A Fake Life

chapter six: the meeting

"Are you nervous?" Dakota asks me as I adjust my white blouse in the mirror.

My meeting starts at 12. I've modeled for small companies before but I don't know how big this company is yet. So I decide to wear a white blouse with a beige high-waisted paper-bag pants. I pair it with these white designer pumps I 'borrowed' from my sister, Alex. Micah buys her thousands of designer shoes, I'm sure one pair won't hurt.

I put in my second diamond stud earring. "Yeah, I am. I could barely sleep last night." I look in the mirror to check if my slick low bun stayed put.

"You'll be fine, Celeste." Dakota reassures me. She looks back behind her at Mar. "Right, Mar?"

Mar lies down on her bed and flips through a car catalog. "Uh yeah totally." Dakota grabs a pillow off of her bed and launches it towards Mar. The pillow knocks the magazine out of her hands. "Hey! What was that for?!"

"You didn't even look at her outfit." Dakota answers as I spray a small bit of my perfume.

Mar rolls her eyes. "She looks good. Like uh...business woman."

I giggle. "Thanks Mar." I pick up my phone from my bed and check to see my driver was here. "My driver is here."

Dakota nods her head and opens the door for me as I grab my purse. "Make sure you have everything with you. Text me when you get there."

"I will. Thanks, Dakota." I give her a hug before leaving the dorm. "Bye."

Dakota and Mar respond in unison. "Bye."

I walk down the hallway as my heels clicked with every step. Anxiety increases as my heart rate starts to pick up.

I get downstairs to see my driver waiting for me. A small silver sedan rolls down its window. It reveals a middle-aged woman smiling. "Are you Celeste?"

I nod my head and quickly sit in the back seat. I squeeze my eyes shut to keep my focus on my breathing. I will not let my anxiety get the best of me. Not today.

~
We arrive to the location my sister sent me. It's a tall building with windows covering each floor and each room. The sky reflects off the building as the sun shine bright down at us. People are coming in and out of the building as if they all have somewhere to be.

I thank my driver and exit the vehicle. I walk up the first couple of steps towards the building. Before I can go any further, I pull out my phone to text Meghan.

"Celeste!" Someone calls out.

I look up to see Meghan standing there with a briefcase. She wears her usual pantsuit but in white. I start walking up to her as I notice she is staring at my feet. "What?"

"No it's just...." She squints her eyes. "Aren't those Alex's shoes?"

I roll my eyes. "Yes they are." We start walking inside the building.

"Does she know you have them?" Meghan starts to giggle as she opens the door for me to walk in.

"No, and it'll stay that way." I step in and feel the cold AC air brush against me. "So are you going to tell me about this meeting?"

"Not really." Meghan walks up to the front desk and shows her badge to the front desk clerk. The clerk smiles and waves her toward a direction upstairs. We walk to the elevator together.

Meghan and I step into the elevator."So is there a reason you're keeping this a secret?" The elevator doors close behind us.

"How can I not?" Meghan presses the number 6 on the elevator keypad. "Isn't it fun?" She scrunches you her nose.

The elevator beeps as it takes us up to level six. "Can you at least tell me a detail about this meeting? I'm coming into this completely blind." I complain.