Chapter 3 - THE SKETCHES BROOKE COULDN’T EXPLAIN
Richard asked everyone to stop touching the drawings.
Natalie bristled.
“This is my studio.”
“Yes,” he said.
“And those appear to be my daughter’s belongings.”
Brooke crossed her arms.
“They were created during company time.”
“No,” I said.
For the first time all morning, my voice didn’t shake.
Brooke looked at me.
I stood beside the desk.
“I drew the original versions at home.”
Natalie’s eyes narrowed.
“Emily.”
“I have timestamps.”
Brooke laughed too quickly.
“Digital timestamps can be changed.”
Richard looked at her.
“So you’ve already discussed them?”
Brooke froze.
That was her first mistake.
If the sketches were obviously company property, why had she already considered whether my timestamps could be challenged?
Richard noticed.
So did I.
I opened my work bag.
Inside was a small portfolio folder.
I had started keeping duplicate copies after the first design disappeared from my desk.
Printed sketches.
Emails sent to myself.
Photos of notebook pages.
Version history exported from my tablet.
Nothing dramatic.
Just enough to prove chronology.
Natalie moved toward me.
Richard stepped between us.
“Don’t.”
She stopped.
I laid the documents on the desk.
The earliest sketch was dated six weeks before Brooke’s collection review.
The second showed the first fabric revision.
The third contained construction notes in my handwriting.
Then came Brooke’s version.
Almost identical.
Different neckline.
Same seam placement.
Same asymmetrical pleating.
Same unusual back closure my mother had taught me.
Richard studied both.
“Brooke.”
She swallowed.
“Design overlap happens.”
“Six times?”
Silence.
I looked at Natalie.
“You knew.”
She shook her head.
“I knew there were concerns.”
“You told me assistants don’t own ideas.”
“That is not the same as knowing Brooke copied you.”
“No.”
I picked up another page.
“But you signed the collection submission.”
Her eyes dropped.
Natalie had approved every final design.
If Brooke stole them, Natalie was professionally exposed.
If Natalie knew, she was worse.
Then Richard’s phone buzzed.
He checked it.
His expression changed.
Natalie noticed.
“What is it?”
He put the phone away.
“Nothing you need to worry about.”
That line came directly from the way Natalie spoke to me.
She recognized it.
Her face tightened.
Then Richard asked the question that made Brooke finally panic.
“When were these designs shown to my merchandising team?”
Natalie said nothing.
Brooke’s eyes shifted toward the glass conference room.
Richard followed the glance.
On the conference table sat a presentation binder.
Hart Retail Group.
Fall Distribution Review.
My stomach dropped.
The designs Brooke had stolen weren’t just being used internally.
May you like
Natalie had already presented them to my father’s company.
And apparently, she had presented them as Brooke’s.
