Capítulo 7: Collision of past and present. AR
Brittany
That was a stupid mistake.
Sometimes I just can't believe myself. One time, I was trying to remind myself that Lucas is my enemy, the next, I am moaning my senses out. Maybe that's what I get for being celibate for almost a year and getting underpaid at Endless Glamour.
To think that I didn't know the danger at the end of this project when it was pushed to me. I should have known that nothing good comes out of jobs that Ben, my boss, pass to Clarissa. And he made me take the job at the last minute.
You see, I was good at what I do. That was one of the reasons why I was getting paid as high as the heads of departments–still underpaid because I bring most of the high-paying clients- but still, Ben gives me impossible projects. Like the last one where the decorator used cream instead of blue, How are blue and cream alike?
I hate to think it was intentional that Ben paired me with tactless junior staff at the office. But of course, training junior staff is part of my job as a senior employee in the office. I could do that but the only thing I asked was that I don't get paired up with someone who can't suggest a reasonable colour combination.
Senior decorator, my ass. Ben and I knew that it was just a fancy title to keep me in the company. I was approached by a competing interior decorating company and Ben got a whiff of it. And suddenly, the promotion that I had been asking for just landed on my lap.
The promotion was a plot to stop me from leaving the company and not the one I wanted to leave. You see, people look at me and see a confident and courageous woman, I am anything but. I get too attached to things, like how I got attached to Lucas, to Ben's dream and Endless Glamour.
If I were truly courageous, I would have studied Architecture instead of taking a crash course in event and home decoration. I would have returned sooner to California after we were threatened to leave. But wishes were not horses so beggars like me wouldn't ride.
Once upon a time, I had the energy and zeal to travel the world and discuss world Architecture. Now, I just want to be appreciated for the value I bring to this company. I met Ben and fell in love with his dream.
That was because his dreams were in alliance with mine, so I thought we would be a good match. I thought he loved me until he said he was interested in a partner's daughter. We started the company together but there was no written agreement so I became an 'employee.'
Brand, my brother and a lawyer, wanted to sue him in court but at what cost? I don't want another battle with the rich and connected. Once was enough, there was no need for another.
My mother and Brand wanted me to leave California after Ben's betrayal but I insisted on staying. Not because it was a beautiful state but because for once, I was facing my fears instead of running from them. The first few months after I got back to California, I watched my back for black, tinted cars.
When I didn't notice anyone on my trail for almost six months, I started to enjoy living alone and working at the establishment. Ben might have brought me back to California but I decided to stay. Like it was my decision to flirt with the enemy of my family.
Having been sheltered most of my life, it was daunting to live alone but my artist roommate and her boyfriend made everything better. They showed me around–like I wasn't born there or went to high school there, took me to fun places and I cried when I entered the club where Lucas watched me drink my first booze.
My companions thought I cried at the thought of having fun but really, everything reminded me of him. Saying life is unfair is an understatement because Lucas didn't deserve a second of my thoughts but there he was, living rent-free in my mind.
In no time, I settled into the schedule of work during the day and silent brooding at night. I would read books on architecture, make blog posts and talk to family at night. The routine changed when Ben's shining new toy took over the reigns in the company, I was forced to prove my worth.
Proving my worth at Endless Glamour seemed to be the push that I needed. I worked overtime to research how to acquire clients and satisfy them more. Months of work paid after I landed a major client, Ben's fiance got off my back, I got a heavy paycheck and more Clients wanted a taste.
On my watch, our clients increased and the company expanded. I learnt the ropes of attacking quality clients and fostering relationships on the job. Ben's dream was for his business to survive in California, mine was to do something courageous. It was a win-win situation.
I became a voice in events and home decoration and Ben was content to keep using me until rival companies started reaching out. He upped my salary and benefits and made me sign a work agreement. So, I was supposed to just smile and do what he said, including dumping green employees on me.
For four years, I worked hard to get the company where it was and the 'board' which is basically Ben, his wife and her family, could not give me the courtesy of telling me who my next client was. They must have told Clarissa who didn't think it was necessary that I got the Client's name.
The client cancelled every merging and call until I moved up the authority chain. And frankly, it was Lucas that we were talking about, his stubbornness knew no bounds. Just as I expected, the office set a date for a meeting.
I made two mistakes and I could blame Clarissa or Ben, but it was all me. Instead of spending nights working on the interior, I should have checked the exact location of the property. My mind just didn't register the danger zone- Los Altos Hills.
Also, I knew the Client was named Magaret but I didn't check who exactly I would be meeting at that Restaurant. After many years of hoping that he would reach out, or apologise or both. He just happened to be my new client.
And just like that, emotions that were buried deep in me, reawake. I hated and missed him at the same time. I wanted to run to him and I wanted to run away.
Like a moth attached to a fire, I was still attracted to him. Just like before, we got lost in each other's eyes.
Blue in dark blue.
I searched his face for any chance of remorse but I didn't find anything aside from surprise. Surprise that I am back in California after your not-so-little stunt, boy? There was an internal war between my professional and normal self as I debated how to best deal with him.
It hurt to say but he still looked after nine years. He was big and handsome as a teenager but he was sexy, more handsome and still filthy rich as a man. Maybe Margaret was his wife?
I don't remember the last name of the client but I remember Clarissa saying something about the fact that she was not in the country. His mother was also dead so, a girlfriend or wife was a reasonable guess.
Why was I even bothered about his marital status when I should be thinking of ways to bolt away from him and anyone with the Ferguson name?
But I didn't want him to see him crumble again, he didn't deserve to see me cower at the mention of his family house.
I was not that timid girl again. I needed to show him that he can't bring my family down anymore, we are not what we used to be; Weak and Afraid of them.
And so, I asked him not to talk about the past. He is a client and will be treated as such. I expected Lucas to go back on the deal but he listened while I briefed him on the details of the proposed redecoration.
His attention was unexpected. That was not because he was Lucas but because he was a wealthy man in control. I came across people like him when I first started to take the job seriously and I noticed the 'all too mighty' attitude.
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