"No, Ray. We cannot make her cancel. How long has it been going on between you two?"
Ray refused to respond. They have been going at it for a while, and he's tired of arguing.
"I cannot do it. You know I can't. If you want her to stay, go find another photographer. She is scheduled to start at eleven o'clock, it's only nine."
"Ray, she is-" Laura said, but he cut her off. "I am done. I have told you everything you need to know, and it is not going to happen."
Ray started walking away, until he found himself in his office. From a distance, he could see Laura talking to a woman, and as he looked closer, he realized it is Olivia. The two women shook hands and parted away. Sitting on his chair, Ray glanced over the cubicles in front of the glass door from his office. Behind him, he opened one of the drawers and started reading through his schedule for the day. It was not Mia he was supposed to see, but Laura did not tell him sooner.
Last week, the creative team was able to contact Desirée, and despite her tiring days touring around the country, performing one show after another, she is able to include the photoshoot as a part of her busy schedule. She seemed to cancel at the last minute, and Laura did not bother telling Ray whether he will approve the artist she would try to book.
As per Ray's observation, Laura has always been one of his assistants who appear to be headstrong, and although it's a work to be with her sometimes, he grew to like her, since despite her temperament, she's always been dedicated to her job, and being an assistant to Ray is not a walk in the park. She has been working for Ray for more than a year, and his position in the big and diverse creative team of the fashion magazine had steadily gone up over the years. From being a junior assistant to his former seniors, to being a creative consultant, now he is the chief creative officer of Vogue.
Working for Vogue has been the greatest source of joy for Ray, and he has always had an incredible eye for fashion and art. Being the CCO of the country's leading fashion magazine has opened several doors for him, such as being invited to the most important runway shows in town, and meeting with supermodels whom he's admired for a long time.
Despite the milestones that he was able to reach, he also experienced a lot of ups and downs, some of which almost derailed his career. It was not long ago when one of his photoshoots caused a media uproar, when one of his staff members accidentally featured a child in a scene which was interpreted to be a representation of child labor. It was not an immediate issue. It took months after the photoshoot for people to circulate their opinions about it, and Vogue released a statement that was personally written by Ray, publicly posted as their team's public apology. From Ray's point of view, he was not that affected by what happened, but he was scared, too. He had worked so hard to be where he is now, and he's not willing to lose everything.
Nonetheless, he remained as Vogue's CCO, and the noise went down. This has been the most scandalous moment in his career, but he thought that he was fortunate enough to still be able to continue his role as one of the executive officers of the magazine.
"Ray?" A voice from the doorway stopped Ray from his thinking.
"Yes." he replied. "I'll be out in a minute."
A few seconds later, Ray and his colleague are walking side by side to have their lunch.
"What was that? You and Laura were arguing, I think it's about the supposed cover girl for the month?" asked Daniel, entering the restaurant they've been eating at for the last few days. It was only recently opened, and both of them are into Korean American cuisine.
"Do you know who she is? The singer?"
Daniel signaled for the waiter, so that they can order. "Of course, isn't that Mia? She's, like, a popstar. I haven't heard any song from her, but I heard she's great."
"I've never met her in person, but we've talked over the phone. That's when it happened."
"Why were you on the phone with her?" asked Daniel. "And what happened?"
"Oh Dan. It's a long story," Ray huffed. "You know who Helena is, right? The model. I've been friends with her awhile now. I had to work with her for the promotion of her... what do you call the shortened album? Ah. The EP. But she's always busy with her shows, and this one time, when I had to call her for one of the shoots, she's with Mia, the artist she collaborated with for a song on the EP. I was polite, I didn't know where it went wrong, but one thing led to another, and the next thing I knew, Mia and I we were on the phone, shouting at each other. She knew my name, and I didn't even have to introduce myself. Maybe she just heard my name somewhere and figured it was the same voice."
"That was silly. You didn't even know what started the whole thing?" Daniel laughed.
"Yeah... no. I don't know. She started it." Ray said, taking a sip of his freshly made mango juice.
Daniel ordered the same thing. He's been eating lunch with Dan for more than a year, after working on a special edition of a Vogue issue for its anniversary. He liked Dan, as a colleague, a friend, and a mentor. As a colleague, he's always been the one to take the initiative, and sometimes, Ray liked being a follower. Their friendship is mainly built on their shared love of nature, and if they're not in the headquarters of Vogue, they're either hiking, taking pictures in the wild, or just strolling around.
Even though Ray's position is much higher than Daniel's role, he's still very much aware of the fact that Dan's decades-long experience in the fashion industry is enough to earn him other people's respect for his contribution to Vogue and to the fashion world. As one of the magazine's creative consultants, he had also received international recognition for the innate talent for creativity he has showed over the years.
Daniel received a text from one of their colleagues and requested for him to get back to the offices as soon as possible. Ray finished eating his food and walked back to the building, and on his way to his office, he saw Laura with Mia, instructing her to do different poses, with a photographer he has not seen before. A second after stepping into his office, he noticed a green envelope sitting atop his table. Inside it, a handwritten letter is folded. It read: Ray, this is Mia. I'm sorry for the conflict that I've caused, and I want to make it up to you. Laura told me everything. I'd like to talk some other time. Maybe we can grab a coffee when you're free? - Mia.
He folded it back into its envelope and packed his things. There is not much to do today, and he doesn't want to talk to Mia just yet. On the train ride home, he saw a woman reading the latest issue of Vogue. He contributed a short article on it. The woman raised her face and saw him. She smiled, seemingly recognizing him, and he smiled back, instinctively. The train ride lasted for about twenty minutes. He is about to reach his doorstep when the door opened. Inside, a man the same age as Ray is standing, waiting for him to come inside.
Neither are talking, but it remained a comfortable silence between the two friends. They have been living together for a while, and it's always been easy for them to be around each other. Bernie's a good cook, and Ray likes to clean. The rest of their obligations are split in half. Financially, Bernie's also making a lot, which helps the both of them maintain their comfortable and convenient lifestyle. Bernie's an online freelance artist, and even though Ray has been bugging him for a while to apply for Vogue, Bernie has never liked the idea. He's used to living a simple, quiet life, and the thought of himself experiencing fame is enough for him to consistently turn down every offer Ray has made. Ray, on the other hand, keeps telling his best friend how much of his talent is wasted if he's not allowing himself to grow in a more professional space, but Bernie insists that it's enough for him to make a living out of it, and that Ray's career isn't for him. The two talks about it once in a while, but nothing ever comes out of it. Just yesterday, they talked about it again, and Bernie almost snapped, but he kept his cool. He thought that Ray's not the type of person he'll want to fight with, so he just walked away when things were about to heat up. Nonetheless, even after their small fights, the two still talk afterwards, and act like nothing happened.
