***Cindy***
I worked tirelessly till evening, coming up with illustrations and designs that Olivia would like and appreciate. She had rejected three of my illustrations already, and I was hellbent on making sure that I submitted at least one design that would be accepted by her. To please Mrs. Preston was more difficult than I had imagined.
It was almost the close of the day and Amelia suggested that we leave everything for the following day. I was exhausted already, so I agreed. The train ride back home was soothing, and I got home in no time. Alexa greeted me with a warm smile and a deep hug like she had missed me all day.
"Where is all this love coming from, Lexi?" I asked, teasing her. "Can I not hug and welcome my big sister again?" Alexa asked, still smiling. It was obvious that she had missed me. I went into the kitchen where my mother was making dinner. "How was your first day, Cindy?" she asked from behind the cooker where she grilled chicken.
"You do not want to know, Mom," I replied, feeling tired. My day was hectic, one that I had not experienced in a long time. My former job wasn't all that pleasant, but I did not have to deal with a controlling, intimidating, and unfriendly boss like Olivia. I wished I had met the CEO instead, but unfortunately, Amelia had told me that in all her five years of working in KP Fashion, she could count the number of times she met the CEO.
Kyle Preston wasn't a regular show-face in his company but tried to be present during important meetings. He allowed his mother to run the affairs of the company as she saw fit, according to what Amelia had told me. Every decision taken for the company was spearheaded by her, some of which affected the employees negatively.
"Tell me all about it, baby," my mother said enthusiastically. "Okay Mom, give me a little time to freshen up," I said with a weak smile. I went into the room, removed my clothes, and hit the shower. The warm water was soothing, as if it washed off every frustration I had felt at work. "What a day!" I heaved a sigh of relief and allowed the water to flow freely.
I stepped out of the bedroom dripping wet. I had forgotten to go in with my towel, so I grabbed the little one I saw on the dressing table and dabbed my wet body with it. I got dressed in my pajamas and went to meet my mom in the kitchen. Dinner was ready and set in the little dining area of our small apartment.
We settled in to eat the mashed potatoes and grilled chicken breast my mom had prepared, while I told them all about my first day. I told them how stressful it had been, how I had crashed Olivia's coffee mugs, and how she had rejected all my designs. "I think I have made it into her black book," I said, wearing a worried look. I was sure that it was because I had broken Olivia's mugs that made her treat my designs like thrash.
"It's okay, sis. You always have a way of making people like and appreciate you. This time wouldn't be an exception, trust me. You've got this okay?" Alexa said, trying to cheer me up. My mom did almost the same, reminding me whose daughter I was and the fact that we always seemed to have good luck.
I knew in my heart that this time was different from the rest. Olivia Preston was going to be a thorn in my flesh as she had always been to other people, but I wasn't going to allow anyone to intimidate me, not even her, the feared and dreaded OLIVIA PRESTON! Alexa promised to help in whatever way she could. She was also creative, and she shared her ideas with me, which would be pleasing to my boss.
After dinner, I took note of Alexa's ideas and, together, we came up with a few designs that Oliva would not turn a blind eye to. I forwarded them to Amelia even though it was late in the night. Thankfully, she was still awake and called me immediately. "These designs are top-notch, Cindy. Well done!" she commended me. "Now let's see if Olivia will reject these," I said to myself.
After the call ended, I decided to call it a night, before Alexa started, "Ohh that reminds me, I got a message from a stranger who wanted the services of a caterer. He said he'd sent you a text, but you weren't responding, so he reached out to me." Shoot! I had been so busy trying to impress Olivia that I had forgotten that I was also a catering chef and had an online profile, one that I always checked to see if there were any orders for my services.
Alexa and I had built an online profile to market our catering skills, since we had not saved enough for a walk-in outlet. She was as good as I was and we both created the profile in a way that we linked our personal social media handles to the page. That way, when I am inactive, Alexa would take it up.
"My bad! What did they say they wanted," I asked Alexa curiously. Alexa explained that she had gotten a message from some stranger, seeking a caterer's services, and we came highly recommended, but the location was the problem. It was in Beverly Hills but since we had relocated, she referred another person to him.
"It's okay, we will get another offer, one that will be here in New York," I assured her. Alexa was as positive as I was. "How about we text this person and tell him to book our services if he has any coming event in New York or knows someone that would an event here," she suggested.
That wasn't a bad idea, except that we would appear desperate. I was very cautious of being tagged as desperate, but Alexa wasn't. She was down for whatever, as long as it was legal, and it added to our savings. She saw that I wasn't buying the idea of texting the stranger to ask him to recommend our services to others, so she sent the text herself.
"It's done! Did it remove a strand of hair from my body?" Alexa asked jokingly. Many times, she made decisions like the older one while I followed behind, unless it was a more severe one, then I would have to intervene. "It did not, Lexi. You don't have to brag further," I responded to Alexa, who was already feeling like a superhero.
I picked up my phone and checked the message Alexa said I had gotten from this stranger. Wow! He wanted to host an event in The Virginia Robinson Gardens. This would have been a perfect opportunity to tour a little in such a magnificent environment. My loss! I understood why Alexa had said we should inform the stranger about referring our services to people.
It was obvious that this person was wealthy and may have other connections to the 'high and mighty' of society because, people who held events in such an environment paid huge sums of money to reserve the venue for whatever event they were hosting. I replied to the message on my phone, apologizing for my late reply and promising to do better. There was no need to ask for any recommendations since Alexa had done so already.
Speaking of strangers, I quickly remembered the part of my day I had left out because I didn't want my mom involved in it. "Guess what I heard today, Lexi. I know you're not good at guesses, but you have to try this time." Alexa hated it when I had something to say but wanted her to take a guess first.
"C'mon, Cindy. Let's not go down that route again, please," she pleaded. "It's okay, I'll tell you," I said before I continued, "While I was in Olivia's office, she picked up her phone and dialed a number. The next thing I heard was 'Kyle', that was what made me lose my balance and triggered the crashing of her coffee mugs."
I saw Alexa's eyes grow wide with shock upon hearing Kyle's name. "Is it the same Kyle you met some while back, the one you had a one-night stand …." I closed Alexa's mouth before she finished her question. "Do you want Mom to hear us?" I asked, looking around to be sure we were the only ones in the living room.
Alexa apologized immediately. "Don't be silly, girl. It's not the same person. Have you forgotten that we are no longer in Beverly Hills? How can it be the same Kyle I met back at home?"
Alexa agreed with me, and it gave me great relief that she had not assumed that it might be the same person I had slept with. I silently decided that I would look up Kyle Preston online to see if he was the same person I had met.
"I think I'll call it a night, Cindy. I'm tired already," Alexa said, bringing me back to reality. Just as Alexa moved towards the bedroom, we heard a crashing sound followed by a painful groan.
Alexa and I looked at ourselves before we shouted in unison,
Mom!!!