The Ranch

"Bitter" Rivals (3)

"That's why I need to one-up his promotional material." He turns Tih to face him," Have you thought about my offer? Will you be the poster boy for my new product?"

Somewhat understood by Phillip, Tih has a trait that makes him accept anything that isn't below his bottom line, not that anyone knows what that is yet.

As expected Tih nods. Actually, he only understood parts of that story. Things like "promotional" or "inheritor" confused Tih a lot, limiting his understanding of what he's accepting, but since it's Phillip, it's probably fine.

"Okay here, you just need to sign this," he pulls out a contract. When he saw Tih earlier today, he didn't have the contract on him which made him feel regretful, so he decided to keep it on his person at all times afterwards.

Phillip shows Tih where to write his name but Tih doesn't move. He..doesn't know how to spell his name. The man he met at the train station gave it to him and he hasn't written a single letter after coming to the island.

~~~~~

Tih...Tih....

~~~~~

Tih takes the pen and writes a big..."T". He repeats this process a couple more times, only writing one letter for each, as that's what his name sounds like.

Phillip pauses for a moment, but then decides not to question Tih's parent's naming skills. Slightly accurate to Phillip's thoughts, not a lot of brainpower was put into the child's name. Tih has the meaning of quiet in Slovenian.

"Then I'll set everything up and tell you where to meet up, okay?"

Tih nods.

A grateful smile blossoms on Phillip's head. He rubs Tih's brown hair," Thanks for helping me with this."

.

.

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A couple days pass by before Phillip messages Tih the time and place. Tih follows the directions to a building with busy people moving around inside.

Phillip is conversing to the photographer in a serious matter and spots Tih. He waves him over and introduces him," This is the model for today, Tih."

The photographer appraises the child," Good bone structure, pale skin, and thin body that contrasts his surprisingly strong aura." After giving Tih a once-over, he nods in satisfaction.

A makeup artist is brought over while Phillip starts explaining their new product. He points to a vehicle being set up off to the side," That's the product we're representing. Our company's newest eco-friendly motorbike.

This item is more of a luxury goods, so that'll make it harder to sell, especially since this isn't the only option on the market. I want to exceed our profit expectations." He says with a strong, resolute voice. His aura feels more mature than usual.

He meets eyes with Tih," We want a "cool" image that will resonate with people and you're perfect for that. You just need to keep doing exactly what you're doing." Phillip softly pats Tih's back and ushers him to the photoshoot area.

Someone calls out," Is makeup ready?"

"Yes!" The man put down his brush reluctantly. There wasn't much for him to do with an already perfect canvas.

"Where's the clothing!" The same person calls out again. He seems to be in charge. He adds," And where's the model!"

Phillip ushers Tih forward," I'll find you once you're done and treat you for dinner." It should be mentioned it's still morning, a short period after breakfast.

Tih is pulled all over the studio. He goes through a repeated process of trying on an outfit, taking pictures, and going back to the changing station for a total of thirteen different looks.

As Tih stands in front of the camera, numerous eyes watch his every move. The photographer talks to him," Go pose by the motorbike...no, not like that, relax a little...you're not...or maybe, okay I take back what I just said, but don't just stand straight...no NO!" The photographer gets frustrated with the complete newbie of a model.

He points at someone irritatedly," You, go teach him what he's supposed to do. Break for ten!" He yells loud enough for it to bounce off the walls.

The assistant that was pointed at awkwardly tries to explain to Tih with no effect.

"So this is what he's planned?" A smooth, confident voice enters their ears.

The small assistant sees the man and lowers himself while stumbling over his words out of nervousness," H-hello Mr. Casanova."

Casanova nods towards the assistant," You may leave, I'll take care of this."

The assistant hesitates. Phillip and Casanova's rivalry is well known in their field. He's been placed in Phillip's workers for this project, but since they're part of the same company, Casanova is technically his boss too.

Casanova's voices drops a couple of degrees," Leave."

Without a second thought, the assistant dashes away.

Casanova looks at Tih with a beautiful smile," It seems you're having trouble? As expected of that doofus to send you here without prior training. I don't know what he was thinking." He shakes his head with a smile that looks irritated more than anything.

"You don't have a lot of time so I'll just tell you the basics." He starts moving Tih like a wooden posing doll. He tilts Tih's chin up and forwards, twists his shoulders, kicks his shoes so they're facing out, along with other minor details."This is the first one. Remember it."

Without a second to spare he picks the child up and sits him on the motorbike. He pushes Tih down so he's laying on the bike. He adjusts Tih's arms so ones hanging off the side and one is bent and tucked under his head like a pillow. His legs sway off the side. "This is the second one."

He repeats this process, molding Tih into fifteen different different poses, some with small changes, others with large. They also give off different throws of feelings. Some poses are more sensual, some are more playful and cute. All of them work well with Tih's chilling aura, the clothes, and the motorbike.

"Repeat these poses for each dress change." Casanova looks towards the child for confirmation.

Tih kind of understands. Casanova feels the confusion from Tih and can only sigh. It's not like he expects the boy to remember all the poses correctly, he just hopes he'll get an idea of what to do.

The break ends and the photographer returns. Casanova leans against a wall at the back to watch Tih's performance. His eyes grow wide the moment Tih starts. Why? Because Tih pose is an exact replica of what he showed him earlier, down to the precise angles of each finger and direction he should look at. Casanova questions why the boy was confused when his muscle memory is this godly. Unbeknownst to Casanova, the befuddling part for Tih were the words "poses" and "dress changes".

The photographer's mood improves. Although the number of poses are limited, the child's aura makes up for it. The rest of the day finishes smoothly.

Phillip comes back in the evening and finds the photographer giving his card to Tih," So how did it go."

"He has potential." The astute man says ambiguously.

They talk a little more before Phillip leaves with Tih and they eat dinner together.