Vee had never really paid attention to other business industries as she was growing up, chasing her own dreams. She had spent so much time traveling for her modeling gigs and the only world she had ever paid attention to was the world of fashion. Now that she practically didn’t have a choice but to enter the business industry which her father and her older brother had expertly navigated through, it took her by surprise that she may be facing similar worlds - business is business regardless of the industry choice. Businessmen seemed to have a smaller world than she had imagined.
Now I know why everyone’s noses are following me.
On the day she had decided to take her first step to solving her father’s puzzle, she only had to tell her driver, Max, where she wanted to go and he already knew how long it would take for the trip.
“You may still nap a bit, señorita,” Max had told Vee.
She found herself asking if Max ever happened to know the Gallaghers.
"Funny you should ask, señorita," Max chuckled. "I was personally trained by Señor Alister Gallagher. Driving, martial arts... He was the reason why your father trusted me enough to look after you."
Feeling a little guilty that she never cared to ask about Max in the past, Vee tried to hide her blushing cheeks by looking out the window. Now that she thought about it, she realized that she got so used to having everything done for her by either her father or her brother that she never really paid attention to who worked for her and where they had come from if it didn’t concern her fashion business. She truly only considered background research when she had to deal with people from the fashion industry.
Realizing that she will likely get lost in the world of business outside of fashion, Vee mentally reminded herself to start waking her curious self and researching the inevitable. She suddenly had an idea that her father might have considered that hurdle in advance and to keep her on track, he had chosen to have her marry someone he found as trustworthy - like Conan Gallagher.
Max announced their arrival in front of the tall building which says Gallagher Industries and Vee stepped out of her sedan and looked around. The skyscrapers standing alongside each other made her feel that she was really in the middle of a bustling business district. She had never really paid attention in the past how the surroundings of her fashion show locations looked - another proof of her being too absorbed in her own world.
Although her family's hotels were located in the same vicinity and she had visited multiple times in the past, she still wondered how she could miss all the beauty of high-rise buildings around the area. She made a mental note of how the nearby buildings looked so she would not get lost if her mobile compass and map ever stopped working if she were traveling to work.
Vee looked back at Max who pointed at the building belonging to the Gallaghers. It was neat and sleek, a serious ambiance compared to the lively and feel-at-home atmosphere of the Rustik - Yates Hotels. She estimated it to probably have fifty-five floors. What caught her attention was the logo at the topmost railing of the building where the letters of the name were molded to look like a pistol, with "G" as the trigger.
"The Gallaghers’ business is centered on making specialized cars and they have a security agency," Max whispered as he ushered Vee to the lobby where a beautiful receptionist was waiting.
Vee observed that Max seemed to be very familiar with the building premises. She recalled how he pushed a well-hidden button on the wall earlier before they entered the building and halted the rotating doors to enable the automatic sliding doors at the right corner instead.
"Please usher Miss Venera Yates to the Office of the President." Vee heard Max tell the receptionist and the guards in a proud manner.
Vee didn't like the way she was regarded by the receptionist who made it obvious that she was displeased with the request that was just announced. Her sunglasses were covering her puffy eyes, and she fought the urge to snap as she watched the lady's eyes travel from her head down to her chest. It made her feel like questioning her fashion choice for the day which she knew may have been a bit loud - she was wearing a suit in magenta, with nothing underneath her coat.
I didn’t feel like wearing black today, so? She mentally presented her argument with the receptionist.
As Vee discreetly looked around, she noticed that even the guards were obviously unhappy that someone like her came unannounced and demanded to see their president - and they were very careful to show every disdainful expression on their faces. She tried to comfort herself, thinking that Max's thick accent might have garbled the sound of her last name and it might not have registered in everyone's ears. She kind of felt irritated about what made her father think that her last name would have significance at the Gallagher territory. It also didn’t help that it was just the first time she ever set foot in the building. She suddenly thought of how her father would have reacted if he were in the same situation.
Instinctively adjusting her posture like she always would whenever she was displeased, Vee approached the receptionist and leaned over the counter.
"Rebecca," she said after glancing at the lady’s name tag, "I have to inform you that you will start seeing my face every day from now on." She smiled threateningly. "So if you please, call Conan Gallagher and tell him that I am seeing him in his office in 5 minutes." She looked at her watch dramatically. "Now, which floor is his office?"
Vee had to admit, she was impressed that Rebecca didn't look swayed at all by her menacing approach. On the contrary, the receptionist looked calm and collected as she smiled back.
"Can I have your name, miss?" Was all Rebecca said, as she picked up her phone, seemingly preparing to dial for the president’s office.
"Venera Rustik Yates."
"Venera Rustik Yates."Everyone at the lobby looked at the direction where the announcement of the name came from. Vee raised her right eyebrow as she turned and found the speaker at the elevators area. She noticed how Rebecca started fixing her already sleek ponytail, and how the guards slowly backed off to their stations, removing the irritated looks on their faces and planting smug expressions instead.Looking back at the man who spoke her name, Vee finally recalled that it was Conan Gallagher. She fought the urge to whistle as he descended the stairs from the elevator area since he looked like one of the models who worked for Guy. Wearing an all-black suit, Conan's fair skin stood out and his piercing eyes were like blinding spotlights that roamed the entire lobby. His gait was that of someone proud and powerful, but his smile was full of charm."You sure have tight security here," Vee smiled, trying not to sound too impressed. She didn’t move an inch from w
Jordan's POVI just came out of the bathrooms after completing the morning drill at the boot camp and was headed to do my own routine without the flabbergasted trainees I had punished with grueling activities earlier. For some reason, I woke up on the wrong side of the bed and was quite grumpy, and refused to look in the mirror and check out how long my beard had grown. I know it still suits me, though, modesty aside - if not, those ladies from the female boot camp wouldn't exert efforts coming over to the armory which was a good half a kilometer away from their lounge, and blurt excuses of resting and meditating while I noisily assembled my rifle."DI... Do you think it'd be helpful for us to carry rifles while trying yoga?" One of them waved at me unashamedly, while bending her back in such a way that her breasts were almost sticking out of her uniform. I knew she wanted me to notice, so I paid her a good sweep with teasing eyes and she looked rather pleased that I appreciated her
"She doesn't look pregnant, does she?" I heard myself ask, and this time, it was Frank's turn to look at me like I just sprouted a second head – rather, third. I didn't have to explain what I was thinking since he knew me too well, and he just sighed like I was too difficult to deal with. "What? I might have impregnated some random woman and she's here to claim her rights..."Frank rolled his eyes and sighed once again, this time with the shake of his head. "No, she doesn’t look pregnant, dumbass."I let out a sigh of relief, congratulating myself for not stupidly leaving some woman longing for me and for a father to her child. I admit, I engage in some casual relationships when I'm out of the camp, but I always made sure that my affairs were never too serious to get hitched, and that the women I dated were not only the less clingy ones but also not the slutty ones. I valued my manhood and would never bow down to some random sex just to get satisfied. I'd rather jack off than get myse
By the tilt of her head and even with her eyes concealed, she was obviously looking at Frank and not me. I felt irritated for some reason but kept my face straight and void of any emotions. We wouldn’t want to be too obvious, would we?She turned to me and looked up. She looked like she wasn't pleased with the idea of me being six to seven inches taller than her, as she visibly tried to adjust her height and straightened her back all the more. "You must be Jordan Gallagher?" She queried, her well-defined eyebrows arched, awaiting any type of reaction from me. I noticed that she didn't extend her hand for a handshake, but simply looked at me behind her sunglasses.I found myself just staring at her. All of my experiences with women, my sweet talking talented self refused to take over, and I suddenly felt tongue-tied. The need to drink some cold beverage became so strong that I felt my throat go dry. She eyed me from head to toe, seemingly assessing why I was dressed in crumpled fatigue
With her new mobile phone in hand, Vee tried to keep herself occupied by watching music videos of her favorite bands. Since she likes having free time before her actual work, she is used to arriving at the venue not less than three hours before the call time. Her habit has made her image really pleasant in the eyes of designers and their staff as they never had to stress about her not getting enough preparation time before her shows start. Today, as she arrived much earlier than usual, she was greeted by a staff member right after she got off the service van that picked her up from the private hangar as she arrived in her private plane. She was then asked to wait for her stylist in her own dressing room while one of her assistants joined the rest of the staff who were preparing all the items needed for the fashion show - from different sets of face paint to five different outfits and props for each model. Her room was adjacent to the common one where the rest of the guest models wer
Her reverie could have taken that long, as Vee was surprised when she realized that Lenka was already shooing her towards the backstage to get ready for the show. She was now clad in her first item to present on the runway - a black, one piece all-lace lingerie which didn't really cover up anything that much. It was high-cut and showed off her entire thighs and crotch, and her buttocks were only partially encased in a V-web of pure lace. The bust part of the piece was cut with a very low neckline which again was shaped like a "V." She suddenly remembered Guy saying that the lingerie was patterned specifically for her.She squirmed as she recalled how she had spent grueling hours at the gym to get her entire body toned up to look perfect in her piece. She also tried to shove the memory of her very strict diet for the past few weeks and a part of her wished she belonged to the plus size group of models who would also walk for Guy’s lingerie line - a wishful thinking, though, knowing tha
Feeling the sexy vibe of the music and hearing the classy cheers around the catwalk helped Vee to project the appropriate facial expression which would match her lingerie piece as she strutted towards the elevated aisle. She looked ahead at an imaginary someone with inviting stares and a slightly parted mouth while striking a pose before twirling and walking back to the curtains. Upon reaching the backstage, she was shocked by the complete chaos - not the usual she sees during fashion shows. Instead of being led towards a spot where her outfit was meant to be redesigned, she was quickly ushered by one of the directors to her dressing room where Guy and Lenka were both slumped on the couch, visibly shaken and with swollen eyes. The unsightly atmosphere got her all tense."What's going on?" She asked, while trying to calm her growing anxiety as she sat in between the two, while the rest of the fashion show team was strictly asked by Guy's assistant to carry on with the show. Vee could s
Everything happened like a whirlwind after the sad news had come to Vee. On the very same day, she had to cancel all pending commitments and had her staff make important phone calls to file for her immediate resignation from her agency. Her managers and assistants had to coordinate with different agencies to send advanced notifications of the major changes on her plans for the year which would affect existing contracts. While flying in her private plane, she discussed pending contracts with her attorney and announced willingness to pay for damages or penalties for breach of contract, if any. After hours of calls making arrangements, Vee’s appointment for Guy's fashion line photoshoot for a magazine was the only one left in her line up for the rest of the summer, and her friend readily mentioned that he would be declining the invitation if the editors would demand for Vee, and offer other top models to grace the shoot and be given the opportunity to carry his brand as an alternative.A