then, we have the same issue.” Melly wakes up her computer, and I’m sure she’s immediately on all the retail sites, reading reviews of the book, checking its ranking. I’m torn between keeping this quiet moment of peace and wanting to say something about this trip and how it will be so much easier for all of us if they can just set aside what’s going on until they get back to the privacy of their own home.
I think of what Debbie would tell me: Make the decision to assert yourself and follow through. Decide what you want and be honest in your communication. Don’t sugarcoat, don’t apologize, and listen to the response. Stay calm. Use I whenever possible. Practice in your head if you have to.
I think of what I want to say, but when I look at her face—tight, controlled, no-nonsense—the words dry up in my throat.
“Show me what you’ve got,” she says, and points to my iPad.
I slide it across the table and she inspects my work.
“This is really good,” she says, scrolling through the different computer-generated images. “I’m not sure about that desk.”
I glance at the screen. The space allotted is minimal. “How would you change it?”
She purses her lips as she considers. “It’s just not working as is. I want it to be more, more …”
Silence stretches between us, and I come to her rescue.
“I could make it vertical?” I suggest, clicking through and zooming in on the area. “Two-tiered instead of a single flat surface? Nobody would expect a two-storied workspace like that.”
“Yes,” she says with a firm nod. “That’s exactly what I was thinking.”
Inside, I’m beaming. Melissa isn’t exactly sparing with her compliments, but you have to earn them. She’s never apologetic about that, and it’s something I’ve always admired. But outwardly, I just nod once, keeping my smile in check. Melly doesn’t like gloating at compliments, either.
“Finish that up and send it to me,” she says, sliding it back. “Ted asked for a couple of early schematics they can use in promo shots. I’d like to send them to him before we get back.” She stops and looks down at my hands. “Unless you need a break.”
I have to be honest when it matters. “Maybe a small one.”
With her eyes back on her computer, she asks, “When’s your next appointment?”
“A few weeks.”
She nods. “It’s on my calendar?”
I’m about to answer when a voice rises up from the back of the bus—the unmistakable drawl of Russell Tripp after a couple of beers. “There something going on there with you and Carey-girl?”
I keep my head down, noisily shuffling through my bag like I haven’t heard a thing.
“Uh, absolutely not,” James says with zero hesitation.
Heeeey. I mean, I’m not interested in James, either, but he didn’t have to sound so horrified. I frown down at my Dolly shirt and brush away a few lingering Funyun crumbs.
When I look back up at my iPad, I feel Melissa watching me shrewdly and make the mistake of meeting her gaze. With a roll of her eyes she goes back to her screen. “As if you and I have time for a personal life, anyway.”
Something about the flippant way she dismisses the possibility rubs me the wrong way.
You and I?
It’s true; I don’t have time for a personal life. But that’s because I’m sacrificing everything for the brand. I handle her schedules, her kids’ occasional promotional appearances. I answer her emails and deal with Robyn, Ted, and the Tripps’ editor. On top of all that, I do most of the designs. I spend more time on Melly’s life than on my own.
I glance down to my bag and all the work I just put together for her. I don’t have time for a personal life, but because of everything I do for her, Melissa Tripp certainly should.
LA WEEKLY BOOK PICK:
THE TRIPPS’ NEW LIFE, OLD LOVE IS
A MUST-READ FOR SUMMER
LA Weekly’s Book Picks is your look at the hottest new releases this week—from biographies, how-tos, and reissued classics to romantic summer blockbusters and new voices garnering buzz. Check here every week before you make your next weekend-read plans.
New Life, Old Love is an ambitious project for the lighthearted home-renovation power couple Melissa and Rusty Tripp. Their two previous books, New York Times bestsellers The Tripp Guide to Home Décor and Small Spaces: DIY Projects to Make Any Size Home the Perfectly Sized Home, were exactly what fans of their breakout show, New Spaces, were hoping to get from the pair.