Broken Inside

48 - The Reveal

Alex was tired and her eyes were still puffy from crying. She still showed up to work on Monday. She had never skipped work for personal issues and she wasn't about to start. 

Alex was sitting at her desk, going through her schedule for the week solemnly, when Molly walked past. Molly saw her and greeted cheerfully, "Good morning, love!"

Alex looked up, frowning. 

"It's Molly. We met at that staff party, remember?"

Alex's expression softened and she chuckled. "Of course, sorry. Good morning."

Molly noticed something was wrong with Alex. "Darling, are you alright?" she asked softly.

Alex forced a smile. "Yeah, of course."

Molly didn't buy it. "Yeah, you're coming with me."

"But, Caroline might need me," Alex told her.

"It's okay," Molly assured her. "Just text Caroline and tell her that you're with HR. She won't ask any questions."

So Alex followed Molly to the frozen yogurt place opposite the office. They sat down in a cubicle at the back.

"I can't believe we're eating this," Alex said, chuckling.

"Well, it's healthier than ice cream," Molly said, grinning. She licked her spoon and asked, "So, what's going on with you?"

Alex sighed and told Molly what happened. 

"Oh, so this is about a boy?" Molly said knowingly.

Alex chuckled and said, "It's not just that, it's everything, really. This job is killing me. I feel like I'm drowning and can't catch my breath." Alex sighed, looking down at the table and stirring her frozen yogurt until it melts. "Maybe I'm not the best person for this job."

"That's daft and you know it!" Molly exclaimed, "You were chosen for this job, beating so many others. If that doesn't proof you belong here, then what will?"

Alex looked up at her and frowned. "What do you mean?"

Molly chuckled. "Darling, you didn't think you were the only candidate for this assignment, did you? We had like 50 others fighting for this job, you know?"

"No, I didn't know," Alex said honestly. "How was I chosen?"

"Well," Molly looked up at the ceiling as she tried to recall, "I believe your name was submitted from the New York office, together with 15 others. Then we put all the candidates through the selection process. It took months to decide! It was gruelling."

"What were the criteria?" Alex asked curiously.

"Just the usual," Molly said, "Work ethics, drive, feedbacks from stakeholders, those kind of things." She ate a spoonful of frozen yogurt before adding, "You should have seen your dossier. It was 5cm thick!"

Alex sat up straight. "Wow, I didn't know."

"Well, now you do," Molly smiled at her kindly. "So you see, you do belong here. So many people believe that you can do this job. Have faith in yourself."

Alex exhaled and smiled. "Thank you, Molly. I really needed to hear that," she said to Molly gratefully. Then she asked, "I haven't seen you in the last two weeks. Where did you go?"

"Oh, I went back home," Molly said. "My mother was sick."

"Oh my God! I'm sorry. How is she?"

"Oh, she's fully recovered, don't worry about it," Molly said, flapping her hand dismissively.

Alex chuckled and they continued chatting about random things for the next half an hour before returning to work.

*****

After her chat with Molly, Alex felt energised. With the newfound knowledge that she was chosen not by chance, but by talent, she gave her 110% to the work without complaining. 

For the next few weeks, B&G was busy in preparing for the Spring Fashion Week. Alex got herself involved in multiple auditions for new talents. She was amazed by how much work were done in preparation and during the auditions. She realised how lucky she was to have the experience from both ends, as the organiser and the talent.

Alex was running all around London by that point. She met with various clients, designers, and photographers. It was crazy but she was having fun.

She was barely in the office anymore. 

Then one day, on a rare occasion where she had to stop by the office, she ran into Paul outside the building. 

"Paul, hi," she greeted him, smiling.

Paul smiled back politely. "Ms Smith, good morning."

Ms Smith? Alex's smile slipped slightly. They used to be on first name basis. "Good morning."

Paul nodded once and wordlessly, continued his way into the building.

Alex remained on the spot, watching his back retreating. She could see that Paul was still affected from the night of the book launch, when he saw Alex kissing Zack. Also she assumed he has not moved on from the night when she yelled at him and kicked him out of her apartment. She was hoping they had moved on by now, but apparently not.

Alex waited long enough to make sure that Paul had cleared the elevator before she made her way into the building.

*****

Alex was called into Caroline's office.

"You wanted to see me?" Alex asked her, standing at the door.

Caroline took off her glasses and exhaled. "Congratulations, you have booked your first runway gig."

Alex gaped and blinked with surprise. "Really?"

"Don't get too excited," Caroline said. She gestured towards a chair and Alex went to sit down. "It's for Victor Vaughn. He's an upcoming British designer and this is his debut in Fashion Week. His style is a combination of Victoria Secret and Gucci, fun and hype type. His collection this season has a Japanese influence."

Alex listened intently, nodding her head. 

"You will meet him next week for fittings. In the mean time, practice your walk and do some research," Caroline said then turned to her computer. She put on her glasses and started typing on the keyboard. "You can go now," she said flatly without looking at Alex.

Alex thanked her and left the room. She went to tell Cara. Cara jumped up and down excitedly. She went to tell Molly. Molly hugged her and wished her good luck.

Then Alex called Ethan and Neesha. They were both excited for her. 

Alex felt proud and nervous at the same time. She was advancing in her career and she prayed for everything to go as planned.