NICKI POV
We ended up meeting with Kathandra's parents the following morning. Anita made a big breakfast with help from Rachel and Lydia bought an assortment of bagels. We had fed the triplets ahead of time and were able to contain them in the playroom for the meeting.
They were still shaken a bit but nonetheless demanded we tell them what Kathandra said to me before she jumped. Lydia had apparently been sent the surveillance from my office with audio, and they had her play it from my laptop. I opted to leave the room while they watched. When I returned they were indifferent towards me, which I expected. But we all powered through to continue the meeting.
When they showed us a picture of Kathandra's 3 year old daughter, Alima, Lydia and I decided to not only raise money to pay for Kathandra's funeral, to pay off her debts, but also some money to help with raising Alima, and to start a savings account for Alima. The looks on their faces changed from distraught to thankful in a matter of minutes.
"We know that money won't bring Kathandra back, and it can't stop you from feeling how you feel right now." I told them, "But we know that grieving is a lot easier without the added financial burden."
They nodded and agreed, then asked why haven't made any statements yet. Lydia explained that the initial wait was because I had been unconscious and unstable for almost 20hours after it happened. And that we were coping with not only Kathandra's death, but the effects of my injuries. We were working with our staff members to take better precautions in the future. But most importantly we wanted to check in on them first. Before they left, they urged us to make our statement sooner.
Lydia went back to work and set up our website to sell only suicide prevention hotline themed merchandise. There was a bar graph on the side that showed our goal of raising $500,000 for the Carson family, as well as a separate bar to show how much money was being donated to the National Suicide Prevention organization. There was a disclaimer at the bottom of the page that explained that 80% of profits will be given directly to the Carson Family, 15% to National Suicide Prevention, and the remaining 5% was ONLY to be used to cover the cost of the clothing. We were making zero profits from this campaign. There was also two buttons: one to make a donation directly to the Carson Family, and one to make a donation solely to the National Suicide Prevention organization.
Once things were all set, Lydia returned and we decided to choose our platform for the official statement. It took a lot of research on all the different platforms, and thinking of who would get reach the audience we wanted the best. We decided our target audience would be women... our line caters mostly to women, we've always represented a very pro-femme front thus we chose the Real. We figured the news and journalists and bloggers could get it all from there.
After confirming our interview with them, Lydia, Anita and Rachel began briefing me on how much information was to be disclosed and how to word things as to not victimize myself and all that jazz. Which was true, but we needed a balance between getting the full story out, accurately, without shifting the sympathy towards me.
"But at the same time, you've created this very open persona online.. are you really going to hide all of that from the public?" Rachel asked, "Like are you going to hide your scars forever and always? People are going to wonder how you went from being the queen of cleavage to amish necklines... and if you do later show the scar once it starts healing-"
"You're right." I nodded.
Eventually Lydia and I took to social media. We both only tweeted one thing and then retweeted each other, then posted them onto instagram as well.
- Still grieving, still in shock... Losing ANYONE, especially a team member is incredibly hard. Prayers for the Carson family. And I pray, that all of us, anyone who reads this message will find the help they need, and the peace and joy they deserve. ~Lydia & Nicki
- To Kathandra C. : I wish there was something I could've said or done to convince you how precious your life was, how much your life mattered.. We're sorry if we've ever made you feel less than. I heard your hate and saw your pain, I just wish I'd have known sooner. ~ Nicki & Lydia
Vanessa and Margo both reached out to me. Margo explained she had been being updated by Aubrey and waiting for the right time to contact me. Vanessa said between giving me space, and the twins she was delayed. I told them both they were fine.
The next day, Anita and Rachel were helping me prepare for the appearance on The Real. The bandages on my chest were allowed to come off but not my wrist. I wore a sleeveless bodysuit that revealed all of my chest scars, dress pants, and a blazer that covered my scars. I wore a black silk glove over my hand that had the bandage. Lydia arrived in a body con dress and carrying coffee for the 4 of us.
"Ugh, I'm gonna miss these days." I said as I greeted her.
"Yeah I wish I could stay and hang out everyday. But jobs are important." Anita agreed.
"You guys are all really fun to be around." Rachel added.
The first thing we were asked at the interview was, "What took you guys so long to respond? And why now? Why us?"
"Well, a lot of factors played into our delayed response. We've been working from the inside out." Lydia replied, "I wasn't there when it happened, but I rushed there as soon as I found out. We have lock down protocol in the building for when things are going on, so once I knew Nic, Cole, Rachel and the triplets were all safe.. I actually ended up locking myself in a room with all of our employees and worked on an internal game plan for not only coping with the lost of Kathandra, but taking steps to prevent it from happening."
"Yeah, and I was rushed to the hospital.. and between the trauma of the events that occurred and the news I received from the hospital, I passed out and was unconscious for over 12 hours. When I did wake up, I've been stuck in the house, but luckily with Cole and Rachel and the family. Just trying to get our heads back on straight." I added, "And you know we definitely wanted to meet with Kathandra's family before anything."
"And the four of us kind of worked together to keep Nic's phone from her for about a day or so.. so there's that."
"Wait when was this?" I turned to her.
"We didnt want you to see that the news was blaming you at first." She told me.
"And why us? I'm sure EVERYONE has been contacting you guys." Jeannie Mai redirected.
"We've talked with her family, we talked with our employees, cooperated with the police. The next people on our list are OUR audience. We went through all the emails and we felt like your platform represented our consumers, our audience better than anyone." I answered.
"The news is too local, they can do their homework and watch this interview if they want to report on us. We sell a wide range of clothing, but primarily its womens.. when we became public, women are who took to us immediately, who relate to us, who are inspired by us and who inspire us everyday." Lydia elaborated.
"So what do you want people to know about what happened? Or is it confidential?" Tamera asked.
"The Carson family told us not to keep anything confidential actually. If it were up to them, we'd be letting you guys show the surveillance from Nic's office that day." Lydia replied.
"Unfortunately, I can not sit through watching it.. I haven't seen it and I don't want to. I lived it, and I relive it several times a day in my head." I added.
"Why don't you tell us just the emotions that going through your head this whole time. We've all seen the footage from the outside, you risked your life for her." Adrienne suggested, "How did it start? Did you fire her or something?"
"No, no." I shook my head, "I was having lunch with Cole in my office, Lydia had went out to lunch with Aubrey. Things were fine and then Kathandra burst in, angry. She broke the window with a chair first... and she was just yelling at me."
"What was she yelling about?" Tamera probed.
"A lot of accusations. I thought she was just mad, I didn't think she would- I just let her yell at me, I responded but only in defense when she said things that weren't true. It wasn't until I saw how close she stepped to the edge without even flinching that I realized there was something more than what she was saying." I detailed, "I let her keep yelling, to stall.. but she got more upset when she saw Cole touch a phone. Eventually, she told me she wanted to me something, that Cole and Rachel couldn't hear.. so I went to her." I took a deep breath, "When she grabbed me, we were too close to the window.. If I struggled I would've risked both of us falling. So I let her hold me there, and she kept accusing me of being a liar among other things. And for a moment she actually broke me, I was ready to willingly jump.. she got into my head."
"What stopped you?" Jeannie Mai asked.
"Cole." I looked at her as a tear fell.
"Cole is a psychologist and therapist.. she was able to talk Nic out of it, but when she tried to do the same for Kathandra, it didnt work." Lydia explained.
"She said she wanted me to watch her die... she'd rather me have to live with that image than to die with her anyways."
"Thats why you grabbed her?" Loni spoke up.
"That was a reflex." I told her, "when I fell I didnt feel anything.. I just saw her there and knew I couldnt let go. I knew I didn't have the strength to pull her up, but I couldn't let her go. She tried to pry my fingers off and when that didnt work, she bit me.. even then I didnt want to let go, but eventually... by hand just opened on its own.... and she smiled at me as she fell."
"How bad is your hand? You have the whole glove thing going today.." Adrienne asked.
"Its healing.. you know how when you flex a muscle, your veins pop out sometimes?"
"Yeah.."
"So, imagine how much they do that when you're holding someone the same size of you, hanging 40 stories in the air... and then take a bite out of it."
"Oh my God."
"If I had held on any longer, or if she had bitten any harder, my vein would have burst." I described, "I have wounds that may never heal completely. When I fell, I didnt even realize the broken window had sharp points still poking out. Blades big enough, that had one of them been a centimeter or so longer, would've stabbed me in the heart." I took off my blazer.
The crowd and the hosts all reacted to my scars. Lydia moved my hair out of the way.
"It was also a hell of a way to find out I'm pregnant. Especially when followed by, 'Because of your fall, you probably won't carry the baby full term, and if you do theres a high chance of encountering birth defects once its born." I had to spit it out all at once in order to do so without crying.
Lydia laid her head on my shoulder to comfort me.
Jeannie and Adrienne both wiped their own oncoming tears. Tamera spoke up, "How do you deal with trauma and that kind of news all at once?"
"Well, if you're me.. at first you dont." I exhaled, "I literally passed out for half a day... When I finally had the heart to tell Aubrey about the baby, which was definitely the hardest thing I've ever had to say to him.. but he was so supportive and optimistic. His reaction really fueled a lot of my recovery." I put my blazer back on. "Here I was apologizing to him, crying ugly tears telling him I wouldn't have done it if I knew I was pregnant.." I felt the tears choke me for a moment so Lydia spoke up.
"But thats not true. Anyone who knows Nic, knows that she'll always always take a bullet for you.. no matter who you are. She puts everyone and everything before herself." She placed her finger beneath my eyes to catch my tears.
"So you stopped selling the collection? For how long.." Loni switched gears.
"Our headquarters is running on half days. No one is required to come into work, and those who do, get paid full time for working half the hours. The only things actually getting done, is the Suicide Prevention campaign, the fundraiser for the Carsons, and the Bride to be project. We found out Kathandra had a 3 year old daughter, she was also still paying off debts. So we want to help pay for everything so the family can focus on grieving together. All while spreading awareness." Lydia answered. "Don't expect anything until after the funeral at the earliest."
"So whats the next move for you guys? Where do you go from there?"
"Well, we're working with our employees to create a better workplace. We'll be finding allll of the methods google and doctors and anyone has to offer to make sure Nic doesn't lose this baby. And we'll continue raising money until we reach our goal.. those are our priorities." Lydia told them.
"Well, we would like to offer our $10,000 donation.. and, we are making sure that everyone in the audience is going home with one of your tshirts." Jeannie announced.
"We think that what you guys are doing, and how strong you're being is amazing." Adrienne added.
"We dont have a ton of time, but can we show the video that Cole posted the other day, because that was technically the first we'd heard from your side." Tamera announced.
"And before we play it, you guys are coming to us when this is all over to talk more about Cole right?" Jeannie clarified.
"You better have some really good questions." I winked.
"Would you bring her on the show?" Loni asked.
"So you can watch Nic fangirl about her the whole time?" Lydia joked, "We'll see if thats possible."
They played Anita's video, and briefly just asked how the relationship was and how she was feeling after the accident.
"We mentioned I think, that since the incident.. she and Rachel have been keeping me company mostly because Aubrey cant take off of work and I am stuck in the house with the triplets. But also because she's been using all of her little pysch and therapy techniques. So its really been like a group therapy thing. We have fun, and watch movies and be with the triplets. But a couple times a day we sit in a circle and reflect. We share our current emotions and remember the ones we had in the moment. We practice coping mechanisms and things like that." I explained, "I can't disclose anything that was said.. but she's doing okay."
"I dont get to be apart of those little sessions.. but from simple interactions and just being around all of them. She took it pretty hard, but she is dealing with it.." Lydia nodded.
When we got back home, I thanked Rachel and Anita for watching the babies.
"You guys did great." Anita hugged both of us.
"Can we do a big family dinner tonight?" I requested.
"Yeah, Lyd and I can grab the kids and bring them over." Anita nodded.
"I'll text Aubrey." I pulled my phone out, "Rachel are you free?"
"Oh, me too? I thought jus-"
"Friend.. family... whats the difference?" Lydia winked at her.
"And if I invite Vanessa, can someone with more than one arm be able to pick her up? I'm gonna send Aubrey to the stores." I asked.
"I can pick her up, and the twins.." Rachel volunteered, "I just have to clear my car out."
"Or just use mine." I squinted at her, "The one I used the other day fit the triplets and shit ton of stuff.. you guys should fit fine."
"Oh- you-" her eyes widened then she whispered "Youre gonna let me drive your car?"
"Why wouldn't I? Wait are you a shitty driver or something?" I teased.
"No- just.. its so nice and-"
"You're driving across town and back, not across the country." I giggled.
"Besides, that car sucks when it comes to gas anyways." Lydia grabbed my keys from my purse and gave it to her. "You wouldnt make it out of New York"
When it got closer to dinner time, Lydia pulled me aside before everyone got back to the house.
"We need to talk."
"Sounds serious." I jested.
"I've been chatting with Aubrey."
"So its about the baby." I collected, "Thats the only time the two of you gang up on me."
"We're not ganging up on you Nic. I am never not on your team."
"I know.." I groaned.
"You know, that one of the factors that cause a lot of miscarriages is stress- so," she paused to let me take that statistic in before she continued, "We work in a high stress environment, with long hours-"
"Its only gonna stress me out more if-"
"We're not crazy. You're still gonna work. But not as much. You'll do half days, I'm taking on your extra work load. You, get to decide if you would rather Aubrey's parents or mom to come and help you with the triplets and house work and cooking etc."
"Sounds like more than a chat." I flipped my hair over my shoulder.
"There's nothing you can say right now that I didn't already anticipate you saying, so you might as well stop delaying the inevitable. You know that this is whats best for you and the baby, its only a few months and you have all the support in the world. You can still attend all the meetings and photoshoots and anything you want... but leave all the endless emails, paperwork, etc to me babe."
"We both have a workload thats damn near too much for us to handle separately, what the hell makes you think I am going to let you take on my work too? You think it wont stress me out when I sit here worrying about how stressed you are." I grabbed her good hand, "especially with your wrist."
"We'll hire someone."
"To touch my work? I don-"
"What if you already know her, and like her, and trust her. Plus she's qualified."
"Who? Rachel?"
"No.. Rachel is already our employee."
"Who?"
"Your new friend Margo." She suggested.
"She's in-"
"The company she worked for recently is bubbling under because the CEO is like suspect to rape and shit. And its a mess there. She told Aubrey she thought this would be a great opportunity for her to move to the states, get a fresh start.. and when she heard about the incident, and your condition.. she actually asked him if she could be the one to stay with you and the babies for a while until everything settled down and she found her place here.. but when I looked into her- she's an asset Nic." She relayed. "We'll find her a long term position later, but she's on board.. all you have to do is agree."
"Way to bury the lead." I rolled my eyes.
"But that way was more fun!" She smirked.
I stuck my tongue out at her, "If I get bored, you and Aubrey better have had a chat about that too."
"You're still working the bride-to-be projects babygirl. And you have your own wedding to plan. I don't think you'll be bored." She tapped my nose.
"About that, neither of us can design as of right now." I touched my injured arm to hers.
"Wow, if onlyyyy we didn't hire all the most talented designers to be able to mimick our work to the T on a daily basis-" she said sarcastically.
I poked my lip out, "I knowww..."
"We'll still do yours ourselves though. And who knows, if we both rest up properly, we could make full recoveries and be back at it in no time." She shrugged.
"Hello hello!" Vanessa's voice chimed as she and Rachel came in, each holding a carseat and diaper bag.
"By the way... I'm sure Aubrey would prefer if his parents were here... you know he's still iffy about mom." I said to Lydia as we got up to greet Vanessa.
"How are you?? I saw your interview!" Vanessa put the baby and bag down so she could hug me.
"Hey stranger." Lydia hugged her, "Look at you! Being a mom is really serving you well huh?"
"Okay but with help." Vanessa pointed out. "I miss you guys so much!!"
"Oh right! None of your family wanted to come? You can send them the address, especially your brother and sister... maybe not the girlfriend.."
"Vic is gonna be excited.. she said you wanted her here, but I told her no."
"I specifically said that at our next get together, they were also going to be invited. So text her." I ordered.
"Yeah yeah." She rolled her eyes as she pulled her phone out. While she did that, Rachel and I got the twins out of their seats.
"Oh my goodnesss they're so tiny." I gawked "I forgot how small they were."
"Ohh where are the triplets?" Vanessa asked.
"Sesame Street is on downstairs" Lydia informed her.
Dinner went well, we had to make Vicky promise not to tell anyone Anita's real name until the secret was officially out. She enjoyed meeting everyone. Everyone got along well, even Lydia and Aubrey.
When the night was over, everyone left and Aaliyah opted to stay with us for the night.
"I wish- I knew what to say to you... How can I help you?" She asked me with teary eyes once we were alone while Aubrey got the babies ready for bed.
I smiled at her, "baby girl, it is not your job to say anything to make me feel better. I'm here for you, your job is to let me do just that." I wiped her tears, "but thank you."
"I thought only Ali was baby girl? And OJ was baby boy."
"All of my boys are baby boy and all of my girls are baby girl." I cupped her face in my hands, "I missed having you here Aurora."
She smiled and blushed when I called her by her name, "I miss you."
"You owe me all the updates on your life, just so you know." I clicked my tongue.
"Fine, but we need ice cream!" Her eyes lit up.
"What flavor? I have to see whats left.. we'll send your father to get more tomorrow." I got up.
"Wait-" she touched my arm tentatively, "Why don't I get it.."
I looked at her, "Don't do that." I said sternly.
"I just want to help.."
"I know... but, I am not paralyzed. I don't need help, not with every little thing. I made a rash decision that hurt me and the baby, me. Not you, not Lydia, not anyone else. I did it. So no, Im not going to sit around and let all of you cater to me in an effort to fix my mistake." I told her.
She stood up abruptly with clenched teeth, "You don't get to do that."
"Do what?"
"You dont get to act like what you did is just your problem! We ALL could've lost you this week, and we ALL could lose this baby. It IS all of our problem, because it effects all of us. You said you wanted a family, but when its time to actually be a family, you push everyone away. And thats not fair!" She shouted at me as tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Auror-"
"I dont even want any ice cream anymore." She walked past me and stormed upstairs. I stood there, taking in everything she said to me.. before I knew it, I was crying silently. I retreated upstairs to my bedroom, bumping into Aubrey when I opened the door.
"Hey-" his smile faded when he saw my tears, "what happened? I heard yelling bu-"
I wrapped my arms around him and closed the door behind us. He hugged me back.
"Nic whats wrong?"
I slowly pulled away from him and sat on the edge of the bed. I wiped my eyes and held his hands. I looked up at him, "I know you and Lydia have been discussing ways to help me to be able to carry this baby full term.. and I want to tell you personally... that whatever you find, I will do. I already agreed to work less and have your parents come stay with us.. Margo's gonna come work at the office. Just tell me everything you find."
"Where's this coming from?"
"Liyah just, helped me realize the position I put everyone in this week... its not my job to tell you guys how much you can react, or feel about what happened."
"She was yelling at you?"
"She called me on my shit."
"And you're good? Not upset about being called out or anything?"
"Briefly, as you just saw.. but now, its all about figuring out how to fix it." I took my shirt off, "why? You sound like you're gearing up to add to the list."
"I'll let you do one thing at a time"
"Okay, but are you sure? I mean, if you try to wait for the right moment you'll never find it.. " I warned, "its me babe.. if there's something we need to talk about, then as long as we're alone... its the perfect time to tell me." I kissed his knuckle.
"Really?"
I nodded, "yeah, but first can you pass me one of your shirts so I can sleep in?" I was covering my scars with my injured hand this whole time.
"Stop covering them."Aubrey touched my bad hand.
"They look gross-"
"Scars aren't meant to look nice." He told me.
"I know." I groaned, "Just- I need a chance to get used to having them.."
"Okay." He nodded. He pecked my lips before going into the closet. I laid back on the bed while he was gone. He returned and climbed on top of me, careful not to put any weight on my stomach.
"You have to be on top of me to tell me?" I teased.
"Why do you want me to tell you right now? We can just wait til things smooth out first." He sighed.
I walked my fingers up from his waistline to his chest as I spoke, "You listen to me go on and on about how I want to be the perfect wife for you... and you're surprised because I want to know what I'm still doing wrong?"
"Its not wrong.."
"Well if it was right, we wouldn't be here right now." I poked him, "So tell me."
"I dont know." He shrugged.
I made him get off of me and I put on the shirt he got for me. I went and found some shorts to change into before going to talk to Aaliyah.
"Hey." I said entering her room since the door was cracked anyways. She was sitting on her bed on her phone. She didnt acknowledge me at all so I sat in front of her, "So, you're not grounded anymore?"
She looked up at me, "This is the phone Mom gave me, I can only contact her on it.. and it does absolutely nothing else besides take pictures so I can send them to her."
"Sounds boring." I scrunched my nose.
"Its life... it sucks." She muttered.
"Life sucks because for a month or so, you can only talk to your friends when you see them at school?" I asked, "or does it suck because this is the consequence for a series of your own actions and decisions?"
She exhaled, "You're just gonna say that you've been where I am.. and blah blah blah social life isnt the end of the world, everyone gets grounded.. you were a teen before and thought you knew this and that and-"
"I'm gonna stop you there, because all of that is false.. you literally could NOT be more wrong."
She continued texting on her phone.
"I mean, yeah I was a teen before.. but my teen years were nothing like yours. I didn't have a parent or even a guardian who cared enough to ground me. I didn't really have a social life anyways. So yeah, I've never been where you are before." I corrected.
She looked up at me again, "Sorry... sometimes I forget."
"I mean, I'm sure its easy to group all adults together.. especially when you're pissed at all of them for different reasons." I shrugged.
"Are you mad at me? Did you tell dad I yelled at you?" She put her phone down.
"I'm not mad at you. And I think he heard you, but I told him the same thing I came in here to tell you." I touched her leg, "I was so busy trying to make it so you guys dont have to deal with the repercussions of the other day.. that I didn't realize how it actually effected you. And its not okay nor is it fair for me to invalidate how you guys feel about what happened, nor can I dictate how you want to cope." I tapped her chin, "even if that means I have to stop being stubborn and accept all the help I'm offered, no matter how big or small."
"Are you scared?" Her eyes watered.
"Of- losing the baby?"
She nodded.
"Hell yeah." I admitted, "I'm terrified everytime Im pregnant, thats why I hate it so much. And this- this is all of my fears manifested as my reality. I hate being pregnant because ONE simple mistake- could cost my baby's life..."
"You know, you dont have to be the hero of every story... you can't devalue your life forever... your family needs you." She told me.
"She's right." Aubrey's voice interrupted my rebuttal.
"Who says I devalue my life?"
"Every time you power through and rush your healing process, whether its physical or emotional.. when you take on loads and guilt that weren't for you.. when you risk your life for everyone.. when you refuse to press charges-" Aubrey listed, "And when you almost let someone talk you into ending it."
"Only someone who doesn't value their life, or see joy in it can be talked into suicide mom." Aaliyah leaned towards me, "if you cared about any of us, your family-"
"Liyah stop." Aubrey grabbed her.
"Are we not good enough? Is that why you wanted to leave?" Aaliyah managed despite Aubrey's attempts to silence her.
I couldn't even cry.. I just sat there staring at the wall.
"Nic." Aubrey said, you could hear the strain in his voice as he held Aaliyah.
"For most of my life, I was always close to ending it.. because I didn't think it was fair that my whole family died except for me. And after a while, my remaining living family members were afraid of me. I was like the black plague for anyone that took me in. That just made things worst. But then I met Lydia, and she wasn't afraid of me.. she cared about me, she took me in, she supported me, and vise versa. She made me keep things to hope for, set goals to achieve, because if I had something to look forward to, I couldn't give up until it happened." I spoke slowly, "I hoped for a family, and I got you guys, and Vanessa and Anita and everyone. But all of my goals that I set, they don't make that feeling go away.. they just force me to postpone it. You're not the family I hoped for, you're all so much better than I could have ever dreamed of. So when she coerced me- it wasn't because you guys werent good enough, its because I felt like I wasn't good enough for you. And I battle that every single day..."
Aaliyah's response was muffled, out the corner of my eye I saw that Aubrey was covering her mouth. I turned to them, reaching my good hand to them.
"I love you both. And I'm sorry for scaring or worrying you. I am going to get better... I promise."
Aubrey's mom had arrived early the next morning, and Margo was set to come for her initial visit later in the day.
"Good morning!" She greeted me at the breakfast table.
"Hey, you're just in time. I was going to make some coffee, do you want any?" I hugged her. "You can get your bags settled first.. unless you're tired its still early."
"I'll take some coffee... but you know caffeine isn't good for the baby." She warned.
"Really?" I scrunched my nose.
She nodded, "I brought you some caffeine free herbal teas you can try out and decide which ones you like the best."
"Lydia's gonna drop off the print out of all of her and Aubrey's compiled research. You can check it out and make sure they didnt miss anything." I offered.
"I hate to say it, but I don't think anything you do at this point will have much effect on the baby's life. Besides the stress and heavy lifting. But if that fall was hard enough to kill the baby, there's nothing you can do to stop that. Which means, I think your baby is fine." She told me sincerely.
She spent the day tending to the babies, Lydia dropped by for lunch. Soon after, Margo arrived.
"Margo!" I greeted her at the door.
"Hey! It feels like its been forever." She said. "It probably would've made sense to check into my hotel before coming here, but I didnt want to get caught up and miss seeing you today." She motioned towards her bags.
"Its fine, come in come in!"
"Also, I have to meet your business partner slash best friend slash ex tomorrow.. and for some reason I'm actually kind of nervous, so any chance you can help me decide which outfit to wear? Since its like the first time we're meeting in person.." she asked as I closed the door.
"What you have on is fine." I looked her up and down.
"What this?" She took her coat off to reveal her yoga pants and t shirt, when she caught on, her eyes widened, "NOOO."
I nodded, "yeah.. but don't worry, you just got off a plane. We're not expecting you to be all dressed up."
"Its still her first impression of me nonetheless." She groaned.
"When I met you, you were tipsy and wearing a croptop with a hoodie. And I still trust you more than anyone with my job." I coaxed, "and since I like you, you automatically get a head start with Lydia anyways."
"Doesn't she hate Aubrey?" She side eyed me.
"Nic, lunch is-" Lydia entered the room and paused when she saw Margo.
"Lydia, Margo.. Margo, Lydia." I introduced.
"Hi, nice to meet you." Margo smiled and her voice had changed completely as she extended her hand to Lydia.
"Likewise." Lydia shook her hand, "Wish I'd known you were coming, I would've gotten you lunch."
"Oh! No worries."
"Did you already pay for your hotel room? I dont know why Lyd and Aubrey didn't tell you theres plenty of room here for you."
"We all know Nic would LOVE to host you and everyone else in the world,"Lydia touched my shoulder, "But she needs to be resting like she agreed." She squeezed my shoulder.
I rolled my eyes.
"Yeah, the hotel Drake helped me find is right by the office." Margo kept her smile, then she turned to me, "I just stopped by to say hi and let you know I was in town. But I should probably go check in and get settled."
"Stay for lunch, then Lydia can give you a ride over in a bit." I offered.
"No.. its okay, I'm a bit exhausted from the flight actually." Margo shied away.
"You go rest, and I'll see you first thing tomorrow morning." Lydia flashed her a smile.
"Yes, 8:15 sharp." Margo nodded. "I'm going to call my uber now."
She pulled out her and typed a few things in.
"I'm gonna get a drink, you want some water?" Lydia said to me as she walked past me towards the kitchen.
"Yeah, thanks." I nodded.
I hugged Margo before she left, "be safe hun. And do NOT stress yourself out for tomorrow."
AUBREY POV
While at a store during my lunch break, I randomly got a call from Margo, just as the server handed me my burger.
"Hey you made it?" I answered.
"Dude. I'm fucking sweating!!"
"What happened?"
"So, I went to Nic's just now, because i just got into town and shit so I figured why not.. and Im in the middle of telling her how Im nervous as fuck to meet Lydia because... SHIT. And in walks Lydia!! And im in fucking yoga pants." She rambled, "Anyways, I'm pretty sure she hates me. Like, she didn't SAY anything outta pocket, but the vibes- I just.. dont think I'm getting this job dude."
"Nic is not gonna let that happen." I told her.
"Except I wont be working along side Nic."
"I'll talk to Nic, and see if she'll tell me what Lydia thought of you, and how to get on her good side aiight? Just chill.." I offered.
"Don't make it obvious.. this is my fucking career."
"I got you, damn." I spat, "They really making you interview and shit? I thought you were the only person offered the job."
"Bruh, I don't fucking know. But help me hack it." She urged.
That night while Nic was changing to get ready for bed, I brought it up.
"Did Margo stop by? I know she's in town by now right?" I asked.
"Yeah briefly. I wish she would've given a heads up, I could've told her Lydia was here.. she was like nervous to meet her." She put on a shirt.
"Oh they met in person? How'd that go?"
"Fine." She shrugged before taking off her pants. "Hey, whats the pregnancy rules about sex? Because we both know, 9months is a long time..."
"I think you're good." I told her before trying to redirect the conversation "so are y'all interviewing her or like does she automatically have a job?"
"Nothings automatic." She combed her hair in the mirror, "I thought you said you didn't talk to her?"
"I didn't"
"Then how'd you know she and Lydia clicked right away?"
"Wait, I thought-"
She turned to face me, "How long were you going to keep that lie up?"
"Nic-"
"Why don't you want me to trust you Aubrey? You're acting like you're on some undercover mission... LYING to me, so you can solicit information?" She approached me. "She talked to as soon as she left right?"
I nodded, "she didn't want me to jeopardize her job but she's nervous Nic what do you want me to do? You know Lydia-"
"So you jeopardize my trust in you instead? Do you understand how much harder it is to regain someone's trust, than it is to get another job?" She pinched my chin.
"I'm sorry." I looked up at her.
"Plus, I can't help her navigate Lydia. If I tell her to do or say something, Lydia will know that I did exactly that.. and thats not going to help her." She sighed, "and I know this because I know how easy it was for me to know what things Lydia told you to do or say to me. But in a relationship, thats cute and thoughtful. In the workplace, not so cute."
"What am I supposed to tell her?"
"Tell her, its like any other job. And to trust ME, I am her friend and will not set her up for failure." She pecked my lips. "If she is the most qualified and trustworthy candidate, she will get the job."
Margo POV
The next morning, I made it to the office building 20 minutes early. Security checked me in before having an intern escort me to the top floor. In the elevator, the intern asked me what job I was applying for.
"Oh, I don't think there's an actual title for it. They just needed someone to fill in while Ni- Onika is out." I shrugged, "How about you? I'm sure you're not the only intern, and I'd hope your only job wasn't to ride people in the elevator."
"Mostly, a lot of running around the building. I make sure every department's necessary documents make it to the top floor to be signed and then making sure they are all redistributed as needed. When I'm not running around doing that, I do tours for new employees and interns, and I do this. Since I've been here for a while, I'll be helping to train new interns starting this week."
"Wow, how long have you been here?"
"4 months."
The elevator dinged as the doors opened.
"Good luck." She shook my hand, "I'm Julia by the way, and if you do ever need to contact me, dial 04746." She told me.
"Hi, are you Margo Ryland?" A woman at the desk asked.
"Yes thats me, I have an appointment with Lydia- Colvin." I nodded.
"You're a little early-"
"Yeah sorry, I just wasnt sure if I was going to find-"
"Thats a good thing." She interrupted, "I'm Rachel, if you get the job, you'll be seeing a lot of me. I am the floor receptionist and secretary, if you need to contact another floor, you go through me. No one contacts you from another floor except through me. But since this is only my secondary job, I'm actually from the media department so I'm usually finding the initial candidates for models, and actresses for campaigns. As a secretary, there are many things I can help you with and keep track of, but I am not an intern. If you need an intern, I can only remind you to contact the hiring team to acquire one, I can not hire anyone." She explained.
"Got it."
"And since you're new in town, you should know.. the cafeteria coffee sucks. Lydia and Nicki usually get coffee from the cafe thats down the street. That place is expensive, the rest of us switch between Dunkin, Starbucks or the place at the bottom of the block." She added.
"Thanks." I nodded.
"I actually have to run to a media meeting, but if Lydia asks, tell her that Honey is switching her 9am to a 10:30, and she also asked to see the red C26 Dress with the diamond bracelet, she wants to get a good look at the two together to make sure it fits her theme. And that Bridesmaid number 4 from the Ember-Kylin wedding just dropped out." She ran off as she grabbed herself a notebook, "Good luck on your interview. If she asks you something about how you plan on balancing your own beliefs with that of Nicki's... Just say: That you will be sure to only express Nicki's beliefs and thoughts and ideas on subject matters. And any of your own opinions can be mentioned privately to either Nicki or Lydia... and if she asks if you're nervous, just say yes."
"Uh, okay. Thank you."
"Hopefully I'll see you around." She smiled as she left.
Another 7 minutes passed before Lydia came out of her office.
"Good morning." She smiled, then she looked at Rachel's empty desk, "Where did she go?"
"She had a uh-media meeting. She said that Honey- switched her 9am to a 10:30... and she wants to see the red dress and the diamond bracelet together, I mean- the red C26 dress. And for the Kylin-Ember wedding, the 4th bridesmaid won't be in it anymore."
"The 4th bridesmaid? So bridesmaid number 3?"
"No, Bridesmaid number 4... sorry."
As I followed her into her office she asked, "Nervous?"
"Yeah. I'm usually a lot better at this." I admitted.
She ran through normal interview material, and then she told me how every employee held some sort of leadership position while also being apart of a team. She asked if I had any questions about the company. When I said no, she started asking harder questions.
"Anyone that spends any sufficient amount of time on this floor is important for us to know. You should know who they are, and what they do, as well as how much they are able to do."
"Okay."
"Do you know what things Rachel can and can't do?"
"Well, she handles scheduling and planning, she serves as a mediator between this floor and the rest. She can't hire anyone, but she can set reminders." I listed.
"I believe you should have met our new head of interns, she's an intern herself.. do you have any insight on why that decision was made?"
"Julia? Well, she's been around for like 4 months I believe. She should know the building like the back of her hand, and is probably familiar with everyone here and knows who does what. You did say that everyone here gets some sort of leadership role, so I'm assuming this includes interns. Wait, are you grooming her to be able to work here?" I answered, this felt more like a test than an interview.
"How much of a workload are you willing to or able to take on?"
"I am used to heavy workloads, and long hours.. usually not on the weekends."
"Also, because of a clause we signed when we took over Aubrey's business... a lot of our work cannot be shared with him, anything the public doesn't know, he can't know. Are you able to do that?"
"Yes."
"What will your living situation be when you're here?"
"I'll stay in a hotel until I can maybe get a lease for an apartment."
"You know you're filling in for Nicki right? So in a way, you'll need to be her. That means your decisions, your ideas, your work are not your own. They need to reflect, Nic. How do you see yourself being able to handle that?" She questioned.
A lightbulb went off in my head, I remembered Rachel had already told me exactly what to say. Her answer seemed perfect, so it didn't feel like she was trying to sabotage me or anything, "I will be sure to make sure that Nicki's beliefs, thoughts and ideas are expressed and heard at all times. In the event that I have ideas of my own, I would bring them up to you or Nicki privately. If I don't know what Nic would want, I can always ask you right?"
"do you want a tour of the building?"
"Yes, I'd love one."
She stood up, "I can give it, or you can call Julia, if you know her number.. since Rachel isn't here."
"Isn't it 0-47-46?" I asked, remembering the last thing Julia said to me.
"Good memory." She smiled. "Still nervous?"
"Yes, actually."
"Don't be, you did great."
"Its over?"
She nodded, "you survived."
"Thank you."
"Do you want the tour now, or I can debrief you first and we can figure everything out." She asked.
"I'll take a debrief." I answered.
She sat back down and fixed her skirt, "Well, now that the interview part is over, you should know.. you were the only applicant for the position. We didn't ask anyone else because you're going to have access to classified information, so we needed someone we trusted. You're Nic's friend, she trusts you and you're beyond qualified. Your resume is full-proof, your letters of recommendation were amazing, so you basically had the job before you flew out here." She explained, "This interview was to help us discern what tasks you can handle and to be sure you can effectively FILL IN for Nicki if needed. We don't know what her recovery process will be like, we don't know for sure if she'll carry the baby full term, and if God forbid she loses the baby... she's gonna need a lot more time."
"Understandably." I nodded.
"That being said, I gave Rachel and Julia the tasks of feeding you a lot of information. Some of which, as you know, you were expected to repeat verbatim, some was meant to be internalized and analyzed, some was meant to come as a reflex, and others, just pure memory." She told me, "this was because, whenever Nic is unable to come into the office.. you'll essentially be her Julia. You know that spiel Rachel gave you about balancing you and Nic's beliefs? The way that messages come across is important. Everything can't be a written document, and it can't always be read off to someone. You did a great job at repeating what she told you, without making it seem like thats what you did. Keep that up."
"Thank you."
"The bride information you gave me, was only to see how well you can remember to relay details especially about things you may know nothing about. Other than that, its a lot of paperwork and emails and planning. Our head of finances is still on maternity leave for a few more weeks, so we are also dealing with that until she comes back. And we are still doing half day schedules until we finish raising money for the Carson family." She explained, "So you're not NEEDED until that's over, if you need time to get things together, but if you start sooner, we can help ease you into everything. Between getting to know how things work, who people are, etc. That being said, when do you think you'll be able to start?"
"If I can move into an extended stay hotel, and find a storage unit or something to put the rest of my stuff until I can afford an apartment-"
"If you want, I can see about you staying at my place. Because Nic might quite literally kill me if I didnt offer." She crossed her legs, "I just didnt want you staying at her place because she needs to rest, and she wouldn't be able to help herself from trying to be a good host to you."
"Oh-" I was caught off guard, "uh, thanks."
"Don't say yes without thinking it over. But if anything, you can at least move all of your stuff into one of my spare rooms." She added.
"Wow, thats really nice of you." I nodded.
"Nic says you're family, and we don't take that word lightly." She said sternly. "Anything you need, let us know."
"Thank you."
During the tour, I noticed her collecting folders from certain employees and briefly talking to them. When it was over, we went back to her office.
"Well, it was great meeting you, officially. I'm done here for the day, I was gonna head over to Nic's for a bit. Do you want a ride to your hotel? Or to Nic's or anything?" She put on her jacket.
Once we got in the car and she pressed the button to turn it on, she looked at me, "Just so you know, this is where work life and home life separate. Everything from this point until you come into work again, is off the books and off the record. So you can chill.."
QOTD: Do we trust Margo?
Do we think Lydia likes her?
Is anyone else gonna like Margo?
How long will Nic last "relaxing"?