Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

A few months later...

“Finally...” Reya breathes out in relief as she proudly looked at the piled boxes that were filled with her beauty kits.

She turned to look at her loyal helpers which were her friends. Then she wipes the bead of sweat on her forehead using the back of her hand before she stands up and claps to call their attention.

“Is there something wrong? Do we need to make more kits?” asked Kaize who was assigned to printing the labels.

Reya shook her head and chuckled. “I think we have made more than enough,” She smiled. “We should take some rest now,” she added.

“We still have to wake up early tomorrow to see Tammarah off.” She reminded.

“Ya Ate! You make it sound like I’m not coming back anymore!” Tammarah replied. “It’s just two years!” she chuckled.

“Technically speaking, two years is a long time. That’s equivalent to 24 months, which is approximately 730 days.” Kaize chipped in. “... and who knows! Maybe you get to meet your ‘the one’ there,” she added.

“My tears were about to fall, as I was thinking of Tammarah’s departure, but the Kaize’s Math made my tears abort,” Jiel laughed.

“Waaaaah~! I will miss you, Ate Tam!” Alliyah cried as she moved to pull Tammarah into a hug. “You better come back or else, I’ll be the one to drag you back here!” She said.

“Y-Ya! Don’t do that! I don’t want to cry! My eyes will be puffy!” Tammarah said as she looked away to stop the small tears from falling.

“Besides today should be a happy day!” She added. “Ate Reya should be the center of attention. She’s the one who launched a product, not me!”

“That’s true, Tam,” Reya chuckled. “... but between us two, it’s you whom we will not be seeing for two years.” She spoke.

“How about we have some barbeque first before we go to bed?” Gerieca proposed.

“I’d like that Ge! That’s a brilliant idea!” Jiel clapped. “We’ll have a double celebration!”

-

“Congratulations to you Ate Reya!” 

“Congratulations to the whole team of Posh Glam, which is us!” Kaize cheered as she raised her bottle half-full bottle of apple-flavored beer.

“Thanks, Kaize. Thank you, guys.” Reya replied. “If it weren’t for you, I don’t think this launching would be possible,” she smiled.

“There’s actually no need to thank us Reys,” Jiel responded. “This, everything, is all because of your dream.” He added as he gave her a pat on the shoulder. 

“Why is the world spinning around? Why are there two of you?” asked Alliyah, who had just finished a whole bottle of beer in one go.

“You’re drunk!” Kaize giggled as she poked Alliyah's cheeks. Their faces were red, as they were both tipsy. “Wow, Alliyah! Your cheeks are like marshmallows!” Kaize exclaimed in amusement in between her hiccups.

“Why did we even let them have a beer?” Gerieca laughed.

“The alcohol has not even hit my system...” Tammarah chuckled. “It’s no fun to have high alcohol tolerance!”

“Ya! Are you even allowed to drink before a flight?” Jiel asked. “Won’t it get you into trouble with the immigration?” He added.

The friends stayed up until past 10 PM before they headed to their rooms and take a rest. Reya helped the tipsy Alliyah go to bed before she went on to go to her room and do her night routines – taking a shower, and some skincare treatments.

“I can’t believe that all of this is finally coming true,” Reya said to herself as she laid down on the bed and stared at the glow-in-the-dark stars that were stuck to the ceiling of her room. She got tired of the plain and boring ceiling so when she had her room renovated, she personally requested for the glow-in-the-dark ceiling display.

She takes a deep breath and smiles. 

It has been months since she quit her work at the university, and within those months she focused her attention and time on developing her own products. It wasn’t easy especially because she had some problems with the capital amount luckily, her business loan was approved by the bank, and she has very supportive and loyal friends who offered to help her without asking for anything in exchange.

It took her almost a year to finally be able to execute her plans, and build the foundation of her cosmetic line which she named ‘Posh Gems’. A cosmetic line that is dedicated to uplifting body positivity and encouraging women to unleash their natural beauty.

“Good night, dearest self...” Reya yawned before she closed her eyes and drifted off to dreamland.

 -

The next day after seeing Tammarah off, Reya asked her friends to drop her off near the building where she is to attend a training workshop. 

"Hi... I'm here to attend the workshop," Reya smiled at the front desk employee.

"Can I have your name and the company that you are affiliated with ma'am?" The lady politely asked.

Reya nodded and smiled. "Reya Fernandi from Posh Gems."

"For a while ma'am, I will just confirm it." 

"Sure, sure..." 

While waiting, Reya's eyes roamed around the beautifully decorated lobby of the building. There were a lot of people entering the door, and all of them were wearing corporate attires. Some even had an entourage of employees walking behind them.

A few moments later, a luxurious black car stopped at the foot of the building. Then a man wearing a three-piece Armani suit and a pair of aviators got out of the car. Reya could not help but stare at the man.

From the looks of him, it seemed like he was an important person.

 "Thank you for accepting our invitation, Mr. Parri." The COO greeted as he shook hands with Thomas.

"The pleasure and honor is mine, Mr. Tan," Thomas replied after taking his aviators off and shaking hands with the old man.

"Allow me to lead the way, sir." Mr. Tan said then they both entered the building, attracting everyone's attention.

"Isn't that Thomas Parri?" A lady asked her co-employee. "Is he here for the workshop?" She added.

"I think so," The other lady responded. "... but have you heard of the rumors?"

"What rumors?"

"Some say that he is now single because he and his long-time girlfriend broke up!"

"Oh! I've heard of that! And I have also heard that the reason why they broke up was that there was a third party involved!"

Reya could not help but roll her eyes as she listened to the gossiping ladies. Some people just can't stop minding other people's business. Though a part of her was intrigued about their topic.

"Sorry for the long wait ma'am..." The front desk employee said.

"Here's the copy of the program. You can now proceed to the hall. It's at the left wing of the building, and you'll know that it's the right room when you see posters outside," The lady directed and smiled.

Reya smiled back and gave her a small nod before making her way to the hall. The building was spacious, but since she followed the employee's words, she was easily able to arrive.

"Hello, ma'am! Welcome! We hope you have a great time." The ushers greeted with a smile on their faces.

"You may just pick a seat to your liking, and refreshments will be served." 

Reya nodded and went inside the venue. She was amazed by how beautiful the whole place was. It was a lot more than she expected, and it was nothing like the past seminars and workshops that she'd been part of.

The venue was designed to give of a light feel of elegance, and instead of monoblock chairs, the participants were arranged to sit along with each other at a round table, enabling more interaction and discussion between participants.

"Is this seat taken?" Reya politely asked.

"Yes." The woman replied after giving her an eye from the head down to her toes. 

"But I don't see anyone..." Reya was about to reason out with the woman but she just stopped and let out a sigh.

There's no point in arguing with her, she should just go and look for another seat. She then turned around to look for another chair. Fortunately, she was able to spot another one.

She then approached the chair and saw a man who was sitting alone.

"Hi... is this seat taken?" She asked.

"No." The man shortly replied.

Reya then nodded as she made herself to seat comfortably on the chair. She placed her purse to sit on her lap and placed the program on the table. Then she took a deep breath and roamed her eyes around the venue. It was only then when she noticed that almost everyone was looking in her direction.

Do I have something funny on my face? She asked herself.

She then turned to look at the man whom she had asked before. "Excuse me, do I have something on my face?" She asked.

The man looked at her, but instead of answering her, he leaned towards her. Reya was surprised by his action but she could not do anything. She just remained sitting still, while subconsciously holding her breath.

"There...better." The man spoke and smile after pulling her scrunchie down causing her hair to rest on her shoulders.

Gosh! What's wrong with me? Why is my heart beating fast like this? Reya asked herself.

She then looked away to hide her blushing cheeks. She does not know what to say or how to act.

"I don't expect to see you here. Did you perhaps change profession?" The man asked.

Huh? What is he talking about?

Did we already meet each other?

Reya was trying to figure out where she had met him, but she could not seem to recall.

"I'm sorry... but have we met before?" She awkwardly asked then the man chuckled.

"Tessie. Pink crayon." He replied and smiled.

Reya paused for a moment. He's right! We really had met each other!

"Oh! I remember!" She smiled. "I'm sorry... there's just been a lot of things in my mind lately." She apologized.

"It's fine. I just have to accept the fact that not all will remember my face." He laughed. "Oh, by the way, I'm Thomas. Thomas Parri." He introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you, Thomas. I'm Reya. Reya Fernandi."