Mr. Bad Influence

Chapter 8 - Part 3

"Good, good. Hold that pose, I love that pose."

Kerri remained in her pose while the photographer clicked away. Then she tucked her chin in and pushed one of her shoulders forward. She remained in that position for a few seconds before moving on to another pose.

"Perfect. Let's get you into another outfit."

She changed out of her current off-shoulder peach-colored dress and white mary-jane shoes and into a pair of skinny jeans and a sleeveless pastel yellow top. She walked barefooted to the makeup chair and settled in while a makeup artist worked on her face and another dusted powder on her arms.

Then she felt her hair getting tugged at, probably by the hairstylist to create another look for this outfit.

The second round of makeup was much faster.

"Done."

Kerri put on her heels and strode over to the white backdrop. There was now a light gray couch in the middle of the set, and she took a seat while the photographer's assistant adjusted the lighting and reflector until the photographer nodded and waved him off.

Another round of endless posing continued while the photographer clicked away, sometimes giving her instructions on where he wanted her limbs.

"How much longer will you take?" a woman in a black sleeveless dress asked. The woman's long mocha-brown hair was swept over to rest on one side of her shoulders, the frame of her matte black glasses holding her bangs by the side of her face.

In one of her hands was an iPad in a brown leather case. Kerri supposed that was her interviewer for the magazine feature.

The photographer took a few more shots before turning to the woman. "She's all yours."

Kerri stood and took the woman's outstretched hands.

"Hi, Kerri, I'm Kimberly. We have a conference room prepared for you."

"Let me remove my makeup first."

"Of course. Your assistant already knows where to go. She'll take you there when you're ready."

"Okay. Great."

"Is there anything I can get you? Coffee? Smoothie?"

"Water is enough." She returned to the seat that she had spent hours on. She wished she could wash her hair as well, but that would have to wait.

After she changed her clothes, she put on her sunglasses and followed Dana down for her interview.

"Hi, Kerri." Kimberly fiddled with her iPad. "Do you need anything?"

"I'm fine." She took a gulp of water. "We can begin."

Kimberly started with the usual questions regarding Kerri's latest movie and went on to ask about her new role in the movie. "Everyone's surprised that you were chosen for the role. There will be quite a few action scenes, right?"

She nodded. "I think I got it because of those scenes."

Kimberly arched her brow.

"At the audition, they were making everyone watch a scene and try their best to repeat it on the spot. It wasn't easy and most people were rather clueless."

"And you were able to do that?"

Kerri smiled. "I was just watching. After all, I was there for another role." The sweet girl-next-door role that she'd always played in. "But I thought it would be fun to give it a try."

"I heard you nailed it."

"It really was like learning a new dance."

"Ah ... your competitive dancing days really helped then."