Miranda

MONDAY MORNING

"KNOCK...KNOCK" an annoying voice said from the other side of my door

I groaned and shoved a pillow over my head "Go away!!"

My door opened and Elena poked her head in "Mira, it's time to get up"

I ignored her

"Mira," She jumped on my bed "Your brothers..."

"Can go to Hell" I grumbled but shoved the pillow off my face.

Elena stopped jumping and sat down while grinning at me "That was harsh"

I rolled my eyes "You've been here one day, you don't know harsh yet until you see my brothers cuss each other out for the t.v. remote"

She grinned even more "Awesome"

I laughed "How was your first night here?"

"It was okay. I'm still getting used to the time change though" she shrugged "Anyways, you've got to get dressed, school starts in an hour"

I went to my closet and she followed me "Plenty of time"

"Hey Mira?" She asked as she browsed through my latest designs "What are you going to do about the interviews today? What happens when Olivia realizes you're the Owner of the fashion company?"

I sighed "I don't want her to find out just yet, so I asked my aunt to send her assistant over to help me with the interviews"

She pouted "I thought I was your assistant? Shouldn't I be helping you?"

I gave her a look "I can't very well have you interviewing her. She'll put two and two together and figure out something is fishy. Also, I don't particularly want my new friend to use us just to get ahead of the game"

She sent me a look "I don't think she'll do that"

I looked away "You never know, besides I'm tired of trusting people who will only disappoint me in the end"

"You're right" she sighed

I nodded and continued to pick out my outfit.

👠👠👠

"Okay Heather" I said through the ear piece "Start the interviews" 

Elena and I watched on the flat screen from my office as Heather ruthlessly interviewed candidates for my new design team in the board room. Some of these designers had potential, they just need to be guided in the right direction. Others not so much. Don't get me wrong, they had great qualities that any company would die for but their attitudes were horrendous. They were the type of people who were set in their ways and probably wouldn't listen to constructive criticism. I wanted people who actually loved designing and were willing to learn, not someone who was only it in to get themselves ahead of the game. 

These types of people would sabotage all the hard work my Aunt and I had put in, if backed into a corner. Those types of people were not good for business. 

After 15 interviews, it was finally Olivia's turn. 

I was surprised to see that she changed her hair from this morning. It went from neon green to modesty brown hair with pink tips. And when I say modest, I mean it's modest for Olivia's taste. Even though I knew her for only a couple of weeks, I knew that this hairstyle was probably one of her most tame one. 

"Please state your name" Heather, my aunt's assistant asked politely 

"Olivia Lorene Bradley" Olivia said shakily 

Heather smiled "Hello Ms. Bradley, I will ask you a couple of questions to see if you belong in this industry"  

Olivia gulped "Yes, Ma'am" 

"Why did you choose fashion as your career?" 

She took a deep breath "It lets me express myself" 

Heather raised an eyebrow "Ms.Bradley, I've interview dozens of people that told me the exact same thing, what I want to know is what makes you different from them?" 

Olivia sat straighter "That might be true Mrs. Thorton but I doubt most of those people are applying because they love designing as much as I do. Most of them are doing it for the paycheck and the fame"  

Heather raised an eyebrow

"Mrs. Thorton, let me be honest with you. Designing is my air. I need it to survive. When I was little designing was the one thing that let me express who I was. Growing up with 2 dads was hard. Children were harsh and parents even harsher. Everyday I would sit at the lunch table alone because parents told their children to stay away from the girl with the weird dads" 

Olivia looked Heather dead on "Designing was the one thing to keep me from entering a state of depression"

I sucked in a breath

That was something we had in common. When Vanessa and Austin made my life miserable, designing was the one thing that kept my head above the water. It let me express myself in a way that I couldn't with my brothers or even my father. 

"That's enough Heather," I spoke through the earpiece "Finish the interview" 

Heather stood up and smiled at Olivia "Thank you Miss Bradley, my staff will contact you once we have made our final decision"

Olivia held out her hand "Thank you for giving me the chance to interview for such a wonderful company"  

Heather shook her hand "It was lovely meeting such a talented young lady" 

A few minutes later, Heather walked into my office and took of her heels "I hate interviews. No wonder your Aunt looks like she'd murder someone when she finished the interviews" 

I smiled at the woman who was like another mother to me. She was tall with graying brown hair and warm hazel eyes, the same eyes Parker inherited "Where's the boys?" 

Heather rolled her eyes "Probably hitting on dumb blondes at the beach"

I laughed  

"They came with you?" Elena feigned disinterest but I knew better 

"Parker insisted and I couldn't just leave Asher alone by himself" she sighed "You know what happened the last time I did that" 

I laughed 

Parker and Asher were Heather's 18 year old twin sons. Being a single mom to two boys was hard on Heather but she managed to make the best out of what life gave her in order to provide for her sons. 

"I take offense to that Mother" a deep voice said. 

Asher leaned against the door as he gave us that lazy grin of his. When he saw me in my chair, his grin widened "Hey there Pretty lady" 

I rolled my eyes as he strolled in with a swagger most guys couldn't even accomplish in their lifetime. 

Now I have to admit, He was gorgeous with his dark locks, tall stature, and baby blue eyes that matched the sky on a sunny day. 

Too bad he saw me as a little sister 

He stopped at my side and nudged my heel with his boot "Aren't you gonna hug me?" 

I laughed and stood up before being engulfed in a bear hug by a 6'2 handsome giant. 

"I missed you" he whispered in my ear before putting me down and kissing my cheek 

Tears filled my eyes 

The Everett Twins were my best friends back in France and the only thing I regretted when I moved back to California. 

"Awe Man!" A familiar voice called out "You made her cry? I told you she didn't want to see your ugly face"  

I squealed and ran into the arms of Parker Everett

"Oomph" he laughed and spun me around "Nice to see you too sugar cube" 

"She didn't seem that excited to see me" Asher muttered "And we look exactly alike"

"Maybe because she knows your Satan and he's not" Elena snarked back 

"I would love to insult you but I'm afraid I won't do as well as Nature"  he taunted 

I ignored their bickering  "Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" 

"I didn't know either until Mom announced she was coming out here for a while. I thought it would be the perfect way to see my best friend" 

"Liar" Heather said "They got kicked out of all the schools in France. Not even the Private schools would take them. I got desperate so when your Aunt asked me for a favor, I jumped on it" 

I frowned "What did you two do since I left" 

Parker looked at his brother 

They both kept quiet and I rolled my eyes 

Typical 

"Okay, since the interviews are over, let's go get something to eat" 

Heather sighed and out of the corner of my eye I watched as Parker kissed Elena's cheek very slowly, deliberately next to her mouth. 

I smothered a grin 

"Oy" Asher hooked an arm around my neck "What's got you grinning like a mad man?"

I nodded at a very red face Elena and flushed Parker "Looks like he's finally making a move"

Asher chuckled "Out of all the girls in this world he had to choose a nut case" 

I punched his stomach "She isn't a nut case you dope" 

He rolled his eyes and walked me toward the exit "Tell me beautiful, How's school?"

"Why?" I asked wearily

I didn't like his tone, it was too casual

"Because, Park and I are starting tomorrow and we want to know what we're getting ourselves into"

~~~~~~~~~~

Hey Guys!!! 

Sorry I took so long writing this, life has been really hectic for me right now. 

I Will be updating when life calms down but as of right now, I think updates might come a little slower than normal. 

Anyways... 

I mentioned a topic in this chapter that might be hard or uncomfortable for some people. If it is, I wanted to tell you that you're never alone.

Depression is a serious thing that affects a large portion of  the population. By addressing this issue, I want to show my audience that it is okay to have problems and not be perfect. We're humans and we make mistakes. 

That's what we were created to do!!! 

Just know that whenever you're down and out, find an outlet like Olivia did. 

Find something that works for you!!!

If you like to draw than DRAW!!!! If you like to sing than SING YOUR HEART OUT!!!! IF you like to write, than WRITE until your fingers hurt!!!

Guys, I know that life is hard but the best way to not let depression win is to live your life the way you want to live it. If you let depression win, than it will consume you until you're just an empty shell. 

Make life worth wild because you never know what could happen tomorrow.  

Don't be afraid to talk to someone, anyone, if you need guidance or wisdom. If you can't find anyone, than I'm always happy to talk. 

"In the End, we only Regret chances we didn't take" -Anonymous 

Honestly guys, you do not want to look back on your life and regret anything. 

SO LIVE IN THE PRESENT INSTEAD OF THE PAST AND LOOK FORWARD TO WHAT HAPPENS IN THE FUTURE!!! 

LOVE, 

~MK