Fenella’s POV"No! Fenella, we had to go to the office now!" Jessy snapped."But—""How could you even consider leaving your job for Laird? You should act professionally." Jessy cut me off and started scolding me again."But this is my chance to meet him again," I protested and half-pleaded with Jessy to let me go. "Just for a moment, it won't take long. Just for breakfast.""No. Listen, Fenella. Don't you want to get back at him? Don't you want to win his heart?"I fell silent as Jessy's tone began to rise, a sign that he was indeed angry. I slowly sat back down in my chair, staring at my half-eaten-boiled egg."I'm very sure that the revenge you're talking about will completely fail after all you've done. You won't be able to make Laird like you. You know why?" Jessy's gaze was now fixed on me, and I remained silent."Because you like him too much.""I realized that you always put Laird’s interests above your own. You always depend on Laird until you forget how to make decisions wit
Fenella’s POV"Oh, hey, Greg. It's nice to see you. We haven't met in the office lately," I welcomed with a light peck on each of our cheeks."I know. We've been busy with our own projects," Greg smiled broadly.Greg and I joined this mother agency only two weeks apart. Since then, he has always been my partner on small projects. Over time, as our success grew, we started to have our own busy schedules. The last time we worked together on the same project was a magazine editorial photoshoot half a year ago."Hey, guys." Kiara approached us this time."I'm glad to hear you're both so successful. It's a shame everyone will retire in time," she said with a smile.Damn, she mentioned retirement! That topic was sensitive for Greg and me. We were considered too old and were starting to lose to the younger models newly recruited.While Kiara was our junior, she was three years younger. Initially, she was recruited as a model. When they first recruited her, she snatched and stole many of my pr
Fenella’s POVThe whole room fell silent for a moment as Ms. Lola stepped down from the stage. I thought the new CEO would be as strict as Ms. Lola. I was completely wrong.Suddenly, the speaker played an upbeat song. The man named Alan immediately appeared on stage in a white three-piece suit, a white shirt unbuttoned to his chest, and black shoes. His dark brown curly hair was thin at the bottom and on the sides but thick and slightly long on top. It was long enough for some of his curly hair, combed to the side, to fall onto his thick eyebrows."Everybody, rock up!"My mouth dropped in amazement as I watched him dance on the runway stage. He danced and invited everyone to dance. Then he walked on the catwalk like a model. I have to admit that he was very confident and walked perfectly like a model.He started singing, and his voice was surprisingly good. He walked back to get off the stage. With his dancing style, he greeted each attendee with their own dance. Each person greeted
Fenella’s POVAlan wanted to pull out the weeds, as Jessy explained beforehand. I thought Alan was the type of person who was laid-back and liked to party. Who would have thought that he was actually being cold-blooded in his work? Alan demanded perfection, and that's what the models and actors at Gene had to show.Ms. Lola used to promote Yuri Wu as the top model. Unfortunately, Yuri Wu stopped being a supermodel ten years ago. She was now more focused on being a housewife to her husband—a vocalist in an international rock band—and their two children.Because of that, Alan wanted to re-evaluate which models would be prioritized in promotions. He was looking for new faces as Gene's management icons to replace Yuri Wu.To vie for that position, we had to showcase our talents. One by one, we would demonstrate our abilities in photoshoots. The camera would take our photos five times automatically, with a three-second interval between poses. All we had to do was display our best pose each
Fenella’s POV"What's wrong with her? Why does she always feel unhappy seeing others doing better than her?" I asked Jessy, watching Kiara walk away.Really, it reminded me of Amy, my bully in high school. Why is there always someone like her in this world? Is this the effect of unhealthy teen movies?"Pfft, that's called being toxic. Don't mind her." Jessy waved his hand and focused again on watching the other models.I waited until the second session started for the models. In the second session, Alan asked the actors to portray one of their favorite scenes. For the models, Alan asked us to walk on stage to showcase the clothes we were wearing."I've seen what your fashion tastes are like. The next question is whether you can persuade others to wear that outfit just by walking on the catwalk," Alan said to the 20 Gene models, including Kiara, who insisted on returning as a model."Start!" With one shout from Alan, we began to line up beside the main stage.One by one, the models sta
Fenella’s POVAlan walked onto the main stage. He cleared his throat and suddenly put on a friendly smile. He clapped his hands and rubbed them together."I deeply apologize for the inconvenience caused. Especially to Fenella, who has acted very professionally despite the unexpected changes during her performance. Applause for her."Alan's palms opened, gesturing for the audience to clap. I smiled with flushed cheeks. I clasped my hands in front of my chest, bowed briefly, and whispered my thanks to Alan and the audience."We'll take a 15-minute break. After that, we can continue the show with the models who haven't walked yet. Thank you."Alan then walked off the stage. He approached me. "You're amazing, Fenel
Fenella’s POVJessy knocked on Alan's office door on the third floor. As usual, after knocking on the door, he would immediately enter the office.When the door opened, we immediately saw an unexpected sight. Kiara was leaning over Alan, who was sitting in a chair. Her one hand was trapping Alan in the chair, while her other hand was on Alan's blazer collar."Oh, sorry. We didn't mean—" Jessy stuttered and quickly tried to close the door again."It's okay, Jessy. Kiara was just leaving," Alan said with a wry smile."What? But our talk isn't over," Kiara protested to Alan."Yes, we're done. You're fired," Alan said, still with his arrogant smile."What? You're firing me?" Kiara stepped back from Alan with a surprised shriek. Jessy and I were also surprised by Alan's words. We looked at each other without knowing what had actually happened."Yes, Kiara. I won't take back my words or reconsider," Alan said, rising from his chair and straightening his white suit.Both of Alan's hands wen
Jessy’s POV“I actually have no problem at all with Kiara. I also don't know why she's so mean toward me. She was three years younger than me when she joined here as a junior.""I only knew when she first entered that many of my projects had been replaced by her. I didn't retaliate or anything for that. I thought it was her chance. But the longer she stayed, the more hostile she became towards me and other models, especially after her films failed."Fenella told Alan everything as it was. I didn't know why Kiara's attitude was so annoying towards others, especially towards her. Fenella didn't even try to reclaim everything Kiara took from her. I just tried my best to find new projects for her. Oh, poor girl."So, she was jealous of you?" Alan asked again."Yes, I think so." Fenella shrugged."Is that true, Jessy?" Alan asked me this time."Yes, that's all true. Fenella didn't protest at all when Kiara took over her project. In fact, I protested to Kiara's agent and Ms. Lola, but they