Valeria was laying in her bed, she had just woken up from her deep slumber and decided to contemplate on life first before moving into the rest of her activities for the day. Some people loved to rush their morning routine. Valeria was not one of those people. She loved taking her time and allowing her body to slowly adjust to her movements, afterward she would do some light stretches and then went to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth before going to the kitchen and drank a glass of water, then she would fix herself some tea and breakfast. Not coffee. She was not a huge coffee person, they always gave her the ugly jitter.
That morning however, she suddenly received a call so early, it woke her up with an awful jolt, she picked up the phone to see who it was, if it was an unimportant person, or if it was related to the school, she would not even bother because for her, her morning routine was more important than other people's business with her. She looked at the screen with squinted eyes to find Ginerva's name on the screen. What was her younger sister want to do with her so early? She picked it up and heard what sounded like half a squeal from the other side.
"Valeria, you're awake! Good, I need to ask you for a favor. You have nothing to do today, right? I need you to help me with one of the photo shoot, one of the model accidentally injured herself on the way here and we need a replacement asap, I could not think of anyone else but you, the director has agreed as well, would you come with me, please? This is really urgent and you would help me a lot" she spoke in a rushed tone, and she almost could not comprehend the words. Though from what she picked up, her sister had gone crazy.
"You did what? Ginerva you know I can't, I'm not a model!" she replied, yes, she had no class to teach that day, but still, there was no way she was going to do a photo shoot. Who did they think she was?
"It doesn't matter, you're beautiful and has a pretty proportional body, you can still do it. Come on, I'll pick you up in an hour, see you!" With that, she hung up, leaving Valeria speechless. An hour, what the hell could she do in one hour? She immediately went to the shower and instead of taking her usual bath, she ended up taking a quick shower, and applied just the smallest amount of makeup since they would probably put on some makeup anyway. She put on a bit of concealer, mascara, eyebrow and lipstick. For the clothes, she just picked a soft pink dress and pair it with a cream blazer. For the shoes, she chose a classic nude pump that was not too tall, last but not least, she sprayed a bit of woody floral perfume around her neck. An hour later, she was done.
Right on time, she heard a knock on the door, she walked over to find Ginerva standing there with a smug grin on her face, as if she intentionally used the opportunity of the injured model to get her sister out of hiding. Initially Valeria had planned to spend the day relaxing, reading, playing music, and working on her online website, but it seemed her whole plan would be shifted.
Who knows, sometimes life just give you those unpredictable surprises. One time you're planning something, another time something else comes up, oh well, isn't that what makes life so exciting?
While on the way there, Valeria asked for more details of what she was supposed to do, Ginerva just told her that the director would give her a more detailed and comprehensive directions later, and she would be just fine, but she was not convinced. Apparently they were going to shoot for a new perfume release by a designer brand, it required two models, but as Ginerva had stated earlier, one of the model was injured, therefore they needed a quick replacement as everything was ready and they could not find a replacement on a short notice as the other models were booked for something else.
Once she had arrived, she realized the shoot was going to be conducted in the back garden of an ancient looking building, of course they had previously set the stage, cleaned up the place and made it look more picturesque. The director, who was a man in his early forty approached both of them. Ginerva quickly introduced her sister to him, she held out her hand politely as she was being introduced.
"This is Gualtieri, he's the director for the project" she introduced him on a first name basis. The man took her hand warmly as his gaze softened. He seemed like a warm and open person, which made Valeria felt so much more relieved, she was a bit hesitant before because she usually did not get along really well with people who worked in the modelling industry, just by judging from what she had experienced in the past when she accompanied her sister, but this time, she felt a bit more comfortable.
"Thank you for coming here. I know it was such a short notice, but Ginerva immediately suggested you when no one else could make it. I was hesitant before because I did not know what to expect, she showed me a picture of you, and it convinced me a little, but turned out you look so much better in person, ah, anyway I ramble on too much, come, we'll get your outfit exchanged and your makeup done, and then we'll start" he said as he chuckled in the end. Valeria and Ginerva were led to exchange their clothes. Since the perfume was a citrus floral fragrance for women, they wanted to use the theme of "floral garden", they were dressed in white floral dress, almost reminiscent of a Victorian style dress but rewired with a modern touch. She actually did not mind it. Her makeup was retouched and amplified, before long, she felt like she was a flower angel or something. Of course, the main focus was not on her appearance, she also needed to pose well. Since the photoshoot was conducted in a garden, she actually did not feel as stiff as she would in a formal studio. Since she was encouraged to touch the different plants there, pretending to smell the flower, and gently caressed the tangerine tree, it did not feel as staged, and her movement was actually quite natural. Valeria was not the best around camera, but she managed to keep up with her sister, and she thought it was kind of fun after a while. The real challenge would come later on after the shoot was over. What she had not paid attention to before was the fact that there was also a small white table accompanied by two white chairs, with a complete tea set arranged beautifully. Apparently, they were not just going to shoot pictures, but they would also make a commercial video shot for the brand.
Valeria and Ginerva were told to sit on the chair and pretended they were having a tea time together with the flower and the perfume on the table. She was more nervous since her movement would be recorded live, but Ginerva made sure that it would be just like them having tea together, and she did not need to think much about the camera, since they would insert music and voiceover later on, they were able to talk on the set, and Ginerva loosened up the situation by cracking a joke which made her laugh. They were sipping the tea and it actually tasted good. Did models usually get to truly taste the props they had? Valeria would never knew before that.
"And, we're done, thank you everyone" the director shouted. Valeria was relieved that the whole thing was eventually over. She did not know that another surprise was waiting for her on the way, because by the time she was done, she saw Valentino sitting in one of the chair. She thought she was dreaming, she rubbed her eyes to make sure she was not, and no matter how many times she blinked her eyes, the image of Valentino would not disappear. It was because he was there. And he was equally as surprised to see Valeria on the set.
He had initially come to meet his old friend, Gualtieri, because he used to work with the man several times back in Milan, and when he heard the man was doing some work in Rome, he just had to pay him a visit, but turned out, Valeria was already there, and she was wearing the most gorgeous feminine dress ever, it immediately sparked an attraction within him. They said a man loved a woman best when she's naked or in a sexy lingerie, while they aren't entirely wrong, they must have never learned the power of a feminine dress.
Valeria made her way to Valentino when she was done, and asked him what he was doing, he explained everything, and soon their conversation was joined by Gualtieri and Ginerva.
"Valentino, my friend, you came to visit me, and it seems you two have known each other before? What a coincidence, how exciting" he spoke in Italian with his thick accent. Valentino nodded, he was actually quite happy to accidentally meet her there. After all it had been a while since they met outside.
"Well, Valeria, you did a great job today, I will be sure to send out your payment later, thank you" with that, the man left the couple alone while Ginerva went to exchange her clothes.
"Valeria, you look beautiful"
"Valentino, it's nice to see you here"
They two were like smitten teenagers. Then a brilliant idea suddenly appeared in Valentino's mind, if she was going to be there, then it must have been his chance. He thought of something quickly and made an offer.
"While we're here, why don't I take you out somewhere?" Valeria's expression turned grim for a second, but Valentino was not going to give up.
"Please, it won't mean anything. I just want to spend time with you" Valeria was not convinced, but when she stared deeply into his eyes, something moved inside of her, she just could not seem to refuse his offer, and before her mind could process it her heart spoke.
"Sure"