Crash

Aira remained silent for a while before opening her mouth to talk then shutting it again.

“Helloooo, Earth to Aira!” Meghan called out through the line,

“I don’t understand. Why would I need to meet your CEO in person. I thought those people don’t bother to be involved in minute details.” Aira finally said still not understanding what all this was about

“This is not minute details, Aira. This is a huge deal. I told you the CEO scouted you himself to be in this project and you being the illustrator is good publicity among the target market base we’re working on. Basically, all your fans should be very interested in this product. It is a huge deal…” Meghan ended her rant with a sigh and Aire almost smiled

“I know, but still, why would he want to meet me, and what would he want to discuss?” Aire asked

“Well, Vincent Valory is a very known art connoisseur and maybe he’s interested in your art. As for what he wants to see… well… He may have mentioned something about the first drafts…” Meghan added quietly and Aira’s heart jumped in its place.

“Are you telling me now that he wants to see the first drafts tonight?” Aira asked nervousness swirling within her.

“Uhm… Yes?” Meghan answered weakly

“Oh my god, they’re still not finished!” Aira exclaimed, “The deadline was supposed to be the day after tomorrow!”

“I know! He was impatient and wanted to see how far you got and how it was going,”

“What kind of artist shows their unfinished work!” Aira said into the phone fuming, was this guy mocking her?!

“Well… I don’t think that he’s meant to insult you or anything.” Meghan said probably after feeling Aira’s ire, “He’s the kind of boss who likes to keep tabs on everything and he’s really invested in this project,”

“Still, how can he ask for the drafts on the night of the exhibition,”

“I know this is sudden and kind of too much, but this is your first meeting, and I’m sure that he just wants to see you in person and get the feel of what you have in mind for the project. Like I told you, he’s pretty invested in it.”

Aira sighed letting go of her anger and trying to think rationally. Her friend was right. She always felt overprotective of her work while still developing it.

“Well then… It’s a good thing that I finished some of the characters this morning,” Aira answered feeling somehow nervous all of a sudden,

Now that she was no longer angry, she felt the fluttering of her stomach clearly.

The CEO wanted to see her work in person… No matter how long she worked as an Illustrator, Aira couldn’t get rid of this nervousness whenever she had to show someone her work.

“You did?! Oh! Thank goodness! I was afraid that you wouldn’t have been able to draw anything. I know how terrible you are with your deadlines.” Meghan exhaled

“Hey! I’m not that bad!” Aire exclaimed

“Yeah, tell that to our graphics team. Your reputation precedes you Aira,”

Aira sighed giving up on that debate, she was going to lose it anyway.

“I will bring the drafts with me, I will be there in around two hours,”

“Okay, make sure to dress like a goddess. It’s your big day!” Meg said as she hung up and Aira’s eyes went back to the dress hanging in her closet.

Dress like a goddess, huh…

***

Aira was struggling with her eyeliner when she heard her phone ring. Putting on her pods she answered the phone with one eye closed and the other trying to make sure that she didn’t smudge the line she just slaved for.

Who said that artists could do anything with their hands? Because she wanted to have a serious talk with them about how hard it was to put on eyeliner.

 “Hi honey, are you ready for the big day?” Jace’s cheerful voice rang through the line.

“Hi, as ready as I can be… Mom in the other hand…” Aira responded as she began trying to mimic what she did in one eye on another,

“Is she okay?” Jace asked sounding confused.

“I think mom is more worried about this than she’s ever going to be about my wedding day, She called me three times today just to check in,” She added and Jace made a laughing sound that sounded a bit awkward,

“I’m sorry I can’t pick you up; Work is just crazy these days,” He said apologetic

“Don’t worry, I can always drive myself no big deal. I know you have too much on your plate right now.”

“Thanks, honey. I will make it up to you when this is finished.”

“It’s alright, Jace. See you tonight,”

“Yeah, see you tonight.”

Aira clicked off her phone and smiled, Jace would always be Jace, her worries were unfounded because of her still lingering uncertainty about their relationship.

She needed to sort things out, in her head about him she owed him that… It was the least she could do after accepting his extraordinary proposal…

Aira thought back about Jace’s proposal, it was only two weeks ago. The over the top elaborated proposal that took her by surprise.

At one moment she was entering the private restaurant room to meet Jace’s parents. The next she found herself in front of a kneeling Jace proposing to her. Before she could even say yes he was hugging her and shouting that she said yes, and then suddenly she was surrounded by their parents and friends shouting congratulations.

Aira hadn’t been that much against it, but she hadn’t felt the push to do it either. Which was probably why she felt that she was dragged into it and kept avoiding any talk about weddings or any kind of commitment.

She remembered her eyes meeting her father’s that day and he gave her a worried look. She had realized then that she was making a helpless shocked expression that brought on his suspicion.

Later on, he'd asked her if she'd really wanted it. When she assured him that she was alright with all the bravado she could muster, he had sighed and told her one thing,

“Whatever your decision, we will be here to support you. Just make sure it’s really what you want, if not, it’s alright to take some time to think about what you really want to do.”

His words still rang in her head to this day.

After finishing the last touches to her makeup, Aira picked up the drafts she had finished and took one final look at her attire as she made her way outside.

Her beige dress was a good contrast to her light brown long hair which she decided to leave it as it is except for pulling it away from her face with two braids to each side. There was a limit to how much time she was willing to spend in front of a mirror and her long hair was just out of luck this time.

As Aira made her way out of the apartment, she bumped into her neighbors who expressed their surprise in various ways at seeing her dressed up.

“What’s the occasion?” Asked Dane, her thirty-something neighbor who was famous for bringing just about anyone back to his apartment with him.

Well, at least they were all human beings as far as Aira knew…

“It’s a work thing,” Aira responded not giving any more explanations.

“Our artist is going out, must be an art function of some sort. Do you need a plus one?”

“No thank you, my boyfriend will meet me there,” Aira said

“Hmm, if only that boyfriend hadn’t shown up just when I was planning to make a move on you,”

“I would have said no,” Aira said laughing, “ Becoming one of your conquests was never on my list Dane,”

“Woah, that hurt,” He feigned touching his heart.

“See you later,” Aira added walking away from her goofy, handsome neighbor.

As she drove her car, Aira wondered if she was going to reach the exhibition in enough time to prepare for her unexpected meeting.

Her car shook violently sending her forward bashing her chest against the steering wheel before being pushed back by the inflatable bag.

The last thing she heard was the sound of glass shattering before everything went black.