Boss Babes

Limits Only Exist In Your Mind

"You're going to LOVE Kymberly! She's like our team's mom, but, you know, like a cool, nice mom! She's an absolute inspiration to me and everything I aspire to achieve through Flourish!" Kirra gushed while sipping on a water bottle full of the green sludge I had sampled at her apartment last week.

My dented Malibu rolled along the shady streets of Sienna Heights. We were a few towns over from the working-class suburb we both resided in. The houses here could comfortably fit four of mine in their floor plans and there wasn't a pothole, panhandler, or possum munching on the contents of an overturned garbage pail in sight.

I felt very out-of-place here, and hoped we wouldn't get pulled over - my sedan was missing an exterior mirror and part of my bumper was held together with duct tape. It looked nothing like the immaculate Range Rovers idling next to us at the traffic lights, and could definitely attract unwelcome attention from law enforcement. I'd wanted to take Kirra's jeep, which sounded like it would blend in more, but she insisted we take my car and informed me her's was inoperable due to some unknown malfunction. 

Kirra directed me to pull down a winding stone drive flanked by decorative sandstone walls.

"We're heeeere!" she bounced excitedly in her seat. "I can't WAIT for you to meet everyone!" 

The driveway looped in front of a low patio made of the same smokey grey blocks and turned back towards the road we'd come from. I pulled up behind a station wagon with a giant Flourish logo on the back window. The vehicle was the most hideous green color I could imagine, as if someone had painted it with leftover guacamole.

"Bottoms up! Let's get HYPE!" Kirra shoved a miniature, pink plastic bottle into my hand before we got out of my vehicle. 

I quickly downed the viscous, watermelony liquid, grateful that it tasted much better than the green sludge drink.  This was another product from the 'Enhance' line; I presumed it was Flourish's version of the energy shots stacked near cash registers at convenience stores. The company offered an enormous variety of powders, shakes, and potions. I had no idea how chaotic, disorganized Kirra kept track of them all. 

"That has GOT to be the most hideous paint job I've ever seen," I commented, gesturing at the station wagon parked in front of me, and instantly regretted saying so upon seeing Kirra's horrified reaction.

"Charlie you CAN NOT say that! That's Josie's ride! You'll meet her inside, but she worked really hard to earn the Auto Bonus! Its signature Flourish green - they have, like, a copywrite on it so only cars earned by Flourish promoters can be painted in it!" She scolded me. "I've noticed you're really negative sometimes and you need to let go of that! I know you're new to the experience but maintaining a positive mindset is really important if you want to be successful at life!"

Feeling foolish, I struggled for something positive to say as we approached the front door and passed a few other sedans and minivans with the same green color my brain was now calling Avocado Puke. Judging by the half a dozen cars in that color neatly parked on the side of Kymberly's expansive driveway, earning one probably wasn't too difficult.

"So she earned the car through promoting?" I asked. It was like a switch had been flipped and Kirra's sparkle was back in her eyes.

"Yes! Once you hit the 12K level the company gives you an $800 bonus every month towards the payment and insurance! I can't WAIT to hit 12K since I really need a new ride!" she said and pressed a small button below a fish-eyed camera to the right of the door. 

A girl with dark pigtails and a ballerina outfit on answered and shyly peeked around at us. 

"Hi, Jenna!" Kirra greeted the child and crouched to meet her wide, chocolate eyes. "We're here to see your Mommy and I brought a new friend for us to play with!" 

I gave Jenna a small wave. She turned without saying a word and dashed off into the house. Kirra strode through the door and I followed into the airy space.

"White" was the first thing that came to mind when trying to assess the unfamiliar territory. "It's very white." Indeed, the floors were some sort of glittery linoleum reminiscent of fresh snow, and the side table tucked on the edge of the hall had a bowl of strange twine balls in it and twigs sticking out of a thin, white ceramic vase that blended in perfectly with the wall behind it. I tugged off my high-top sneakers and gently set them next to the pairs of strappy sandals and ankle boots lined up under the table, hoping the bits of dried mud on their bottoms did not flake off to spoil Kymberly's immaculate floor.

We passed a floor-to ceiling length mirror farther down the hall, and I was suddenly conscious of the fact that I did not brush my hair that day - loose, broken-off strands were giving me a fuzzy halo effect around my crown. I immediately licked my hand and tried to smooth them down while Kirra, back turned, led me to an open door under the staircase and down into the basement of the cavernous, empty house. 

*****

The beige sofa threatened to swallow me into it's downy depths, so I shifted towards the edge and hugged my black, spiral-bound notebook to my chest.  I felt the caffeine shot from the car kicking in with a tingly, buzzing sensation at the base of my skull. 

Kymberly was nothing like the warm, maternal figure I had imagined in my head. She had the same raven tresses as her daughter, but her's laid in soft, sleek waves halfway down her back. Stacks of gold bracelets jingled every time she moved her arms in slow, calculated motions, and her summery gown of white linen hugged her form. She was more goddess than human, the only thing breaking the illusion was a spot of residue near her collarbone from an old Flourish patch.

"I'm so grateful you were all able to come here today. Our time together is a magnificent gift to both yourselves and your businesses, and I want you all to thank yourselves for loving yourselves enough to come here today and be fully present during our training," her voice was incredibly soothing and dripping of pure honey.  If Flourish didn't work out, Kymberly could do very well making guided meditations.  I, for one, would pay to have her voice lull me to sleep or whisper affirmations through my headphones.

"Before we start our training today, I would like to acknowledge our sister Kirra for reaching the 4K level. The seeds she planted through her dedication to her business, positive attitude, and desire to uplift others by sharing the Flourish experience with them have sprouted and she is well on her way to achieving her goals of financial freedom and being able to stay home full time with her son." Kymberly regally extended her arm in Kirra's direction, who was about to explode from the recognition. I hadn't seen her grin wider in the entire, albeit brief, time I'd known her. "The only way to truly flourish in this business is to embrace our gratitude to the Universe for placing this opportunity on our path and giving the gift of it to others. I'd like you all to welcome our newest promoter, Charlotte, to our sisterhood of empowered female entrepreneurs."

Wait hwat?  I'm not a promoter! I never signed up to sell this stuff! And why is the Goddess Lady calling me by my government name?

Panicked, I desperately looked to Kirra for help. I was never good at social situations or being put on the spot. 

Instead of correcting Kymberly, she chewed on her bottom lip and stared at her bare feet, suddenly absorbed in her perfectly painted pink toes. 

Fuck. Is this cult? Am I in a cult now?

**********

Author's Notes

Thank you so much for sticking around up to Chapter three! I love all the votes, comments, feedback, and appreciate you all so much! ❤

This chapter was supposed to be called "You Don't Have to Be Extreme, Just Consistent," but it turned out to be way longer than I initially planned, so I'm breaking it up, renaming this one more appropriately and yeeting it at y'all a day early. We're going to call this "the creative process" since I also spontaneously decided on the surprise chapter ending as well, which deviated from my initial story outline and its going to make things a little SPICIER than I initially anticipated.

I'm still relatively new to this platform and  love making new friends and finding new stories to read.

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