Working as a marketing assistant at beauty and makeup giant Ansen Creative Cosmetics (ACC) was not what twenty-six year old Cameron King wanted. But La Belle, Ansen's rival, wasn't hiring and ACC was the next best thing. So what can she do but accep...
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It didn't take long for everyone to settle themselves in the comfortable chairs of the conference room. Cameron didn't dare look around; for the first few weeks in any new setting, she felt awkward. Most times, she got over it, but that was when she was working with small marketing companies that could barely afford to pay her a living wage. She was not going to get over this any time soon, she thought.
Though working at Ansen wasn't in the plan, she did think that the building itself was beautiful. Unlike most multi-million dollar businesses, Ansen's building wasn't a glass-windowed skyscraper. It was a three-story renovated warehouse that was bustling with employees. The building itself was beautiful—bright, flowing murals covered the expanse of the building, highlighting the artists of the state. On the outside of the building was graffiti that was encouraged to be drawn—Bethany Williams made sure that she let everyone in the city know that she loved and appreciated the art and wouldn't report anyone who did it.
Inside, each floor had an old Hollywood glam style of decor, with murals of Josephine Baker, Dorothy Dandridge, Diahann Carroll, and other influential Black actresses and visionaries of their time painted throughout the building. It made Cameron's heart sing, while at the same time she wondered how La Belle looked on the inside. While on the tour, Alyssa had explained that the first floor housed Human Resources and the other administrative parts of the business—places that she would need to go to sooner or later.
The second floor was where the magic happened: marketing, advertising, sales, and the entire creative department of Ansen were located there. Multiple conference rooms, offices, and people were always around doing what they needed to keep Ansen's brand consistent and up to date. The place was made for inspiration—the soft, pastel-colored walls were covered in quotes, prints, and art made by North Carolinian locals and businesses. Each employee was encouraged to have a vision board in their cubicle, Alyssa had said.
The top floor was where the top brass were—the CEO, CFO, everything. It was the one floor Cameron hadn't seen yet; Alyssa's focus were on the first two floors.
"Let's get this meeting started, shall we?" Devika asked, clapping her hands twice. Cameron blinked quickly, startled. While she was deep in her thoughts, Selene had made her way back to her seat while Devika waited for everyone to attend to her.
"Good morning, everyone," Devika said. She waited for everyone to answer and gave a small smile. "First, I'd like to welcome our newcomer, Cameron King. She comes to us as a marketing assistant with five years of experience under her belt. According to Alyssa, this is her first experience working in the make-up industry, so let's teach her well."
Cameron took a deep swallow of air as fourteen pairs of eyes turned to look at her. She fought the urge not to shrink into her seat. She gave a small wave. Devika seemed to accept that and moved on.
"Our first order of business," Devika said, starting to pace, "is this year's marketing campaign. We all know how things go around here, but for Cameron's sake I'll explain.
