Not Qualified
Chapter 65
Addison’s POV
I had expected Valerie to continue with her nonsense, but I didn’t expect her to be bold enough to challenge me. I know she thinks I got my job because my aunt owns the business. Valerie had no way of knowing that I owned the other half of it. Just because I wanted my mother’s name to remain didn’t mean I had no stake in the company. My mother and aunt built it into the thriving company it is today, with some help from my designs. I intend to make it grow
even more.
I will not just serve myself up to Tammy and her goons like that. I was going to make it as hard on them as I could, I knew that Tammy was going to try to hurt me the worst. She never fooled me. I never liked her, and she never hid just how malicious she was from me. I was not
surprised to hear what she had done.
It was hard to hear what she had done so far. I felt terrible for all of them, even Garrett. The public defenders were only trying to help her. I knew Tammy had seduced the first one. Losing his license was too great a penalty for him. He didn’t know what a despicable person she was. People fell for her lies all the time. She looked innocent and trustworthy, but that was just her outward appearance. That wasn’t who she was on the inside.
I wasn’t going to volunteer to become their victim. Plus, I had Corbin to think about. My sweet baby needs me, and I won’t let her hurt him. I would fight her until my last breath to protect my son. I needed to ask Phillip to practice my self–defense with me. I need to stay up on my
moves, now more than ever. I am sure he will help me out with it.
Phillip was worried about what Tammy was going to do. We spoke about it, and I forgave him. I knew he just wanted me safe. He was trying to protect me and not have this hanging over my head, waiting for the other shoe to drop. He wanted to get this over and done with, and it was the right choice. She would know I was here soon if she didn’t know already.
I’m not going to expect these men to protect me. Phillip and my security team were always vigilant, but I’m not a damsel in distress. I am strong enough to defend myself against Tammy. If I can drop her fast enough, I may be able to deal with her men or run away. I ran back over to grab my tablet. Phillip stopped me as I was heading back out the door.
“Where are you going with your tablet,” Phillip asked.
“Valerie’s insisting that she deserves a job with Ana and Alex. I’m just proving her wrong. I
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could have ignored her. Her insult to push me was pathetic, but I’m not giving her the easy.
way out. I plan on embarrassing her badly. She has always had an inflated sense of self. She
probably thinks she is a good designer, but I highly doubt that. She didn’t say who the judge.
would be, but I had already decided. I will put our designs on the Ana and Alex site and let our
customers and fans be the judges. They will decide who wins between us. What could be
more fair than that?” I told him with a laugh.
“I’m coming with you as I do not trust her. I made us both a turkey sandwich for lunch. Yours
is in a bag in the fridge. Let me grab it. I don’t like her, and I don’t trust her. I won’t allow her to
bad–mouth you again,” Phillip told me as he grabbed two small bags of chips and some water
bottles from the fridge. He had put a T–shirt on after Valerie left earlier. He had felt someone
looking at him before he came out from where he was standing at the side of the house. We
both knew the reason she had come over.
“She won’t be doing it again. Now that she knows I am the designer for Ana and Alex, she will
probably start kissing my ass now. I hate that Tandy told her what I did for a living. I would.
rather she didn’t know who I was or what I did. I heard them all arguing when I arrived at their
house. Seems like Valerie is intent on pissing everyone off today,” I replied with a smile as we
headed back over to the Pearsons‘ home.
When we returned, Garrett was at the door. He stepped outside to block us both when we
started up the steps. “Why is he here?” he asked with a frown.
“Your sister is a real piece of work. I won’t allow her to bully Addison again,” Phillip replied.
We heard Garrett sigh and then hold the door open for us both to enter the house. “She is a
pain in the ass, I agree. Just know that I will not let her talk to Addison anyway, either,” Garrett
admitted.
“I can’t believe you came back, Addison. I thought you would chicken out,” Valerie said smugly.
from her seat on the couch. I laughed at her. It was funny that she thought I was worried
about competing against her. She in no way intimidates me.
She straightened up and blushed when she saw Phillip entering the house behind me. “Hey,”
she said, throwing her long hair over her shoulder. Phillip gave her a look of disgust and
followed me over to sit by Holden on the couch. I sat between them as I looked over at Valerie.
“You requested the challenge, Valerie, now I will add to it. The holidays will be here soon. People always need to dress up for end–of–year events. I was about to start working on those designs. The season starts in October and runs through the New Year. So you can design two evening gowns for the judging, to be fair. One short gown and one long. The short one can be
over the knee or down to a cocktail length. The long gown is understood to be to the floor. I
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won’t put your family on the spot to vote for the winner. I will post them all on the Ana and
Alex website. I will ask each person to vote for their two favorite dresses. We will be asking the customers and fans to vote. There will be no names on the designs. The designs must be created today to be counted in the challenge. Your design draft is safe with us. I can assure you that we do not need your help to make a sale,” I told her with a smirk.
Watching Valerie’s eyes flash with anger as she tried to hold her comments back. It was
amusing. She had struck first. Did she honestly think that I wouldn’t fire back? She likes to
hide her bullying side from others, but her brothers have seen the show for years. It looks as if
her free pass has been revoked. Her parents looked like they wanted to explode in anger. I am
going to enjoy this, as I plan on her cheating. I know she will try to use a design she made in
college. Probably one she used to get her final credit and graduate.
“You don’t have to be rude, Addison. I was only letting you know that I design, too. We’ve been
friends for a while now. We are almost family, as you are the mother of my nephew. If I
offended you, Addison, I’m truly sorry,” Valerie said in a pitiful tone. Trying to twist it like I had
been picking on her. I haven’t even begun to start picking on her.
“Rude? What did I say that was rude? I didn’t even respond when you mentioned that I had no
talent and had been hired because of nepotism. So, please let me know exactly what I said
that was rude to you,” I replied.
Valerie’s silence was an admission that she was the one who had been rude. So, she had no
comeback for me. Phillip scoffed at her and took his phone out to check his emails and messages. He knew this was going to take a while.
I gave Valerie a bright smile and said, “OK, you will have one hour to design the long gown and
one hour for the short gown. I wish you luck, Valerie.” My smile told her I wasn’t worried about
any competition, especially not from her.
“I am going to make a pot of coffee,” Tandy announced to the room before getting up and
walking into the kitchen, her husband behind her. Garrett sat on the chair near Holden, watching me. I was looking at my tablet, but I could feel his eyes on me. I tried to force myself
to relax when Phillip placed his hand just above my knee. He knew I was upset at being
insulted, though I wanted to hide that from Valerie. He knew I needed to relax to allow my creativity to flow.
I could hear what Valerie was doing on her tablet. She took a completed dress to copy and then tweaked it into a better dress. I had expected this. Knowing she took the bait made me finally relax enough to focus on what I needed to do. I designed the long gown first. It took shape quickly because I allowed my mind to roam while painting. In doing so, I made short work of the design. I picked a champagne color for it. I liked it to be used for New Year’s, not
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quite gold, but in the same color group. Delicate straps crisscrossed the back, leaving it
almost totally exposed. The gown draped the body with a sleek fit, and the slit reached the
mid–thigh. It was elegant but with a touch of sexy. A beautiful dress to ring in the New Year
right.
My other dress was a slim–fit dress in a bold red color. It skimmed the figure down to the
calves. For the first time, I made a unique addition that I had never done before. I added a slim belt that had a tulle overskirt for the dress. The bold red dress was striking and slimming when the overskirt was added. You could see the whole front of the dress, from the plunging neckline to the calves. The tulle skirt had a two–inch gap on either side of the belt. The red tulle turned it into a festive cocktail dress when worn over the dress. I added green and gold sequins, which ran throughout the tulle skirt. I knew that it would make the overskirt’s appearance very eye–catching. I could already see both dresses being worn for the upcoming holidays.
Both designs came quickly to me. I had thirty minutes left to go back and add more details to each design, making them stand out even more. Ten minutes before our time was up, Valerie put her tablet on the coffee table. I assume she figured getting her designs done first was in her favor. My designs were also complete. I made a few more adjustments. I wanted her to have a false sense of security. I put my tablet on the coffee table before giving her another bright smile. She smiled back with a mocking smile. She already thinks she’s won. She honestly believes that I got the job because of nepotism, and that pisses me off. I look forward to seeing what she has designed.
