1. A Woman In A Man's World

Cammy

When you’re a woman, they tell you to toe the line. You’re groomed to be polite and to speak when you’re spoken to. Get married, have kids, open your legs to your husband when he needs you to and turn a blind eye to his faults. Be happy this man chose you to be his wife; he will take care of you. AND SMILE!

I always spat in the face of people telling you how a woman should behave. It is why my mother won’t take my calls anymore; she hated the fact that her eldest daughter grew to be ambitious like the man who left her for another. I can only laugh at this notion since I am currently staring out over the London skyline from the 11th floor of my building.

My name is Cameron Westwood, a 33-year-old self-made businesswoman and CEO of Westwood Architecture and Design.

This company is my baby, built from the ground up by my blood, sweat and tears. I managed to repay the business loan I took out from the bank within a year of starting up, and I’ve only been growing. When I interned at different companies, the connections I made proved valuable over time and paid me back triple times over in returns. No one expects a woman to get very far in a world dominated by men; they all want you to stay on your knees. Moreover, they don’t expect a woman to be intelligent enough to grow her own business - and boy, do I love proving them wrong.

When I enter a boardroom filled with misogynistic businessmen, they all assume that I’m Westwood Architecture’s PA. I suppose since my name is Cameron, people think I’m a man even though it is a unisex name. As soon as I introduce myself, they usually underestimate me and do not expect much from a blonde, curvy woman in mile-high stilettos - until I open my mouth.

I didn’t get this far by kissing ass; I know my stuff and will continue to grow my legacy.

Well, that was my drive until recently. The Coronavirus pandemic hit us in the worst way possible. All the projects we had lined up fell through, international trade was more or less forbidden, and I had to cancel contracts with most Asian countries. We experienced a 38% profit loss - and this all between March and July of 2020. My company struggled; I had to cut staff members to reduce losses and invested in more technologically advanced products to work from home.

It’s now mid-2021, and I have fully reopened my building for normal business. My projects are lining up again, and I can safely trade internationally. But the pandemic is still in full swing, and I am still experiencing losses internally. If I didn’t have a 10-year nest egg saved up, my company would have bombed out, and I would have lost everything. To say we were ill-prepared for something like this is putting it mildly.

I look at the sunset over the London skyline; this concrete jungle has become my home and the only place I felt comfortable in. During the years of building my empire, I gave up on the idea of finding a partner. I didn’t want someone to tie me down with love and family or expectations. However, when I was 28, I started seeing someone named Alden Coldfield, a businessman from Brighton. Until April of last year, we were together when I went to his home in Brighton only to find him in bed with my PA.

Yeah, so that happened. Did I forget to tell you that we were engaged to be married next month? Ha, how the tables have turned; first my business started going under, then my fiance cheated on me. I should have stayed single and focussed more on my career; maybe then I wouldn’t have been swayed by his words or blinded by his lies.

Sighing, I pull out my cell phone to call my best friend and Chief Operations Office, Cassidy Hargreave. We have an important business meeting in the morning, and she wanted us to go out for a cocktail to unwind. “Hey, Cassy,” I say as she answers on the second ring. “Hey, bimbo. Ready to come out yet?” She answers in her sing-song voice that always makes me smile. “I am leaving as we speak. Can’t you hear the traffic? It’s so busy out here!” I call, holding the phone away from my ears. “Yeah, yeah. I’m at the usual spot. Get your butt here before I start causing a scene.” She says, and I blanche. A drunk Cassy is not a good scene! “I’m outside already!” I say in a laugh and kill the call before pressing the lobby button on the elevator and sanitising my hands.

Tomorrow could make or break me, so tonight, I suppose I should unwind while I can.

When I walk into the cocktail bar with my fabric face mask on, I can hear Cassy’s giggle from across the way and shake my head. It sounded like she was three cocktails deep and having a grand old time with the other patrons at the bar counter. I guess social distancing means nothing when you’re having fun.

“Talk about getting the party started without me!” I say jokingly as I walk up to her and remove my face mask. She looks over to me and passes me a wink. “Well, when the boss is away, the underlings will play,” she says. I raise my eyebrow at this comment. “Excuse? You’re the boss as well!” I say, but she only shrugs at him and waves it off.

I gesture for the bartender to come over and order a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon. “So, ready for tomorrow?” She asks as she sips on her cocktail. Lifting my wine glass to my mouth, I exhale a frustrated breath and nod. “This was the last option; hopefully, it goes the way we plan,” I say. I didn’t want to rely on another company for a bail-out, especially not a company run by a chauvinistic playboy who hops from one bed to another. But this is a special circumstance. Elijah Somersett will give me what I want, one way or another.

“Well, one look at what you have to bring to the table, and they will be on board.” She says, pointing to my chest, and I could do nothing but roll my eyes at her. Yes, I am a bigger woman than most, I do not have a model figure, and I don’t intend on attaining one. But don’t let that make you think that I am unhealthy - I eat well and exercise, but I cannot help if these stubborn kilograms won't shed. So yes, I am a few stones heavier with the attitude to match.

“Ugh, please. That is the last thing I want him to look at. Besides, airheaded heiresses are Elijah Somersett’s type, and I am everything but that.” I say with confidence, drinking my wine a lot quicker than I intended to. Cassidy giggles next to me. “We’ll see if you think the same once you see him tomorrow.” She says as she motions for the bartender.

I must admit that he is a bit of a looker by the pictures I’ve seen. He has that bad boy air about him with his long blonde hair and disregard for the norm. But his reputation is what usually stops any self-respecting woman from being in his crosshairs; the man is a literal casanova. “In any case, let’s not talk about tomorrow and have fun! Speaking of which, and don’t make it obvious, but there’s a guy across the room staring at you.” She says, then picks up her cocktail glass and takes a sip.

For some reason, I feel a tad bit self-conscious when she says this and when I raise my glass to my lips, I decided to take a peek.