Page 23 of Devanté
She still hated me, even now. I made sure to eat up every bitter morsel she dropped though. She thought she cast me to the wolves when we were in college but I came back leading the fucking pack.
After her Mean Girls intervention, Mrs. Carter sent us to peer counseling. It was bullshit and I knew it. Gabi tried to get out of it by having her father donate money to the school.
Bad move.
Mr. Perez ran right into Mrs. Carter who told him everything while she took a donation for the school’s counseling department. Mr. Perez didn’t even bother talking to Gabi. He came to find me. I happened to be in marketing class at the time presenting my capstone project.
He was so blown away by my presentation, he’d forgotten about talking to me about his child’s fucked up behavior. By the end of our first conversation, he offered me the paid internship at Watson. I was floored by his humility and sincerity. I had no idea how the hell he had a hand in creating someone like Gabi.
When I completed the internship, Mr. Perez offered me a job on Watson’s branding team. In my junior year of college, I switched schools and went to University of Southern California. It was so much closer to work.
I didn’t need my parents to sign for another apartment for me because by then, I was able to pay rent on my own. Ever since then, I’d been making moves on my own and climbing up the Watson ladder.
“What’s up, Perez?” I said, sitting across from his desk.
“I was wondering if you’d be able to squeeze in time for a quick meeting next week.”
“Um…have you checked with Noa? She was literally right there.” I aimed my thumb at his office door.
“I know. I can work out the timing with Noa but I need to know if you’re even willing to sit down at this meeting.”
“God, who am I meeting with, Perez? You act like I have to give a dictator a brand makeover or something.” I stopped chuckling and my eyes locked onto his. “Wait…I don’t have to do that, do I?” I’d had political makeovers dropped in my lap before and it was not fun.
“No, Blake,” Mr. Perez laughed, tipping his head back. “Shaw Luxury Cases is calling in a favor. It came directly from the CEO, Perry Shaw. He wants you to meet with their potential spokesperson.”
“Potential?” I laughed out the word like it was gibberish. It might as well have been. “Potential as in not even signed yet? Why would I waste my time?” I quizzed. “I only work with signed spokespeople. I don’t shoot around ideas with people who don’t have contracts. That means I’m losing money.”
“I know, Blake. He’s a big name and they really want him on their team. They’re bending over backward. The guy is on board if they can get him a meeting with you.”
The subtle buzz of my Apple Watch let me know it was time to eat and down sixteen ounces of water. “Ugh. Fine. Perry better be glad I love him and his company. If they want this guy then he has to be a perfect fit. Why does he want to meet with me though?” I wondered, crossing my legs.
“He was under the impression Shaw was working with Zeon Marketing and I guess he was fine with that but once Watson was mentioned, he tensed up. Shaw was hoping that talking to you would ease his mind a little.”
“Hmm, wonder why he tensed up at Watson? That’s the opposite reaction of ninety-nine percent of people who know who we are. Either way, it’s fine. Schedule it with Noa and I’ll knock his socks off.”
“I know you will, Blake.” His smile was warm and bright. It was the pride I wished I got from my mother sometimes.
When she found out I started working at Watson, she congratulated me then told me it would have been so much better if I’d become the person being marketed instead of the one doing the marketing. It was like I busted my ass for eight years for nothing. I got my masters in marketing while I was working a full-time job and she smiled then told me she was glad I was using my brains since that’s what worked for me.
It was a shame that my boss gave me the support and validation my mother refused to give. Luckily, my father never ran short on support and I was damn proud of myself. It hurt not to have Mom’s support but I did a good job of validating myself and making sure I patted myself on the back because if I didn’t, who the fuck else would?
“I’ll coordinate with Noa and we’ll get a time set up.”
“Okay. Anything else? I gotta go eat.”
“Go eat, Blake,” Perez said, shaking his head. I rushed out of his office with a grateful smile.
My office matched my personality. It was cool blue accented with pale yellow and gray. Three of the walls were floor-to-ceiling panes of glass with the Watson logo engraved on the side. My name was etched in gold on the front door.
I took a deep breath of the lavender misted air from my diffuser and shut my eyes for a moment before reaching into the mini-fridge and grabbing a cheese stick and a portioned amount of Brazilian nuts. I ate my snack and drank a bottle of water.
After college, I decided I wanted to be the best version of myself so I started eating healthier, measuring my portions, and exercising. I lost some of my pudge but mostly I stayed soft with curves and hills. As long I was healthy, I didn’t care about love handles or a little pooch. I knew I was pouring love into my body and because of that, my body gave me flowers. I was in great shape and I was healthier than I’d ever been. What people saw on the outside didn’t bother me anymore.
Fuck ‘em.
…
After work, Noa walked alongside me while we laughed and joked about Mr. Horner listening to his college-aged nephew when it concerned his million-dollar business. When I stopped at my car, she leaned against the driver’s side and looked at me.
