I'm Meant To Hate You

4

"See here, these are the sort of posts we need to be careful with." Mel said, pointing to a nearly naked picture of Emily surrounded by nearly naked men. I tried hard to not let it known that the picture had an affect on me as I turned away from the screen slightly.

"Why?" She asked, not offended but not happy by what she had been told. "I look hot in that."

"Whether you look hot or not has no meaning. In the picture, that's clearly staged, you're surrounded by men. That gives off the idea that you crave male attention, we need to balance the scales with some advances towards women. Empowerment, a feminist view, anything that's going to make a woman feel that you understood that being a woman doesn't evolve around the male gaze. In this picture, you're not showing any of that." Mel rambled on, clearly passionate about this.

"I don't want to balance the scale with advances towards women. Why would I want women looking at me in that way?"

"Slightly offensive on that one Miss Fox." I scolded her, displeased with her tone and line of thinking. "You've clearly misunderstood what Mel is trying to say. It's not about women looking at you sexually, it's about them feeling that you understand them. It's about you being someone that they can relate to, someone that they look up to, someone that protects women's rights even if it isn't significant. They want to feel included, by you posting a picture surrounded by men, it gives them the idea that they need to do that too, that they need to crave males attention. It's not about being against men, it's about showing that men and women can live together without the objectification of the two genders."

"God if you're so fucking passionate about it then why don't you go and do a Greta Thunberg about it." She snapped at me, a frown taking over her face.

"Do as you please then Miss Fox, I'll be in my office. Come up when you're ready to discuss the upcoming events on your calendar."I dismissed her, I was unable to get through to her and that was a very difficult thing for me. I always try to keep my heart out of things and keep it with my head, but when a client doesn't understand what we're trying to help them with, it can get frustrating.

—————

"I didn't realise you'd be upset over her already." Richard said as I marched past him into my office.

"I'm not." I huffed, rubbing my face with my hands and trying desperately to control my frustration. I didn't want it to seem that I couldn't do my job, because me and him both know that I am perfectly capable, but it made me wonder if there was too much between me and her. If there was too much history.

"If you're struggling, I can take over?" He offered.

"Absolutely not. I'm not giving up that easily."

"And there she is. Remember, patience Kiana. You can be as angry as you want when you're not in the building, but showing your feelings in here is a dangerous game to play, and you don't want to put yourself in such a vulnerable situation."

I agreed entirely with what he said. I knew that if I showed even the slightest speck of defeat in such a competitive scene then I would be walked all over almost straight away. I need to learn how to control my emotions. I had never had this issue before, only since she's arrived.

"You've never been like this, you're the most under control person I have ever met. Get that control back and use it Kiana. She needs a strong figure that isn't going to back down just because she managed to get to you." He said, walking towards the door and leaving me in silence for a few seconds before shouting in that she was coming up.

"Miss Fox." I said once she had entered the office. I didn't tell her to close the door, I thought it would be better to leave it open, especially because then Richard could come in and say something if things did get out of hand.

"Why do you keep calling me that when you know my name?" She asked as she sat at the other side of the desk in front of me.

"Because I don't feel the need to make things personal." I voiced my thoughts.

"We're a little past that don't you think? We've known each other forever." She said, almost bored with my efforts of trying to keep things professional as her eyes darted around my office to find something else that peaked her interest more than I did.

"We have never been past personal... This afternoon you have a premiere to attend, which I'm sure you're already aware of. I would like if you were ready for six, we have a driver that's expecting to pick you up by then. I'll already be in the car when we come to pick you up." I said, rummaging through a few papers on my desk as I tried to find her address to get a general idea of how far I will be travelling tonight.

"Why do you have to come?" She asked, throwing me off guard a little.

"I don't have to. I want to. I want to make sure everything runs smoothly, it's much more beneficial for the both of us if I'm there, believe me." I made an attempt to explain.

"Do you not trust me?" She said gently, almost as if my answer to her question was seriously going to mean something to her. My eyes snapped up to hers. I couldn't help but feel confused.

"It's not about trusting you. You're on top of the world at the minute Miss Fox, it's my responsibility to ensure that you stay there and you stay there safely. I'm there to keep the peace between other big names and you. And then if tonight goes well then I'll let you go on your own next time."

"You're treating me like a child again. I don't need you to hold my hand."

"Miss Fox, I won't be anywhere near you, I will be around but not to the point where people will know I'm with you. I'm just going to be close enough to step in if I have to." I said, trying not to sound agitated.

"And why would anyone listen to you?" She said curiously. Her eyes held my gaze sternly as she waited for my answer.

"I know a lot more people than you think. I didn't just arrive here to be your agent, I've been doing this for years. In those years I've been a few celebrity's agent. I'm a household name in some people's houses, even if I'm not in yours." I spoke, trying not too sound arrogant. I just wanted her to understand that I didn't just appear because I was requested to be her agent. My life didn't revolve around this one job.
"Now if we can go back to the matter at hand, is there anyone who I should be aware of that might be a cause of concern?"

"Nope." She dismissed my question, clearly still caught up over our previous conversation. I held myself back from outlining my feeling of not believing her.

"Okay then. Six tonight Miss Fox. Not a second afterwards. We have a time schedule to be ahead of." I said, willing our time together in my office to end. She seemed to take the opportunity to rise from her chair, leaving without even acknowledging what I had just said.

"You handled that very well I must say." Richard spoke up as he entered.

"Will you be there tonight?" I heaved out.

"I might drop by." He said unbothered.

"Yeah sure, just pop in. It's not as if I'm sat here stressing about the times that we are supposed to follow, knowing god damn well that she is not going to listen to my wishes."

"Oh don't be like that. I'll tell her to be on time. I won't mention you." He said, doing me a favour.

"Thank you Rich."

"You're welcome. It's the least I can do considering it's my fault you're in this situation in the first place." He almost sounded regretful.

"Don't feel bad, it's part of the job. If I didn't like it, I would have quit by now."

"We both know that this one is a little bit more than just a job Kiana." His tone almost seemed like a warning. I just didn't understand why, or even where it was coming from. What could he be warning me about?