated it when her aunt called her Bonnie. She preferred to go by Blue, but since her hippie parents gave her the most ridiculous name anyone could have ever been given, she relented to the fact that Bonnie was better than her full name of Bluebonnet.

"Aunt Millie, I already know not to sneeze into my hands and wipe it on my dress. Momma said it was rude and Daddy said it was disgusting."

Aunt Millie hummed in agreement, "yes, that is one of many things to remember when we go out tonight. Now listen, in addition to good manners it's also important we also get some culture instilled in you at an early age. So when we go see the show tonight, make sure you take in every moment because we will be discussing it afterward. You understand?"

"Yes ma'am." Blue wasn't exactly sure what to expect that night, but at only ten years old she was eager enough to please her Aunt and excited for a new adventure.

Not even the amount of talking her Aunt did in the car that evening could have readied her for what she was about to experience. She had never been in a room as large as the auditorium of the Music Hall at Fair Park. The teal blue seats looked like an ocean that was crashing onto the cliffside of the stage's bright red curtain. They found their seats and Aunt Millie chatted with friends she had spotted across the aisle. As the lights began to dim, Blue felt a thrill begin to spark inside her, a sensation she hadn't ever really experienced before. The moment the overture began to play, she felt like her heart stopped. Electricity flowed through her body and jolted out of each goosebump that was raised on her neck. As the curtain began to rise and her eyes were pulled to the actors on the stage...well as Aunt Millie would say: you could stick a fork in her, she was done.

Never had she seen anyone dressed like this in real life. From the third row, she could notice every stitch and purposeful rip or stain on every piece of clothing in front of her. It was so overstimulating she had to close her eyes for a minute and just listen. Listen to the sound of the actor playing Jean Valjean sing, "look down!" and wonder how one man could make the sound of ten men with his booming voice. Listen to the sounds of each instrument come together to make one exquisite melody. Listen as Aunt Millie hummed along to the tunes she apparently knew so well.

When she worked up the courage to open her eyes again she was immediately swept up in the colors and textures and how everything felt like it belonged together on the stage. She spent the entire night soaking up every single second of the show; every light, every song, and most importantly the costumes.

On the car ride home, Aunt Millie was not pleased to hear more about the costumes and less about the rigid class structure that caused the French Revolution. Nonetheless, she felt it was a start in broadening Blue's worldview.

And she was right. Little did she know, years later Blue would start as a wardrobe trainee fresh out of college on none other than her beloved Les Mis . While there, she had made some risky suggestions to the head costumer during a creative slump that led to a position as an assistant costume designer at her next show. Normally it took years to make that jump; Blue didn't take for granted her luck in the business but also gave herself credit for the hard work and long hours she put in.

She looked down at the sketches she drew for all of the following shows she worked on and a small smile appeared on her lips. During those days she lived in a tiny studio apartment that she basically only used to sleep in, spending most of her time in the costume shop. She worked so hard on so many shows that she began to gain a name for herself.

Then finally, she got her first gig that she was in charge. It was a new show that led the audience through the disintegration of a couple's relationship, all because of one lie that was told. The costumes were seemingly simple at first glance, but she made it visually evident during each act how far the couple had fallen from each other. Her knowledge of textiles and natural creativity made the costumes something to be remembered by viewers and critics alike.

Adding the professional photos of the costumes for To Tell A Lie on top, she finally packed up her portfolio and sat it on the bench by her door so it would be ready for her to grab on the way out to her meeting. She knew she would be too nervous and if it wasn't in her line of sight she might walk out the door without it tomorrow morning.

While she ate the cold Justino's pizza left in the fridge as her lunch, she decided to take Arjun's advice and google the creator of the show that she would be meeting the next morning: Gael Nevárez.

The photo that displayed at the top of the search page made her eyebrows pop up as though they had a mind of their own.

He was around her age and good looking. Dark hair, dark eyes, great smile. No listed partner/spouse, not that she noticed or cared.

She clicked on his previous works and silently mouthed the word "oh" to herself. In her mind, his name finally connected to his works as she realized who he was. She definitely knew his most recent show, not connecting the dots that it was his show when Arjun had mentioned his name before. It did well at the Tony's and she had actually seen it with some friends a couple of years ago. He had been the composer, and she remembered the songs had been pretty phenomenal - enough so that she was humming them for weeks afterward, even downloading the soundtrack. Normally she focused more on the costumes, obviously, or even the set design; this one was different, though, and she remembered thinking the music really stood out. She even went around telling all her friends to go catch a show, it was good enough to recommend.

She closed her computer and got up to get another slice of pizza. She didn't want to go into the meeting looking like a creep that had stalked him online, but she was glad for the little bit of info she had gained so she didn't seem uninformed.

————

The work Blue had been doing in order to prepare herself for the meeting she was walking into did absolutely nothing to equip her for Gael Nevárez. As she walked through the office door, she wished there could have been something on Google to prepare her for this.

His photo...to say it didn't do him justice was an understatement.

The first thing she noticed was, of course, his eyes. She'd always been a sucker for emotive eyes. Ones that show you exactly what the person is thinking or feeling in the moment. She had trouble with gauging other people's emotions sometimes, so if she could have a neon sign blaring at her what they're feeling, it helped her out tremendously.

His eyes looked like they were often happy. There were little crinkles at the edges constantly, they almost never seemed to disappear. And as they finally rose to meet her eyes when he noticed her enter the room, they got slightly bigger. Only for a second, she barely caught it, but she could only imagine what her eyes looked like as she ogled at him.

She cleared her throat and awkwardly looked away, walking over to take a seat in a chair across the room.

She felt his eyes follow her the entire way.

As she sat down in an uncomfortable metal chair next to another guy to whom she gave a small nod, she looked up and saw Gael was in the middle of a conversation with a girl that had short blonde hair. She was leaning against the large wooden desk he was sitting at, so close to him her leg was almost touching his.

She looked around the small office and noticed the posters on the walls, thankful she could recognize them as his past productions. The messy desk did make her OCD inwardly flinch a little though. At least half of the dozen piles of random papers scattered around the surface of the desk had coffee cups as paperweights. She didn't want to think about how many different types of bacteria were growing inside each cup. Behind the desk was a corkboard that had already been completely covered with quickly scribbled notes, photos of what she assumed to be potential actor's faces, clippings of newspaper articles talking about the upcoming show, sketches of multiple different set ideas...all of which was already piquing her interest.

At that moment, Arjun walked into the room with two other guys and she instantly relaxed. He shot his huge smile at her and headed over to sit with her while the guys went to talk to Gael and the blonde. He gave her a peck on the cheek as soon as he was sitting and she could tell he was so excited he might burst at any moment.

"I'm so so so happy you were able to make it! Just seeing your face in this room feels right."

She felt the same excitement, but was able to keep her cool better than he could. "Seriously, thank you for calling me about this. I'm so excited to see what the show is all about and find out if I'd be a good fit."

Arjun rolled his eyes, "Oh you're a good fit, all right. You'll see soon enough."

Across the room, Gael cleared his throat and they looked over to him. She noticed the others had already taken seats around the room in other uncomfortable metal chairs. He got up from behind the desk he was sitting at and walked around to the front, leaning up against it and folding his arms. Everyone in the room went quiet at this apparent sign that he was ready to speak.

Blue couldn't help but size him up, she was only human after all. He was a good bit taller than her and had the build of a guy that had to be on his feet all day with no time for regularly scheduled meals. She could see lean muscles under his perfectly fitted black t-shirt, the kind you get from having to help push heavy carts for the lighting technician or carry sheets of plywood for the set designer. The worn-in jeans he was wearing looked like they could possibly accentuate a very nice backside, in her professional opinion at least.

Gael said, "we have a pretty busy day today with a lot to get through, so let's get started."

She realized she had spaced out while assessing his...wardrobe choices...and decided she needed to try and focus from now on.

Gael quickly introduced Arjun and the other guys that came in with him as the director, Julian, and the other producer, Malik. "Some of you may know, we recently lost our head costume designer and need to fill the position quickly. The previous person hadn't been able to really start doing much as of yet, but now it is the last spot we need to fill before we can start production. The catch is that she was signed on to do design and then continue on as the wardrobe supervisor once the show was running. I know it's a lot, but it would be helpful if we could still fill both of those positions in this interview. The three of you," he pointed at the blonde, Blue, and the guy sitting next to her, "come highly recommended. You've all got the talent and experience to back it up."

Arjun nudged her with his elbow, so she rewarded him with a smile and a wink.

Gael continued, "I have some ideas floating around in my head of what we are looking for in a designer, but first I wanted to give you a rundown of what the show will be about and a little bit of the plot." He ran his fingers through his almost black hair, trying to push it back from his eyes. His attempt was unsuccessful as some strands fell right back to their spot of framing his face.

Blue wondered if his hair was as soft as it looked.

He started telling them the details they needed to know about the show, and every word that left his mouth was actually pure genius. She couldn't believe it, but Arjun was right. His ideas were pushing boundaries, both creatively and socially. The story was so compelling and he knew it based on the smile he wore while he told it. At some point, Blue slowly turned to Arjun and gave him an astounded look. How did she even make it into this room? Sure, she knew she had worked her ass off to make it where she was with Lie , but this was starting to sound like the creative workout she felt like she had been missing. If she thought about it too hard she might feel like she wasn't ready to take this on, like she needed some more time to do a couple more shows before she was worthy of something like this.

So, she didn't think too hard about it and shoved those thoughts into a paper airplane and let them fly.

There were so many ideas flowing into her head with every sentence Gael said about the show. She had to actively keep her mouth shut so she wouldn't interrupt him with her thoughts. Looking around at the other two candidates, she noticed they looked somewhat bored. She wondered if maybe they had heard the pitch before. The blonde seemed to know him based on how they were speaking when she walked in, so it's possible they already knew the show and this was all old news to them.

When Gael was finished with the details, he asked if they had any questions. The other two shrugged and Blue gaped openly at them. How could they not even think of one thing to say?

"Well I have a million questions, but first I have to know - where did the inspiration come from for this?"

Gael smiled at her. A big genuine smile. Wow. If every question she asked procured a smile like that, she could almost suffer through the embarrassment of asking the actual million questions she had floating around in her head. It would be worth it.

"I'm glad you asked, Blue. A while ago, I had a family crisis that I needed to attend to. It was the most difficult and most raw moment of my life, and while I was visiting home I felt like I needed to get everything out of here," pointing to his head, "and onto paper. Like it would clear it away somehow and help me process everything. I had no clue it would turn into anything, but once I saw it written down it started to make sense and began to flow. I couldn't stop it once it started coming out of me. Now, four years later I've been able to convince a whole lot of people that this crazy idea is also a good idea." He chuckled and stood up away from the desk. He walked behind it and sat down in the chair again, grabbing a sheet of paper from inside a folder that had been sitting on top of a stack of other folders.

"So I need to interview you all separately to see each of your work styles and hear your thoughts and ideas. Carrie," he looked at the blonde, "can you go first while you guys wait outside for a bit? It won't take too long."

Blue nodded and stood up to leave while Arjun, the director, and the other producer stayed. As she walked out of the room she felt Gael's gaze again. It took her by surprise, he seemed genuinely intrigued by her and his eyes looked like he didn't want her to leave. She shook it off and did her special trick of not worrying about it. She would wait her turn and try to figure him out a little more when she could talk to him one on one.