8
There was more, of course; there was more, but some things are none of your damn business, and you damn well know that.
So don’t ask and use your overindulgent imaginations a bit more, OK?
I will share my life, but I will not share my privacy, and that is a massive difference.
What I do in public, I will tell. But… there is also a wall. And that wall I will never cross.
Anyway, I finally got to sleep way too late and woke up way too early.
It is fortunately shower and wash the hair, and arrive with the hair wrapped and damp.
Breakfast is during hair, which comes before makeup on days when the hair is damp.
Today it was set in rollers and then dried, something new for me, actually.
I really only know what I have needed to learn, and there are a lot of blanks in my education.
While I was eating, Byron dropped Lowri off and told me that my parents were landing in about an hour and that they were going to stay at the estate with him and Alex.
Lowri obviously had been staying there also.
But I was a bit surprised when Byron asked if I wanted to move from the flat into a suite at his estate.
“Look, Shannon, it was ill-advised on my part to put you up in the flat. I was always thinking that you would have had Carmine or Angel with you, remember; Angel started as your guardian angel, and then I promoted her to a second-tier model.”
Now, understand that second-tier models in this trade make about a million a year. Most models in the industry never rise that high, and the second tier is their goal. The second tier is one level below the top model, and the only thing above the top model is the supermodel.
And unfortunately, and I mean that seriously, unfortunately, that is where I started.
“So, since your cohort is living at the estate, and your parents are there, why don’t we just have your stuff moved to the estate today, and Walter can bring you both home?”
“Byron, whatever, as long as I can call Carmine when I need to.”
“And Shannon, did you tell her, and how did she take the news about Dubai and Prestige?”
“Well, I was terrified to tell her about the signing bonus, especially about her car. However, I was able to convince her that I would and could pay for the parts of her mother's long-term medical care that we have to cover, and that she would be able to drive her car to Pittsburgh and see her mom.
But I did not tell her that the car really isn’t snow capable…”
“I guess I need a four-wheel drive. My old Outback was OK, but I really don’t think that Carmine is comfortable driving it…”
“OK, we have a severe case of nerves going on over solvable issues. Your mother, I am sure, can get hold of Carmine this afternoon, and we will talk to her. Shannon, you cannot be worried about Carmine and do your job to the best of your ability. We know that, and this isn't just you;
this is everyone who does what you are capable of doing. You need the absolute focus, and my job is to make sure that you can focus on the absolute, and in this case, given what I do know and what I am sure that your mother will add to it, we are going to fix this issue today.”
“Shannon, you are here for one reason, and that is to wear clothing we decide and have your photo taken. That is your only responsibility. As of right now, Carmine’s logistics and her mother have become my issue.”
And with that and a good, strong hug to both of us, which pissed makeup off to no end, Byron took off.
As he was leaving, he did shout back, “Your mother is insisting on seeing Lowri for the afternoon, a heads up, so be on your best.”
And I am thinking, “My mother is going to watch me publicly be stripped to my dancer’s belt and redressed how many times this afternoon? And Byron, you tell me that now?”
Men. And I honestly think that gay men are the worst.
At nine, 09:00 in British terms, I was on set and dressed for the first round of the day.
Lunch was at 13:00, or one in a time scale I understand, and my mother joined us.
“Love, I have missed you so much.”
And that was Mom hugging Lowri, not me.
Bitch. Yes, my mother can be a royal bitch. And this absolutely proved it.
THEN she said loudly, “Has anyone seen my son?”
Well, the entire crew knows about me; they have to for this to work, and they all knew my mother was coming, so for them, this was the ultimate joke and setup. And at lunch, they were allowed to laugh and take part in the joke.
And once again, my mother proved that she is rather smart about a few aspects of life, which broke the ice after two and a half ice-filled days with the crew I was working with.
And that meant that for the afternoon shoot, it was fun, joke-filled, teasing, and my mother was the driving force behind it.
The real impact was on Lowri; she learned a lot about me and my issues with my mother’s instruction, and learned how to become more effective in her job of making sure that I was relaxed and doing my best for what I was being paid way too much money to do.
And the day went faster and was far less exhausting.
Kudos, Mom, you hit this one out of the park.
In the evening, we stopped exactly at 7 my time, not the British 19:00 thing, and Walter took the three of us to Byron’s place. And we found that this time for dinner, we were joined by the two from the UAE, and this time I was properly introduced.
The one gentleman who did not wear Western clothing was Sheik Khalid Al-Mansoor.
I was eventually told to call him simply Sheik Khalid or just Khalid, as we would be seen together in the future, and in his culture, that would be appropriate.
Khalid was the Executive Director of International Brand Expansion for Prestige Brands.
And he was the one who hired the talent for what they needed.
The second man was Faisal bin Rashid Al Qasimi.
Faisal, as I was told to call him, was the Chief Creative Strategist for Prestige Brands.
And in essence, he is Byron's equivalent in his business.
But to be honest, Byron's role is far, far larger in scope than Faisal’s.
KK Brands are many, many times the size of Prestige Brands, and that is why Prestige is here at Byron’s, and we are not in Dubai having these conversations.
My Dad had spent the day with them, along with Ellen, in a video chat, as they went over specific issues within the contract.
Ellen’s contract overrides any other contract or modeling that I may sign.
These guys are pros; they understand the details of the business.
No issues, just acknowledgments of terms that Ellen controls and what I am not allowed to be asked to do.
Yes, Ellen has my back. And some issues were made very, very clear as to my privacy, who had access to me, and the fact that KK Brands would provide my dressers.
Well, the justification was that KK Brands designed and created the actual clothing.
But the truth was to control who had access to my body.
Look, if you are going to choose a modeling agent, do not do what I did; do not sign with the first offer. Very few agents are like Ellen’s. I got lucky, and I now know that. You most likely, well, you most likely will not.
Now, I do not remember much about dinner that night, and the Prestige gentlemen left immediately afterward, as alcohol was on the menu next, and these two do not drink.
They sell drinks in their resorts, but the UAE is a non-alcoholic culture; besides, their business was over for now.
Dad, along with staff from Byron's office and the two with Ellen’s input, had the revised contracts, which we all signed immediately after the meal, and the gentlemen, and these two really are gentlemen.
Byron told my parents that if there had been the tiniest rumor of what the Saudis were wont to do with the Prestige Brands, he would never have recommended me.
“OK, Byron, but you are not Shannon’s agent. Why the interest?”
“George,” and for the record, my father is Attorney George O’Conner professionally, and my mother is Dr. Elise O’Conner, PhD professionally. So now you all have been properly introduced, OK?
“George, it is like this. First, I like the kid. Now, I do not know why, but there is something in her energy, and George, for me, even in private, Shannon is always she, her, etc. Publicly, I will acknowledge his sex, but privately, no, I refuse.
Shannon is my girl Shannon and your daughter Shannon.”
“But George, I am adopting her. What you don’t know is that the birth certificate? Well… when we were doing the research for that, it showed that she is actually related to me. Way back, but your parents on your mother’s side are distant cousins. So I am claiming her as family.
And so that both of you know, I take care of my family.”
Now, this I did not know, but it also makes sense. My family’s connection to Northern Ireland is why I have a British birth certificate and identification as a girl, Shannon. And that also makes sense why it was so easy for Byron to have everything changed at the consulate in Miami.
That is where Byron surprised me with a court appearance at the British Consulate in Miami, which resulted in my identification and passport as Shannon, with the location of my birth being in the US, but linked to Northern Ireland.
Apparently, this birth certificate was issued at the time of my birth. Privilege has its rights at times.