Audacious & Salacious in Stilettos

God, I love how people magically appear in my life who unknowingly give me the answer to a question I’m desperately seeking to solve.

Last night, I felt compelled for some reason to go to O’Brien’s Pub in I’On, so Apollo and I decided to saunter over for a beer or two before calling it a night. There was a group of four men sitting outside, and as I approached, I immediately recognized one of them—but for the life of me, I couldn’t recollect how. The memory toyed on the tip of my tongue obnoxiously, but a slight raising of my chin was the best I would concede.

When he reminded me later of how we first met, I almost swooned from a heady mixture of excitement, curiosity, and relief… along with a sneaking suspicion that the imminent answers regarding the night of my birthday might actually be chloroform instead of the smelling salts I was hoping for.

That night is its own epic story of hilarious proportions, but I fear I’ll have to leave you wanting for those details. After all, what’s the first rule of Fight Club? At the very least, I can offer that I unknowingly made quite a good first impression—despite the jeers of that insecure inner voice I can never seem to shake.

Enter Jamie Dornan (Sort Of)

We shall dub him Jamie Dornan, because I later shared a quote with him that resonated so incredibly strongly that he said, “I’m going to have this written on my epitaph.” It’s from a very unlikely book, yet one that has always stuck with me when I find myself among someone I sense has the capacity to be a great leader.

Confirmation bias aside—lo and behold—I discovered he is notoriously exactly that.

“Business is all about people, Miss Steele, and I’m very good at judging people. I know how they tick, what makes them flourish, what doesn’t, what inspires them, and how to incentivize them. I employ an exceptional team, and I reward them well.
My belief is that to achieve success in any scheme, one has to make oneself master of that scheme—know it inside and out, know every detail. I work hard, very hard, to do that. I make decisions based on logic and facts. I have a natural gut instinct that can spot and nurture a good solid idea and good people. The bottom line is it’s always down to good people.”
— Christian Grey, Fifty Shades of Grey

Yes, I understand the subject matter of the novel; however, that doesn’t diminish the legitimacy of the quote.

To my delightful surprise, Jamie Dornan informed me that the actor from the movie series was actually born in his hometown. Well, I don’t believe in coincidences—and it’s moments like that when I truly feel the magic in this world.

The Moment of Recognition

At some point in our conversation, I had a point I wanted to make, but I had to find an article I’d written because I couldn’t say it more perfectly than I did then.

It always pleases me when I hear someone laugh at the jokes I’ve laced in—stopping my recitation to point out what they particularly enjoyed. And at the end, he asked me a question that took me completely off guard:

“Who wrote that?”

“What do you mean? Me.”

“You wrote that? That’s fucking incredible!”

I nodded, and I was overcome with pride in that moment. It wasn’t until then that I realized this was exactly what I so desperately needed to hear.

The Universe Cracks Me Over the Head

The Universe was Rafiki, using Jamie Dornan as the staff to crack me smartly on the skull—allowing revelation to blossom in my brain from the intracranial hemorrhage. As the epiphany coagulated, it miraculously freed me from the dangerously dense fog of fear, confusion, uncertainty, and pain I’d been living in for years.

In that instant, the Universe danced in triumph, repeating once more that cryptic but crucial directive I finally understood:

“Remember who you are.”

To be gifted such words of praise by someone so personally accomplished—having mastered multiple arenas from sports to business to art—was nothing short of divine timing.

The best part? I was able to smirk and say, “That’s not even close to my best one.”

Permission Not Required

And to anyone who claims to genuinely care about me—please do not, and I mean this with all due respect, text me some derivative of Why are you putting your business on the street like that?

The answer is quite simple: because this is the only thing that truly makes me feel alive.

When people go out of their way to tell me that what I wrote rang so true to their soul, I feel connection. As I see, I am seen.

And I’d like to gently remind those who have anything negative to say instead of offering the tribal support that’s due—it’s comical anyone would think I need their permission.

The Huntress

I have never desired to be the version of myself anyone else wanted me to be.

Be careful now. I might be a playful kitten by nature—but when it comes to matters of the Pride, remember who does the hunting.