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Chapter 1 - Reina
“Reina?” My assistant poked her head into my office. “Darla wants to see you as soon as you get a second.”
I thanked her, and she slipped back to her desk. I told myself not to panic about Darla Talbot, owner of the Talbot Talent Agency, wanting to see me on a Friday afternoon. Should I jump up and run because she said as soon as I got a second? What if I had been really busy, wouldn’t she want me to finish up my important work?
As it was, I didn’t have anything for the rest of the day. My newest model and I had just returned from her first shoot, and she’d done such a good job I knew she wouldn’t need babysitting from here on out. The photographer and I had a solid relationship, and he’d assured me he’d hire her again. The client, a vitamin brand, loved her as well. I didn’t just sign people because they were beautiful, I made sure that they had solid work ethics as well. My commissions depended on my people showing up on time and getting rebooked.
Okay, so there was nothing wrong with any of my bookings, all my models were getting regular work, I’d been signing new talent. Why did Darla want to see me in her office? The owner of the agency wasn’t the sort of boss that roamed the halls and mingled with us peons. She only showed up to schmooze with the biggest clients or the few really famous models we had. Or to chew someone out when they screwed up.
No, there was no reason I was in trouble. My reputation in this business was squeaky clean, and that was saying a lot considering the reputation of Talbot’s wasn’t exactly spotless. This was my first job straight out of college, and with no experience and even more importantly in this business, no connections, I’d felt grateful to be hired here at the time. Over the last year, I learned by the eye rolls and somewhat shady glances I got whenever I told someone else in the industry who I was with, Talbot’s wasn’t exactly the most revered talent agency in Miami. Still, it had been the only one offering me a job. It was such a competitive market down here in sunny Florida that we got more than our fair share of eager talent wanting to be signed and companies who would hire them for campaigns. I figured, in another couple of years, I could move on to a bigger agency.
There was absolutely no reason why I needed to be so anxious, as I made my way to Darla’s giant corner office. I hyped myself up as I walked down the long halls that were lined with pictures of all our models and reminded myself of how many of them I had signed. Really, this was as good an opportunity as any to address some of the issues I’d been having, namely with my paychecks not reflecting the last few signing bonuses I should have received. And I needed to double check, but I was pretty sure my commissions were down when they should have been skyrocketing. My models were in high demand, and I hustled hard to keep them working.
Darla’s assistant nodded for me to go in, but I tapped on the door anyway. Darla’s voice came from the other side and I slipped in, a smile pasted on my face. Her laser eyes slowly swept from my shoes and worked their way up. I took in her sleek turquoise suit, a bright contrast to her dark red hair that was twisted up into a tight bun on the top of her head. Her bright red lips pursed as her gaze got to the top of my head. I kept my hands firmly at my sides to keep from checking my own dishwater blonde hair. It most certainly wasn’t as perfectly arranged as hers, but it was fine. I hoped. As for my clothes, I wore my regular uniform of black jeans and a white silk blouse. Not flashy, but I wasn’t in this business because of my looks. The only thing that could be considered really impressive were my sky high, embarrassingly expensive heels, my one and only weakness when it came to spending money. Darla didn’t seem that impressed, though.
“Have a seat, Reina,” she said.
I breathed a sigh of relief that she’d gotten my name right. Sadly, that wasn’t always the case.
“How are you, Darla?” I asked.
She looked down at her tablet, but I could have sworn she rolled her eyes. “I don’t have good news for you,” she said, ignoring civilities and cutting to the chase. “I’m afraid we’re letting you go.”
“What?” I half stood in shock, especially after the major pep talk I’d given myself on the way here. “I don’t understand. Why?”
Despite my shoe splurges now and then, I was a tightwad, pinching every penny. I made a good living at this job, but Miami Beach was expensive. My mind spun to my savings account, which wasn’t very big, and my stomach turned over. I didn’t love the Talbot Agency, but I loved my job and I couldn’t afford to lose it.
She swiped a few times on her tablet, as if searching for the reason she was trying to ruin my life. “We expect a certain level of recruitment here. As you know, open call days rarely turn up any good faces, so we need our bookers and agents to bring people in.”
I nodded vigorously. “Yes, and I do. I signed Melissa Angelo, who just did the Hartford Vitamins campaign this afternoon.”
She frowned and swiped some more. “I’m showing Melissa was signed by Jimmy.”
“No, that’s wrong,” I said so forcefully she looked up and raised an eyebrow.
I didn’t care. Jimmy was a creep, always trying to get credit for others’ work. A few of the other bookers had complained to me over drinks that they’d been swindled out of commissions because of him swooping in and claiming jobs, but since he was Darla’s nephew, there was nothing they could do about it. I suddenly realized that he was probably the reason my pay had been so dismally bad the last few checks, when it should have been higher than ever due to all my hard work.
“Ask Melissa yourself,” I said desperately, ignoring her increasing scowl.
She pushed her tablet over to me. “Here’s her contract right here.”
Well, this would solve it. I’d been there when she signed it. But it didn’t solve anything because it was a completely new and different contract, with Jimmy listed as the signing agent.
“Then why was I the one going with her on her first job today?” I asked.
Darla shrugged. “I assumed Jimmy was delegating.”
As if I were his subordinate, which I wasn’t. I was fuming, and went numb as Darla listed off some of my other models who’d somehow been stolen by her nasty nephew. I knew how it had probably happened. He was a creep, but he was a handsome, rich creep, and he never let it be forgotten he was going to take over the agency one day. I could barely blame the young, hungry models for thinking they’d get a better deal if they sided with him over me, a nobody. Just someone who was willing to actually work for them, but still, a nobody. For all I knew, he was seducing them as well. I wouldn’t put it past him, the creep.
But I couldn’t defend myself or call her only, beloved nephew any names, so I accepted my dismissal as best I could. I certainly wasn’t going to cry or beg, even if it would have made a difference, which it wouldn’t. Darla was cold as ice and would never see the truth about Jimmy, even if it meant the ruination of her agency.
I kept it together. As soon as I was on my way home, I got on the phone to my oldest and best friend back in Kansas and let it rip.
“Oh my goodness,” Lynn said through the speaker after my curse-filled tirade against the Talbot Agency. “That’s awful.”
“What’s worse is it’s going to be hell to find a new job. Nobody respects them so getting fired from there makes me seem like the ultimate loser.”
“You’re not any kind of loser, Reina. You’ll get a new job.”
