italodisco has a jazz version that is played in high-end bars. i cried. no amount of vodka could've made me forget.
"I seriously can't believe how dumb you get sometimes" Scaramouche commented as Lumine struggled not to cough out her lungs.
"Me neither" she sulked, blowing her nose dramatically loud.
The bedroom at her new flat had a nice view and a king-sized bed but the two friends instead of taking advantage of these comforts, ended up lying on the carpet and staring at the empty beige wall.
"How did you even end up like this?" Scaramouche gave her a side-eye, clearly disgusted by her state.
"I was out on the terrace." She shrugged and sneezed.
"You're so antisocial." Lumine threw a package of tissues at Scaramouche but he ducked skilfully.
After her previous night's endeavours, namely standing in the cold and smoking half the night and possibly due to her gorgeous but impractical outfit, Lumine was now stuck at the flat, ill and suffering from severe bullying.
She didn't particularly like her new place. Despite all the warm colours, rugs, pillows, a fireplace, artsy pictures on the walls and sweetly scented candles, it still felt artificial - almost like a lab. This was why she tried to avoid being there as much as she could.
Lumine has been always quite good at implementing this tactic, because ever since ever since her boarding school days she failed to like any of her places of accommodation. Thanks to that, Lumine was quite eager to work overtime when given the chance and was always going to parties, art galleries, shopping centres, cafes or to friend's houses. Just like a stray cat, venturing into houses but never staying long enough to make herself feel at home.
"Pass me the tissues" Lumine grumbled, her nose annoyingly runny but Scaramouche had no interest in freeing her from her suffering. "Pass me the tissues or I'll call Nahida and tell her that you lied to her."
Her friend gasped.
"Oh you damned hypocrite" he murmured flabbergasted.
"I'm not a hypocrite, you're just a little bitch" Lumine said, her nose fully stuffed. "Please, if Nahida's party wasn't tonight, you'd never bother showing up."
Scaramouche folded his arms and pouted.
"We both know you don't have the guts to refuse her invitation and you're just using me as an excuse" Lumine pointed out, struggling to maintain her dignity but barely breathing.
"Well duh." The tissues flew and hit Lumine in the head. "Rejoice."
The blonde emptied the whole package almost immediately, ignoring Scaramouche's pouting.
Lumine couldn't begin to understand why he was so scared on confronting Nahida and simply telling her that he didn't feel like going to her party. She herself had no issue calling her friend and blowing her nose right into the phone, while informing Nahida that she won't be attending tonight's event.
"It's quite alright, dear" she heard in reply. "To be perfectly honest, I don't expect this gala to be any good. Too many wannabe socialites." Lumine could almost see Nahida rolling her eyes at that. "I'm just happy you enjoyed yesterday."
"You always host great parties" she coughed out.
"The guest list turned out nicely, that's true" her friend agreed. "But you must get better before the 'RUSH HOUR''s launch. I want to throw a party then as well and it would be unimaginable for you to miss it."
Lumine admitted that it would be in fact quite awful predicament and promised to recover from her cold as soon as possible.
"I'm going to the kitchen" Scarmouche announced, raising from the ground. "Want some tea?"
"Sure" Lumine graciously agreed. "And heat up some of the soup Navia and Clorinde brought" she added, recalling the care package that their friends dropped off earlier on their way to Nahida's party.
"I hope you lose that annoying-ass voice of yours" Scaramouche snapped at her, annoyed that the help he had offered, was actually being used.
Lumine unfortunately cared little for the inconvenience she had caused and gleefully coughed and blew her nose into a recently reclaimed tissue as her pissed off companion left the room and began causing a racket in the kitchen, a whole twenty meters and a wall away from her.
But this peaceful state didn't last long.
Lumine's phone came to life suddenly and the screen lit up, displaying a familiar name, which harbingered nothing but more work.
"Good morning, Mz." The voice of her assistance sound through the line. "How are you doing?"
"I've been better." Lumine coughed dramatically.
"Yes, you have." In the usual circumstance she would be pleased to have her assistance call her and make her sassy remarks but with the migraine and Scaramouche out in the wild, Lumine would much rather just eat chicken legs in jelly and wash it down with vodka. "Are you sure you'll be fine to attend the shoot tomorrow? Should I reschedule?"
"Don't be ridiculous." The model sneezed.
"Bless you."
Something dropped on the ground in the kitchen and Scaramouche began throwing German curses.
"You're not calling to check up on me, are you?" Lumine sighed.
"Obviously not" the assistant admitted. "I just wanted to inform you that I'm going to get a raise."
The blonde was dumbfounded.
"Excuse me?" she asked, trying to focus and ignore the screams from behind the wall.
"I just received documents from the 'RUSH HOUR' and I gave them a call to confirm everything" the woman began explaining. "The situation is as follows: since the other model was fired from the project and you have assumed her role, you are going to receive the salary, which was meant for her. That is thrice as much as you were initially supposed to earn."
Lumine considered.
"Nice, you're sure getting bonus" she said. "But I can't begin to see why should you receive a permanent raise."
"You also receive the benefits that were meant for the other model, alongside the ones that were promised to you initially" the assistant continued, unbothered. "Most important one of them being the shares you currently hold in the company" she explained. "As of now, you possess enough to be a member of the board."
Scaramouche sneaked into the room with a piece of paper in front of him.
'I burnt the soup' – it read.
Lumine shrugged and pointed at her phone.
"And that means that you're gonna have much more to manage, so I'll have more work, thus I'm getting a raise!" the assistant finished up joyfully.
Scaramouche sat on the floor next to her and pulled out a small bottle from under his blouse and clearly intended to drink it whole but the expression on his friend's face puzzled him enough to distract him.
"Congratulations" Lumine mumbled. "Send me those documents and details about my new role in the company, will you?"
"Sure thing!" The call was interrupted and the room was overcome by silence.
Lumine took the small green bottle and poured half of it contents down her throat as Scaramouche watched her in dismay.
"Get more soju" she commanded in a weak voice.
"You got fired?" Scaramouche frowned.
Lumine finished up the bottle and shook her head, coughing into her sleeve.
"Promoted."
Her friend only sighed and got up from the floor.
"You poor thing. It's almost like you're destined for success." He rolled his eyes and Lumine kicked him in the ankle, almost suffocating from the coughing.
~~
The next morning began very well for Scaramouche; First of all his wish, that Lumine would cease to talk, came true as his friend woke up with a sore throat and couldn't utter a word. Second of all, the care package from Navia and Clorinde, except for the soup, contained also a bunch of croissants, which proved to be a great breakfast after a night of drinking.
Lumine didn't have much time to appreciate the pastries and instead of adding milk to her coffee, she chugged it with an amount of medicines that would cause any medical professional to have a heart attack.
Prepared as such and wearing a stunning outfit picked out by the finest fashion designer of the century, she arrived to the shoot, doing some work pro publico bono in the mean time and posing for the paparazzi.
The studio was spacious and bustling. Every photo shoot set Lumine had ever been to seemed to her kind of like a house undergoing a renovation. They were always filled with busy people running from one task to another and this set was no different, except it also had some individuals standing idly by, enjoying the buffet.
Lumine frowned at this revelation – it wasn't often that the participants of shoots were offered food or even drinks, unless management or important guests showed up to oversee the process. It was in that moment, when she noticed a familiar figure among the buffeters and since for the time being she had nothing better to do, she made her way to the table.
She was almost sure that a few people tried to approach her and strike up a conversation but as it was impossible to comply with their wishes in her current state, Lumine just nodded politely and smiled, and walked. Very few people managed to make an impression on her and even now, her interest was caused by professional politeness and wish to keep her job.
An acquaintance by the buffet wasn't her only motivation to get there quickly – even through the heavy cloud of intoxicating perfumes, Lumine could smell the faint fragrance of freshly brewed coffee. With her bad throat she probably should have drunk either alcohol nor coffee but she just couldn't deny herself one of life's few joys, even in the name of speedy recovery.
Ignoring the voice of reason as well as advices that Navia sent her last night, while drunk, Lumine was pouring herself a shot of espresso when suddenly someone next to her laughed.
"I was wondering when you'll show up" she heard. "It's refreshing to see someone interesting, especially after yesterday's party."
Lumine raised a corner of her mouth as she gave him a look and shook her head.
Wriothesley was wearing black leather again, paired up with black trousers, a navy shirt and messy hair. In his hands, just like Lumine, he was holding a cup of coffee. The silver rings on his fingers were clicking against the porcelain as his eyes remained fixed on the face of a woman before him.
"I'm really sorry we didn't get the chance to talk last night" he said finally. "I was looking forward to it."
Lumine was taken aback by this and even put down her coffee. It was quite inconvenient that she couldn't even reply. Wriothesley seemed to be waiting for her to say something and all she could do was awkwardly point at her throat and shake her head.
"You lost your voice?" he guessed and Lumine nodded.
Guilt reflected on his face briefly, probably as he felt at fault for keeping Lumine outside in the cold the other night.
"Can you use sign language?" he asked but the blonde shook her head. Wriothesley clicked his tongue and furrowed his brows. "Then how about I give you my number and you'll just text me instead of talking?" he suggested.
Lumine took a sip of her coffee, maintaining eye contact with the man. It was a kind proposition, of course, but she couldn't help but wonder, whether Wriothesley had any other reason to exchange numbers with her. Perhaps as a fellow member of the board at the 'RUSH HOUR', he preferred to have direct contact with her, rather than going through her assistant or even manager.
She unlocked her phone and passed it to him.
"So tell me, how are you feeling overall?" Wriothesley asked, returning her the device.
'I'm hang-over, so it's hard to say' Lumine wrote.
It was oddly pleasant feeling to have someone go out of their way to find a way merely to chit-chat. Lumine was especially moved by this, since it was obvious that their way of conversing must have seem ridiculous to any bystander.
"You're sick and you went drinking?" He raised an eyebrow.
'I was actually very responsible and stayed at home' Lumine replied and gave Wriothesley a stern look and he just smiled. 'Besides, one should celebrate accomplishments.'
"Very true" he chuckled. "I'm glad you received the news about your position on the board so well. It'll be good to finally have someone with experience in the business in the managing body."
With the way he had said it, Lumine began to suspect that he didn't like – to say the least – the members of the board. She decided it was better not to dwell on it.
'Is the 'RUSH HOUR' the only project you're managing here?' she switched the topic innocently.
"I'm taking care of developing office complexes in the city but as of now, 'RUSH HOUR' takes up most of my time" he confessed, and sighed, putting down his empty cup. His gaze shifted to Lumine yet again, now undeniably sparkled by curiosity. "What about you? I'm assuming that life of the world-class supermodel must be rather tasking."
'I have another project I'm working on, aside from magazine and there are a few shoots and runways I will have to attend' she wrote. 'Are you thinking of changing your career?' Lumine raised an eyebrow but Wriothesley quickly shook his head.
"I'm not exactly photogenic nor do I have the patience to withstand the capricious designers." He shivered and Lumine laughed silently. "I suppose my inability to perform this job as you do, is what leaves me in such an awe of you" he confessed, quite earnestly, leaving Lumine thrown by his words. Noticing her expression, he quickly explained:
"It just seems so tiresome to travel, always maintain your image, work every day for more than eight hours and yet you seem unbothered by these circumstances."
Lumine frowned.
As an experience businessman Wriothesley must have had a fair share of experience with such a lifestyle. The only difference between them was that he did it all to gather and maintain his power, it was an act he put on, because he chose to do so, while she was doing it, because it was asked of her and there was no other way to deal with her employment situation.
Perhaps when Wriothesley spoke, he meant exactly her dependence on others and their wishes and the fact that he wouldn't be able to perform so obediently as she did. This didn't come off as an insult – he seemed to be well aware of his privilege and difference between their circumstances and his words were meant rather as an appreciation of how Lumine managed to accommodate to her environment.
Either way, it was pointless to over-think this; He was just a man.
'I'm afraid I'm not as indestructible as you paint me to be' she typed quickly. 'Everyone must step down eventually.'
Wriothesley gazed at her, puzzled.
"Are you thinking of retirement?"
Lumine shrugged.
''RUSH HOUR' might be the last thing I ever work on' she admitted. 'In fashion business, that is.'
He nodded slowly. Lumine poured herself more coffee and enjoyed another espresson as Wriothesley was considering the revelations.
"Have you figured out how you will change your life after you'll have ended your modelling career?" he inquired.
She shook her head.
"Well, a lot can happen in four months." He smiled, still looking at her. "It's a long time."
'Long enough to establish a successful magazine?'
His smile broadened but his eyes had narrowed.
"And sell it with profit" he specified.
'Have you decided to whom?'
"To whom offers the most, of course."
Lumine raised a corner of her mouth but her face remained frozen.
'To the magazine or to you?'
Wriothesley raised an eyebrow.
"I think you know the answer."
'So you aren't concerned with the future of the project?' Lumine asked. 'Or of the community which it is supposed to serve?'
"If I wasn't, I wouldn't have created it in the first place" he countered. His brows were furrowed , so much so that a deep wrinkle formed between them. "Although we haven't known each other long, I believe us to be like-minded and I think it is best to be honest, so I'll just speak freely with you" Wriothesley said.
Lumine nodded.
"While it is nice to have a passion or care about beauty and other vague ideals, such approach to life does not put food on the table or pay rent. In my opinion, most things that we, people, do is out of the need to maintain our existence." Her gaze slipped to the scar by his eye as he spoke. "And as it is now, money is the best way to ensure a stable life."
'You're quite a practical man' she pointed out.
Wriothesley wanted to say something but instead shut his mouth and shook his head.
"I can't tell whether you mean it as an insult or a compliment" he sighed, admitting his defeat.
'You said yourself that you believe us to be like-minded.' Lumine gave him a smirk.
He was just on the verge of replying but someone called out for the models to gather and soon a stylist's assistant appeared, grabbing and dragging the blonde supermodel to her station.
Thus Wriothesley was left behind with an unsaid compliment lingering in his mind and an empty cup stained with red lipstick.