THE FACADE

CHAPTER 2

"Good morning, my name is Ivy Jones. I have an appointment with Rachel Tibson." I said to the men, who was sitting by the desk.

"Good morning, Ms Jones. Please wait in the lounge area, I've already let know Mrs Tibson, she should be here any minute."

"Thank you." I smiled and walked over to the waiting area. I sat on the huge couch, which was surprisingly very comfortable. I looked over the lobby. The lobby was decorated in a modern way. Black tiles, grey couches, glass tables. Very clean and minimalistic. There were a couple of people sitting on couches and armchairs, minding their own business. Soon I heard the elevator ding and a tall woman approached me. She was very beautiful. She definitely had all the features to become a model. Tall, slim, glowy skin, big eyes, long brown hair.

"Good morning Ms Jones, Rachel Tibson, Senior PR Social Specialist." she extended her hand to me. I shook it vigorously.

"Hello, Ivy Jones." I smiled.

"I made a reservation in Berley's Brothers place for our meeting." she looked up at her phone. "Shall we go?"

"Sure!" I collected my stuff from the couch. "We shall."

We walked out of the building and I followed Rachel to the black suv, which was already waiting for us. When we got into the car, I was instantly amazed at how luxurious it looked inside. Very clean, nice leather smell.

"So Ms Jones..." Rachel started.

"Oh no, please call me Ivy." I interrupted her.

"Ivy" she smiled "Could you please tell me more about yourself?"

"Sure, no problem!" I smiled back "Well, my journey with photography started when I was 17. At the beginning it was just for fun, but later I saw the opportunity in it to make a living of it. That's why I created a website with my portfolio. I started with small jobs, like baby showers, weddings, birthdays. But now I usually work with companies for events or their projects."

"I see, well, I must say I was very impressed with your work. You are a great photographer. You can definitely capture the moment and the feeling in the pictures."

"Why thank you, I really appreciate your kind words." I blushed lightly. I knew that my pictures were good, but it's always nice to hear a compliment from another person.

"Mrs Tibson, we're here." the driver announced, stopping the car in front of the entrance to Berley's Brothers, one of the most popular and expensive cafe shops in New York, mostly visited by celebrities and business workers.

We got out of the car and walked into the place. I must admit, the decorations were very fancy and put out with a good taste. I really liked the greenery wall behind the counter. A polite waitress showed us our table and handed out the menu for us.

"Good morning, welcome in Berley's Brothers. I'm Emma and I will be serving you today." the waitress introduced herself with a big smile. "What can I get you today?"

"Ivy?" Rachel looked at me patiently.

"Yes, of course." I quickly looked up on the menu. "Can I have black coffee with hazelnut syrup?"

Emma, the waitress, nodded and wrote my order in her notebook. "And for you?"

"I'll have a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and one of those strawberry muffins. Muffin on the go, please."

"No problem, I'll be right back with your orders." Emma said and walked back to the coffee station to prepare our beverages. Within a couple of minutes our drinks were brought to our table and Rachel started explaining the point of our meeting.