It Begins
Chapter 11: It Begins
“I’m sure she is fine, Ira.”
Mali was leaning over in her seat to place her hand on top of her best friend’s to comfort her. They had a free day today, nothing to do until that evening when they would attend a gala at a museum. Ira wanted to get out and keep her mind busy from worrying about Tawan and her big presentation for today, so Mali picked her up from her hotel room to head out for the day.
They were now seated outside a cafe waiting for their breakfast to fuel them for what would be a day of a lot of walking for sight seeing and shopping.
“I hope so,” Ira murmured then looked down at her wrist watch. “It’s already afternoon there which means it’s about to start.”
Ira picked up her cellphone again to check to see if she had any missed messages or phone calls. Tawan told her she would call her right after her meeting, no matter if it went good or bad, but Ira was now tempted to call her herself. She needed to know how things were going now so she could prepare how to support her wife.
As much fun and amazing connections she had made this past week have been, there was this cloud hanging over it as it so happened to fall on a very important day for her wife and their family.
“Maybe I should call her instead…,” Ira mused and picked her cellphone up again.
“Absolutely not,” Mali butted in and snatched it from her hand. “I am on strict orders to make sure you don’t worry about her doing her job. You’re supposed to be having fun and enjoying your success.”
“Mali!” Ira yelped, looking from her empty hand to her cellphone. “What are you doing?!”
“What your wife asked me to do,” she told her and put it in her purse.
“I don’t want to miss her call, Mali,” Ira protested.
“And you won’t,” her friend promised and smiled at her. “You’ll get it back when she calls. Just like she told me to do.”
Ira huffed and sat back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest and making Mali laugh. The only reason she did not put up a fight is because this was what Tawan wanted and she did not want to stress her more than she likely already was. She had already kept her up a little later than usual when she called her last night, but she wanted her to know she was thinking of her and wishing her the best.
This was making her she wish she was at home now more than ever, but she would make work with what she had in front of her.
“Okay,” Ira relented and sat back up to the table. “You win.”
Mali raised her fists up in cheer and scooted back up to the table. She knew she would get to her best friend one way or another just like she always did throughout the years. They were in Paris, doing the things they say they wanted to do when they were in college, and she did not want Ira to miss out on these memories. Tawan was also on the same page as her, so she told her to make sure Ira had fun and did not worry about anything back home no matter what.
“This is our last week in Paris and our only free day for us to explore like we always said we would,” Mali reminded her, eyeing the same.
“I know, I know,” Ira placated.
“We should be shopping and eating pastries and getting lost in museums,” Mali went on.
“I know, Mali,” Ira said, rolling her eyes in slight irritation.
“Do you?” Mali said sarcastically to herself. She was fixing her napkin in her lap and Ira watched her, biting back a response because she knows she’s in the wrong here.
“I’m sorry, Mali,” Ira apologized, sliding her hand across the table to her.
Mali looked up at her for a moment then slowly smiled, grabbing her hand. Ira returned it, hoping she not only could see it, but hear her sincerity. This was something they had talked about a lot when they were in college. Ira’s modeling was in the early stages, but they started to dream big about Mali being Ira’s personal assistant after they hired an agent to take her to new heights.
Though things changed after Ira and Tawan started dating, Mali always held on to those memories. There was always the hope of one day maybe pursuing those dreams.
“Let’s forget about it and order mimosas, huh?” Mali asked and raised an eyebrow at her.
“Make it two each,” Ira laughed and raised two fingers.
Both women burst into laughter at the desperation in her voice before stopping a waiter to order their drinks. It had been almost a whole week in Paris, and every moment up until now felt like a whirlwind. After Ira walked the runway on Saturday, she was whisked away from brand representative to brand representative as they were all impressed with what they saw and wanted to meet her.
When they were done talking to Ira, her infectious charm and jovial spirit latching onto them, Mali was being swooped in to work her magic on them. She had taken dozens of contact information down and needed a strong drink to slow her mind. Unbeknownst to Ira, Mali had a few major luxury brands that wanted to see her in the next few months. Even more unbeknownst to Ira was that one of them wanted to see her in mere days from now, but Mali had to iron out a few details before accepting.
If they closed on this deal, it would fast track Ira’s career in a way that overwhelmed Mali with the thought of the responsibility it would require. Taking this offer to help a friend exposed them to so much more, so they were in party after party with more to come trying to keep up with the demand.
“Can you believe the week we’ve had?” Ira asked out loud in deep thought.
Their waiter arrived and set down their mimosas, promising to come back with their food the next time. Mali looked to him and smiled, nodding her thanks, then looked back to her best friend who was looking out to the street. Her brow was furrowed as if she was reliving everything at lightning speed, as if she was thinking the same things she had even the ones she did not know about, but she had the faintest smile on.
Her question may not have sounded jovial, but she was actually happy at the memories she had made and the experience she had gained. What she was doing would be seen to most as impossible.
“You worked your ass off for this, Ira. Of course, I can believe it,” Mali smiled and raised her glass to her.
Ira broke her stare and looked to her, touched by the tone in her voice that bordered on pride and faith. She was very thankful that she had Mali in her life because she did not make her feel like an only child. They had a deep bond, a sisterhood that naturally developed over time so well that they did not notice until years into their friendship. Mali was family to Ira and Ira was family to Mali, so much so that her children called her their favorite aunt.
Ira raised her glass and they clanked them together, giggling at the gesture because of their very Paris surroundings.
“So, what should we do today?” Ira asked, folding her arms on the table to lean into.
“Hmm,” Mali hummed in thought. “I think we should visit the Louvre and stop in every pastry shop on the way. Then we can shop after.”
“I love that plan,” Ira laughed, giving her a high-five.
Their food arrived and they had not realized how hungry they were because minutes later they had finished most of their plates including a few more mimosas.
They talked a little bit more about their past week but mostly focused on the upcoming days. Mali passed the waiter the money for their check then stood to grab her purse so they could head out. Ira stood with her and grabbed her purse to open it and look for some gum when Mali walked up to her. She extended her cellphone back to her, believing now she did not have to hold it hostage anymore.
“I think you earned this back,” Mali told her and winked before heading out.
Ira smiled then hesitated to look at the screen again to see if she missed anything. Instead, she chose to put it in her purse and turn on her heel to follow Mali out. She would do both Tawan and herself a favor by not worrying about things out of their control.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
“Sir, the team worked very hard to develop this presentation.”
Tawan stood by her chair at her desk in her office, the door and blinds closed for privacy, trying to control her anger to convince Mr. Tek to take a look at their presentation.
Upon his entering the office that Monday morning, he called a meeting in the middle of the room and informed everyone that the presentation meeting was cancelled and he would have a different announcement to make at that time that afternoon. Tawan, annoyed at her reaction, was shocked as she was putting the final preparations together in the conference room when he walked in.
Mr. Tek finished his speech then told her to follow him to her office, leaving without another word. Meena, from across the office, looked directly at her in both disbelief and a rage that burned her all the way from across the room. Though the grumbles and mumbles were low, the visible reaction that everyone in the office had was palatable and it made Tawan almost flinch.
Everyone was on their last nerve with the owner and it was only a matter of time before the gasket blew.
Meena had just taken a step to her when Tawan turned on her heel and almost chased after the man. Everyone’s eyes shot to her and the way she seemed to kick up the air around her like a tornado, and Mali closed her eyes hoping her friend could keep her emotions in check with their boss. Though everyone was beyond thankful for her defending them at every turn, they also wanted her to toe the line if it meant staying their boss.
Also, if Tawan got fired then they would all be stuck with Mr. Tek until he could fill the position again, and that was the last thing they wanted or could survive.
“I will explain this afternoon why we have to postpone the presentation for a a few more weeks,” he said, sitting across from her and resting his hands on his crossed knees.
“Sir, we are already a week past our deadline to meet the rough draft of the launch,” Tawan explained again, a hand raised at her closed door. “Anything longer puts us at risk for a lot of errors. That will stress the team to capacity.”
“What I am going to announce will alleviate all of that stress, Tawan," Mr. Tek said indifferently, mostly in a dismissive tone.
“Sir, with all due respect, I don’t think you understand the team or what we do as well as I do,” Tawan told him, trying to control her tone.
Mr. Tek looked up at her, his eyes narrowing but a small smile at the corner of his lips. It was as if he was challenging her to continue, and Tawan almost took the bait but she instead chose to bite down on her bottom lip. She put her hands behind her back and pushed her tongue into the roof of her mouth, bowing her head some to hide her emotions more than out of respect.
Mr. Tek’s chest twitched, almost like some amusement had escaped him, then he sat back in his chair to watch her.
“A consultant will be here tomorrow,” he informed her and she looked up. “You can present your work to her then. That is what I was going to announce later today.”
Tawan studied him, confused, and opened her mouth then closed it. “A consultant?” She asked, shaking her head some.
”Yes,” he said again and eyed her. “She was a speaker at the conference and I was impressed.”
Tawan, looking at the ground in deep thought, swallowed hard. “Sir, I-“ She started as she looked up.
“She’s worked in London and New York for the last ten years,” he huffed, cutting her off frustratedly. “She’s consulted many major newspapers, magazines, and other publications, and she has agreed to come here to help us. You two should get along just fine. She’s a few years younger than you, I believe you both went to the same university, and she also happens to be Thai. So, I expect you to welcome her and support her to help us be better.”
Tawan stared at him, debating on opening her mouth again for risk of him cutting her off again. If she had ever felt more disrespected by her boss before this moment now, she could not remember. He did not trust her to do her job and make this magazine a success yet he trusted a complete stranger he had met at a work conference. He thought that Tawan would be fine with someone coming in and doing her job before she had the opportunity to do it.
So what if they went to the same university, a lot of kids went to that university because it was popular. Now, her breaking point was about to be met and she needed to reign herself in quickly.
“No response,” he challenged a bit, amused and taken by surprise.
“You’ve already made your decision, sir,” Tawan relented, her chest rising as she took her seat. “And she is already preparing to come here.”
“Yes,” he said, fixing his tie.
“We will have the opportunity to present our idea to her then,” Tawan said, trying to hide her bite.
“Yes. Yes, you will,” Mr. Tek said and stood as a sign they were done. “I am glad you are keeping an open mind.”
“Of course, sir,” she said quietly, masking her disdain as she looked up to him.
“Keep this between us,” he ordered as he moved the door. “I will let the team know later.”
“Yes, sir,” Tawan said, sighing to herself.
As he exited her office and the door clicked closed, Tawan fought the urge to drive her fist into her desk. She grabbed her cellphone and sent a text to Meena who immediately read it.
Meena blew out a breath knowing that this was not going to be a good conversation as she buttoned her suit jacket at her stomach to head to her. She quietly slipped into Tawan’s office as Dao held the door for her as she was exiting. The older woman gave Meena a worried face in passing after having brought Tawan some tea she had started brewing for her when she saw her heading into her office to Mr. Tek.
As soon as the door clicked close, Tawan spilled to her work best friend just what was upcoming for them and how they needed to figure out how to navigate it.