Whispers of Fate

xv

I paced nervously in my building's lobby, Jade next to me matching my nerves by nibbling on her newly-manicured nails. I'd taken both of us to the spa as a treat for both finishing the collection of gowns and securing the business meeting about expanding the brand, building off the idea she'd presented to me at her initial interview.

"Stop worrying, it'll be fine." Jade hissed at me as I nearly tripped on the white cocktail dress I was wearing.

"I'll relax when you relax." Came my snappy reply, prompting Jade to roll her eyes and produce the packet of calming herbal chews she'd picked up on her way over.

"Take one and then talk to me." Our dynamic was much less boss-employee, much more friend-mean friend. She was brutally honest but still did her job efficiently and ever since I'd hired her my feelings of loneliness had faded. I scowled at her but took the chews anyway, relaxing at the fruity flavour.

We were waiting for a car to arrive and drive me to the restaurant where I was due to meet Teo. Things had been going wrong since I'd woken up and the car was no exception, being nearly 15 minutes late. I was certain we were going to miss the reservation.

After I'd sent the message to Teo I had slammed the phone down and immediately turned my attention to Jade and the champagne. We hadn't gone back to our apartments that night, instead finding ourselves drunkenly stumbling through the streets of Paris at nearly 4 am, falling over the pavements and giggling.

It was only when I'd woken up the next morning, lying on the floor of my office and regretting everything, that I remembered. I moved as quickly as a hung-over person can, desperately searching to find my phone. Maybe I could delete the message before he saw it and spare myself the humiliating experience of rejection.

No such luck. I wanted to scream when I saw that I'd been left on opened. He'd read the text almost two hours earlier so there was no chance he was just thinking of how to reply. I groaned and buried my head in my hands. All I wanted to do was remain lying on the floor and die, rejected and alone, waiting for my equally-hung-over assistant to find me and feel overwhelmingly guilty that she encouraged me to send the text that killed me.

Unfortunately I had a life that would not stop just because a boy ignored my message. I still had to present the collection to Lucy and get her opinion on it, then we had one month to get everything in order before the dresses hit the runway for our annual show. With this in mind, I rolled over and stretched, forcing myself onto my legs. It was going to be a long day.

Time passed quickly and soon I was back in my apartment, waiting for my tea to brew. I was in my own little world, considering how I could possibly act upon the idea of turning the label into a high-fashion brand, when a notification went off on my phone.

'Hi sorry I didn't get back to you my phone died. Been busy all day. Would love to meet. Where are you now?'

No 'x' at the end but that was expected given that it was Teo texting me and I'd come to learn that kisses were only a British thing. I was first hit by relief that I wasn't ignored by him, then reality set in and I was overwhelmed with the realisation that for the first time in nearly two years, I was talking to Teo.

My tea long since forgotten about, I immediately called Jade.

"Mhm? What's up?"

"He replied." I was on edge, my stomach tying itself in knots repeatedly. A moment of silence passed.

"And?..." She said pointedly and I realised a dramatic pause didn't work when Jade had no context to it. I read the message out to her and I could all but hear the cogs in her head turning as she thought.