Patricia Alizah Blanco.
As Spanish as her name doesn't sound, she is half Spanish and half Italian. Her mother, Agnella, who was an Italian woman met her Spanish father, Diego, at a shop in Toronto, Canada where they both happened to be at the same time for a boring conference went on dates, fell in love and got married in a matter of a year. Fast forwarded to five years later, little Patricia was born in Madrid, Spain. In her seventeen years of life, she juggled between going to Naples, Italy and Madrid, Spain. With two languages in the house, she learned both Italian and Spanish at a very young age but the house was all about talking in English, just so that everyone knew what was going on.
With doctor parents, Patricia never found them at home and she grew up pretty much alone. With no siblings and cousins near her, she kept herself busy in movies and reading books. That's when she got interested in doing what she loved. Finishing her high school, she soon got into one of the best Film schools in Europe, Academy of Performing Arts' Film and TV School with a scholarship. Her parents weren't very fond of the idea that she would study Films and but they gave in later. She started her journey for Prague, Czech Republic. Four years of studying Bachelors in "Screenwriting and Script Editing", she found herself speaking fluent Czech and then leaving the country for Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom. She enrolled herself in National Film and Television School (NFTS) for Masters in "Directing Fiction", again with a scholarship. Two years in a great environment, she found herself without a job.
Her parents' worst nightmares were coming true when they heard that their daughter had no job and asked her to come back to Madrid but Patricia was confident that she would land herself in Hollywood. However, her luck was tough. With little money (she asked for no monetary help from parents), she reached America and was living in a motel in Los Angeles. Her luck was awful until exactly five months back when she landed a job far degrading than her potential, personal assistant to Mads Mikkelsen. She asked herself if she was desperate enough to take this job and she found herself in a position where she answered yes. Sighing, she signed the agreement and was on her way to Toronto. Her parents chirped with happiness finding out that Patricia was moving to Toronto where the couple had met.
She still remembers her first day at the awful human's home, also goes by the name Mads Mikkelsen. She could hear the screams from inside the house. Not much of a happy marriage, is it now? She fixed her dress shirt and before she could knock on the door, there he was with his casuals on and furrowed brows.
"Who are you?" He looked annoyed and not so happy. What is wrong with this man? Could he be any ruder?
"I am Patri-," she was cut off by Mr. Mikkelsen with another annoyed look.
"Are you the new assistant?" He looked her up and down, not so pleased.
"I am, is it a go-," cut off once again. Could I speak for once?
"Clean the mess in the living room, I am going out," Mads walked out abruptly without speaking another word.
Being the short tempered as she was, she tried regaining her strength to keep calm. She wasn't the maid servant. She was just the assistant. Do I need this job? She walked inside the house. The house was beautiful, maroon and white themed furniture and walls. The living room wasn't a mess but there were a lot of papers lying here and there. She picked up the papers and started organizing it. That's when she saw a glimpse of divorce papers. As much as she wanted to avoid what she saw, she couldn't help but weirdly start to look at the paper when someone took away the papers from her hand.
"Weren't you taught to not invade privacy?" He was back and now very angry.
"You asked me to clean up the mess," she replied, her lips now turning into a frown.
"Yes, I am aware of what I asked you to do but I didn't ask you to see my stuff," Mads snapped. "Just leave, okay?" he added.
Her frown plastered on her face and she walked away from him. As she was walking away, all she heard was a few words that really hurt her ego.
"I wonder where they find these stupid people from," Mads mumbled loud enough for her to hear.
I am leaving the job, right now. I don't care if I die out of hunger. She dialed the number of the agency and well, things didn't go down well. As much as she hated to admit it, she needed the job and Mads, the angry old man, needed her to keep his work in line. She wasn't very empathetic but she tried to understand him. Maybe he was just angry because of his fight and his divorce. That's what she tried to tell herself. At least, the job gave her a small, cozy apartment and a car to drive around with a decent amount of money. She needed the job to meet people and make connections and prove her parents' wrong.
Five months into the job and she couldn't bring herself to like this man whom she called her boss. Mads got on her nerves every day but she dealt with him. He was nice to everyone but her. I swear I could kill him and I might one day. His fans didn't know how rude and self-centered he was and she could ruin his life by leaking the information but that would partially be a lie because the only person Mads seem to hate was her. She always tried to figure out why.
In the five months of her work, she figured out a few things. The 51-year-old actor had a happy marriage for 16 years, at least, that's what he thought. His wife, Hanne, ended up having feelings for another man and asking for a divorce. Mads was furious as he couldn't believe how this even happened. His daughter, Viola (25) and son, Carl (20) were equally shocked by the sudden revelation of their mother's affair but supported her stance. According to friends around Mads that Patricia overheard from, he felt betrayed by his wife and children. He felt cornered and stopped contact with his wife and children. Hanne shifted to New York with her new husband but both Viola and Carl decided to stay back in Denmark. Working five months, she never once saw the man to talk to his children or visit them in Denmark. He was angry and Patricia understood why.
Patricia never talked about his divorce or children with him nor gave him any condolences. She hated him and he hated her. The relationship was simple. The only good thing that happened was the fact that she got to meet famous people and made friends with Hugh Dancy and Bryan Fuller. Apart from that, she couldn't get to talk about herself with anyone. Everyone in the industry was so busy and weirdly, self-centered. New faces were hard to find and therefore, not given much chance.
So, that is how they stood. Two people at two ends of the spectrum with no awkwardness and nice glances. At least, that's how they both figured would work for the next few years but life always had other plans. Always.