Public Relations

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Bennet

The doors closed, removing her from his view. A small smile broke across his face. He couldn't remember the last time a person spoke to him in such a way. Bennet was used to grown men groveling at his feet and women acting less than dignifying for a chance at his wallet. But here was this young woman, in questionable fashion giving him a piece of his mind. 

He turned to look at the man beside his side. He stood there still staring up at him, his round glass reflecting the ceiling lights. Both men stared at the other, wondering what could be said about the situation. They hadn't even been in a situation like this before."Bennet, should I speak to the lawyers? This is a lawyer situation, isn't it?" Alistars voice was boyish and matched his young face. While he and Bennet were both 26, Alistar looked 19.

"Arrange the meeting with her first. We need a date penciled in, and then the lawyers will be told a small amount of information beforehand. Only the basics to construct a good argument and a small payout will be the end of this problem. I don't need any further issues with my parents." He flashed Alistar a brief smile as the doors began to open. He stepped out into the entranceway of the top floor. A small reception desk sat straight ahead of the doors, and the large exterior wall on the right was large windows overlooking the London streets below. Two small corridors run on either side of the desk. The walls were made of frosted glass, clearly hiding conference rooms and larger offices.

Bennet walked towards his office on the right of the reception desk, but he stopped before walking past the desk. His receptionist was absent from her seat, which was unusually outside of her lunch hours. "Alistar, where is June?" Alistar looked up from his planner at the empty chair. "I do not know. She isn't scheduled to not be here. I will find out."  Alistar smiled and walked towards a small desk nook just further down from June's reception desk, occupying a small part of the large window. 

"I'd like to know where she is when you find out, please."Bennet grabbed his tie to loosen it from his neck, wondering if there was a worse item of clothing to exist, and opened his office door. His desk faced away from the large window wall overlooking London. Two small armchairs on the sat right side of the doorway with a small glass end table between them facing away from the frosted glass wall that separated him from Alistar. Large wooden bookshelves sat framing the left wall, holding various books published by them. 

Marius stood awkwardly in the middle of the office, he swayed from each foot slowly, as if he were standing on a boat. Bennet had almost forgotten he'd told the man to come to his office. Bennet straightened his posture and quickly fixed his tie, he cleared his throat causing Marius to straighten like a puppet having his strings pulled. 

 "You won't be let go over this incident," Marius relaxed his shoulders and exhaled deeply. "However, you will fire the stylist responsible telling them neither you nor this company will provide future references. And you will write an apology to the young model. Understood?" Marius nodded aggressively. He took Bennet's hand in his own and shook it, "Thank you! I can do that. Again I'm terribly sorry this even happened!" 

Bennet quickly pulled his hand back from the man and dismissed him out of his office. He didn't like socialising with those who worked in the studios. To him, they were a waste of the company's resources and damaged the image of the publishing house. However, his father had promised his sister, Henley she could run her own portion of the company and she introduced the magazine. Even though it was hers, Bennet still found himself having to sort out her paperwork and appointments. 

He stretched up towards the ceiling, trying to wake himself up. A small headache began to build in the back of his eyes. He didn't need any more stress for the day. He removed his hair from its bun and shook it loose, rubbing the spot it had sat on. He kicked the door shut gently with his foot, reloosened his tie, and moved slowly to sit in one of his armchairs.