Living with the Bad Boys

Thirty-One

"Feyrah, now that you've had your rest and fun, you really have to start taking your job seriously. What would the other employees think if I let my undedicated daughter into the company without a single thought? They would talk."

We were in her office contemplating my life choices.

"Mom it was one night. It probably won't happen again." I said rolling my eyes to her dramatics.

"One night. On the first day?"She gave me a look.

A knock came from the door.

"Mrs. Bonheur, there's a VIP client on the line." my mother's secretary peeked in.

"Ok, you can go." And like that, I was dismissed.

I was spinning in the glass meeting room in no time with Violet and two Americanos in her hand.

"I take it that the conversation was okay?" She asked setting my cup in front of me.

"Yeah, I mean, she didn't give me that uncomfortable stare like I thought she would." I said adding milk and sugar.

"To be honest, there aren't many things for you to do. You were such a sudden addition to the staff that we didn't make any work for you. But for now, you can start on these." Violet said passing me a thick folder.

There were collections of models and designs stapled together in categories.

"Your mother would like you to choose the models for the next line for the upcoming season." She said peeking over my shoulder. "We have to check with our regular photography guy, so if you have extra time on your hands, you can look for him."

I flipped through the models but almost spat out my coffee as I did a double take on a specific model.

"Is that..." I started to ask.

"Oh yeah, he was pretty big on social media so having him would be great too." Violet replied.

I smiled to myself before closing the folder on Ezra's familiar face.

**

Beads of sweat were already forming on my forehead when I arrived at the photo shoot two days later. If I had known sooner that it would be ninety degrees, I probably wouldn't have worn jeans and brought some hair ties. Instead I wore dark jeans and cardigan. My Uber driver thought I was crazy.

I had sent out confirmation letters to the selected models to meet here at the photo shoot.

I had chosen Ezra and four other people, and not just because of personal connections, but because his social media fans would actually boost our business.

After a light stalk into his Instagram and Twitter account, I found he was really popular. Every girl who followed him gave swooning comments. He even had several fan accounts.

He was a new model though. He just recently signed with a company that we partner with, so he was an obvious choice.

The photo shoot was already taking place which I was really grateful for, and was glad that I had asked the makeup and dressing team to come early to set up. I met Robin, our photographer, a long time ago when my mother invited me to a past photo shoot, and during that short time, he had figured out how my brain functioned.

Ezra and another guy were posing on the set while the girls were changing into the next outfits.

"Feyrah?" Ezra asked when he finally saw me.

"Hey!" I greeted with a laugh.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I got signed by the modeling company last year. I didn't get the chance to tell you when we met." He said, embracing me in a welcoming hug. "What about you? I didn't know you worked for your mom."

"Yeah, it's a long story, but I'm here now. Wow, you look great!" I said, laughing as he gave a dramatic turn.

"Girl, I've never looked better. This is the first time I've ever worn your mother's clothing before... Too much out of my budget. Forget me, YOU! You look fantabulous." He said giving series of loud claps as I did my own little twirl.

The other models stopped to stare at us while Robin was giving me the kind yet impatient smile.

"We need to grab a coffee after." I said pushing Ezra back onto the set.

"Feyrah!" It was one of the makeup girls, Sorra. I had met her in middle school in cosmetology and hooked her up with my mom's makeup girls. She didn't go to high school, but she did get so much experience shadowing some of the best makeup artists in the world, that she was permanently hired.

"It's been so long!" She exclaimed, squeezing the air out of me and piercing my ears out with her ultra Mariah Carey whistle note.

Teryn, the other makeup girl came from behind the vanity mirror stand and came rushing to join in on the hug.

Though they weren't related, after the two met, they've been attached at the hip.

The models were switching between the outfit coordinators and the set. Sorra and Teryn quickly went back to the models to change their eye makeup according to their outfits.

I watched the entire photoshoot between the camera and the computer monitor, pointing out specific aspects to show for each article of clothing.

After Ezra's final shoot, he changed and rushed over to me.

"Can I buy you a drink?" He asked grabbing his keys and escorting me out the door.

He drove me to a nearby cute cafe.

After I ordered and received my iced tea, we chose a seat in a high table next to the large store windows.

"So tell me again how you got into this business." I asked.

"Well, after so many years of girls cat calling me down the street, I thought I should give it a try." He said sighing dramatically and flipping his imaginary hair.
"Nah, I was grabbing something to bite with a couple of my friends when a weird person scouted me. I didn't think much of it until later when my mom's business was failing. I decided to take a risk and turned out to be legit." He shrugged,

"That's so cool! It's great to see you again!" I grinned.

"Yeah... It's still a little embarrassing." He said rubbing his hand behind his neck.

"You're becoming the new face of Bonheur Fashion. That's nothing to be embarrassed about." I complimented.

"And am I to expect you as the new chief executive?" He asked.

I sighed.

"I'm not sure if that's what I want to pursue. My mom definitely wants to pass the reigns soon, but I'm not sure if I want it. I feel like it would be like I was bred to do this task, and that seems too sad as a reality." I confessed.

"Honestly, can't relate. My brother already runs my dad's restaurant and my sister already makes the 8 digits so I'm just the 'whatever' kid." He laughed.

"Not even. You're the 'model' kid." I said, regardless of my laugh.

"That's so wrong in so many ways." He laughed.

We ended up leaving at the cafe's closing time with our now-cold coffee creating a ring around the wood table.

I called an Uber to take me back.

"We'll be seeing each other a lot then, yeah?" He asked, waiting next to me by the curb.

"I guess so, Mr. Model." I teased.

He waited with me until my Uber pulled up.

He gave me a wave goodbye and I couldn't help but smile to myself as I got in.

*************************

HELLOOOO IM BACK!

Yes, it's been quite a while, so I thank you guys for sticking with me to this chapter.

I tried to make it longer than usual to make up.

I also wanted to reintroduce Ezra into the story until the end, which I hope is coming soon~

Thanks again for reading!

-Yoonerator out