The Do-Over(68)
Author: Suzanne Park
The audience clapped. A lady in the back yelled, “Amen, sister!”
I smiled at that comment. “I’ve learned a lot about myself my second time at Carlthorpe. That being confident and believing in myself is absolutely necessary to achieve my full potential. Without doing that, in my own mind, I can never truly be enough.” I looked over to Jake, who sent warm pricks of heat through me with his coy smile. “There have been times I was too scared to try to get what I wanted, out of fear that I couldn’t have it or didn’t deserve it. But I’m taking more risks now, even trying things a second time, and seeing what happens.”
A silence fell over the room. Mary dropped Cam’s mic by my foot. She muttered, “I’m sorry, I was just shocked by how it sounded like you were in my head, Lily.”
A hum of chatter in the audience swelled so loud that I had to tap my mic to get the attention back to the conversation on the stage.
Mary asked the audience, “How many of you can relate?” Every single hand shot in the air.
Well, except Cam’s of course.
“I hope that by opening up dialogue about the workplace, and with writing books like mine, I can help in some way. To help others feel seen and less alone.”
I blushed as the audience clapped again. More amen, sisters this time too. “Related to this, I’m excited to share some new book news with you.” I glanced over at the junior publicist from Olympus Press, who gave me a thumbs-up to continue.
“My next book isn’t going to be like my previous one. It will be a memoir about my present-day journey, letting you in on my own day-to-day struggles with anxiety and the challenges I face at work. I’ll share my career exploration with you, including key findings and learnings discovered during the interview process and on the job, so you can see some of my failures as well as my successes. I also want to incorporate my personal experiences with therapy, journaling ideas, and mindfulness exercises. My editors, Amanda and Katherine, have been brainstorming and crafting chapter ideas with me, and none of this would be possible without them. The working title of the book is Type A Minus, and the main takeaway is how no one is born an expert.”
A hand in the back shot in the air. “Can we preorder that now?”
“Yes, you can! This is my official book announcement, and it’s on my publisher’s website as of an hour ago. And this indie bookstore will have signed copies on release day.”
Just when things were ending well and wrapping up, Cameron grabbed his mic off the floor. “Before we leave, I want to offer an opinion, rather than a question. I find it disgraceful that you had this career ruse going for ten whole years before that news tip finally exposed you for the fraud that you are. I hope your readers find out you’re a college dropout. Again, there’s no question there, it’s just my personal thoughts.”
I bit my lip. This was the other topic I knew Cameron would bring up today. It went without saying that this was not on the approved list of questions, like all his other rude outbursts.
Looking directly at him, I said, “I do feel bad about that and I have apologized publicly. I honestly didn’t know I didn’t complete my BA degree, and I haven’t logged in to LinkedIn in years, so I haven’t updated my bio in a long time. I’ll fix that right away. There is one thing I’d like to point out though that hasn’t been discussed yet, but now is as good a time as any. The PR job I took straight out of college didn’t require a BA or BS degree. They accepted work experience in lieu of that, which I had because of my various jobs in college. So if you think about it, it’s pretty amazing I got as far as I did, by using your own words, only being a college dropout. And I’m proud of myself for going back to school to get my college degree. It wasn’t an easy decision to make for many reasons, but I’m glad I did it. Not everyone would have the guts to go back to college ten years later with no family support and no financial safety net. Could you?”
Cameron’s mic rolled off his lap and hit the floor. I don’t think he meant to drop it, but it happened.
The events manager walked up the aisle from the back of the room. “Wow, okay, let’s end with that. Does anyone have any final questions?”
Nearly half of the audience shot hands in the air. This was going to be a long night. But for the first time in what seemed like ages, pure relief radiated through my whole body.
Jake, Mia, and Beth were waiting for me by the Parlor bar when the event ended. Tears filled my eyes as I hugged each of them.
“You really inspired everyone, I’m in awe of you,” Jake said. “We should celebrate! I have some of my own news to celebrate too, but I’ll tell you later.”
“Thank you,” I said. “And I can’t wait to hear about it.”
I turned to Mia. “Okay, so explain to me why there were so many press-type people in the audience and, separately, why the room was packed with so many Asian brothers and sisters.”
Mia laughed. “The press were there because it’s a juicy story. Popular nonfiction career author gets busted for not even having a college degree? C’mon. But how you spun it at the end, saying you did all that without a college degree and asking Cam if he’d have the guts to do it? Genius! I have a few more interviews lined up for you next week too. As for all the Asians, I sent an email to the Carlthorpe ASA alumni list. So many people showed up! I also said there’d be free food, which was all supplied by Beth. And free books, which were supplied by your publisher.”
Beth chimed in, “Mia had an idea to make an assortment of gourmet inspirational fortune cookies, with quotes from female thought leaders and pioneers from all around the world. People are scanning my fortune QR codes and putting in orders for your book! I’ve gotten a few corporate order requests from this too.”
“You are amazing, Mia. And you too, Beth. I volunteer for kitchen duty when I get home.”
I looked at Jake. “And then there’s the matter of your good news.” I reached for his hand and squeezed.
“Wait!” Mia blurted. “How about we all head back to my place and you can share the good news there? Beth can help me load up my car with the extra cookies and books left over from the event. You two go ahead, we’ll catch up. You have my key, right?”
I nodded. “Okay, I hope you have champagne or something at your apartment; if not we can pick some up on the way.”
She smirked. “My apartment is fully stocked, so no need to worry about that. See you later.”
The cold air whipped hard as Jake and I walked quickly to Mia’s apartment. My teeth chattered and my cheeks grew numb, but I hadn’t felt this alive in months. Jake offered me his thick striped scarf, which I gratefully accepted. It was nice, being enveloped by his uniquely clean, woodsy scent around my neck, but I would have rather had his arms gathered around my body, holding me close to him.