Love and Screw-ups

“That was a successful party we had on Friday night, don’t you think?” Bryan Casalengo asked his daughter, Maeve as she walked down the stairs dressed in a pair of black pants, a white lacy blouse topped with a black jacket. Her heels make a loud click-clack sound as she walked towards her father. 

“Good morning to you, dad,” She said, leaning down to kiss his cheek before taking her seat across him. “And yes, it really was a successful party.” She had spoken to as many investors as she could, familiarized herself with the bosses of the business world, even made a couple of acquaintances in the entertainment industry; and while some of them still doubted her capability, they thought her charming and sweet enough to want to talk to her. 

“Good. I think you will do great, Maeve. I believe in you,” He said. 

“Well, you are one of the few people who think that,” She muttered under her breath. For all her bravado, Maeve was a jumble of mess. She had spent all weekend coming up with a proposal for the Bass Project and for some reason, it just didn’t feel right. It didn’t help either that more than half the people around her already made it clear that they thought her unfit and incapable. Loudly, she said, “I know dad, I’ll do great.”

“Good. And are you sure you are fine?” He asked, watching her intently. 

Maeve paused. He had been asking her that question since Saturday when she found out that her party made the headlines of newspapers and magazines and not for being an amazing, successful party – no, not that – but for her throwing Dominic Fitz out, which didn’t actually happen by the way. Turns out his millions of fans online were pissed that she had the audacity to do something like that and well, they’ve been calling her all sort of names online since Saturday. Maeve squared her shoulder. “I’m fine, dad, really. I told you I was fine when you asked on Saturday, I told you I was fine when you asked yesterday and I’m telling you know that I’m fine. I’m okay.” At least, that wasn’t a lie. She truly was okay. This wasn’t her first time trending negatively online. In fact, before she left for Spain, she was in the news for something terrible every goddamn week – either she was caught making out a different guy once again, or she was photographed drunk by the roadside with Imogen, or drunk at a public event or she was disrespectful to a public figure – it was one fucking thing or the other. So, the last thing on her mind right now, was a couple of deranged chronically online fans who thought their opinions about her behavior mattered. 

“How is your proposal coming along?”

“Great,” Maeve answered with a bright smile which was clearly fake, but she hoped her father couldn’t notice. 

“You know if you need any help, you can ask me or anyone in the office. We will really be happy to help.”

“Sure. I’m going to ask Noelle to schedule a meeting with Uncle Dylan on Thursday but before then, I’ll be showing the entire board the final proposal. You’ll be available, right?”

“Of course.”

Maeve grabbed her bag and rose to her feet. “Thanks, daddy.” She leaned in to kiss him again on his cheek, then, straightened up. “I have to go now. Noelle has been waiting in the car for me.” She waved her father goodbye and walked out of the living room. Her car was parked right by the entrance by her driver who sat patiently, waiting for her. 

“Good morning, Miss Maeve,” Noelle greeted as Maeve opened the door and climbed in. 

Maeve grunted a reply, as the car began to move. She dug her phone out of her bag and turned it on. The first thing that popped up was a message notification on I*******m. She curiously clicked on it and her mouth dropped when she saw who the message was from and its contents.

@officialdominicfitz: don’t you just hate when things turn out the opposite of what you expected?

A scowl appeared on her face as she re-read the message over and over again. Dominic Fitz was a fucking bastard. She considered this petty and shallow and probably something she would have done if the case was reversed, but still…… She slipped her phone back into her handbag, inhaling and exhaling to calm her nerves. Then, she turned to her personal assistant. 

“How did Dominic Fitz get an invite to my party?” 

Noelle raised her head very sharply. “Ma?”

“You heard me. How did he get an invite to the party? I made it very clear that he wasn’t to be invited but somehow he showed up with an invite. How did that happen?” Maeve asked, boring her gaze into her personal assistant’s face. 

Noelle refused to meet her gaze, keeping her stare fixed on the space between them. “I don’t know, ma,” She answered slowly. “I….I….didn’t…..I don’t….”

“I hate screw-ups, Noelle, and I hate people who don’t listen to a word I say. This is your first strike. Better make sure it’s your last.”

“Yes ma,” Noelle answered thought gritted teeth. She was so going to kill Dominic when she got home. She had just nearly lost her job, thanks to him! Noelle glanced at Maeve who was now simply relaxed on the car seat her eyes closed. Briefly, she wondered what was going on in Maeve’s mind. Her boss was an enigma and Noelle was fascinated by her. She wondered what it was like to be her – so carefree, and uncaring and just a badass in general. 

“Why are you staring at me like a fucking creep?” Maeve suddenly snapped at her. 

“Oh.” Noelle quickly looked away, muttering her apology under her breath, her cheeks coloring from embarrassment. 

The car rolled to a stop in front of the company and Maeve waited for her driver to climb out and open the door for her before gracefully stepping out, one leg after the other. She walked right into the company with her personal assistant right on her trail. As she walked in, she ignored the greetings of the people around her, walking towards the elevator. She pressed a button and the doors slid open, revealing a lady standing inside. 

The lady’s eyes widened on seeing Maeve. “Good morning Miss…..ma…..”

“Out,” Maeve said simply. The lady stared at her in confusion, rooted to a spot. Maeve raised a brow at her. “Do I need to repeat myself?”

“No, sorry,” She gushed, rushing out of the elevator. 

Maeve walked in, followed by Noelle who pressed the button to the last floor and the doors slid close. Maeve’s phone dinged with notification. She had a good mind not to check it, knowing it would be something about her and Dominic again. She rolled her eyes, fisting her hand around her bag. The comments and tweets people made about her online weren’t exactly what bothered her. It was the fact that Dominic Fitz seemed to think he had won that made her seethe with anger. 

The elevator came to a stop and the door opened. The both of them walked out, heading for Maeve’s office. 

“Miss Maeve?” Noelle called in a timid voice. She waited for a reply but got none. 

Maeve continued walking briskly, ignoring her. 

“Miss Maeve,” She started again, “I wanted to ask how the proposal is coming along,” She said in such a small, timid voice, I sounded like she was asking a question. 

Maeve glanced at her sharply. “What do you mean?” She demanded. “Why are you asking?”

“Nothing. I….I just wanted to know if there is anyway I could be of help.”

“Why? What are you trying to say? That you don’t think I’m capable?” Maeve snapped. She had stopped walking, and was now glaring at Noelle, arms akimbo. 

“No, no….I,,,,,just,,,,,” Before Noelle could form a coherent sentence, Maeve whirled around and walked into the office. Noelle hurried after her, stepping in, just as Maeve was about to slam the door against her face. “I just thought that I could help you, take off the burden a little.”

“What burden? Did I complain to you?” Maeve snapped, her tone bristle and hostile. 

“No, but I…..” Noelle was confused. All she did was offer to help. Why was Maeve being so mean? If only she knew the amount of insecurities Maeve was currently battling with, maybe she would have taken those words with the pinch of a salt. Maybe they wouldn’t have bothered her as much. “I just want to be involved that’s all,” she said slowly. “I’m your assistant. I should be able to help with things like this.”

Maeve slumped into her chair, turning slightly. She rubbed her palm across her face with a loud sigh. She knew she was overreacting. Noelle had done nothing wrong by offering to help and it was wrong of her to lash out simply because she was feeling insecure. But she wasn’t going to apologize. “Fine. What do you have in mind?”

An excited smile bloomed on Noelle’s face. “I have something on my laptop that I was working on. I can go get it.”

“Sure, go ahead.” Maeve watched as Noelle nearly skipped out of the room in excitement. She wasn’t sure if she was doing the right thing by trusting Noelle with something as important as the Bass Project. But then again, Noelle was just a measly personal assistant. It’s not like there was anything she could do to sabotage the project.