What He Needs

Chapter 6

"Really, it's fine." I gave a small grin to make my statement more believable. "Marilyn is our ideal Aphrodite."

Jonathan stared at me for a few seconds, probably to see if I was lying. When he didn't find anything, since I was a pro at keeping a poker face, he nodded.

"Okay, it's settled then."

***

Half an hour later, Jonathan and I were finally done choosing our models. We decided to go with a diverse group since Montego's industry was designed around diversity. We chose models of different races (black, white, Asian) and different body types (athletic, plus size, slim); no two models looked alike. All in all, it was a broad bunch.

"Now we just need to contact the managers of every single one of these models. I'll take half and you take the other half. Fair enough?" Jonathan asked while splitting the pile.

"Yes, it's fair." I chuckled. "But I'm hungry. Can we do this after lunch?"

Before Jonathan could respond, his phone went off. He held up a finger for me to wait a moment while pulling the device from his pocket.

"This is Jonathan." He answered before going quiet, most likely waiting for a response. Moments later, he stood up abruptly, tipping over the conference room chair. "They did what?!"

I watched as he grabbed his things angrily, getting dressed while listening to whoever was on the other side of the phone.

"Yes, I'm on my way right now. I'll be there in twenty or thirty minutes." He said before hanging up.

"Everything alright?" I questioned since he seemed to be in his own world. Jonathan paused before facing me and sighing.

"My daughters got into a fight at school." He responded, making everything around me freeze. Daughters... He already has a family.

"Oh." I answered numbly. "Well, I guess we can finish this another time."

"No, it's okay. I'll be back in about an hour. We can finish contacting the agents today. I hope you don't mind that my girls will be here though. I have no one to watch them on such short notice."

"I don't mind. I love kids." I partially lied through my teeth. I didn't mind kids, but I didn't stay around them longer than necessary.

"That's great! I'll be back in an hour." Jonathan said quickly, and then he was gone.

***

I was just finishing a call with my last model's agent when Jonathan waltzed back into the conference room. Behind him, little twin girls were happily talking to each other. When they spotted me, they squealed.

"Hi!" One waved excitedly while rushing up to me. "My name is Alyssa!"

"And I'm April!" The other followed. My eyes widened at the little girls who had no problem invading my personal space. They oddly reminded me of Snowflake, which made me laugh.

"Hello, Alyssa and April. I'm Winston." I greeted, holding out my hands for both of them to shake. They did so giddily, making me laugh even more.

"Girls. I think Winston has had enough." Jonathan said with a smile and a shake of his head. It was only then that I noticed the large bag in his hand that smelt heavily of Chinese food. "I figured we could all eat lunch together, but I wasn't sure what you wanted so I got a bit of everything."

"A bit of everything works." I joked. Alyssa and April both let go of my hands before each taking a seat at the large table. I was surprised to see that they chose to sit at my sides instead of near their father. The simple action seemed to shock him too as he set down the bag.