Chapter 13
Xylina
“When Savannah said you wouldn’t steer me wrong, she wasn’t lying,” Simone complimented while looking through the outfits I’d chosen for her this morning.
I met her manager at Nay Chic first before heading to the mall to finish.
After studying the vision board she sent, I was able to pick out outfits I felt would fit the theme of her photoshoot perfectly.
She wanted an edgy, risky, woman set on revenge look.
Her photoshoot theme was “Played the Fool” and was supposed to represent scorned lovers and women getting their licks back.
“I’m happy you approve. The look you were going for was honestly easy to put together, especially since you gave me free reign to pick what I wanted.
” Hearing a compliment from one of my favorite artists made me giddy inside.
This was the first time in a long time I’d felt excitement in my life.
After all the bad news I had been receiving lately, it was hard to believe I was here right now.
“We should start with this one,” the coordinator of the shoot, Melanie, mentioned, picking up a black lace nightie and sheer matching robe.
“Your hair will be in large pin curls with pop cans as a roller set. You’ll be wearing a stack of pearl and beaded necklaces and bracelets.
It fits the modern, sixties housewife look the first part of the shoot is going for. ”
“I saw the vision board, but I couldn’t pinpoint what you were going for. The looks aren’t exactly cohesive.”
Melanie paused and was about to speak when Simone cut in. “It’s like a time machine of women being overlooked and taken advantage of over the years. It’ll end in present day, showing us taking our power back and not letting men continue to walk all over us.”
“And we’re gonna fall behind if we don’t get started so chop chop. Simone, go put this on and then come back so they can touch your hair and makeup.” Melanie clapped her hands and stood.
Simone nodded and grabbed the outfit, turning and heading to the bathroom connected to the large room we were in.
“I’m going to go make sure they’re ready on set. Tell Simone to come out when she’s ready.” Melanie headed for the double doors just as Keri, Simone’s manager, walked through them.
“I swear I hate dealing with idiots.” Keri stepped into the room ranting. “Where’s Simone?” she asked, looking around.
“Getting changed.” I answered.
She nodded and tapped her phone screen. “Good. We need to get started if we want to stay on schedule.”
I stood back, watching the chaos in front of me.
The room was a blur of bodies moving around preparing for the shoot.
While I had done some minor modeling, the shoots were never this busy.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I came here.
Even though she was Savannah’s cousin, I had never been around Simone, so I wasn’t aware of what she was like.
I was prepared for her to be a bitch, but surprisingly, she was humble and a bit quiet.
My phone vibrated in my hand just as Simone stepped back into the room.
Normally she wore more baggy, boho style clothes that hid her shape, but after seeing her vision board and shopping for her, it was clear she was going for something different.
She was a few inches shorter than me, but curvier.
Her stomach was flat and her thighs shapely.
It made me wonder why she didn’t show her figure off more.
My phone vibrated again, gaining my attention.
Seeing Yosiah’s name on the screen caused butterflies to explode in my belly.
Even though days had passed, I still found myself feeling a bit self-conscious, which was new for me, around him.
I had been thinking maybe I had been too honest and open with him.
Knowing there was no way to take it back or hide it made my skin itch.
Still, I refused to walk around like a timid puppy.
Instead I put up a brave front, kept my head high, and shielded away from anything that reminded me of my unfortunate luck.
My mouth curved into a small smile reading over his message.
Hubby
Kill it today. You got this.
It was simple, but just knowing he thought about me enough to send the message caused a wave of excitement to lurch through me.
My pulse raced through me like a rollercoaster on a downward hill.
This was the first time Yosiah had done anything close to praising me and hopefully wouldn’t be the last.
“Xylina,” Keri called out, waving me over.
Hearting the message, I locked my phone and made my way over to her.
“What do you think of this?” She turned the iPad toward me and pictures of pre-drawn designs were on the screen. “They’re exclusive designs for another artist preparing for tour.”
Grabbing the tablet, I scrolled through, giving my opinion on each look. Knowing she trusted me for something like this made me feel good inside.
The day continued and it was late into the evening when we finally wrapped up.
I had never worked a day in my life and we were on set all day, but surprisingly it didn’t feel like work.
I even managed to vlog part of my day without giving out too much.
Simone’s team was very strict when it came to keeping on schedule, but everyone was professional and on point when it came to their role.
“Are you free the rest of the week?” Keri asked as I finished posting my last story on my page and prepared to gather my stuff to leave.
Curiosity filled me as I nodded. “I am.”
“You did good today. Simone’s shooting her upcoming single’s video next, and if you’re up to it, we’d like to bring you back to help. The look is basically replicating what we did today.”
My eyes widened. “Really?” I was one of the most fashionable people I knew and Simone was already pretty as hell, so I had no doubt I could come in and style her with ease.
What shocked me was them wanting to work with me again.
I was under the impression that this was just a today thing since they needed a last-minute stylist.
“Yeah, girl.” Simone approached us, now dressed in clothes more fitting to her style.
An oversized T-shirt and sweats. Her hair was now pulled into a ponytail and she wore a baseball cap low, covering the top part of her face.
A large black duffle bag was draped across her body.
“I don’t know if my cousin told you or not, but I had to fire my last stylist after learning she was buying shit for herself using my money.
I had to get her the hell out of here, which means I’m in need of a new stylist. This is my first big project since firing her and I have yet to find someone I liked enough to keep on.
That being said, I liked what I saw today and how you managed to make the predetermined looks look even better than we planned. ”
Keri turned her tablet in my direction. “This is a contract to work together again. The NDA you signed will still be in place, of course. The next three to four days we want you back and on the team.”
“Think of it as a trial run,” Simone cut in, speaking after tapping away on her phone and brushing flyaways out of her face. “If things go well, we can discuss bringing you on full- time as my stylist.”
My eyes bucked again and my eyebrows shot up. “Seriously?”
Simone grinned and nodded. “Yep. Of course that entitles a lot more than just picking out my clothes for photoshoots and such.”
“You’ll oversee Simone’s whole brand identity,” Keri cut in while I grabbed the tablet to read the contract.
“Which is a big thing since I’m in a transitional stage, as you can probably tell from today’s shoot.”
Silently, I scanned the PDF as they continued explaining things. With all the bad news I had been receiving lately, it was hard to believe some good news was finally coming my way.
“So what do you think?” Currently I was on the page that included my pay.
“The pay we discussed will cover the next few days, and if we choose to keep you on and you agree, then we’ll talk about a salary amount,” Keri mentioned.
The fact that I was being offered a job, something I never thought I would consider, was crazy.
Lifting my eyes from the tablet, I bounced them between the two women. Being that I was practically broke, I would be an idiot to turn it down. Besides that, I enjoyed what I did today. It came easy to me, and instead of feeling like work, it was as if I was living a normal day.
Finally reality set in and my smile lifted. “Let’s do it.” I got to the last page and signed.
“I was hoping you’d say that.” Keri grabbed the tablet. “I’ll email you details of the shoot and what we have picked out for her as of now. If you think anything doesn’t fit or needs to be changed, let me know ASAP.”
Keri’s phone rang just as she finished speaking. “I need to take this.” She didn’t bother to wait for either of us to respond.
“She doesn’t play around,” I mentioned as we watched her walk off.
Simone snickered. “Yeah, she runs a tight ship, but she knows her stuff and gets business handled accordingly.” Facing me, Simone gave me a welcoming smile and held her hand out. “I look forward to working together. Thanks for agreeing.”
Grabbing her hand, I gave her a quick shake. “You’re offering to pay me to do what I do for myself online anyway. It’s a no brainer.” I laughed.
After getting everything squared away and agreeing to see each other tomorrow, I started for the main doors.
“It’s getting dark out, do you want my security to walk you to your car?” Simone called out after me.
“I’m good!” I called out over my shoulder.
Giving one final wave, I pushed out of the double doors, stepping into the crisp, spring air. There was a slight chill but it felt good against my skin after being cooped up in the warehouse all day.