GO TO HELL, CAPTAIN (Preview)

5: R&F FACE

"I've been busy trying to hand over the company to my daughter. She wants to manage it and it's time for me to step down, after all but I want to have some things covered before doing so." She stared pointedly at Layla, her eyes sending the message she is about to utter.

Layla decide to act oblivious to what is going on around her and nodded slowly. "Oh? But why am I here?"

Zaitun let out an astonished chuckle, the girl is clearly trying to play with her intelligence but she is ready to get the ball wherever it is thrown to. "You, my dear are going to help with it. I know they've been talking to you about joining our company to help rise it up but you keep evading. Don't you want the money that comes with it? To finally leave that dinky place you call an apartment?"

"That's my home." Layla deadpanned, leaning back too on her chair.

Zaitun rolled her eyes at her statement. "Or so you want to call it. Besides, this is just a two year contract that you can break whenever you think we are being unjust. You can do whatever you want after those two years. You can decide to continue working with us or go somewhere else, it's alright. We just want your face and body! I am not after the money I'm going to get. It's just that I have a lot of new designs that should be seen by the public and that too, through you. I don't even know why I really want you to work with me but I just do. You'd make a great model."

Layla pursed her lips to the side, looking around the office like she hadn't heard what the woman had just said but she did. She is just taking her time and dragging things around. She's decided since she was going to work for them because she needs the money to leave the country. The amount from the garage won't get her to even leave the state whenever she wants so leaving the country should be out of the picture but now more than ever, she wants to leave Nigeria and start afresh somewhere. She is tired of the people here and the attachments.

So she agreed to work for them for just two years.

It wasn't easy though, she pulled it through. She had to take classes to become acquainted with various aspects of the business, such as understanding the casting process, knowing how fittings work, dealing with criticism, the role of agents, the importance of building a name, creating a strong portfolio, working with photographers, and more. But it isn't a requirement. Models must, however, maintain strong hygiene, be in good health, and control their weight for them to succeed in this profession. She doesn't have any problem with that, she loves doing such work and weightlifting.

There are also character traits they need to be there and she has very little. She is definitely bold, charming, confident, cooperative, creative, discreet, focused, funny or in this case, sarcastic and sassy, perfectionist, persuasive, professional, sensual, sophisticated, talented, thrifty and so on. There are a lot more she lacks but she'd rather not talk about them because they are much more than the good ones. She'd like to think for a few years that she is a nice person, that is enough.

"One more year and I'm getting the fuck out of here without wasting a second." Layla grumbled beneath her breath and the makeup artist currently adorning her gave a small smile. She got used to Layla's tantrums along the way now that all she could do is encourage her.

"I acquiesce to that because who is this Layla allowing someone to poke her face with makeup in the name of modeling? Nah, I don't like it. Get back to that garage and give Mr. Han something to do." Lana chirped from the other end of the room, her eyes shining with exaggerated humor.

She almost couldn't believe this is Layla doing these sort of things. She's always loved her face natural, wanting nothing to falter it but look at her here with so much paint on her face that you cannot even see a natural skin on her face. Her comment is definitely going to make something within Layla snap but she didn't react today, she slipped into her world of what to do after snapping countless pictures and changing outfits for the rest of the morning.