Days became more boring for Jade as she continued to work her 9-to-5 job. And to be perfectly honest, she wasn't quite sure in the first place why she applied as an intern in Disora. She thought it would be fun, she'd gain experience and maybe some new friends from it all. But all she got was an endless loop of boredom since most people were really doing their jobs for a change.
There wasn't a lot to do in the office ever since Perrie Edwards took over the company. All of the staff were working full-time now, unlike before, where Jade was quite essential to them as she grabbed coffee for them while they slack around and gossip. This time around, everyone is busy except for her. So, she decides to take the rest of the day off.
Jade, of course, asked permission from Taylor since she's the in-charge of the interns. Taylor had no problems in letting her take a break since there weren't any major deadlines to meet.
Coincidentally, Leigh-Anne called Jade and asked her to meet in a cafe near Disora.
They had been chatting about random stuff in the cafe for half an hour now, and their snacks were almost finished when Leigh saw someone she least expected to see.
Leigh face-palmed herself, "Oh...God..."
"What? Where's God?" Jade asks, turning her head in the direction where Leigh is looking as she swirls her straw and sips on her smoothie.
"No, it's not God. Jeez...it's that guy from last weekend that I told you about."
"Oh? The one who stood you up on your first date?" Jade's eyes darkened.
"Yeah."
"And then he–"
Leigh-Anne nods, "Yup, that's the guy."
"Okay..." Jade puts her smoothie on the table and stands up. Leigh was able to hold her arm to stop her.
"What are you doing?" Leigh whisper-yelled. "Sit down...it's fine."
"Oh–now what he did to you was fine? Then, I guess second degree murder is fine, too. So, I'm just–"
"Stop! Stop it, Jade, okay? What are you gonna do? Kill him with a straw?"
Jade glances at her drinking straw and thinks for a second. "Well, I can try." She smirked.
Leigh groaned, "Shut up and sit down. Seriously! Let's just pretend he doesn't exist," she says as she subtly peeps at the guy who was seated on the far side of the cafe, checking something on his phone while waiting for his order.
"I can't and I don't like pretending. So, why not make him not exist at all." Jade grinned, her eyes had gone a dark shade of brown.
"Jade..." Leigh warned, staring daggers at her friend.
"Okay, fine...I'm just gonna talk to him then."
"No! Absolutely not."
Jade sighs and Leigh manages to calm her friend when the brunette sits back down. But Leigh doesn't know that Jade is still observing him, and she can still sense the humiliation that the douche of a guy did to her friend. With little remorse, she stood up again. Only this time, Leigh wasn't fast enough to stop her.
She sauntered her way to the guy's table in three short strides, and sat on the chair opposite him. Leigh-Anne could only smack her head and hope for the best that Jade doesn't do anything terrible to the guy.
In Leigh's observation, Jade and the guy were just casually talking. The guy was even smiling, looking like he's flirting with her friend. Nobody would think that a woman like Jade could do something out of the ordinary to some guy. But that's the thing about Jade, no one has ever resisted her charm once she starts flirting.
A few minutes later, the guy suddenly stood up and was in a hurry to leave the cafe. Then, Jade returned to her table with a mischievous grin on her face while her friend looked on at the man who was leaving in haste, fumbling over his keys to open his car before driving off like a mad man on the road.
"Alright, what did you do to him?" Leigh quizzes the brunette.
Jade smiles wickedly, takes a seat and sips her smoothie as if she hadn't done anything wrong. "I took away that one thing that gives him his annoying confidence and ego. He won't be able to hurt any woman's feelings anymore."
Leigh furrows her brows, "What?"
"I paralized his..." Jade smirked as she slowly looked down at her crotch. Leigh's mouth opened and closed like fish out of water, and laughed remembering how distressed the guy looked.
"Oh my–"
Jade bats her lashes, "You're welcome."
"Poor guy."
"Consider that as punishment. I could smell his desires. He's a player, he treats women like some kind of accessory – a collection, if you may. And when they're not useful to him anymore, he'll throw them away like garbage."
"I thought you're done punishing people." Leigh asks. Eyeing her friend carefully.
"I am. I just can't let this one go."
Leigh hums but doesn't believe what her friend is saying. "I know you. And you're not a liar. So, what's up? And what the hell are you doing in Disora?"
"I'm an intern."
"I know. You're up to something..." Leigh narrows her eyes at Jade as she sips on her tea.
"I'm not. I'm actually planning to quit. I don't think I can complete three months of working with papers and people." Jade scrunches her nose at the thought.
"And what are you gonna do next?"
Jade shrugged as she continued to swirl her straw around her smoothie. "I don't know if I'm quite honest."
"Your past is haunting you, isn't it?" Leigh asks her just as Jade averts her gaze from her. "Jade...you are better when you help people. With the powers that you possess, you have done so much for them, for this city. Why did you stop?" Jade didn't answer. "It's been a while since you quit being our superhero. When you see someone in trouble, don't you feel like there's something inside of you that's going to burst? Like you need to do something–"
"Leigh..." Jade shot her a warning glare. "I'm no superhero."
"Please tell me you at least kept the costume I made for you?"
Jade chuckles and nods, "Yeah, I kept it. Only because you didn't copy the skirt that Supergirl wears."
"You hate skirts. You're a Captain-Marvel-slash-Black-Widow kind of superhero attire." Leigh smiles as she remembers the time she used to make costumes for Jade. It took her more than 20 designs before Jade finally chose the one she really likes. Leigh's smile faded at the thought that Jade won't be wearing that costume anytime soon because she refused to be that superhero anymore. And Jade sensed what her friend was feeling.
"I tried, Lee. It was fun. But I don't think–I don't feel like it's the purpose of my existence."
"Then what is?"
"That's the problem. I don't know. I've been existing for thousands of years and I still don't–" Jade sighs. "I didn't ask to be born. I didn't ask to live this long. I was sent into this world and I don't even know the reason why. I didn't come here with a manual, you know. I'm just...present and trying to enjoy the experience."
"It's because–"
"Yeah, I thought my eighty-nine years of staying in this world would make sense or at least worthwhile, but look at me now...petrifying a dick of some perverted guy you didn't get to meet on your date!"
"You were something else when you became Scarlet Venom."
"Let's not talk about Scarlet Venom. She's long gone, Lee. I'm not that girl anymore." Jade consumed entirely her smoothie and stood up. "Let's get out of here."
"Maybe you just need someone to give meaning to your existence." Leigh suggests. She was still sitting down when Jade turned to look at her. Leigh then stands up when Jade doesn't answer right away.
Jade sighs, "Do you really believe that? Because I always hear that from people – that one day, someone will come into your life and will make you feel and realize your purpose, and then just like that, your life is meaningful. Humans are so pathetic to believe in such things. And I almost fell for it."
Leigh's jaw clenched after hearing Jade's words. She grabbed her friend by the wrist and dragged her outside of the cafe like a mother dragging her bratty child.
"I know you're not 100% human – you're half human, half...whatever! But listen to me carefully, Jade Thirlwall, whether you're human or not, there's no exception to this," Leigh began. "There is something in this life that you are meant to do. I don't care what you believe in, whether it's God, the Universe, or nothing – life will get uncomfortable for you and there's no reason for that. It could be the job you don't want to do, a relationship that's not good for you, no matter what it is...it's going to be extremely hard if it's not for you. Do you hear me?"
Jade just stood wordlessly as her friend continued to rant.
"The universe or whatever you believe in will push you to your limits. Life will be so hard until you cannot stand it anymore, it will constantly push you to your breaking point. And things will become uncomfortable for you. You're gonna fail, you're gonna beat yourself up, you're gonna be hard on yourself. But it is important that there is something that is coming for you. It is going to lead you to something else, and maybe that something is your higher purpose. Life is going to push you out of your comfort zone and it's gonna be a bitch. And while it's gonna suck, it's all gonna be worth it."
Leigh takes a deep breath at the amount of things she's said while Jade remains unfazed, but deep inside, Jade knows that what Leigh said makes a whole lot of sense. She doesn't admit it, but her friend is right.
"When you know you have forever to live and no one to share it with...every purpose, every reason to live means nothing," Jade counters. "Death gives life meaning. When you know your days are numbered, that your time is short, and you're not ready to face the end of it – that's what makes life meaningful. I have had people in my life and they are all gone now. I've been jumping from one realm to another, from one universe to the other. Everyone I know and care about is now dead. And you...seventy to eighty years from now, you'll be gone, too. I'm gonna be left alone again and again and again. The cycle just never ends."
This time, it was Leigh who was speechless. She stared at her friend who looked every bit confident but completely miserable and broken on the inside.
"I need to go...Leigh. Call me when you need me." Jade turns around and starts to walk away.
"I'm not gonna give up on you, Jade! Remember that!" Leigh shouts. "You're not a lost cost. You're not too broken and Scarlet Venom is definitely not too far gone!" Jade stops walking when she hears Leigh who was shouting a little too loud. "Just keep fighting and keep going! It can get better, you know? You just gotta stick around to see it. And I'll be–"
Jade continues to walk. She heard Leigh but she didn't turn around anymore. Instead, she raises her hand and closes her fist. And in just seconds, time stopped. Everyone around her froze, the birds mid-flight, the dog running away from its owner, the children clinging to their mother, everything and everyone froze including Leigh-Anne.
She walked farther and farther from Leigh even as everyone was frozen in time. She just wants to get away. Leigh is the best person she has in this universe. She cares about the woman, she really does, but sometimes, Leigh's philosophy is a little too much. And she doesn't want to hear any more of it only because it all makes sense. And she hates it. She hates that her friend is right and it's a hard, bitter pill to swallow.
As soon as Jade's sure she's far from everyone else, she decided to get away from that place as far as she could. She slightly bent her knees to catapult herself into the sky.
Shortly, Jade landed on top of Lady Liberty's torch, a copper flame covered in 24 carat gold. She raises her hand again and closes her fist to return the flow of time. And just like that, everything went back to normal.
Leigh was partly surprised when she was still talking but Jade was nowhere in sight. And she knew right at that moment that her friend used her powers again to get away from her. She sighs and decides to head home instead.
☆
Meanwhile, Perrie sends an email to Taylor to tell Jade to get coffee for her, and sends an invite to Taylor for a meeting.
A few minutes later, Taylor comes into her office knocking, and bringing with her two cups of coffee on a cup carrier on one hand, and an iPad on the other for their meeting.
"Why didn't Jade bring the coffee here herself?" Perrie asks with a raised brow.
Taylor places the cup in front of Perrie then sits on the opposite end of the table. "Jade took the rest of the day off. I bought the coffee for us."
"And she didn't notify me?"
"Well, given the amount of workload you have, the interns are reporting directly to me. You didn't mention that you would want them to report to you as well." Taylor sips her coffee, studying Perrie's reaction.
"Not all of them. Just Jade." Perrie says, making Taylor shoot an eyebrow up at her request while Perrie sips her coffee. "Let her know to report directly to me."
Taylor slightly smiles at this, too bad Perrie didn't see it as she was focused on her laptop. "Alright. So...what's this meeting about?" Taylor asks, curious as to what Perrie could possibly be thinking about.
Perrie sighs, leans on her chair, and finally peels her eyes off of her laptop screen. "This company bores me." Taylor puts down the iPad to pay attention to Perrie. "Fashion just isn't my thing."
"Then, why did you buy this company?"
"Because my father told me to buy every e-commerce business here in New York City."
"Then what do you propose? I mean, the income that Disora generates is quite impressive. It's on the top of the online fashion industry! To think that they just started six years ago, they're already at its peak! It's quite outstanding, if you ask me."
"I know that. It's just that...I want to build my own empire."
"What kind of empire exactly?"
"Medicines."
Taylor was a bit surprised at what Perrie said, yet somehow she wasn't as surprised. "Let me get this straight–you want to dissolve Disora and completely change the direction of the business into...medicines?"
"Why not? My father forgot that I'm a Biologist and Chemist. I'm a freaking scientist and engineer for Pete's sake! What the hell am I doing here selling dresses?" Perrie groans.
Taylor didn't answer right away, but she could clearly see the frustration on Perrie's face. "Are you sure about this? It's going to be a lot of work and, not to mention, money. Does your father approve of this?"
Perrie shakes her head. "I don't need his approval. I've followed him long enough. I don't want to live under his shadow. I think it's time I make a name for myself. Money isn't a problem. And that's why I called you to this meeting – I need your help to make this work."
"And what about the employees working here?"
"They're free to decide whether they'd like to stay or not. They'll probably all go. Since I became the CEO, I got reports from HR that a lot of people have submitted their resignation." Taylor sat wordlessly as she listened on at Perrie. "You don't like this idea, do you?" She huffs in frustration.
Taylor leans on the table, trying to analyze Perrie's plans. "You need to think this through, Perrie. There are people at stake here. The risk to pivot is too high especially when the company doesn't need it. You can't just decide one day that you don't want Disora anymore just because it isn't your thing to sell dresses."
Perrie purses her lips as she stares blankly at her laptop. "It was supposed to be my brother. He's supposed to manage the family's businesses. Instead, my father let him do whatever he wanted to do – a doctor. A pathetic, useless doctor who couldn't even cure our sister." Her fists curved into a ball at the thought of being helpless.
"Is this all fueled because you still can't accept the fact that your father favors Jonnie's ambitions instead of yours?"
Perrie glances at Taylor, her stare hard. "This is me changing the world. I was so close to finding the cure to rare illnesses when my father decided to shut down my lab and experiments. I was this close in saving my mother's life, but my father did not believe in me." Perrie clenched her fist until her knuckles were white and gritted her teeth. "I don't want my sister to die like my mother knowing that I can find that cure. I can do it knowing that there are other people who are suffering the same thing. I can help them. And I can't do it when I'm selling clothes that I don't even like."
"Whoa... I like the dresses. Don't say that." Taylor counters.
Perrie crossed her arms across her chest. "Are you gonna help me or not?" She pouts.
Taylor sits properly and adjusts the frame of her glasses. "Hm...I think you can do all that without dissolving Disora completely. You have the money, the resources, you can get people to work for you easily–"
"But I can't get the reputation that this company has already built. Disora's name has been established for years. People don't care about the owner of the brand, they care about the name of the brand. They trust it. If they heard that pharmaceuticals were made and distributed by Disora, that's enough for them to support it, regardless of what product it may be!"
Taylor slightly nods at Perrie's words, as if signaling her boss that she understands where she's coming from. "Fair point."
"So...are you with me?" Perrie asks.
"I'm always with you."
"That's all I want to hear." Relief was evident on Perrie's face.
"I'll do some research and I'll give you the report as soon as I'm done."
"Great! I'm gonna go now. I don't want to work on these designs anymore." Perrie shuts down her laptop, closes it, and stands up from her seat. Taylor did the same.
"When do you plan to announce this?"
"Let's see your report first, then we'll make the announcement."
"Okay!"
"Oh, and uhm...before we announce all this, I have a few people on my list that I want to work with," Perrie added. "The Finance Manager, Ms. Jesy Nelson. Some marketing people, and Jade. Let them know that I'm going to hire them for the new Disora. Double their salaries if need be."
"Uhm...Jade?" Taylor clarifies, a wicked gleam in her eyes. Perrie looks at Taylor with a hand on her hips, as if to prove her point. "Alright! I'll set up a meeting with them." She proceeds to walk out the door with a bit of smirk forming on her lips that Perrie simply didn't see.
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♫ Not Your Barbie Girl - Ava Max