“That could have been better,” Emily said, pacing worriedly around her office table.
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This was her reaction after she just successfully made a presentation to her prospective clients on behalf of Rizo Limited, her company.
Emily has always been their golden girl and they never want to let her go.
“Maybe they just don't want me to feel bad” she further lamented.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door.
“Come in” Emily responded with a firm and measured voice; trying so hard to comport herself - her usual look to folks.
“That was magnificent!” Mr Benard, the business manager screamed, stretching forth his hands for a handshake with Emily.
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He subtly admired the marble-like table, having exquisite white rolling chairs facing the executive seat provided for Emily. Her mood board at the back of her seat, portrayed diligence and meticulous planning for project execution.
“Well I’m happy we got the contract” Shaking the hands of Mr Bernard, Emily responded with a smile, while trying to hide her worries.
Growing up, her dad never saw any result of hers as up to par. She was never enough.
“What sort of result is this?” Mr Greg, Emily’s Dad shouted at her.
“You get an average of 97% and you’re happy?”
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And so, she tried so hard to be perfect, and because of such diligence and striving,
Emily reigned Supreme in the finance world. She had a razor-sharp intellect with uncanny instincts. She was so disciplined; having a strong work ethic.
Companies begged to have her as their staff member.
But beneath that polished exterior, Emily was struggling with self-doubt.
Her constant craving for perfection was a persistent feeling driving her to push herself to ever greater heights.
This weight was a heavy burden on her but that was her kryptonite.
One evening, she drove over to her boyfriend’s residence after two weeks of not communicating.
Dave her boyfriend, was the opposite of Emily's world. As an artist, he lived in the moment, allowing his creativity to push him. He was, however, Emily's anchor and her safe haven. He seemed to be the one person who could calm the demon that raged within her. She recently had an argument with Dave over the risks involved in the new business he wanted to venture into- a clothing store.
"Dave! it's a huge risk," “It takes a while to build a brand and I know you; you lack such patience!”Emily screamed out of frustration. "What if you fail?!”
"You don't believe in me, do you?" Dave asked, his voice tinged with hurt.
“Dave listen to me!”
“No! You listen to me! Emyy”
And the banter went on and on till she bolted out of the house. She was so lucky not to have had an accident since her teary eyes made her view so blurry that she found it hard to see.
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“What’s wrong with me?” She cried on her bed.
She knew Dave was right but her mind was racing. She thought about all the things that could go wrong, all the possible ways Dave’s business could fail. She was always like this; so cautious, so meticulous, and a perfectionist.
……………………………………………………………….
As Emily drove to Dave’s place, her anxiety grew. She couldn’t shake the feeling that her boyfriend was making a mistake, that he was being reckless and impulsive. She just wanted to protect him and shield him from the consequences of his actions.
She parked her car in his garage and walked gracefully into Dave’s apartment.
“Hi Emily,” Dave said half heartedly even though he felt so happy to see his golden girl after two weeks.
He has always been proud of her but he wanted her to believe in herself and stop worrying over being perfect.
"Dave, I just want to make sure you've thought this through," Emily said, trying to walk slowly towards him. "Have you considered all the risks? Do you have everything planned out?”
Dave sighed with evident frustration. "Emily, can you just calm down? I've thought this through. I've done my research, and I've made a plan. But even with all that, there's still a risk of failure. And I'm willing to take that risk."
That was her greatest fear and a word she never wanted to hear -“failure”
Dave took Emily's hand, his eyes hooked on to hers.
"Emily, perfection is just an illusion," he said. “Even the Holy Bible says no one is perfect. It's a myth we create to avoid feeling vulnerable.
But vulnerability is what makes us human. It's how we grow, learn, and love."
These were the magic words she just needed to hear.
She knew Dave was right. She had been so focused on achieving perfection that she had forgotten what was truly important.
"Okay, Dave," Emily said, taking a deep breath. "I trust you. I'll support you, no matter what happens” and after some moments of silence, she continued “I’ll do well to let go of my need for perfection “
Dave gave her a big hug and his eyes were filled with understanding. "I'll be here to support you, every step of the way," he replied
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Emily felt a sense of hope. She knew she was not perfect, and will never be. But she had made up her mind to try and also trust herself. She trusted Dave and helped him grow his new business. Together they built an indomitable brand.
But what more is the definition of perfection if this isn’t it?
hello @daeze-winnie. Your story was detected as being written with the help of AI, which we do not allow in The Ink Well. Please only use tools like Grammarly for basic edits on your stories, and do not use AI tools to write or rephrase your content.
I'm sorry but I did not in anyway get an assist from ai when penning this down. I only checked my grammatical errors using Grammarly
This is my draft:
That could have been better” Emily said, pacing worriedly around her office table. This was her reaction after she just successfully made a presentation to her prospective clients on behalf of Rizo Limited, her company. Emily has always been their golden girl and they never want to let her go. “Maybe they just don't want me to feel bad” she further lamented.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door. “Come in” Emily responded with a firm and measured voice; trying so hard to comport herself - her usual look to folks. “That was magnificent!” Mr Benard, the business manager screamed, stretching forth his hands for a handshake with Emily. He subtly admired the marble-like table, having exquisite white rolling chairs facing the executive seat provided for Emily. Her mood board at the back of her seat, portrayed diligence and meticulous plannings for project execution.
Well I’m happy we got the contract” Shaking the hands of Mr Bernard, Emily responded with a smile, while trying to hide her worries. Growing up, her dad never saw any result of hers as up to par. She was never enough. “What sort of result is this?” Mr Greg, Emily’s Dad shouted at her. “You get an average of 97% and you’re happy?”
And so, she tried so hard to be so perfect and because of such diligence and strive, Emily reigned Supreme in the finance world. She had a razor sharp intellect with uncanny instincts. She was so disciplined; having strong work ethics. Companies begged to have her as their staff member. But beneath that polished exterior, Emily was struggling with self-doubt. Her constant craving for perfection was a persistent feeling driving her to push herself to ever greater heights. This weight was a heavy burden on her but that was her kryptonite.
One evening, she drove over to her boyfriend’s residence after two weeks of not communicating. Dave her boyfriend, was the opposite of Emily's world. As an artist, he lived in the moment, allowing his creativity to push him. He was however, Emily's anchor and her safe haven. He seemed to be the one person who could calm the demon that raged within her.
She recently had an argument with Dave- her boyfriend over the risks involved in new business he wanted to venture into- a clothing store. "Dave! it's a huge risk," “It takes a while to build a brand and I know you; you lack such patience!”Emily screamed out of frustration. "What if you fail?!” "You don't believe in me, do you?" Dave asked, his voice tinged with hurt. “Dave listen to me!” “No! You listen to me! Emyy” And the banter went on and on till she bolted out of the house.
She was so lucky not to have had an accident since her teary eyes made her view so blurry that she found it so hard to see. “What’s wrong with me?” She cried on her bed. She knew Dave was right but her mind was racing. She thought about all the things that could go wrong, all the possible ways Dave’s business could fail. She was always like this ; so cautious, so meticulous, and a perfectionist.
As Emily drove to Dave’s place , her anxiety grew. She couldn’t shake the feeling that her boyfriend was making a mistake, that he was being reckless and impulsive. She just wanted to protect him and to shield him from the consequences of his actions. She parked her car in his garage and walked gracefully into Dave’s apartment. “Hi Emily” Dave said half heartedly even though he felt so happy to see his golden girl after two weeks.
He has always been proud of her but he wanted her to believe in herself and stop worrying over being perfect. "Dave, I just want to make sure you've thought this through," Emily said, trying to walk slowly towards him. "Have you considered all the risks? Do you have everything planned out?” Dave sighed with evident frustration. "Emily, can you just calm down? I've thought this through. I've done my research, and I've made a plan. But even with all that, there's still a risk of failure. And I'm willing to take that risk."
That was the greatest fear of Emily and a word she never wanted to hear -“failure” Dave took Emily's hand, his eyes hooked on to hers. "Emily, perfection is just an illusion," he said. “Even the Holy Bible says no one is perfect. It's a myth we create to avoid feeling vulnerable. But vulnerability is what makes us human. It's how we grow, learn, and love."
These were the magic words she just needed to hear. She knew Dave was right. She had been so focused on achieving perfection that she had forgotten what was truly important. "Okay, Dave," Emily said, taking a deep breath. "I trust you. I'll support you, no matter what happens”