Chiot - H.S. (on hold)

.2 this is why you should check your emails

***

For the majority of my life, I had tried to stay out of the limelight. I didn't want to be the center of attention, even if it was for something I was proud of. I guess that's why being a photographer was so appealing to me;  I could stay behind the camera and no one would pay me any mind. 

Even when I started working for Gucci. 

Celebrities and models alike were not too concerned with my presence. And I completely understood that. They were there for a purpose, so was I. We get our jobs done, wave goodbye (if even) and then go back to our vastly different lives as if we'd never even met. 

And there's nothing wrong with that.

Walking into work that morning, all I could think about was what Giselle had said the previous day. Were my standards too high? Perhaps. Did I think that was a bad thing? Not in the slightest.

"Nancy, how are you?" 

I smiled as I stopped at the front desk. Our intern-receptionist, Conner, was always suspiciously happy. He was a uni student, and even though I didn't like making assumptions about people, sometimes I wished I could have some of whatever he was on. 

"I'm pretty good, 'n you?" I asked, composing myself out of my own thoughts. 

"I've gotta tell ya, I'm pretty jealous of you today," he told me, sighing giddily. 

"Oh?" I asked, intrigued. 

"Did you check your email schedule for this week?" His lighthearted smile turned to an anticipatory grin. 

"Not yet.." I pulled out my phone nervously. Conner watched me sign into my work email, my fingers shaking slightly with the feeling of him waiting on me. 

As I read through the email from my supervisor and scrolled through names, I looked up at him, confused. "I don't mean to be rude, but am I supposed to recognize any of these people?"

Without missing a beat, he simply replied, "at the bottom there."

I shifted my eyes back down to my phone. 

Harry Styles x Gucci Initial Meeting: 

Hair/Makeup: Violetta Henderson 

Photographer: Nancy Townes 

Location Scout: Scott Gabriel-Tickner 

Senior Campaign Coordinator: Mina Kulleshov  

Assistant Campaign Coordinator: Kevin Walker 

***

Photographer: Nancy Townes. The words rang in my head.  

"Nancy, you alright?" Conner asked, pulling my head back into the moment.

"Y-yeah. Fine, I'm fine."

Harry Styles. Harry. Styles. How..

"Why isn't Gianna on this? Isn't she 'Senior Creative Director'?" I asked, trying not to sound as frazzled as I was.

"Marcus wants to see how you do with more creative freedom." He leaned over his desk and put his hand up to the side of his mouth. "I heard Gianna's getting fired.. But you didn't hear it from me." He sat back down, adding a wink to solidify his reputation as office gossip.

"So I'm in charge.."

"To an extent. I know Marcus wants you to lead the meeting." He smiled, knowing full well how I hate working under pressure. 

I sighed. "Why didn't I know all of this before today?"

He grew understandably defensive. "Maybe if you checked your email more often, you'd have more than two hours to prepare."

"Right. Sorry. I'm going to get started on this I guess." 

"No hard feelings, good luck! I know you'll be great in there!" As I began to walk past his desk, he added a passionate, "and tell Harry he's perfect for me, 'kay?!"

I turned around, face red. "Okay." I returned his enthusiastic thumbs-up and turned away.

What am I going to do?

***