Page 17 of Affliction

Catherine nodded. “Okay, but you have to let me know if it all gets to be too much.” Catherine leaned over my desk and placed her hand on top of mine. With her leaning across the desk and me sitting, this brought us eye to eye. “You keep so much of yourself protected because you’re dealing with so much chaos, whether it be professional or personal. I want you to know that you don’t have to do this alone. Okay? Promise you’ll consider that the next time you feel like you need someone to talk to. I’m told I’m an excellent listener.”

I came around the desk and gave her a hug. “I’m so glad to be working with you,” I told her. And I meant every word of it. Catherine had been an angel the past few weeks—setting up interviews, meeting with staff in all departments to have a greater understanding of what we were doing here, and also just being a friend. She was someone who would listen to me and give me great advice, she was a great confidant, and I was pleased she had agreed to represent me and my company.

“No, I’m just doing my job,” she said, trying to play it off. I raised my eyebrows at her, and she let out a chuckle. “Okay, fine. I really like you. I think you have tremendous potential as a businesswoman. You’ve created a wonderful empire here, and I want to see you succeed. And I see a lot of who I was before I found Jackson, in you.”

I nodded in understanding. She mentioned over lunch once what a tough road it had been for her and Jackson. But now they were happy, and I was happy for her. Things wouldn’t quite work out that way for me. There was no going back to Terry, that much I was sure of. And there was no time to look for someone new. I had Bryce, a friend with certain.. .benefits, and for right now, that was all I needed and wanted out of love.

“I don’t think there’ll be a happy ending for me anytime soon. But I’m glad that you got yours.”

“We’ll just see about that. Life has a funny way of working out sometimes,” Catherine told me, then returned to all business. “So, Terry will take the pictures, and then Margie will meet with you. I have given her the list of questions that I showed you on Friday. She has been given strict instructions to stay within those lines. The interview will take place in conference room two.”

I nodded. “Okay, I think I’m ready for all of those.”

Catherine laughed. “Well, you sound a little more confident than you did when I first came in here.”

“I’m working on it,” I promised her.

“You’re doing fine. Hair and makeup will be ready for you shortly.”

“I can’t believe someone is actually going to do my hair and makeup for this.” I was a little giddy at the thought of having this attention placed on little ole me.

Catherine laughed. “It’s all for you, my dear. To make you look even more beautiful and to help you shine in that article. I love the dress you’ve chosen. It’s beautiful and classic—exactly what I had in mind.”

“I thought you might like it,” I said, grinning even wider.

“I absolutely love it. Which shoes are you wearing?” Catherine asked, looking down at my feet.

I was, of course, wearing a pair of my heels for the shoot. And they were on my feet now. Classic black stilettos with a delicate silver lace pattern etched in. The four-and-a-half-inch stiletto was the same silver color that was etched on the body of the shoe. The sole of the shoe was purple, just like the sole of every shoe we created. Louboutin had the famous, red-soled shoes, and Shoegasm was hoping to make purple-soled shoes a thing. So far, it seemed to work—women were loving them.

I wasn’t the type of woman who shied away from wearing heels. The heels I designed for Shoegasm were made for the everyday woman. We went to great lengths to ensure there was enough padding and comfort added in and that they were available at an affordable price to make any woman shine all day long.

“Perfect. Those will look amazing in the spread. I’m so excited for you,” she gushed.

I shied away from praise normally, and when it came from Catherine, I was no different.

She simply shook her head. “One of these days, my dear, you will get used to people complimenting you.”

“Just a bad habit from the past,” I told her. Catherine only nodded in response.

At that moment, Ally came in. A professional smile plastered to her face. Catherine wouldn’t know that it was for show, but I did. “Mia, they’re ready for you.”

“Great, thanks,” I told her as she exited my office. “Guess I better go.”

“Saved by the assistant,” Catherine teased, and boy, was she right. Ally coming in at that exact moment hadn’t just saved me from talking to Catherine about the past, but it also saved my mind from going to revisit those memories.

I nodded. “See you in there.” With that, I left my office, leaving Catherine to work on some paperwork. She would join me when it was time for the photo shoot and the interview. She didn’t need to be there to watch them get me ready. The stylists she had chosen were professionals, and they would do a great job on my hair and makeup. The clothes and the shoes, thankfully, we’re allowed to be chosen by me.

I felt a happy sense of nervous energy flood me as I headed out of my office. Time for Terry to take some more pictures of me—something I thought would never happen again.

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