Chapter 40: The Design Client

Chloe called Freya early Monday morning with news about the apartment proposal. The client had approved the concept almost without changes and wanted Freya to remain involved through the next stage. More importantly, Chloe's manager had seen the work and wanted to speak with her about additional freelance projects.

Freya accepted a video meeting for that afternoon. She spent the morning finishing her scheduled novel update before reviewing material samples and budgets for the apartment. Working in two fields at once should have felt exhausting, but she enjoyed switching between fictional problems and practical ones.

During the meeting, Chloe's manager, Adrian Cole, was straightforward. He didn't care that Freya hadn't worked professionally for several years. He cared about whether she could meet deadlines. He offered her two smaller projects on a trial basis and explained the firm's freelance rates.

Freya negotiated the rate upward. Adrian paused, then laughed. "Chloe warned me you'd do that." "Was I supposed to accept the first number?" "Most freelancers do." "Then most freelancers should negotiate more."

They settled on a figure slightly below what Freya requested but comfortably above the original offer. By the time the call ended, she officially had two design assignments waiting beside her writing schedule.

Louis returned for lunch and found a weekly planner taped to the refrigerator. Different blocks were labeled Writing, Design, Shipping, Cooking, and Exercise. "You scheduled cooking?" he asked.

"If I don't, I'll forget and end up eating noodles at midnight." Freya pointed toward another block. "And these are your expected dinner days."

Louis looked at the planner. "You scheduled me too." "You keep appearing for meals. I need to know how much food to make." "I live here." "You also mysteriously disappear for business meetings despite being unemployed."

He wisely ignored that comment. Freya told him about the new design work. Instead of questioning her skills again, Louis asked about the clients and deadlines. She appreciated that he had apparently decided to stop treating every new ability like evidence in a criminal investigation.

That afternoon, Freya visited one of the properties with Chloe. The client wanted to renovate an older two-bedroom apartment without changing its warm character. Freya measured the rooms, photographed awkward corners, and immediately began imagining solutions.

As they left, Chloe said, "You know, if you keep doing this, Adrian might offer you something permanent." "I don't want permanent." "Why?" "Writing comes first. Design is something I enjoy, but I don't want another job controlling my schedule."

Chloe nodded. "You really have changed." This time the observation didn't frighten Freya. "Maybe I finally figured out what I want."

On her way home, Freya received a notification from the fiction platform. Her novel had entered the top ten of the new-release ranking. She stopped on the sidewalk and stared at the number with a grin.

Two careers were beginning to move forward at once. For the first time since waking in the novel, Freya felt she wasn't merely surviving someone else's ending. She was creating a life that hadn't existed anywhere in the original story.

That night, Freya reorganized her calendar once more and deliberately left one evening completely empty. She had learned in her previous life that turning every available hour into work eventually destroyed creativity. The blank square looked strange beside her packed schedule, but she kept it. Building a new life was important; actually having time to live it mattered too.