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The morning of the red-carpet release, Jimmy woke up late. He didn’t have work that day because Joey had gotten him off for the release party. He dressed in something nicer than usual, it was a special occasion after all. He put new food and water in for Norman and Flick and quickly rushed out to his car.
He stopped by the coffee shop he regular-ed and they had his and Scott’s order ready for him. He had to awkwardly explain that he wouldn’t be taking Scott’s today. It was certainly not the best part of his morning, but he had his coffee acquired.
He had his phone give him directions to Runway and was there in about an hour. Traffic wasn’t as bad as he’d thought, which was good. Joey was standing outside the building waiting for him. It was red brick and white columns and much smaller than the surrounding buildings.
“Hey Jimmy!” Joey called. “Glad you could make it! Okay so we’re setting up here and then I’m going to have you be in the front row. Sound good?”
“Whatever works for you,” Jimmy threw his empty cup in a trash bin nearby. “I’m just here to support.”
Joey gave him a sly grin and led the way inside. There was a small lobby with several doors leading into an auditorium. Joey led him through the large room and to the stage. Through a back door there was a small group of models putting on makeup and assembling the various outfits. Joey moved back and forth assisting where possible and Jimmy stood awkwardly in the doorway.
“Come on Jimmy, you gotta help somehow.” Joey gestured him over. Jimmy helped attach the sleeves on one lady’s dress and then taught him how to do make-up touch-ups and he went around doing that for a little bit, mostly trying to not get in the way.
He wasn’t sure how long he ran back and forth carrying water, fixing make-up, and assisting Joey with various things. At some point he sent him out to the audience though.
The clock was eleven thirty when the CEO entered. The room went silent and watched as the aloof man walked down the aisle to the front row. He sat down next to Jimmy, crossing his leg. His wife sat down on his right and pulled out her phone, running through emails.
“H-Hey,” Jimmy said. “I’m—Jimmy.” He held out a hand.
The man smiled at him. “Oh hello! My name’s Kevin and this is Maria.” He shook Jimmy’s hand. “Joey told me about you. You were the inspiration for this weren’t you?”
“Oh. Joey’s generous. I barely did anything.” Jimmy waved off the compliment good-naturedly.
Kevin smiled again. “Modest too. You are a good man.”
Maria chimed in. “Kevin, the boys won’t be able to make it.”
Kevin’s smile disappeared. “That’s okay. Let them know that we’re proud of them.”
“I will.” She turned back to her phone and Kevin looked to the stage as the lights dimmed.
Despite having seen all of them before, seeing the different designs on display down the Runway was a different experience. The lights highlighted each to perfection and all the glitter and color was brighter under a spotlight. It was like Joey had designed them specifically for this moment. That actually wouldn’t surprise him.
When the final model reentered backstage, Joey stepped onto the stage from the side. He hopped up the steps and bowed for the audience as they clapped and snapped pictures. He wore another suit only this one was a deep green with a yellow shirt and matching green tie. He waved to them and spoke.
“That’s right folks, Chromia is back!” The spotlights flashed in all the colors of the rainbow before fading back to white. “I would first like to thank our wonderful CEO Kevin Major for sponsoring this new line. Can I get a round of applause?” He started clapping and the audience followed, cheering as Kevin stood and joined Joey on stage.
“Thank you Graceffa,” Kevin smiled wide for the audience. “It was your brilliance that brought this new forum into the fashion community.
“Well, that would be where you’re wrong, Major.” Joey looked Jimmy in the eye, he had a feeling… “I designed it, yes, but actually, it was another of your employees that inspired this.”
Kevin put on a feux-surprised face. “Oh? Who might that be?”
“James Solidarity,” Joey pointed at him, and Jimmy buried his face in his hands. “Come on up Jimmy!”
He dragged his hands down his face but stood. He couldn’t refuse him in front of an entire crowd of people so…. Jimmy went up the stairs, tripping on the last step. He was able to keep his balance, thankfully, but his pride was already gone. He approached the other two, spotlights blinding in his eyes. The crowd was nothing more than dark shadows.
Joey patted his shoulder, blocking him from view in enough time to clip a microphone on his shirt.
“I would like to thank James and everyone at Chromia Incorporated for their constant support and assistance through this creation process.” Joey smiled and turned back to the crowd.
Jimmy cleared his throat. “Thanks G-Graceffa. I’m honestly honored to be up here. After such a stunning performance it’s hard to imagine my small efforts helped you so much.”
“Of course!” Joey smiled at the crowd. “With this I’d like to thank all of you for coming to this year’s fashion line unveiling. See you all next year!”
The audience clapped again and Joey escorted Jimmy backstage while Kevin went back down to his wife. Once they were out of sight of the general public, Jimmy immediately pulled off his microphone and hissed at Joey.
“Why did you do that?!”
“You deserved the credit.” He waved Jimmy off. “I did you a favor. Kevin knows who you are now!”
“Yeah! He knows me as the kid who tripped up the stairs! Joey, that was—I wasn’t prepared for that!”
“It made it authentic. You were endearing, Jimmy. Get off my back.” Joey waved him off again. “I have to get these packed up and returned to Chromia. It’s only like one… thirty. You can make it back to work if you want.”
Jimmy grumbled, walking out the back exit from the dressing room. His car was parked in the side parking lot still and he slid in, burying his hands in his hair with a huff. He counted the buttons on the dashboard (fifty-three). As he counted, he breathed in deeply, releasing slowly.
He pulled on the sleeves of his dress shirt. He pulled off his over-jacket thingy and threw it into the passenger seat, leaning back. His feet brushed the peddles but the car wasn’t on. His fingers scratched at his scalp, unclenching progressively.
He’d counted the buttons about five times when his hands dropped. He sluggishly pushed himself up to sit straight in the chair. His buckle came across his chest and clicked in place. Jimmy rested his hands on the steering wheel with a deep breath.
He plugged the key into the ignition and pulled into reverse.