Chapter 3

I laughed. "Sergio, we're divorced."

"I know," he said.

"So what makes you think you can ask me for help?" I shot back.

Sergio remained silent.

"I paid 253 thousand dollars and left with nothing. Isn't that enough?" I pressed.

"Tessa!" he snapped.

"I don't want the 15 thousand dollars anymore," I said.

There was silence on the other end.

"From now on, don't ever reach out to me again." I hung up.

Then I blocked his number. The screen went dark.

I lay back on my bed, staring up at the ceiling.

I just bought myself a lesson with 253 thousand dollars and five years of my life.

*****

Three weeks into my new job, the company landed a major project.

The client was a well-known local FMCG brand with a budget of 1.6 million dollars, the biggest deal our department had seen all year.

My boss, Jack Wilson, assigned it to our team.

Rebecca looked over the brief and shook her head. "This is insane. A full omnichannel marketing plan in one month?"

I skimmed the document.

Target: women 25-35.

Goal: rejuvenate the brand.

Expected: 300% increase in buzz, 50% lift in sales.

This was definitely tough, but it was not impossible.

I spent two days building a framework.

At the weekly meeting, I volunteered. "Mr. Wilson, I'd like to take this on."

The room went quiet for a moment.

Rebecca tugged my sleeve. "Are you crazy? If you mess this up, you'll be fired on the spot."

I ignored her.

Jack looked at me. "Are you sure about this?" he asked.

"I'm not a hundred percent sure, but I've got a plan," I replied.

I stood and projected my slides.

"Here's my initial proposal. The core strategy is suspense marketing, influencer matrix, and event hype," I explained.

Jack listened to me for ten minutes straight without interrupting.

When I finished, he was quiet for a moment.

"The plan is strong, but it'd be difficult to execute it," he said.

"Such as?" I replied.

"How do you plan to keep the influencer matrix costs under control? And how do you plan to mitigate the risks of event hype?" he asked.

I answered each question one by one.

Jack nodded. "Alright. You're in charge of this project," he said.

There was a collective gasp around the room.

Rebecca was floored. "You're just a newbie. How are you supposed to handle something this big?" she sputtered.

Jack glanced at her. "She's new, but her skills aren't."

Then he turned to me. "Tessa, I'm giving you one month. Nail this, and you'll get a promotion and a raise by year-end. If you screw it up..."

"I'll walk out myself," I said.

"Good," said Jack.

*****

That night, I worked overtime until 3 AM.

Back in my apartment, I couldn't sleep, not from nerves, but from a thrill I hadn't felt in years.

I hadn't felt this way in ages.

I'd spent three years at Sergio's company doing grunt work, writing copy, making posters, and getting paid 3,000 dollars a month. Nothing had ever changed.

Sergio always said women didn't need to push too hard.

Nancy said the most important thing for a woman was to take care of her family, and that being too ambitious would make it hard to find a husband.

I bought into that for three years.

As I looked back now, I thought what a fool I was.

The next day, I arrived at the office on time, with dark circles under my eyes but buzzing with energy.

Rebecca looked like she wanted to say something. "Tessa... are you really sure about this?"

"Yeah," I replied.

"But this project..." Rebecca hesitated.

"Rebecca," I said, meeting her eyes, "have you ever thought about something?"

"What?" she asked.

"In our field, it's not seniority that matters. It's skill," I said.

She was stunned.

I smiled at her. "I spent three years at my old job, making just 3,000 dollars a month. You know why?"

"Why?" she asked.

"Because I never had the courage to fight for more." I turned back to my screen. "Now I do."

By the second week, we hit a snag.

The lead influencer we'd booked suddenly doubled her fee.

The initially agreed-upon 70 thousand dollars had now ballooned to 120 thousand dollars.

Our budget was blown.

I went to Jack to report the issue. "The influencer raised her rate. We have two options. Replace her, or cut other budgets to afford it."

"What's your recommendation?" he asked.

"Let's go with someone else," I said.

"Why?" he asked.

"Her audience only matches 60% of our target. Not worth the cost. I've found another with 85% alignment, for 60 thousand dollars."

He looked at me. "When did you find her?"

"Last night," I replied.

He smiled, "You've got some real skills."

"Thanks, Mr. Wilson," I said.

He said, "Don't thank me yet. If this fails, it's on you."

"I know." I nodded.