Page 40 of Date with Destiny

‘Um, that idea I’ve had?’ I say nervously. ‘I’ve, er, mentioned it to you a few times?’ I swallow, steeling myself. ‘Actually I was hoping to talk it over with you properly, if you have a few minutes now?’

She shrugs a yes and Zach gives me an encouraging thumbs-up. ‘I’ll leave you to talk. I’d better get off,’ he says nicely, downing his half-drunk, cold coffee and heading to get his stuff.

‘Thanks again,’ I call out after him, relieved that at least some of the tension has gone. Maybe we could really be friends? Maybe it would be nice to have Zach as a friend.

As the store door shuts behind him, I take a deep breath. ‘So, Mum,’ I begin, ‘this engagement concierge idea. I’ve really noticed an uptick in how muchmoreour clients want from us. They don’t just want a ring, they want help with the whole,’ I wave my hand, ‘deal. They want advice on the ideas, the planning, what to do, how to do it – they even want help with delivering the ring to the proposal venue!’

Before I can go any further Celeste turns on me. ‘That was incredibly unprofessional,’ she begins coldly.

‘What?’ I am startled. ‘What was?’

‘Talking about some silly little pet project with,’ she waves her hand at the door, ‘the help.’

‘Thehelp?’ I am horrified. ‘You mean Zach? He’s part of the team now and—’

‘I don’t care.’ She looks furious. ‘Things like this go throughme. You are not to try and undermine me or go around me like that.’

‘I, I, I didn’t mean to,’ I stutter. ‘I’ve actually tried to talk to you about it before but you—’

She cuts me off again. ‘I know and I thought I’d made it clear that I don’t think it would work.’ Her voice softens a little. ‘Darling, it’s sweet that you’re trying to think of cute little things for the brand, but you need to leave this kind of big picture thing to me.’

‘But… but…’ I want to shout that bringing Zach on board was my idea and point at how successful it’s been. I want to sayhow dareshe talk down to me like this. I want to scream that I’ve been working here for ten years and Iknowthis place! Better than her at this point, since she’s so rarely here.

But I’m too blocked up. I feel clogged and choked by all the things I want to say.

She smiles now, her rage evaporating. ‘We’ve actually got something rather exciting in the works for the brand. I’ve been talking to Daddy about it and it’s time we told you girlies. Go grab Toni and I’ll explain.’

I stand up, following her instructions though my whole body is numb with anger. I am so upset, so furious – mainly with myself. Why do I put up with this?

I beckon Toni into the office, still not able to find my words.

Once we’re seated, Celeste regards her with sparkling eyes. ‘Darlings! I have something big to discuss with you. I’ve been talking to Daddy—’ I gag slightly atDaddyas she continues ‘—and we’ve decided toexpand!’ She looks between Toni and I. My surprise is mirrored on my sister’s face. An expansion? What does that mean? ‘We’re going to start doing accessories!’ Celeste continues, ablaze with excitement. ‘And we want to open another store, followed – hopefully – by more later on. We want Celeste’s Stones to take over the world!’

Toni claps, bouncing on the spot a little. ‘That’s brilliant, Mum!’ she says and they hug happily. I paste on a smile, too, feeling wholly blindsided. She’s been talking to Dad? Who’s never in the country? Couldn’t this discussion have included me?

And,god,accessories? What does that mean? Will it be in the new store or here? I’m not sure it’s a good idea. We’ve always traded on being boutique; a unique, one-off store in Central London. Peopletravelto visit us. Yes, for the Celeste Bretherton experience, but also for our personalized, individual service. We’re a family business that can dedicate our time to clients. We genuinely care about what we’re doing for them. If we expand, would we still be able to do that?

Celeste catches my expression. ‘Darling,’ she says breezily.‘Look, I know you’ve got your heart set on this little proposal butler thingy—’

‘Engagement concierge,’ I correct her weakly, wondering ifproposal butleris better.

She waves her hand dismissively. ‘I just can’t really see it taking off.’ My heart crashes into my stomach as she pulls a faux-sympathetic face. ‘I haven’t seen any evidence of our clients wanting that kind of service from us—’

You’re never here to see it!I want to scream but don’t.

‘—and I just think it’ll take you away from your real job. We’ll be keeping you very busy with this new line and the new store. We’re opening the new place in January and I want you running it. You won’t have time for silly little extras like engagement concierging.’ She giggles like it’s nonsense and I swallow hard, feeling crushed.

‘Right…’ I begin, trying to decide whether it’s worth fighting my corner. I really thought I’d come up with something good – something our clients would be excited by! Maybe she’s right that the demand isn’t there. She does know what the people want, doesn’t she? She’s worked with the public long enough.

‘And,’ Celeste is still in presenting mode, ‘we’ve already enlisted aLove Islandstar to help design our first range of accessories!’ she smoothly changes the subject back. ‘Daddy and I are thrilled!’

I nod, feeling overwhelmed. It’s one thing having a reality star – my mother – as the face of our business, but at least she’s seen as an expert in her field. Doesn’t this dilute the brand?

I suppress a sigh, thinking about everything that’s happened to me in the last few months; thinking of the multiple failures and rejections.

What do I know about anything? Why would I think I’d have anything decent to offer the business? I really thought the concierge service was a good idea, and it felt like a good way to carve out my own niche in the family business, away from my mother, while staying a part of a business I genuinely love.

I feel so locked in. Every time I try to move on with my life, I get blocked. I try to move on from Daniel and get rejected. I try to focus on work and Celeste slaps me down. I try to find the fortune teller so I can finally figure out if these predictions mean anything, and it’s another dead end.

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