Rachel about some final things to make sure tonight is perfect for you?"
And wasn't Deidre just so good? Emily practically melted, sucking up the simpering tone like a dried-up sponge that got tossed in Lake Michigan. Rachel held the eye roll that was threatening at the backs of her eyelids, curved her lips in a tight smile, and followed Deidre to the hallway outside of the ballroom.
The mint green of her boss's suit looked sickening against the deep jewel tones laced through the carpet and hallways of the hotel. She whipped around and froze Rachel with a tight-eyed look.
"I get that she's an entitled bitch who has raked you over the coals for the last year, but if I ever see you even remotely close to snapping at her again, you will lose your job. Do I make myself clear?"
Rachel clenched her jaw and nodded, fighting against every burn of every non-existent tear that pushed at her throat. No crying. Absolutely never, ever any crying.
"Deidre ..." she swallowed roughly and then tried again, straightening her spine when she pushed all that completely unnecessary emotion down. "Deidre, I'm so sorry. You know I've never had this problem with a client before."
"I know, and that's the only reason I'm even being this lenient. You're excellent at details, Rachel, and most clients love your, ahem, brash personality. But a successful businesswoman must recognize the time and place to keep it at bay. And if you're missing my point, now would be the time to keep it at bay."
With the 'blessing' of Deidre, she drove home on auto-pilot. Home, meaning the place where she was currently shoved into her childhood bedroom because she was forced out of her former house because her former boyfriend Marc was caught cheating on her with an anorexic-looking brunette. She knew that her parents and younger sister Kate weren't home, thank the Lord in heaven above, because all she wanted to do right now was stand under a frigid cold blast of water to snap herself back into professional mode before the event tonight. No way was Triple E worth losing her job.
When she pulled her black 1970 Camaro into the driveway, she pulled the key out, letting it fall into her lap with a clunk. Giving herself one dramatic sigh, she heaved herself out of the car and trudged in the house. In the kitchen, she sat on the black granite counter top and stared into the refrigerator door, willing it to make some Diet Coke magically appear.
When that didn't happen, she took the necessary freezing cold shower and went about the 'monumental task' of making herself look acceptable. Rachel twisted her red hair into a low bun on the nape of her neck, letting a few strands fall around her face. By the time she'd finished her makeup and slipped into her black wrap dress, she felt like she finally had a handle on the Triple E situation. And by that, it meant she'd scrolled through motivational quotes on Pinterest until she felt sufficiently inspired and totally under control.
Life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you react to it.
In one minute, you can change your attitude and in that minute you can change your entire day.
Change your thoughts and you'll change your world.
Negative people need drama like it's oxygen. Stay positive and take their breath away.
Don't keep calm, slap that bitch, hard.
Okay, so the last one had done nothing for her composure other than to make her laugh. Tonight was just another night at work. It would be crazy and chaotic, and that she could handle. Marie Steadman would probably show up an hour after she got back to the hotel ballroom, and outside of her two closest friends, Casey and Liz, no one would be able to keep her steady better than Marie.
She sat down on her bed, the metal frame squeaking the same way that it did her entire childhood, whenever all the weight was centered on the right corner. She slipped on her nude heels, thankful for the three-inch boost that it would give her for the rest of the evening. The ding of her phone sounded across the room, and she smiled when she picked it up and saw it was from Marie. Her smile all but collapsed as she read the text.
Marie: Mr. Steadman is sick and being a horrible baby about it, so I'll be bringing Tate as my plus one. I hope that's okay!