232 The FD Studio 2

Name:Accident Prone Author:RedSonia
Sabrina wondered, why did Jackson come to her work? Jackson is part of her life from before she opened her first design studio, six years ago, and this is the first time that he came. And what was that with him inviting her to come with him to the event? And to his work? And then the kiss… Is it possible that he came to check on her because at the party he saw her with Ashton? Sabrina dismissed that idea. Jackson never cared what she does, as long as he gets to attend parties and tell people that she is his fiancé. And the fact that she does not ask about his hookups is a bonus.

They are together for about eight years now, and Jackson never showed interest in her business or anything else from her life, other than the fact that she is an Anderson. When it's just the two of them, they always talked about his needs or each of them is doing his (or her) own thing.

From the beginning, Sabrina knew that Jackson's interest in her is not romantic, and in a way, it worked fine because Madeline and Nathan are not asking her when is she going to get married. It's not that Jackson is bad looking, or not charming. Jackson can be very charming if he wants. But they don't have anything in common and his womanizing is putting her off, luckily he is doing it secretively, so her family does not know about it.

Sabrina sighed. Liz knows that Jackson can't keep it in his pants, and Liz told her that Max knows as well. Based on the looks she got when the topic was on her and Ashton, during their spa-time on Friday, Mia also knows, and that means Hunter as well. Sabrina wonders if they know only that Jackson made a move on Liz, or they know the whole story of how her engagement is a sham.

Sabrina hopes that Nathan and Madeline don't find out because they will blow a fuse. She thought if she should tell them. Probably. Or maybe it's better if she breaks off the whole thing with Jackson and tells him that eight years of pretending is enough.

Sabrina smiled sadly while thinking that for eight years she is the only one pretending because Jackson didn't really change anything. He is seeing other women, how is that playing the role of her fiancé?

Sabrina shook her head and decided not to think about Jackson. She is at work, and she should focus on it.

She drifted off to seven years ago, when she opened a design studio with her college friend, Kylie Sanders. They opened it as 'KS Designs' where 'KS' was for Kylie and Sabrina.

Kylie and Sabrina were equal partners and the business was growing faster than any of them imagined. Sabrina was high on success. She was busy with orders and patterns and colors and she didn't notice that over time Kylie was more into parties and socializing with clients while Sabrina was stuck in the design studio. Sabrina was always a workaholic who loved to get lost in her design ideas, to the point of not noticing anything else.

At the three-year anniversary of their company, Sabrina observed that all the clients are approaching Kylie and congratulating her on the tremendous success of her business, while Sabrina was treated as a mere designer. Many clients came to KS designs because Sabrina is an Anderson and at that party, Sabrina heard how she is lucky to work for such an employer as Kylie. Sabrina asked Kylie about it, and Kylie pretended that she has no idea what Sabrina is talking about.

It didn't take much investigation for Sabrina to find out that Kylie was the one who told clients that she is the owner, while Sabrina Anderson is working for her.

Sabrina was shocked when she heard that most of the clients believed that 'KS' in 'KS Designs' stands for Kylie Sanders.

It hit Sabrina like a wrecking ball that, in the eyes of the clients, Kylie absolutely erased Sabrina's presence.

Sabrina broke off that partnership and started her own company from scratch: The FD Studio (where 'FD' stands for 'Fabulous Designs'). It took Sabrina a lot of effort to get out of Kylie's shadow. Actually, the irony was that Sabrina was trying to escape her own shadow because she is the one responsible for the success of KS Designs.

Since Sabrina left, Kylie hired several other interior designers who do the work, while she still attends parties.

Sabrina spent a lot of money on her exit from KS Designs, and even asked for money from her parents. She had to pay the penalty for breaking the partnership contract with Kylie, but Sabrina has no regrets, other than not seeing sooner that Kylie was exploiting her.

When she started the FD Studio, Sabrina was ashamed to ask for more money from Nathan and Madeline, so she did this on her own.

Sabrina glanced around her office. It's a much smaller office than her previous one at KS Designs, but this one is hers. She managed to start over.

At first, she started online while meeting with clients in coffee shops. Next, she got a small office space, which was convenient for in-person meetings with clients. About a year ago, Sabrina paid off all the money that Madeline and Nathan gave her when she left KS Designs, and she leased this location. It is not massive, but it has a decent-sized main area that is filled with shelves, lamps, paintings, decorative mirrors and statues, and anything else that can spruce up space. Other than that main area, there are two offices for meeting with clients who want to consult with a professional designer, there is Sabrina's office (where she currently is), and there is a semi-enclosed area in the back where fabric and color samples are. This space in the back is where Sabrina and her designer Charlie get creative and come up with ideas.

Sabrina is happy with her current progress. Business is growing, and she has a few returning clients with deep pockets. Based on her projection, if she continues at this pace, in about two years, Sabrina will be able to lease a massive space in a prime location where her vision of 'The FD Studio' will become reality.

One business-related concern Sabrina has is that she noticed a number of posts online which smear the name of the FD Studio. One post said that they are plagiarizing style of KS Designs, and another one mentioned how Sabrina (aka the current owner of the FD Studio) was fired from KS Designs because she wanted a position which didn't belong to her. Sabrina wonders if Kylie is behind this. Her business is picking up, and any negative press might jeopardize it. Sabrina exhaled and decided to talk to Max about this.

A quick knock on a half-open door pulled Sabrina out of her thoughts.

"There is a handsome man in the main area, asking to see you…", Nicole said in a singing voice.

Nicole is another employee of the FD Studio who meets customers in the main area and helps them with picking the perfect decorative item.

Sabrina exhaled while thinking that it must be Jackson. Why did he come back? Did he forget that there is another event he needs tickets for?

Sabrina checked the time. Is it possible that she was lost in her thoughts for almost half an hour? Well, she is not sure how long Jackson was here. And it's half an hour since he visited the first time.

Sabrina contemplated if she should see him in the main area, or in her office? Ah, she does not want to be alone with Jackson, but in public is even worse. Then he holds her hand and acts like they are an affectionate couple, and she does not want to go through that. That kiss on the cheek was weird enough.

"Can you bring him here?" Sabrina was unable to hide her lack of enthusiasm.

Sabrina saw that Nicole nodded in confirmation and she hid her face in her palms.

"Is this the wrong time?"

Husky voice laced with concern which came from the direction of the door, made Sabrina freeze. This definitely does not sound like Jackson...

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