𝐅𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐎𝐑 [𝟏𝟖+]

𝟏: 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐄𝐎

❦

𝐌𝐀𝐄𝐕𝐄 𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐌

*BEEP, BEEP, BEEP*

I reached over to my nightstand with closed eyes and pressed snooze on my phone's alarm. It was Monday and I was exhausted. I had to go to work a bit earlier today to help get everything ready for our big client.

His name was Cassian Bertelli, and he was just ranked in Forbes as one of the top ten business tycoons in New York City. My boss, Nadine, informed me on Friday that he was one of our biggest clients yet, but I had no idea who he was or what he looked like.

Being from a small town, I had no idea who the names of the business world were, especially in NYC. I majored in Fashion Merchandising in college, so I knew tons about fashion, lifestyle, beauty, the arts, etc., but that was in another state, far away from here.

I grew up visiting the city sometimes during the holidays, but I've been pretty sheltered my whole life. After my internship in my small town, it took a lot of courage for me to move to Manhattan and set foot in the real world.

I was grateful when I landed the job as a senior stylist at The Modern Mode, one of the most well-known business magazines in the U.S. It's based out of Manhattan, right in the smack-dab middle of the Garment District, surrounded by everything fashion.

My French-American boss, Nadine, kept the circle small. It was only me and Sloane who worked directly with her, and a few other junior stylists who worked part-time. You had to have a pretty impressive résumé, nail your interview, and prove to Nadine that you were worth working at The Modern Mode.

In just five years of existence, Nadine has turned The Modern Mode into a competitor for some of the most well-known magazines in NYC. I was honored to work for her, because not only did I love what I did, I got to meet many rich, affluent, and popular people in the business and professional world.

Sitting up in bed, I did a big stretch and took my phone off of the charger to see it was 8:05 am.

Nadine wanted me and Sloane to come in at 9:30 this morning, instead of our normal opening time at 10 am. We only stayed open until 4 pm, so it wasn't that bad to work during the week, considering we were closed on Friday and all weekend.

Working at The Modern Mode for only a few months, I was thankful to get along with my coworker, Sloane. She was also a small-town girl but from Texas. We had so much fun on set; fitting, sizing, and styling.

Nadine used her close friend, François as The Modern Mode's main photographer. He was a well-known French photographer but worked loyally for Nadine. I swore he was half of the reason why Nadine's business had grown so much in these past five years.