Read A Scarlet Cord for Free Online

interest you in a cup of coffee?”
    “That sounds great. I haven’t had mine yet this morning.”
    She pulled out two tall stools near the high, slanted drafting desk by the railing. “Here, have a seat. Coffee won’t take but a minute.” She went into the tiny kitchenette off the opposite side of the room, rinsed the coffeepot, and refilled it with cold water from the sink. “Hey, we’re in luck,” she called. “Somebody brought up some leftover Danish.” She lifted a flimsy bakery box as proof. “If you don’t mind day-old.”
    “Are you kidding? Danish is Danish.”
    She served the pastries on napkins, and while they waited for the coffee to brew, she asked him about his ideas for the logo.
    “Like I told you,” he said, “I truly do not have a creative bone in my body. I was hoping you would have some ideas.”
    “Well, tell me what you want the logo to convey. Hang on.” She slid off her stool and grabbed a notepad and pen from her desk. “Is this something that will go out mostly to church members, or were you wanting it to serve as more of an advertising piece for fund-raisers and such?”
    He thought for a minute. “Well, actually, we’ll probably use it both ways. Is there any way to make one design work for both?”
    “Sure. That probably makes the most sense anyway.”
    She poured coffee, and they set to work. Joel looked on in silence as she flipped through a portfolio of samples.
    “I like those,” he said finally, pointing to an ad campaign the firm had done for a large credit union.
    “Okay.” She slipped the ad slick out of its plastic sleeve and handed it to him. “What is it that you like about this one? The colors, or the graphics, or just the overall feel the design conveys?”
    He stared at the piece for a long minute, then gave an awkward laugh. “You are asking questions I can’t answer, Melanie. Seriously, I guess I just don’t think this way. I … just like the way it looks. I’m not sure I could tell you why.”
    “All right. The client on this project was a large financial institution. We were going for an image of security and conservatism … stability. Does that sound like what you’re wanting to convey?”
    “Yes …” He nodded slowly and a twinkle came to his eye. “Throw in just a hint of adventure, and I think that’s very close to what we want to say.”
    She smiled up at him. “ Now we’re getting somewhere. A hint of adventure, huh? Okay … What about something like this?” She dashed off some quick sketches, using a rough variation on the design Joel had selected, but incorporating a stylized letter C for Cornerstone .
    “Yes … yes. I like this one especially.” He pointed to the sketchpad. “It’s really remahkable how you can just draw that, without tracing or anything.”
    Melanie smiled, charmed all over again by the East Coast in his voice.
    She scanned the sketches into her computer and tweaked them a bit.
    Joel watched over her shoulder in obvious fascination. Finally, he stretched and looked at his watch. “Do you realize it’s past 11:30 already? I really ought to let you get home.” He put out a hand. “Thank you for all your help, Melanie. I’m excited about your ideas.”
    “I think we can come up with something really nice. I’ll do upsome thumbnail sketches from these preliminaries, and we can go from there. Give me a week or two. I’ll give you a call when they’re ready.”
    “Well, hey, no rush. The capital campaign has been without a logo for this long; I doubt it’ll hurt to wait a few more weeks.”
    He turned toward the elevator, but Melanie said, “Let’s take the stairs. You get a neat view from there, too. Let me just turn out some lights first.”
    He waited while she shut down her computer and closed the office, then she descended the curved staircase behind him. They chatted idly as they walked through the main studio, Melanie turning off fans and lights and checking locks as she went.
    She