Her Wolf

“Maybe one day you will tell me something I don’t know,” Catherine muttered to herself as she walked down the hallway that led to her office, Jessica nearly bumping into her side as they rounded a corner together. “What else, Jessica?”

“You have a meeting with the board this afternoon, though I believe the time is still up in the air and I’m expecting an email any moment securing the time, so I will let you know. I’ve also composed some more folders for you, Miss Goldberry.”

Catherine stopped in her tracks to deliver a curious look to her assistant. “Folders?”

“Yes. I know you still haven’t found the organization you were looking for, so I took it upon myself to gather up some information on non-profit organizations that are currently in need of help,” Jessica boasted proudly. “I think you will be pleasantly surprised with these and I believe you’ll find exactly what you’ve been looking for.”

Over the course of the past few weeks, Jessica had been supplying Catherine with folders after folders of non-profit organizations all over the world. There were organizations for children, women, low income development centers, hospitals, animals and everything Catherine could ever imagine and though all of them were worthy; there had been nothing that caught Catherine’s attention.

“That’s not part of your job description, Jessica,” Catherine said as her fingers tightened around her Starbucks cup. “I just need your assistance in the office. You don’t need to go above and beyond.”

“I wanted to help, I know you have your hands full with everything as it is,” she replied.

Catherine offered Jessica a meager smile and she ushered her from her office. The sky in downtown Denver was overcast and left little sunlight to filter in through the large bay windows that made up her office. With the exception of the stack of brown folders that rested on the corner of a crisp white desk, Catherine’s office was immaculate. The entirety of the space looked like something out of a magazine and consisted of stark white furniture with black and silver accents to bring a certain edge to the room. In the corner of her office, she had a large zen garden installed on the floor. She had never seen an office with something like that before and it brought warmth to a room that was otherwise trendy, but cold.

“It’s like they think I’m helpless,” Catherine said to herself as she kicked off her heels and walked towards her desk. “Maybe I am. I can’t seem to pick anything in life without the help or guidance of someone else.”

It was evident to even a stranger that Catherine was under copious amounts of stress. She was thirty years old with a mass empire that was growing bigger each day and she barely had time to enjoy her success before something else that required her attention was coming along.

The wheels of her desk chair squeaked as she pulled her chair away from her desk and took a seat. The balls of her feet were throbbing and her toes felt cramped from the designer shoes she had them buried in all morning long. The silence filled the atmosphere and for the first time since seeing the little girl in the elevator, she smiled.

“Finally, I can be alone,” she thought to herself while she unlocked the top drawer of her desk and pulled free a purple, leather bound journal with her initials on the cover. “Be free.”

“Dear Diary,

It’s been so long since I’ve taken the time to sit down and write that I’m actually afraid to look at the date of my last entry. I remember the times when I would come here two or three times a day, just to jot down my thoughts and my ideas. Now, it feels as if my ideas are formed for me before I even have a say and my thoughts are silenced by the sound of cash registers. When did this become all about the money?

When I first started experimenting with cosmetics and different formulas, I wanted to make men and women feel beautiful on the outside as well as the inside. I wanted to take as much of the vanity out of the beauty industry as possible and replace it with something inspiring. Something to aspire to. I wanted to take the beauty of nature and combine it with strong sense of self, determination, motivation, self worth, color, light and refreshing scents that enhanced beauty. I wanted to be in the business of confidence.

I miss you so much.

I’ve been searching for a way to reconnect with who I really am. I want to make you proud, in more ways than just the financial aspects that I have tackled. I want to make a difference in this world. I want to use my money for good, like you and Dad would have. How do I choose? There are so many organizations that could use my help but I don’t want to blindly pick. I want something that speaks to me and my history. I want something that ignites my passionate side and something I will feel proud to have my name attached to.

Will you help me? Just give me a sign. Any sign at all to point me in the right direction.

I feel like I am losing sense of who I am as a person and I need you.

Love forever and always,

Your Daughter.”

The sound of Catherine closing her journal seemed to echo throughout the vast space that made up her office and she sighed loudly. Her heart ached for what she was missing in her life.

Catherine stared longingly at the tower of folders that sat on the corner of her desk and shook her head in response. “You really didn’t need to do this, Jessica,” she thought to herself as she pulled one free and watched in horror as the entire stack fell to the floor like a crumbling Jenga tower.