Two months later
"Our most recent data shows that the growth rate of our sales have slightly decreased, although sales generally still remain steady overall," Nathan reported to Heather as he stood in her office and handed her a few files. "It hopefully shouldn't impact our chances of being nominated for the Annual Jewellery Business Awards this year."
Heather took the documents and began to study them carefully. There was an awkward silence in the room as Nathan stood there watching her, not knowing what else to say.
"So are you ready for tonight?" He eventually asked again, breaking the silence.
Heather glanced up. "I mean yes, but either way, it doesn't really matter. We've pushed back the launch party date twice already."
"I won't be on the stage with you tonight, because of ... well you know, but I've asked Cody to step in to MC the event and I'll be cheering for you in the audience," Nathan smiled. "You'll be great."
"And by the way, here's your speech for tonight." He handed Heather a few cue cards.
"Thanks Nathan," Heather smiled back.
"Anytime. I'll see you at the event, let me know if you need anything else," Nathan smoothly replied before walking out of Heather's office.
It had now been two months since Illuminate's 'scandal', and Heather was getting ready for tonight's launch party for her business' newest jewellery collection, The Red Velvet. This would also mark her first public appearance since the incident.
Nathan's prompt 'public statement' on Instagram had been generally well received, with people commending him for 'owning up to his mistakes' and defending him by emphasizing that he was 'only a teenager' back then. And as almost as quickly as they had appeared, the people who had left hate comments on Illuminate's Instagram disappeared and moved onto the next scandal. It was almost as if the article had never been published, or that it was buried and forgotten like an old library book. Almost.
Heather stared into the mirror in her office. Roles reversed, if I had been the one to apologize in the video and admit what was in the article, would people have still been so supportive? Would Illuminate still be experiencing steady sales as it still was today?
Revenge. She had thought about doing something to get back at J&B Co a few times since the incident. And she knew that she normally wouldn't hesitate to retaliate.
But each time, she would find herself thinking back to the day Alejandro was in her office, the sadness and pain she had seen in his emerald green eyes, and his words that day: "I would never want to hurt you."
Heather shook her head and took a deep breath to snap herself out of it. This was not the time for intrusive thoughts. She needed to be at the top of her game for tonight. She bent down to grab her pink lip gloss from her bag, and that was when she heard the loud tapping of a woman's high heels on the floorboards.
"Heather?"
Heather froze at the voice. She shut her eyes, hoping she was in some sort of nightmare. All the memories suddenly came flooding back. Please let it be someone else.
She slowly spun around and took a deep breath. Her grey eyes met the woman's.
"What are you doing here? And how did you even get up here?" Heather snapped.
"Your secretary let me up," the woman answered.
Heather put her hands on her hips. She made a mental note to herself to scold Sierra later.
"You're not welcome here. Leave before I call security."
"You haven't changed at all," the woman shook her head.
"Wow, really mom?! We haven't seen each other in four years and this is the only thing you have to say to me?" Heather shook her head in disgust.
"Heather, please, you haven't answered or returned any of my calls or texts," Heather's mom, Elaine, took a step closer to her and reached her arm out, as if to pull Heather into a hug. Heather quickly took a step back.
"I miss my Heather feather," Elaine spoke in a soft voice.
"Don't call me that," Heather firmly retorted. She turned her head away.
"I've been so worried about you, especially after that...article."
"Oh, so this is what this is all about?" Heather snapped. "You're just here to make fun of me."
"No! That's not true, I - I just want my daughter back," Elaine cried. Her voice shook with desperation and sorrow.
"Well you lost her when you kicked her out four years ago," Heather spat. She felt angry tears swelling up. Great. Stupid tears! She aggressively wiped her eyes with her hand.
"I know I've been a terrible mother, but -"
"Well that's definitely something we can both agree on!"
"Heather, please, will you give me another chance to make it up to you?" Elaine desperately held onto Heather's wrists.
Heather let go of her mother's grip. "What do you want? Money? Because you won't be getting a cent from me."
"No of course not! I- I want to apologize. I want us to start over!" Elaine exclaimed.
"Well you should've thought about that when you treated me like shit all those years and kicked me out!"
"Heather, you know the divorce with your father took a large toll on my mental health," Elaine sobbed, as tears trickled down her cheeks. "I shouldn't have let it all out on you."
"That doesn't explain why you treated me differently from my siblings!" Heather yelled. "And oh my god, why are we even having this conversation?!" She stormed over to her door and peered outside. "SIERRA?!"
"You were young, beautiful and confident, Heather!" Elaine exclaimed. "And I was insecure. I was the middle aged woman whose husband had left her!"
"Well, you sure had no trouble remarrying!" Heather yelled. "And what are you even saying - that you were jealous of an eight year old and your own daughter? Wow, do you even hear yourself? You're so full of yourself! We're done here. Leave, or I'm calling security now."
Elaine wiped her face with her trembling hands. She sniffed and grabbed her handbag, before walking out of Heather's office.
Heather angrily slammed her door shut and sat on the floor. And then the tears all came pouring out again; an uncontrollable flow, resembling all those years of anger, loneliness, resentment, disappointment and sadness.
She felt so alone and isolated.
***
"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for coming tonight to Illuminate's launch party for our newest jewellery collection, The Red Velvet! My name is Cody and I'll be your MC for this evening!" Cody smiled as he held the microphone.
"Woo! Go Codykins!" Sierra squealed in the audience.
"Some quick housekeeping before we kick off. Firstly, we would appreciate if all phones are switched off or kept on silent. Bathrooms are to the right of the hall," Cody motioned towards the restrooms.
"And finally, we have plenty of food and drink on the tables near the front and back, so please feel free to help yourself at any time! Now, we will shortly commence with an opening address from Illuminate's founder, and then dedicate some time for Q&A afterwards. We're also excited to announce that we've planned a lucky draw for one winner; each purchase you make tonight earns you another entry to win a very special and exciting prize!"
"Alright, and now without further ado, please join me in welcoming Illuminate's founder, Heather Kasuga!" Cody grinned.
A round of applause echoed in the venue.
Heather flashed her best smile as she walked up the stage. She was both good and used to pretending that she was fine, that everything was fine. Tonight would be no different. Numbing the pain came to her like a natural.
"Good evening all, thank you again for coming tonight," Heather began. "I hope that you are enjoying the night so far, and have had a chance to indulge in some of those delicious burgers. Shoutout to our chef for tonight - DJ." Heather smiled at DJ in the audience. He smiled back and gave her a thumbs up.
"Tonight is about celebrating the launch of Illuminate's newest jewellery collection, The Red Velvet," Heather continued.
She gazed around the room - the crowd was full and there were people of all ages and backgrounds.
Just as she was about to speak again, a teenage girl standing in the front of the audience caught her eye - she had long, straight dark brown hair. Her hands were crossed, her lips were pursed and she had a bored expression on her face. But there was something else to it. Heather froze. She blinked and looked at the girl again, but she was still standing there.
She glanced down again at the cue cards Nathan had prepared for her and then towards the girl for a third time. For some reason, there was something peculiarly familiar about her.
And then it hit her. She saw herself, or more specifically, her younger, sixteen year old self in that girl.
Heather swallowed and shut her eyes. After everything I've been through, could I perhaps be using the platform I have here? And then in that moment, she put away her cue cards and braced herself for what would come out of her mouth next, for what she would never have dared to say.
"When I first started Illuminate, I had one goal in mind: to be successful, no matter what. And the same goes for The Red Velvet collection. I named this collection after my favorite color, a deep red. Red represents so many things, but among others, confidence, strength and power - words I've always resonated with and found comfort in. But in order to get a dark red color, you must mix the color red with the color black. And tonight, I want to touch on that black shade. And so, this next shoutout and acknowledgement goes to..."
She paused for a moment, before taking a deep breath and then continued to speak.
"The girl in elementary school who was made to feel like an outsider."
As he stood in the crowd, Nathan frowned. Why wasn't she following the script?
"The young girl who would stare at herself in the mirror and feel insecure."
As Heather spoke, she suddenly noticed her mom standing in the audience. What was she doing here? She quickly turned her head away and continued.
"The girl who would come home from middle school with an A+ grade, only to be ingrained by her so-called nearest and dearest that nothing she would do would ever be good enough compared to her siblings."
"The girl in high school who would put up a strong front during the day, only to cry herself to sleep at night."
She took another deep breath.
"And finally, the young woman who thought she was developing feelings for a man, only to be met with disappointment and mixed feelings..."
"...I want to emphasize that each jewellery piece in the Red Velvet collection is a symbolization to channel your power and a reminder that no matter what, no one in this world can take away your confidence, your strength and your power."
Once she finished her speech, Heather instantly regretted what she had just said. She swallowed nervously and paused to observe the reaction of the crowd. She couldn't believe that she had just let that all out; it was as if the words had suddenly been taken from her mouth. She would never dare to speak like that in front of anyone, let alone a large crowd. She felt that she had just exposed herself to the entire world.
There was a long pause in the room. And then the applause came, slow at first, and then eventually louder.
For some reason, Heather found her eyes trailing back to where her mom was standing before - she was no longer there. Don't look back there. She's not important.
She then found herself looking back at the teenage girl - her arms were still folded but the faintest smile had formed on her lips.
"Thank you! And don't forget that each purchase you make tonight is another entry into our draw for a very special prize!" Heather added as she handed Cody back the microphone. Maybe just this once I'll allow myself to go rogue.
"Thank you Heather for that very heartfelt speech!" Cody grinned. "We'll now open up the floor for questions. If you have a question, please raise your hand and I will pass you the mic."
A middle aged woman raised her hand. "Alright, looks like you're up first ma'am," Cody nodded as he walked over to the woman and handed her the mic.
"I have a question for Heather. Other than your business, what are you most proud of?" The woman had a warm smile on her face.
"Well, I'd say a lot of things," Heather let out a laugh as she flipped her hair. "But if I had to choose, I love ballet and am proud of how far I've come," she added. The woman who had asked the question smiled at her.
A couple of more people asked questions, and then the room turned quiet once more.
"Does anybody else want to ask a question?" Cody asked.
The room remained silent for a few more moments.
And then another hand suddenly shot up. "May I please ask a question?" It was the voice of a man.
"Of course, sir, coming right your way." Cody quickly walked over to the man and handed him the microphone.
Heather froze as she slowly turned her gaze to the man who was speaking and standing at the very back of the room. His voice was charismatic yet soft, confident yet gentle.
It was as if time had suddenly paused, that everyone else in the room had frozen and that it was just the two of them still breathing.
It was Alejandro.
--
A/N - what do we think is going to happen next? ;)
Also, Chapter 11 will be up a bit later this week so hopefully it won't be a cliffhanger for too long ahah :P
Do drop a comment and thanks for reading!