COUNTRY RIDGE ESTATES
5:42am
Demi didn't need an alarm to wake up. She stopped needing one once she had Iris. Whatever internal clock she had was programmed to be up before 6am, which was when Iris used to have her first bottle of the day. After that, it never went back to normal. And thank God. Demi liked the solace of being up early. It was so quiet. Her life was never quiet anymore. Wilmer wasn't an early riser and neither were her kids. That meant she had at least a half hour of relative peace before she had to assume her roles for the day. Mother. Girlfriend. CFO. It would be a lot for anyone but Demi liked the juggling of it all. She just also liked having a moment to herself before she had to take any of that on.
She ran her fingers over her cotton jersey sheets, startling herself when she didn't touch Wilmer's naked back. Had last night been a dream? No. She really tried to control what happened in her subconscious and there's no way she would've dreamed of such drama. Demi rolled onto her side and touched Wilmer's pillow. It was cold. She gently brushed the sheets off of her body and leaned over the side of the bed to grab his shirt from last night. Of course he hadn't cleaned up after himself. And of course he was gone. Typical. He came into town, got what he needed, and then disappeared until he felt like he needed to come back. And if anyone hated it more than Demi, it was her daughters. They didn't understand Wilmer's inconsistency and Demi always just explained it away by saying that he had business to do. If that business included partying in Miami and inappropriately touching other women...
Whatever. It was more peaceful without him here. It meant she had to take on more responsibility with the girls but it was easier that way anyway. Everything was easier without him.
KKW BRANDS
8:56am
Demi stirred the glass straw around her cup, watching the coffee, creamer, and ice swirl together in a cappucino colored frenzy. A long time ago Demi had learned a major secret to success, which was if you're on time you're late, and if you're 15 minutes early you're on time. That's why she had been on the go since 6 this morning, wrestling with the girls to get them out of the day before going to the office so that she could get her day started peacefully. Not that the atmosphere at the office was ever that chaotic to begin with. Everyone knew their job and how to execute it. Unless there was a scandal, things around there were always pretty calm, and sometimes Demi felt bad because she would rather be at the office than at home with her kids. Not that she would ever say it out loud but working was something that she had trained forever to be good at. Motherhood hadn't come so easily and even now she was constantly questioning her decision making. She never second guessed herself on the job.
"Good morning everyone!" Kim Kardashian breezed into the conference room in a cloud of crystal gardenia scented perfume and unbridled confidence, shooting her dazzling smile at every single employee at the conference table before taking her seat at the head and getting herself situated. Everyone immediately perked up, clicking their pens and opening a new notes document on their shiny MacBooks because everyone knew what Friday was. Execution day.
Not execution as in a firing spree, but execution as in ideas. Every Friday they planned a new launch for the KKW brands and Demi knew this time they would be brainstorming for Skims. Tracy Romulus was handling the KKW beauty and fragrance rebrand since Kim's divorce had just been settled so that only left Skims, which was fine with Demi.
"So, I just got word from our factory that we are ready to launch Hims by Skims!" Kim squealed, her voice getting a little higher at the end and causing the room to erupt in applause. Demi breathed out a sigh of relief because it had been hell getting that name trademarked and all of the contracts through. It was finally over and they could finally start making money.
