When I arrive at the office on Thursday, my first day back with Laura, I’m feeling super accomplished. Not only did I make it through my first days in a new department, I also managed to impress my new boss. Spending the next two days with Laura will be the perfect end to my week.

I step onto the seventh floor — all giddy and happy — but then I see Laura’s office. All the hard work I put into organizing her desk last week is totally invisible. Papers and scraps cover Laura’s table, and her coffee cup teeters on the edge.

“Hey,” I say, hesitating at the door. “How can I help?”

Laura’s head swings in my direction like she’s surprised to see me. “Oh, thank goodness you’re here!” she says. “This arrangement has not been working for me at all.”

I’m flattered, but the dark circles under Laura’s eyes make me feel really bad for her.

Laura smiles. “It’s my fault. I did too good a job convincing Stefan how competent I am when I had you full-time. Now that you’re gone for the first part of each week, it’s killer!”

I want to help but have no idea which mess to tackle first. Laura scans the inspiration boards hanging in her office and stops at one with jackets. “Let’s start here,” she says.

I step forward and study the board. Some of the jackets have sleeves, and some are vests. Some are form fitting, others looser. I look for some kind of theme that screams Stefan Meyers but come up short. Just then, the assignment I did for Taylor on my second day pops into my head.

“Are you looking for a way to pull them all together? Some kind of signature design that runs through all the pieces?” I ask.

“Exactly,” Laura says. “This is part of the art deco addition Stefan wants to include in Fashion Week. He wants a few ideas that can be interwoven within this jacket line. Does that make sense?”

This is exactly what I had to do for Taylor! I totally have this.

“Completely!” I tell her.

Laura looks relieved. “I knew I could count on you. Do you have any questions?”

I smile wide. “Nope. I’m good.”

Laura bites her lip and flips through some sketches. “Just to make sure, I’m going to leave you with these boards and drawings. Scan them to get a feel for the jackets. Pay extra attention to the art deco designs. Stefan wants them paired with the dresses you’ve been working on for Taylor. Use this sketchpad for your finished designs.”

I take the boards, sketches, and Laura’s sketchpad and carry them to my desk. Laura definitely looks less tense than when I first walked in. I pile the designs around me and start looking through them. There are embroidered collars, embellished sleeves, and intricately stitched lapels. There are so many options, my eyes start to swim.

After a while, each one starts to look the same, and I put them aside. Laura only gave me these in case I didn’t know what I was doing, I reason. But I already do. Taylor loved my ideas. They’ll be perfect for Laura too.

I look through my own sketchpad for the rough designs I did for Taylor and rip out the pages so they’re easier to copy. I imagine the look of surprise on Laura’s face when she sees how quickly I can produce what she wants.

I compare the drawings for Laura with those I did for Taylor. The dresses and jackets will click perfectly. Same beaded design, same fringe. If the pattern worked for Taylor, Laura is bound to love it too.

I glance at all the boards and sketches Laura left for me and feel relieved that I won’t have to finish looking through them. Imagine how long that would take! And why bother when I’m able to recreate the same design? That was some quick thinking, I tell myself. I copy the patterns, and in an hour, I’m done!

“How’s it going?” Laura asks, sticking her head out of her office.

“Done!” I say, beaming.

Laura looks at her watch. “Really? I thought this would take the whole morning.” She seems worried.

“Well, I had a clear vision,” I say, but it sounds kind of lame and rehearsed. Maybe once Laura sees what I did, she won’t be concerned anymore.

“Let’s see what you came up with,” Laura says. She picks up the drawings I did, and I study her unsmiling face as she flips through them. “You had time to look through the jacket designs?” she asks, motioning to the books and boards she gave me earlier.

A pit forms in my stomach. She doesn’t like what I did at all. “I looked through some of them,” I say quietly.

Laura sighs and shakes her head. “I’ll be right back,” she says, walking into her office.

What did I do wrong? Taylor had said I had a “good eye.” I scan my drawings again. Maybe I missed an important detail? Nope. They look just like the sketches I did for Taylor.

Laura emerges from her office holding drawings. “These are the designs you did for Taylor, right?” she says, placing the drawings on my desk.

I look through them. “Yes.”

“Chloe, I never pegged you as one to take the easy way out. What happened?”

My head is swimming. What is she talking about? Who took the easy way out? “I — I don’t understand.”

Laura stares at me. Disappointment is all over her face. She has never looked at me that way before. “Why do you think I gave you all those things to look at?”

“To get ideas,” I whisper.

Laura nods. “Exactly. If I wanted you to copy what you did for Taylor, why would I do that?”

My eyes tear up. I put the drawings I did for Laura and Taylor side-by-side. They’re rip-offs of my own work. I look down at the floor.

“If you were confused, you should have asked what I wanted,” Laura tells me. Her voice is soft, but firm. “You should have looked at what I gave you.”

“I’m sorry,” I say. “I thought that’s what you wanted.”

Laura looks skeptical. “Really?”

I shrug. I don’t know. Maybe I just wanted to get the work done quickly and impress her. But I don’t want to say that. How would it look if I admitted to taking the easy way out? Besides, that’s not what I did, is it? I was just trying to be efficient. Why waste time looking through dozens of designs if I knew what she wanted?

I feel Laura’s eyes on me, but I don’t want to lift my head. I dig the toe of my sandal into the carpet.

“Maybe working in two departments is too much for you,” Laura finally says. “I really need your help here, but not like this. Why don’t you take the rest of the day off? I need to talk to Stefan. I’m not sure this is going to work. Maybe we’re better off moving you out of my department.”

Moving me out of her department? I think, panicked. Talking to Stefan? “I said I was sorry!” I say, too loud and snippy. Suddenly, I feel like a kid who’s about to throw a tantrum.

Laura puts her hand on my shoulder. “I know. But I need to think about what’s best for the department and what’s best for Stefan Meyer. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Then she walks away.