Be Mine

61

Carlos arrived at the shoot. He just got out of his car when one of his staff, Hannah, approached him immediately. Looks like she has been waiting for him.

"Fill me in, Hannah." He says while getting some of his things from the back seat.

"Sir, parang biglang nagbago po yung isip nung client. Sinunod lang naman po namin yung napagkasunduan sa proposal. Hindi rin po sila happy sa models na nakuha natin. Masyado daw Caucasian looking. Gusto nila Filipino kasi yun naman daw talaga yung brand nila. We tried to contact our models pero may ibang commitment po." Hannah explains while they walk inside.

He tries to come up with a solution in his head while he listens. He needs to convince their client.

"Sinong nandito from RG Textiles?" he asked.

"Si Mr. Santiago Castillo po." Hannah answers him.

They reached the studio wherein he saw how one guy is getting mad at their photographer while looking at the monitors. In one corner, he saw how the models are just waiting for instructions. He handed Hannah some of his things and approached where the monitors are.

"Santi!" he greets with a happy tone, hoping it will lighten the mood.

"Caloy, ano ba 'to?" Santi asks him. Caloy knows that the atmosphere is tensed. "Hindi naman ito ang pinag-usapan natin noong final meeting. Bakit ganito ang layouts na ginagawa ng team mo?" Santi continues to reprimand him.

"Santi, relax. Let me fix this."

He looked around the room. "Everyone... let's have a 15-minute break! Hannah, pakibilhan na lang muna ng merienda for everyone.." he commands. He saw how everyone started to leave the studio, leaving him and Santi alone.

"Caloy, kayo ang kinuha ni Mommy kasi malaki ang tiwala niya sa inyo. Kung ako ang tatanungin, marami –"

"Santi, I'm not here to disappoint you more, okay? Dumating ako to help you."

"Look, I want things to be clear. If this is your way para gumanti sa kapatid ko dahil sa ginawa niya, pwes ako ang makakabangga mo."

He sighs. Yes, Santi is Mel's brother. Half-brother. They have the same mother. Santi shares the same age as his and Mel is five years younger than them. He and Santi used to hang-out and became good friends but ever since he and Mel broke up, they lost contact.

"Santi, kilala mo ako. Hindi ako ganito magtrabaho. Besides, let's not include your sister here. Now, I have here the proposal and another plan for you if you are willing to listen."

Santi just stood there looking at him but eventually he nodded which relieves him. He knows Santi is just being protective of the company. They sat down and he started discussing his plan for the shoot, trying his best to convince Santi.

After going through the proposal and a few requests, the shoot continued. Caloy became hands-on during the whole shoot. He would take a few glances at Santi to check if he is happy and so far, no complaints yet.

The shoot ended and everyone gathered at the monitors to double check everything.

"So, Santi, are we okay here? May mga requests ka pa ba?" he asks, hoping that they can now all agree.

Santi sighed, nodded and looked at him. "Well, so far so good, just show me the final layout sa next meeting."

"I will and we will keep in touch." Caloy assures him.

Santi offers his hand and Caloy took it. "Thank you, Caloy. Sana hindi na mauulit ito." He nodded with that. "Mauuna na kami. I still have another meeting."