His Mystery Gem

22 - 1st Executive Meeting 💺

22 - 1st Executive Meeting 💺

Dunni experienced her first executive meeting on the last Friday of March. She walked into the large room with floor-to-ceiling windows flanking each side of the room. A large and very in-charge oval table sat right in the middle, with ten chairs under it. A projector and a bar cart overflowing with snacks and drinks were placed on the only wall in the room, beside the wall holding the door.

She looked around wondering if there was an order to how they sat, she looked at the table and saw no name tag anywhere so she took the seat beside the head of the table. As she settled into the surprisingly warm chair, Dunni didn't know what to expect. She was very unprepared for this meeting, a call to Mo would have been the best thing she could do for herself.

The fact that she, Adunniade Davies, was an exec was mind-blowing. It also filled her with dread, like someone was tightening a noose around her neck slowly and she was one breath away from death. Very dramatic, yet it was exactly how she felt.

This was not the life she wanted for herself, she never saw herself in a room full of people making big decisions about product, design, and branding. She had thought that even if she was in a room like this it would be about art.

But life didn't always happen the way we hoped, so Dunni was sitting in a big swivel chair with a bunch of other execs. Even though Dunni was very grateful for the opportunity her second love had given her, she was also very sad. She felt a cloak of heaviness drape over her shoulders and she couldn't help shrinking into herself.

This was not the life she hoped for, the life she dreamt of. She mourned the fact that this was not an art meeting, mourned the fact that her art hadn't taken off the way she wanted, the way she dreamed, the way she hoped. You could put in all the work, do all the right things, take all the right courses, meet all the right people and still never blow.

Blowing was the right combination of talent, hard work and luck. But Dunni didn't believe in luck, she believed in God. Believed in God's favour and provision. She knew firsthand that God took care of his children, this job, being in this very room was a testimony of God's goodness. Now that she had the job she prayed for, she was angry about not having the job she wanted. Maybe she should have looked for a creative director role instead of this.

She snorted mentally, of course, she had looked for creative director roles. She remembered the early days, balancing waitressing with art, jewellery design and job hunting. She used any spare money that she didn't need to give to her aunt or siblings to buy paint or jewellery materials. She had gotten so many rejection letters that she could use all those 'We are so sorry to inform you,' emails for a TikTok video.

She used to feel rejected, she had very many 'Why am I not good enough for this job or this company' moments. She was standing in the middle of an answered prayer; she was finally earning good money. She could take care of herself, her siblings and her aunt, yet still have enough to buy as many paint supplies that she wanted. But it was coming the

She felt like she had betrayed art and indirectly herself. Like she had given up on her dream too quickly. Like she hadn't fought for her first love and had settled for her second love instead. But she was feeling very unsettled in this moment, in this room full of smart people looking at her like she was the solution to all their problems.

What was worse, she felt like an imposter, like she didn't belong like she had nothing to say, contribute or impact. Very much like when she was at the fashion show she felt very shy, she wanted to hide at the back of the room and just observe.

"Miss Davies," someone called sharply drawing her out of her reverie.

Dunni jumped a little in her chair startled, she had been consumed by her sorrow for a while now. She had lost track of where she was and who she was with. She turned to meet Mr. Mike Collins glaring at her.