Repairing Dreams (Lilydale Cottage #1)

Chapter 1

Ding, ding, ding.

The speed of the incoming messages on Chelsea McGinnis’s phone made it sound like a child bashing a xylophone. Her gut clenched as she lunged for it. Nothing good came this fast at this hour of the morning. She spotted the name, Aria Simpson, and her heart went into overdrive.

No, no, no.

What had Aria done?

Her fingers shook as she clicked on the link Ellen, her manager at the advertising company, had sent her.

Nausea swept through her as she read, and she sank onto her unmade hotel bed.

Last night’s event had launched Aria as the ambassador for Tours Australia.

The post was of the influencer posing with two Indigenous Australian women who had danced at the launch and were still wearing their traditional dress and face paint.

The photo itself would have been fine, but Aria’s words put a stake right into Chelsea’s heart.

After all these years they still haven’t embraced modern makeup or clothing. Indigenous ladies, follow me for tips.

Followed by a laugh emoji.

Chelsea closed her eyes and her hands trembled.

There was no coming back from this. All her hard work cajoling the self-entitled prima donna to do what they needed for the campaign was obliterated in one careless, ignorant post.

Months of effort getting Aria to agree to the role at the client’s request, and then thousands of dollars spent touring Aria around the country and filming her, had all been wasted.

No way could they use her as a spokesperson now.

Chelsea scrolled through the comments; some thought she was funny, others were horrified and angry at her disrespect.

Toni, the elder pictured with Aria, would be furious. She had spent months negotiating with Tours Australia to have her cultural tours included on their program. She was a proud and business savvy woman and this would be a kick in the teeth.

Chelsea had known Aria Simpson wasn’t the right person for the role.

Model and influencer, now with her own range of makeup, Aria had always been opinionated and potentially divisive, but the client’s representative was a fan and believed she would attract the younger demographic.

As if the younger demographic had the funds to take Tours Australia trips.

Her phone vibrated in her hands as a call from Ellen came through.

Shit.

Taking a deep breath, she answered it. “Ellen, what do you need me to do?”

“Get Aria to write an apology and delete the post.”

“She’s not going to.” It was one thing Chelsea had learnt after spending every day for two weeks in the woman’s company—Aria always thought she was right.

“Then you post it. Fix this, Chelsea. Your promotion is on the line.”

Before Chelsea could comment, Ellen hung up.

Shock made her breathless. How was this her fault? She’d spoken against Aria when her name was first raised.

But if Chelsea was associated with this, no one would want her working on their campaigns. She couldn’t afford to lose her promotion because rent on her outer-suburb apartment in Sydney was more than half her pay.

Chelsea inhaled deeply, pushing the panic aside for another time. Fixing things was her superpower. She slipped on her shoes, twisted her chocolate brown hair into a messy French twist and then called Toni. The elder deserved an apology first.

Toni answered on the first ring. “What are you doing to fix this?” Her tone wasn’t aggressive, but it was insistent.

“I’m going to speak to Aria,” Chelsea said. “I’m so sorry for her disrespect.”

“It’s not your fault. That girl wouldn’t know respect if it hit her over the head.”

The tension in Chelsea’s shoulders lessened. She’d really liked Toni’s outlook on life and her dedication to her culture. “I’m hoping to get her to post an apology.”

Toni snorted. “Good luck with that.”

Chelsea smiled. “I’m certain Tours Australia will post an apology and I’ll keep you up to date with what’s happening.”

“Thanks, Chelsea. I know how hard you worked on this.” Toni hung up.

Chelsea exhaled. If only the rest of the people she had to deal with were as understanding as Toni.

She checked her appearance in the mirror by the door, tucked a stray hair behind her ear and then knocked loudly on the hotel room next to hers.

It was only seven o’clock, but Aria should be awake as she was flying to Italy today for a fashion show.

While Chelsea waited, she checked the time the damning post had gone up.

One a.m.. Aria had been drunk when Chelsea walked her to her room around midnight after the event ended.

Aria had wanted to keep partying, but Chelsea had convinced her it would be wise to get a good night’s sleep before her long-haul flight from Sydney to Milan.

Chelsea pounded on the door again. She should have let Aria go out. Then Aria might have been too busy to post to social media.

Aria opened the door, her red hair a tangled mess and her eyes bloodshot. She wore a hotel robe and behind her every bottle from the mini bar was empty on the floor. The scent of alcohol suggested not all the liquid had gone into Aria’s mouth.

Yep. She definitely should have let her go out.

Aria screwed up her face. “What are you doing here? I thought we were finished.”

If only. Chelsea gritted her teeth. “You posted something to social media last night.” She held up her phone so Aria could see.

Aria squinted at it. “Yeah.” She grinned. “Pretty smart, right? I just found a whole new demographic for my label.”

Chelsea opened her mouth and then closed it again, trying to find the right words.

How could she phrase this so it didn’t get Aria’s back up?

Your post was… insensitive, ignorant, clueless.

No, she still needed Aria to post an apology.

She cleared her throat. “There are many people who find your comments offensive.”

“Haters gonna hate.” Aria walked back into her room and Chelsea followed her, trying to reason with her.

“Can you see how derogatory it might seem to those in our Indigenous community?”

“It’s not like it isn’t true. They need to stop being precious snowflakes about the past and move on.”

Chelsea had no words. She bit her tongue and clenched her hands. This clueless, self-absorbed, entitled cow deserved all the backlash that was coming to her. But right now, she held Chelsea’s job in her hand, so Chelsea had to play nice.

“The management of Tours Australia is quite upset as are the elders you disrespected. This could ruin the campaign we’ve been working so hard on.

It would help if you could post a statement apologising for your comments.

I’ll even write it for you.” She opened the note-taking app on her phone and started writing.

“That’s their problem. I’ve done my bit and been paid for it.” She flopped on the bed and turned on the television. The morning news was doing a story on her post.

Shit.

Aria laughed. “Look how upset they are. Bunch of woke hypocrites.”

“Please, Aria,” Chelsea begged. “I know it’s trivial to you, but this impacts me too. I would appreciate it if you posted what I write.”

“How does it impact you?”

“Because you’ve been my responsibility throughout this campaign. What you do reflects on me and I’m trying to get a promotion.”

Aria switched off the TV. “That’s stupid. You can’t control what I say.” She stood and walked towards the bathroom.

“Aria, please.” God, she hated begging this woman who had made her life hell for a fortnight.

At the doorway, Aria turned. “If they sack you, it’ll give you the opportunity to go out on your own. Forge your own career not dictated by others. It’ll be good for you. I gotta shower.” She shed her robe and left Chelsea staring at the closed door.

Chelsea rubbed her arms as a chill swept through her. She battled the nausea swelling in her stomach and inhaled slowly.

Memories flooded her of all those years watching her mother struggle to make ends meet, the uncertainty of where they would live when their lease was up, or the company her mother worked for had gone through sweeping redundancies.

Seeing how stressed her mother was as she tried to find work during an economic downturn.

Chelsea had worked hard for her independence and to ensure she wasn’t vulnerable to the influence of others, but this post could ruin everything.

She had to get Aria to post the apology.

Otherwise she was screwed.

***

An hour later, after writing the apology and again begging Aria to post it, Chelsea slammed the door closed on the car that was taking Aria to the airport. The sound was like an axe on a chopping block. She had failed.

She dragged her own suitcase down the footpath of the Sydney Central Business District and into the skyscraper where she worked.

Viral Posts Media took up an entire floor of the building and when the elevator dinged, Chelsea walked into the bright reception area where she was greeted by the receptionist, Meg.

A large vase of colourful lilies sat on the desk, bringing cheer to the area, and a faint floral scent was enhanced by the oil diffuser hidden behind the reception desk.

“Oh my God, Chelsea,” Meg said. “Everyone is going crazy in there. Did you get Aria to retract her statement?”

Chelsea shook her head as her stomach rolled again. “No.” She looked around. “Can I leave my suitcase behind your desk?” She didn’t want to walk into the main office dragging it behind her, and there was no room in her small cubicle for it.

“Sure.”

Chelsea walked through the glass doors of Viral Posts Media. Her colleagues sat in cubicles, the walls of which were high enough that she couldn’t see their faces. Quickly she strode down the corridor on her four-inch heels towards Ellen’s office.

Ellen’s personal assistant looked up as Chelsea approached and gave her a sympathetic smile. “Chelsea. I’m to send you straight to Harold’s office.”

The managing director. Chelsea swallowed hard. “Right.”