Page 3 of Aquarius Awakening (BLP Signs of Love #20)

Trouble at Work

I never made it into the office yesterday.

My day was consumed with thoughts of how I wanted my life to look going forward.

I tried to wrap my head around a childless future.

The majority of my day consisted of my lying in bed under the covers.

It wasn’t my finest moment. Maybe I needed to let go of the idea of what a perfect life was.

There was no such thing as perfect anyway.

My infertility struggle was a testament to that.

From the outside looking in, I appeared to have it all—a husband, prime real estate in the big city, and a successful fashion house.

If there was anything to boost my spirits, it was my closet.

Mason had it customized for me before we moved into this penthouse.

Although it was large, it was still nowhere near large enough to hold everything I owned.

So, each season I switched out my wardrobe.

I had a storage unit not too far from us that held the majority of my clothes.

It was bright and sunny outside, so I put on a white, flowy dress, a pair of orange slides, and a tan bag.

My shades were a pair from last season’s line that I adored.

I stacked several bracelets on my left wrist while my diamond-encrusted watch occupied my right wrist. I glanced at my engagement ring and wedding band.

For a moment, I took them off to see how my hand would look without them.

The only time I took off my rings was to shower.

It felt weird, so I placed them back on.

There was a car waiting for me in front of the building.

Milani usually sent a car to pick me up every morning.

I appreciated the gesture because it was one less thing for me to worry about.

Milani and I had been friends since college.

We were actually roommates. During our first semester in college, her major was childhood education.

By our second year, she switched to business.

Every year after that, she continued to change her mind.

By the time I was set to graduate, she told me school wasn’t for her.

Milani had tried a number of odd jobs along the way but never landed anything worth her while.

When I started Love Faith, I promised her there would always be an opening for her.

About three years ago, she decided to take me up on my offer.

Milani had been a godsend in every way. I loved having someone I could trust working so close to me.

This industry was cutthroat and full of snakes, but Milani had my back.

Although I would never want her to leave me, I continued to encourage her to find her niche.

She was talented in so many different things.

Milani always told me she would find what she was looking for when the time was right.

Fifteen minutes later, I arrived at my office. It was kind of early, so the team was still coming in. As I entered my office, I put my bag down and then sat at my desk. I took a deep breath to prepare myself for whatever awaited me in my email inbox.

The number of emails requesting design changes I didn’t approve alarmed me.

Leon was the one who authorized the changes based on the emails.

He must have been on some kind of power trip.

I didn’t know how many times I had to remind Leon that nothing left this place without my final stamp of approval.

I felt my pressure rise, so I tried to remain calm.

If I went to find him in my current state, it wouldn’t resolve anything.

I had to remain levelheaded, even though he was dead wrong.

At some point, Milani was at my office door.

“I can tell by the look on your face you saw the emails,” she noted.

“Good morning, girl. Close that door and get in here. What is going on?” I asked.

Milani did as I asked and stepped inside my office. She took a seat on the white suede chair on the opposite side of my desk.

“Good morning. Sorry, girl, where are my manners? Listen, you know how Leon gets. Only this time he seems to be on ten with it,” she expressed.

“I wonder what brought on this behavior this time around. We know how he gets, but now he seems to have lost his mind,” I replied.

“Right. I asked around, but nobody seemed to know if anything was going on with him. Do you want me to call him in here?” Milani asked.

“Yeah, you can call him down. Leon and I need to have a chat,” I stated as I closed out of my email.

Milani got up from her seat to head to her office to call Leon.

While she was gone, I rehearsed how the conversation should go in my head.

I didn’t want to lose Leon, but I also wouldn’t be disrespected.

Love Faith was my baby. If Leon wanted to make changes without my final approval, he wouldn’t be able to continue to work here.

Ten minutes later, Leon sashayed into my office. His over-the-top personality was always on ten regardless of the situation.

“Darling, it’s so good to see you. I’m sure you saw the emails from yesterday,” he mused.

“Now you know I saw the emails. I thought we were on the same page about the final approvals. However, based on the emails from yesterday, I guess I was wrong,” I responded.

Leon let out a heavy sigh. “The approvals simply couldn’t wait for your return.

We needed the fabric to bring the designs to life.

The seamstresses needed to start working on the designs as soon as possible.

If we don’t have any designs approved, how would I confidently know if they worked or not? ” he asked.

“The same way you always do. I think you keep forgetting that I’m a designer as well.

You were brought on board to make things simpler for me.

I need to know I can trust you so I can focus on the business.

Still, that doesn’t mean you take me out of the equation whenever you feel like it.

To make matters worse, I don’t like the design.

Yesterday was a complete waste of time and resources for multiple departments,” I declared.

“Look, I understand your frustration. I made an executive decision in your absence. I’m sorry to hear you don’t like the designs.

You are completely right. We have had this conversation before, and we won’t need to have it again.

Why don’t I get back to work on some designs you may actually like? ” he offered.

“I appreciate that, and I appreciate you. I think we work well together. The keyword being together . Please remember that we’re all one team. I look forward to seeing the revised designs.”

He nodded in agreement and then walked out of my office.

Once he was gone, I let out a deep breath.

Leon was brilliant and frustrating all in one.

I hoped that this time around, he would truly understand my perspective on this.

One thing I despised was wasting time and money.

I didn’t love the designs that Leon gave approval for.

They weren’t bad per se, but they needed adjusting.

I understood the time restraints we were under, but that didn’t mean the protocols I had in place were discarded.

Milani walked back into my office and shut the door behind her. “Leon didn’t look upset, so I assume the conversation went well,” she surmised.

“I guess. There was something off about the conversation, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

Leon didn’t give me his usual back and forth.

You know, we can agree to disagree at times, but he made me feel like he just wanted to pacify me.

You know the Aquarian in me despises drama, so I’m not interested in any back and forth,” I stated as I stared out the window in deep thought.

“Let’s not read too much into it. You guys have this conversation once a year. We can only hope that he truly understood why he needs to go through you for final approval,” she affirmed.

“I guess time will tell. What else do we have on the agenda today?” I asked.

I listened intently as Milani ran through the number of meetings and phone calls that filled my calendar.

Since I was unexpectedly out yesterday, my calendar would be packed all day.

I braced myself for the different vendors and potential client calls.

While I loved my job, when my personal life was in shambles, it was hard to focus on work.

After Milani finished going through the list, it was time for my first call.