A Chance At A Time

It was apparent that Saturday nights were made for queens like Harper Blaak. Well, she wasn't a queen in the title but she was one in deeds. There was no one in the city that threw a party like the way Harper did! Every elite son or daughter had to be there. The social media was buzzing with headlines that were already fixed for that particular night. It was the event of the year and everyone who wanted to be seen, was ready to flock to the entrance, trying to sneak past the security guards. Harper made sure the entrance was exclusive which made only the ones she deemed classy enough made it to her party. The DJ was flown from abroad and was staying in one of the five-star luxurious hotels of the city which happened to be owned by the Blaak family.  Only the best wines, champagnes, and liquors were being served at the party, the truck already in place stocking the kitchen and the food was being prepared by a chef who once served a European Royal family. What Harper wanted, Harper got and her father was more than happy to indulge her lifestyle. She was his only child and her mother had long passed so Casper Scott Blaak's life revolved around his daughter.  Casper Scott Blaak was a name that was associated with a lot of businesses including a string of luxurious first-class hotels, high-end apartment buildings in the best places of different cities, and two of the world-class golf courses. He made a name for himself also in the jewelry sector, creating exclusive pieces for different celebrities and important people. After the death of his wife almost ten years ago, he turned his entire attention to his daughter who he lavished with anything that money could buy. Harper owned two horses from a breed so expensive in the Arab world that only the royals were able to afford them. She lived the kind of life that many envied but only a handful enjoyed. For someone who had never raised her hand to do anything other than swipe her black card against the pay machine, scroll her phone or call for her personal assistant to do her bidding, it came as a full-blown shock when her father uttered the words that she was cut off from all of it so suddenly.  "But Dad--" "I don't want to hear a single word from you, young lady! Just because you have everything, it doesn't mean you should mistreat people the way you do." Casper exclaimed.  "That bloody woman shoved herself on me." Harper protested. "Plus, tonight is a very important night for me, so why don't we talk about this afterward, okay?" "She had a bad leg! She was falling and you pushed her into the swimming pool, Harper! Do you know how many times I had to watch that clip to see you intentionally shoving her into the pool and you dare talk to me about how tonight is important to you? It is everywhere and not even our IT team can take it down fast enough. The damage is done, the lady is suing and partners and pulling out. I lost the biggest deal just because my daughter is a heartless and spoiled brat!" Casper snapped. Harper pouted and crossed her arms. "She stepped on my new shoes!" Casper was left speechless and he just stared at his daughter for the longest time. He must have messed up somewhere in raising her right if she couldn't even feel remorseful for what she did. He never knew that by giving his daughter everything she wanted he was creating a ticking bomb that was bound to explode on his face. It finally did and left a shitload of a mess, one that not even a miracle could clean up! He blamed himself for Harper's attitude but she needed to know how to sympathize with others. Every paper and magazine was attacking her, saying that just because she was privileged, it didn't mean she was entitled to do what she did. People expected Casper to take action in disciplining her especially since she was the face of the Blaak multi-billion dollar empire. Not only was she the face but she had also put in a little effort in managing some of the issues in the business. The board of directors was hot-wired on his ass and they wanted answers; remove Harper as the face of the empire and clean up the mess. Casper had no choice but to take drastic measures that would teach Harper a thing or two about humanity.  He reached for the brown envelope on his desk and handed it to her. Harper gave a sigh as she opened it and Casper watched as her eyes widened as she read the contents. Her face turned red with anger as she seethed and looked up at her father.  "A government college! You have got to be kidding me." She scoffed and rolled her eyes then pressed her lips together into a thin line. Casper gritted his teeth and shook his head. "I am not. I have already withdrawn your applications to your previous university and you are already enrolled in a government university. Orientation week starts tomorrow. Bertha has already packed all that you are allowed to carry with you. She also handed in all your bank and credit cards, the keys to your cars, and every other luxury you have ever indulged under this roof--" "Dad!" A tear ran down her cheek as it finally clicked to her that her father was not kidding. He was not the joking type and he always made lousy jokes but she could see in his eyes that he was being dead serious about the situation. "I apologized. I posted the video this morning." "But that is your problem, Harper. You apologized to your social media fans. You didn't apologize to the actual victim. You will remain in your new school until you learn how to see people as humans and not as objects in your way that you can use whenever you feel like. You haven't been good at studying because you were always preoccupied with social media but now, you need to take your education seriously or else you will never get your old life back." "Dad..." Harper whimpered as she approached her father and grabbed his arm. "I am truly sorry. I will change, I swear. Please don't do this." Casper looked down at his daughter and pushed the brunette locks from her face then placed a kiss on her forehead. "I am doing this for you, Harper. You need to prove to me that you can change. You have one year to do so." "But daddy--" "Jerry!" Casper called for the security guard outside his office. He gritted his teeth as he looked at how scared and sorrowful Harper was when she looked at him. "Please escort my daughter upstairs to her room to pack her stuff for school. Take her to the plane and make sure she has boarded."  "Daddy, no!" Harper screamed but Jerry came forward and stood between her and Casper.  "I wish you all the luck in the world," Casper spoke, his throat thick with tears but he had no choice. He was doing the best thing for her and nothing could be better than to have her be in a situation that would make her realize that all the luxuries in life didn't amount to being sensitive to others. "Daddy!" Harper exclaimed as Jerry took her out of the room.                                                                                      ********** Harper was shell-shocked as she made her way to her room where she found only one bag of hers packed. Bertha stood beside it, her face sad and her arms wrung together in distraught. Tears ran down her cheeks as Bertha rushed to her and embraced her.  "I am so sorry, Miss." "Daddy won't even listen to me, Bertha. Maybe if you try to talk to him--" Harper started but Bertha shook her head. "I tried to but he wouldn't listen to anyone. I wish I could go with you but your father wouldn't let me. He says you have to do this yourself."  Harper had never felt that abandoned before. She stood among the people she knew were always there for her and loyal to her yet at that moment it felt as if she was completely alone. She felt like a queen that had dropped her glass crown and now it was cracked. The very foundations of her beliefs were cracked. Everything that she thought was in arm's reach, was so far away. Things started feeling unfamiliar and distant.  With a heavy heart, Harper gripped the handle of her suitcase and turned to Jerry. A small smile appeared on her face and she said. "This is just a short-term thing. Come tomorrow and daddy would have forgotten all about it." Jerry's eyes were somber as he stared at Harper and she was just seconds away from losing her mind. He opened his mouth as if he were about to add something but ended up clamping it again and giving her and small nod. He extended out his hand and took the bag from Harper before leading the way out. "Stay safe, Miss Harper!" Bertha exclaimed in distraught. "Take care of yourself." Harper tried to put on a brave face as she gave Bertha a nod. Fine, she was being kicked out of the place she had called her home for the longest time but that didn't mean she was going to lose her status as the heiress to that empire. Fine, she did make a mistake but she apologized for it and even some of her fans were on her side. She didn't know how to react to the woman who stepped on her Stuart Weitzman shoes. She didn't even see the woman approach her until it was too later. She wasn't paying attention to her because she was busy smiling at the cameras and making sure her best angle was taken, for the sake of the face of the Blaak empire.  Her reaction to the disabled woman was almost automatic, remove the person who was stepping on her toes, on her expensive shoes. Fine, her reaction was above average but was she the only one who would have reacted that way in her situation? Would everyone else allow the woman to step on their toes, smile kindly while telling her politely to move away? Harper was never the sensitive kind. Maybe it was because the world that she knew was cold and cruel and she needed to embrace that nature in order to survive. She suffered among her friends, among her father's friends, and just among people she didn't know but did that really make her a bad person? She needed to develop a thick skin to survive but the price was high and it cost her, her emotional aspect.  How many good things had Harper done for her father and why only this one mistake made him madder than a pit bull on steroids? What did she do wrong to make him take such a drastic action towards her?  Her phone suddenly trilled and when she looked down at the number she realized it was from her best friend. She quickly answered it. "Harper, what is this I hear about the party being canceled today? Your father just posted on social media that you will not be able to host the party tonight." She exclaimed. Harper sighed heavily and said. "Something happened, Alexia, and I don't think I will be around for a while." "What? What do you mean you won't be around for a while? We are going to orientation week together next, remember? Our apartment is ready to move into and our timetables have been sent online--haven't you seen that?" Alexia chuckled nervously then asked. "What happened, Harper?" Harper sniffed as new tears came down her face. "Too much has happened, Alexia, and I can't talk about it over the phone but I am flying out of the city tonight." There was a long pause on the other side before Alexia asked. "Where are you going?" "I have no idea but it has been decided that I need this."  "Is it about the woman you shove in the swimming pool? I thought that was taken care of? The chief director issued an apology just now and they said you have been removed as the face of the company until further notice. I thought that was punishment enough." "What?" Everything in Harper's body ceased. She was removed from the company and her father didn't even bother to tell her this? "Yeah, the chief director said they will be holding an interview to have the new face of the company," Alexia said then quietly stated. "I thought you knew about this." "Listen, Alexia, can I talk to you later?" Harper said and when her friend agreed, she hung up her phone and tried logging into her company account only to find that the passwords have been changed. She pulled up all the new videos on the topic Alexia talked about and realized that she had been completely cut off.  Gritting her teeth, she marched into her father's office before Jerry could stop her. "It was not enough that you cut me off financially and physically and you also decided to remove me as the image of the company." "It was something had to be done because you need to let people cool down first." He answered. "You still remain a prominent member of the board--" "Yet, I can't access any information from my company account." Harper scoffed. "Use the one year I have given you to give me a good reason on reinstating you, Harper."  Harper nodded. "Fine. Do whatever you want. In fact." She moved to her father's desk and placed her wallet and her phone on his desk. "You can keep these as well." "Harper--" He started but she held her hand up to stop him then walked out. She couldn't believe what she did because the moment she left the house, she had no money and no means of communication. What was she thinking? She turned around looking at the massive mansion behind her and wondering if she should just go inside and get her stuff but her chin suddenly arched up. Though was glass crown was cracked, it was still on her head and she was going to walk out of that place with pride. With a sigh, she turned to Jerry who held the door to the car that was going to take her to the airport open.  Goodbye, Harper Blaak, the multi-billion dollar empire heiress... She entered the car not noticing her father standing at the window of his office, looking remorsefully down at her leave.