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“No,” I say, stepping closer, my tone leaving no room for argument, “I’m not overreacting. This is my shoot, and I’m the one in charge. You don’t get to make these kinds of decisions on a whim. You’re here to take the photos, not to dictate how our models should dress.”
There’s a brief silence as the words sink in. I can see the model relax a little, her arms uncrossing, and the rest of the crew seems to be holding their breath.
Jonathan looks like he wants to argue, but something in my expression must warn him off. He huffs and turns away, muttering under his breath, but he doesn’t push it further.
I turn to the model, giving her a reassuring smile. “We’re going back to the original outfit. It was perfect, and you’re going to look amazing.”
She smiles back, clearly relieved. “Thank you, Lucia.”
I nod, already turning to the crew to get things back on track. “Alright, everyone, let’s get moving. We’ve got a cover to shoot. Oh, and I brought tacos for everyone. You can help yourselves to them, on the table. Except you, Jonathan,” I say in a teasing voice.
Nearly everyone laughs. Jonathan even manages a small smile. The tension dissipates as I start directing the shoot. The team falls into place, the model changes back into the original outfit, and Jonathan, although he’s still sulking a little, does his job. The rest of the shoot goes by without a hitch and I’m glad when it’s finally over.
Simone follows me as I head downstairs to my office. She shuts the door behind us as I practically flop down onto my chair.
“One of these days, I’ll shove the heel of my boots into Jonathan’s shifty eyes,” I mutter under my breath.
Simone still hears me, and her lips twitch as she settles down into the seat in front of me. “I’d pay to see that.”
“How much are we talking?” I ask seriously, sitting up and clasping my hands together.
Money’s my greatest motivation in life, a fact that nearly everyone around me knows. I didn’t become the youngest executive manager atHaute Couturemagazine for nothing. I crave success. My sister always says it’s because I think I have to prove something to myself. Or maybe to her. Or our dead father. Or maybe to the entire world. I’m constantly working to ensure that no one ever underestimates me.
I can do anything I want to.
Simon shakes her head. “I was joking, Ms. Kent.”
“I know.” I grin. “So, what’s up? How’s the rest of my day looking?”
“You have a meeting with the other execs to finalize preparations for this month’s publication. And then another meeting with Hans to try to convince him to give us the scoop on his upcoming collection.”
“Oh, right. Did you look into him? He’s not going to agree to work with us without a proper bribe,” I say, my lips curling with distaste at the thought of the designer.
Like most designers, Hans is a diva. When you have talent like his, being a diva is excusable. Still, handling designers like him is one of the more annoying parts of my job. I have a notoriously short fuse, but I’ve been working hard to temper it. I’ve had to in the past few months.
“Yeah. I arranged for you two to have dinner at a trendy Chinese restaurant that just opened,” she informs me.
My frown deepens. “I hate Chinese food, Simone.”
I’m an enormously picky eater. It’s one of my more endearing qualities. At least, I think it is. My sister would not agree withthat statement considering my eating habits used to drive her crazy when I was younger.
“I know,” she says sympathetically. “But Hans does, and we’ve got to make him happy if we want him to work with us.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I mutter. “Anything else?”
I’m already dreading the dinner. Hans can be pretty unpleasant. This meeting is going to go one of two ways—either I charm his leather pants off, or I end up throwing my drink in his face by the end of it.
Fingers crossed.
CHAPTER 2
Ivan
As soon as emotions get in the way, you lose.
In all my years of living, I’ve come to realize and embody a particularly simple truth. Human beings would be so much better off if they didn’t let their feelings rule their every decision. A plethora of the world’s problems find their root cause in the depth of people’s intelligence.
There are different kinds of it. Mental, emotional, even physicality involves a measure of intelligence. And luckily for me, I’ve taken the time to hone every aspect of my intelligence. Which is why I’m here today. Because I took the time to observe everything and everyone through gray-tinted glasses. I’ve been described as stoic, unfeeling, stand-offish. And while I might be all of those things, the one thing that no one can deny is that I’m successful.
