Chapter 4 - The First Rejection
The rain had cleared by Tuesday morning, leaving Chicago under a pale, frosty autumn sky.
Chloe stood on the sidewalk outside a sleek, glass-fronted commercial building on Michigan Avenue. She wore a rumpled trench coat over a plain black sweater and jeans—the only respectable clothing she had managed to pull from her packed boxes. Her hair was pulled back into a tight, slick ponytail, but no amount of powder could hide the dark, purple hollows beneath her eyes.
She pushed open the heavy glass doors of Lumière Bridal Events, her former boutique consulting firm.
Inside, the showroom was quiet. White silk dresses hung from brass racks, and the scent of expensive white tea perfumed the air.
At the reception desk sat Sarah, Chloe’s twenty-four-year-old junior assistant, who was frantically typing on a laptop.
When the glass door chimed, Sarah looked up. The moment her eyes landed on Chloe, her expression turned instantly guard-like and stiff. She stood up slowly from behind the desk.
"Chloe," Sarah said, her voice barely above a whisper. "You shouldn't be here."
"This is my office, Sarah," Chloe said, trying to project her old, commanding boss-tone, though her voice lacked conviction. "I need to access the client database and check the corporate account. My personal cards are having an issue."
Sarah swallowed hard, reaching for a formal white envelope resting beside her keyboard. "The landlord came by yesterday at four o'clock, Chloe. He served an eviction notice on the commercial lease. Because Mrs. Vance’s personal trust withdrew as the primary lease guarantor, the building management repossessed the suite."
Chloe felt a sharp, violent prickle behind her eyes. "He can't do that! The rent is paid through the end of the month!"
"It was paid through a rolling line of credit backed by your mother’s account," Sarah explained, her voice entirely devoid of sympathy. "The bank canceled the line of credit on Sunday morning. All vendor payments bounced."
Sarah held out the white envelope.
"What is that?" Chloe demanded, refusing to touch it.
"My resignation," Sarah said plainly. "Along with notices from three brides whose weddings were scheduled for next month. They’ve canceled their contracts, Chloe. They’re demanding full refund of their retainers. Two of them have already retained legal counsel."
"Refunds?!" Chloe’s voice spiked into a shrill, panicked register. "I don't have their retainers! The retainers were reinvested into operating capital!"
"Then you need to call a bankruptcy lawyer," Sarah said, gathering her personal canvas bag from behind the chair. "Because the comments on the boutique’s Instagram page are up to twelve thousand. People are leaving one-star reviews on every wedding platform in the country. The brand is dead, Chloe."
Sarah walked around the desk, holding her bag tightly over her shoulder. She stopped two feet from Chloe, looking at her with a mix of disbelief and disgust.
"I worked for you for two years," Sarah said softly. "I listened to you talk about your mom like she was a burden. I thought she was just an overbearing upper-class woman. But after seeing that video... I’m disgusted I ever helped you organize your life."
"You don't know the whole story!" Chloe yelled, taking a step toward her. "You don't know what it was like growing up in her shadow!"
Sarah didn't back away. She simply looked at Chloe with cold, clear eyes.
May you like
"Nobody forced you to take her money, Chloe," Sarah said. "You took her cash, her house, her backing, and then you tried to humiliate her so you could feel big. You're not in her shadow. You're just small."
Sarah walked past her, pushed open the heavy glass door, and disappeared onto Michigan Avenue, leaving Chloe standing alone among the white silk dresses she could no longer afford.
