I sat in my office, taking a moment to process the silver lining of my choice to move here.
Things were happening professionally. Everything I’d hoped for was underway.
But it didn’t feel the way that I thought it would.
“You are a natural at this, you know that, right?” Camille asked as she stood in my doorway.
She was the head of marketing at Laredo and had helped me with a marketing plan for MSL. She and my mother had grown up together, so I’ve known her my entire life.
“Thank you. I’m learning a lot as I go.”
“Life lessons are the best.” She made her way inside my office and took the seat across from me. “Your mother is worried about you.”
I sighed. “I think she and Dad might just like being worried about me. Because I’ve done everything that they wanted me to do.”
I broke all ties to my loser ex, who had finally stopped trying to contact me, nor had he spoken about me in the press.I moved to Paris to make a name for myself and my company.
And they were still worried.
“Oh, darling, don’t think for a moment that just because they’re worried about you means they aren’t proud of you. I speak to your mother daily, and you are her absolute joy.” She leaned forward and used a hand to cover one side of her mouth. “I actually think she’s a little jealous.”
“Of what?” I said with a laugh.
“You have built your company from the ground up. Your mom never had that luxury. She was handed Laredo, and she never had a lot of options outside of taking over the family business,” Camille said.
I never thought about that. I didn’t want to take over the family business when I first graduated. I wanted to create something on my own. My mother never had a choice because her father got sick shortly after she finished university.
“Well, she’s grown that business so much, along with Dad’s help, too.”
“Yep. I don’t think she’d have been able to devote her life to something she wasn’t as passionate about if she hadn’t done it with your father.”
“What do you mean?”
“Darling, life isn’t about putting all your eggs in one Chanel bag,” she chuckled. “It’s about collecting lots of eggs so your life is balanced.”
“I feel like I was a little lost right out of school and focused on the wrong things. I’ve really worked hard to find my niche, my calling, and prove that I could do something with it. But now I feel like I could easily drown in this. There aren’t enough hours in the day, so I could just spend my life building my company, you know?”
“Balance is the great mystery of life. If you look at the people who spend their entire lives in an office, dedicating themselves to growing their career, you’ll find they don’t live very long. Because when they can’t keep working those hours, they just wake up and find themselves all alone.”
This is quite possibly the worst pep talk I’ve ever received, if that’s what she’s here for.
“Great. So now I’m going to die alone if I don’t go on a date soon,” I huffed.
She chuckled as she sat in the pink velvet chair across from me, wearing her chic black pantsuit.
“That’s not what I’m saying.” She came around my desk, taking my hands in hers. “You’re young, Lulubelle. Your life is not going to give you everything you want if you spend all your time in this office. Your success won’t mean as much if you don’t have anyone to share it with. So now that you’ve figured out the business side of things, it’s time to figure out who you want to share these moments with.” She smiled down at me. “You’re in the city of love, my darling. I have no doubt that you’ll find it.”
What if I already found it but left it behind to chase my dreams?
She kissed me on the forehead and walked toward the door.
“Camille,” I called out just as she was about to leave.
“Yes, darling?”
“How did you know Louie was the one?” I asked. They’ve been married as long as my parents had. I’d always loved him because he was an artist, a painter. He was passionate and funnyand full of life. He balanced out her serious demeanor, and they always seemed so crazy about one another every time I saw them.
Her red lips turned up in the corners. “I dated quite a few men before I met Louie when I first graduated university. Did you know I even dated a prince?”
