Chapter 01 - The Man Who Hated Missy Sutton (Part 1)

- Missy, could you take a look at my brother's computer again, please?

Laughing at her brother-in-law's rueful tone, Missy balanced her cell phone between her shoulder and ear as she quickly finished programming yet another detail into her project. “Of course, Devon, don't worry, that's what I'm here for.

- But I hate asking you every single day. – she could almost see him pinching the bridge of his nose on the other side of the line, as he sighed – You're already doing us a huge favor by taking care of the technology part of this agency and my imbecile brother is wasting your time with these antics.

- I didn't even create any of the programs, I just installed them. – Missy smiled shyly – And it's not your brother's fault for not knowing how to deal with technology. That's no reason to judge him so badly.

- Don't talk like the marketing department hasn't been kissing your feet every day since you introduced that new graphic designer program. – Devon laughed, but then his tone became sarcastic – And I know Logan better than you, Missy and, believe me, he deserves to be judged very, very badly. – after another sigh, now irritable, he continued – But, unfortunately, he really needs you to go to his office.

- You know I don't care. It's my job. - Taking the cell phone with one hand and closing her notebook with the other, Missy got up from her office chair - It's not like it's a very long trip. She laughed, which Devon joined in after a moment.

- Yes of course. Logan was really lucky that the only room in the entire building free for his office was on the exact same floor as his. Confused, she heard him grunt.

Devon tended to throw those thinly-veiled criticisms at his brother whenever he got the chance, though she didn't understand why. They seemed tight-knit most of the time, but regularly, especially when her brother-in-law was talking to her, it seemed like Devon made a point of pointing out something about Logan's stubbornness or making some seemingly ironic comment that Missy never understood. And she had the odd impression that his criticisms were getting more and more frequent lately.

- I'm free, so I can go there right now. Missy informed her softly, hoping that would lighten her brother-in-law's mood a bit.

Devon took a long, exhausted sigh before answering her again, “Thanks, Missy. You are infinitely kinder than he deserves. - The intense way his deep voice sounded made it seem like he was referring to something far beyond fixing Logan's computer. But, as usual, she couldn't even imagine what it would be like.

- Don't be so hard on him. – disconcerted, she tried to change the subject – So, we'll see each other tonight, right?

- Of course. – Devon readily agreed, with a more relaxed tone of voice – After the number of times Mrs. Newton insisted we go, I don't think we had a choice. He chuckled, although there was also a bit of irony in his tone.

- She's just really excited. – Missy tried to justify Lauren's behavior, knowing how important that party was to her mother-in-law, after all, she had been planning it for months – Do you know if Megan managed to convince our mother to go? she asked Devon in a low voice, nervously chewing on her lower lip. Victoria was, technically, at least for Lauren, an important part of that party. And Mrs. Newton would certainly be disappointed if she didn't attend.

- You know your mother. – she could almost see Devon's frown on the other end of the line – She always has something more important to do than answer a call from someone in the family. But she doesn't give up hope: Megan is still insisting.

- Thank her again for me, okay? – Missy smiled fondly at the thought of her sister – If I were trying to invite her, Mom would probably have just scolded me and blocked my calls to prevent me from bothering her.

- A daughter's call shouldn't be a nuisance for a mother… – Devon growled, so low that she barely heard him, before continuing – But don't worry. I'm sure that, at some point, you will overcome it with fatigue.

- Thanks, Devon. I really hope so. – With a sad sigh, Missy smiled a little, trying to keep her thoughts optimistic – But now I really need to go help your brother. He must be in a very bad mood with these recurring defects.

- Yes, poor Logan... - again, Devon's voice took on that ironic timbre that was incomprehensible to her - Anyway, thanks again, Missy. Until later.

Saying goodbye to her brother-in-law, Missy hurried out of her office, opening the door to the elegant hallway of the Knight Modeling and Modeling Agency. After she opted to attend Software Engeneer in college, going against all her mother's expectations and demands, a modeling agency was the last place in the world where she imagined she would work someday. But after nearly a full year there, she couldn't be happier. Of course, when Devon had proposed that she rent one of the few offices that were still available in that amazing building – since the vast majority of them were occupied by the Knight brothers' many agency facilities – and become responsible for the agency's IT matters as she continued her freelance and freelance projects, despite liking the idea, Missy had been a little apprehensive.

Having been, all her life, the cliché of the nerdy girl with the giant glasses, baggy clothes printed with cartoon characters and perfect grades, she had not been unscathed by the teasing and bad jokes of the popular boys and girls in her high school, the ones who always had perfect skin and huge egos. Fortunately, especially thanks to the vigilance of her father and older sister, that bullying had never gone too far. Of course, she'd had her share of tears and insecurities after hearing so many nasty things about her appearance, but thankfully, Jonathan and Megan had helped her to love who she was. Not that the criticisms had stopped – her mother was, perhaps, the greatest representative of them nowadays, but she had always tried to understand Victoria. She was, by training, a fashion designer, and had very concrete and unchanging ideas about what was appropriate clothing and what was “aesthetics,” as she had sometimes referred to Missy's wardrobe.

Not that Missy had ever tried to explain to her how all those references to her favorite stories and characters made her feel good, how they reminded her of the lessons she had learned from those fictions and how they made her feel a little more confident and light in life. various situations... But her mother was a busy person and she never had much time to listen to her. Not that she wasn't used to it. There wasn't a single moment in her childhood when Victoria was really available for them to talk to... Megan was the only one Missy could truly talk to about anything. Megan... And Jonathan.

Thinking of her father still hurt, even after five long years had passed. Maybe because it was so easy to forget that he was no longer with her and Megan. The cancer had taken him so fast that she'd barely been able to take it in at first. Sometimes Missy still found herself thinking that she could call him and tell him how her day was, ask for advice or just talk about the new series she was hooked on... Until she remembered that they couldn't do those. things never again and her eyes filled with tears.

No matter how much time passed, missing him was always what hurt the most.

Sniffling a little as she tried to dispel those thoughts, Missy waved at a couple of models who were exiting a photo shoot at the end of the long hallway. Smiling, the girls happily greeted her, even with the great distance. Yes, she was very lucky to work in such a good environment as the Knight Agency. Unlike the stereotype that even she had about models, most of the people there weren't rude and superficial, only caring about their appearance. Everyone was friendly and extremely professional, making her feel welcome, something she could hardly say for all the other few places she'd worked quickly over the years.

Of course, there were always a few people overly dazzled by the prospect of success and fame, but Missy could count the times someone had been rude or disrespectful to her on one hand, and luckily those people usually didn't stay long. His brother-in-law, Devon, and his siblings, Diana and Logan, – who was not only the director of the agency, but also its founder – were extremely careful with what types of people they managed, as it could cost them the excellent reputation they had. the agency had. And Missy could understand her care: just 12 years old, the Knight Agency was already the largest and most reputable in the country. A well-earned title, Missy was well aware.

With just over 10 months in there, she was surprised and delighted with the Knight brothers' concern to exalt all types of beauty and have the greatest possible diversity of people working not only as models, but also as extras, actors and digital influencers. , as was the case with her sister. She had never heard of a company of that size and with so much prestige that it was concerned not only with following market trends, but also making an effort to rethink and change them. As she grew up, the way Victoria acted it had always made her think that the beauty market was nothing if not merciless to those who didn't fit in. And maybe it was like that, in most places. But the Knight Agency had deconstructed many preconceptions within it. Maybe that's why everything there was so incredible: contrary to what her mother thought, within those walls there wasn't just a single aesthetic standard to be followed strictly. On the contrary, each of the many agencies, regardless of how different they were from each other, was treated as what it really was: unique and unmatched. Not just in the eyes of customers, but also in the eyes of the public.

For that reason, she was grateful every day for having accepted her brother-in-law's suggestion and set up her office right there, in the same building as the agency, which, as she well knew, would soon become an exclusive building for the agency, since the Knights intended to buy it soon. Much more than a simple job, she felt exultant in being able to help them grow using her knowledge about computing. Even though she knew it wasn't much, everyone seemed genuinely happy with the software changes she'd made in the marketing and HR departments, and especially with her job as the "IT girl," as her friends at the agency liked to call her. -there. But she knew that some technologies could sometimes be difficult to deal with, and especially to fix, and she was happy to be able to help improve a work as amazing as what they did there.

Knowing that she was being helpful kept her motivated, which was essential for her to stay focused on the software she had been developing autonomously for over two years. The first prototypes had been terrible, until she realized that she couldn't be truly productive working from home and her sister had suggested finding a place that could become her office: a place where she could just focus on work. Fortunately, it happened around the same time that Devon had offered her a job, and the two things had clicked perfectly. Of course, with the inheritance her father had left her and Megan, neither of them would really have to worry about money for the rest of their lives. But the need to work hard was in the Sutton blood and, as much as that was also the target of Victoria's criticism, she and her older sister simply could not bear to live only on shopping and parties.