Updating...because I'm extremely happy...AND, I l love you guys!:D

Chapter 3

"What?! Caitlyn, you said we were going have a minor change but you never said anything about launching a new…new…star!" It was so early in the morning but Mitchie's temper was already as hot as the sun.

"But I talked this over with your mother already…"

"Look, Caitlyn. I am the boss here. Shouldn't you be coming to me first?"

"I would if you weren't such a b*tch!" Caitlyn thought to herself.

"What did my mother say?" Mitchie asked, surprisingly calm.

"She agreed. She thinks this will be good for Shane and for the magazine – like we're going to be the ones who discovered him...put him out there…you know, make him a star."

Mitchie took a deep breath. "How can you be so sure he's going to make it big?" she asked, overtly skeptical.

"Have you seen Shane?" Caitlyn asked sarcastically. "It's a gut feeling." she added, grinning.

Mitchie rolled her eyes. She wanted to disagree but Caitlyn had a point. God, she hated it when someone else was right! "Can you ask him to come in today?"

"Right away!" Caitlyn left the office before Mitchie could say another word.

"I ain't kidding, mom." Shane said after he told her he was going to get paid five thousand dollars.

"Are you sure you're not being…scammed or something?" Denise asked, a little worried.

Shane hadn't really thought about that. He hoped not.

"Uhh…No. I don't think so. I met the boss, mom."

"And what did he say?"

"She, mom." Shane corrected her. Then he remembered what Michelle Torres said to him. He wasn't going to tell his mom those things. "Everything's going to be fine, mom." he assured her, hugging her.

Just then, the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Shane!"

He recognized that chirpy voice instantly.

"Ella!"

"Yes! I need you to come down here right now!"

"Right now?!"

"Yes! This instant!"

"Is there something wrong?"

"Would I call you if there wasn't?!" Ella exclaimed.

"This girl should really take a chill pill." Shane thought to himself. "Okay, I'll be there in…" he looks at the wall clock. "…thirty minutes."

"NO!"

"Fifteen?"

"Na-uh."

"Ten minutes?"

"See you in ten!" Ella said, hanging up before Shane could say another word.

Shane remembered what Michelle Torres told him yesterday…

"…if I tell you to be here at eight sharp, you have to be here at seven forty-five!"

Which means he practically had no time to get ready. He contemplated on a quick shower but decided against it. He grabbed his denim jacket and dashed out the door giving his mother a quick kiss on the forehead.

"You think he's a mechanic?!" Mitchie hissed.

Ella felt her knees shake. "Y-yes, Miss Torres."

"You…think?"

"Kurt and I saw him fixing a car so we assumed…"

"It doesn't matter! The point is you got us a guy who isn't even a model to be on the cover of our magazine! And an anniversary issue too!"

Ella just nodded.

Mitchie was seething.

"But Miss Torres, I thought you agreed we could use Shane to…"

"Yes! That was before I found out about this! Get my mother on the phone this instant!"

"Right away, Miss Torres!"

Shane was running as fast as he could, getting a few glares and a serving of cuss words as he slammed into a few people on the way. Then he caught a glimpse of his reflection on the shop windows. He looked like crap! Shane tried to fix himself a little. He was going to see Michelle Torres again! He felt he didn't make a good first impression. Now was his chance to redeem himself.

"Does my mother hate me?"

"I don't…think so…" Caitlyn said, careful with her words.

"Can you tell me what she said again?" Mitchie said, resting her head on her desk, exasperated.

"She said it's still all right to put Shane on the cover." Caitlyn answered, trying to sound sympathetic but deep inside she was jumping for joy.

"Even after you told her that he's not a model and probably has no experience in modeling?"

Caitlyn nodded. "I really don't think it matters, Michelle."

"Did you tell her Ella thinks he's a mechanic?" Mitchie asked again, not listening to a word Caitlyn was saying.

Caitlyn nodded, smiling discreetly.

"She still said it's okay?"

"Yes, Michelle! Come on. It's going to be fine!" Caitlyn assured her.

"It better be!" Mitchie said, back to her usual self again.

"Shane's here!" Ella said giddily as she entered the office, Shane following close behind.

Mitchie gazed up at him from her desk. How did this person manage to look like crap and not look like crap all at the same time?!

"Caitlyn, Ella. Could you please excuse us for a moment?" Mitchie said, standing up.

They leave the room leaving Shane and Mitchie all by themselves.

"Please take a seat, Mister…"

"Gray." Shane said, sitting down.

"Right. Mister Gray. Do you know why you're here?"

Shane felt like he was ten again…and back in the principal's office.

"Nope. Not really."

"I need to ask you a few questions."

"Shoot."

Mitchie was slightly disconcerted with the way he spoke. Does he always talk like this?

Shane noticed the look Mitchie gave him. He cursed under his breath. Why did he have to act like a lunatic when he was nervous?"

"Mister Gray, how old are you?"

"Twenty five." Why was she all formal all of a sudden, Shane wondered.

"And your current job is?"

"Unemployed."

"I thought you were a mechanic?" Mitchie asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"Nope. I just have a knack for fixing cars."

Mitchie nodded her head slowly. "I see."

"Oh yeah, I walk dogs too."

"Okay…" Mitchie said, uninterested. "Educational attainment?"

"I went to college for a year. That's it."

"I see." Mitchie said, wondering if she should ask why but decided against it.

"Married?"

"Nope."

"Where are you staying right now?"

"With my mom. Apartment building a few blocks away."

Mitchie took a deep breath. The way he spoke – "Yep," "Nope," incomplete sentences - was slowly driving her towards the edge.

"Do you…do you have any vices?" Mitchie asked, getting a hold of herself.

"Vices?"

"Yes. Vices. Alcohol, cigarettes, drugs…prostitutes?"

Shane looked at her ridiculously. "Nope." he replied, a little annoyed. Was she judging him?

"So, anything new going on with you?"

"Aside from this modeling thing? Nope."

"Interesting." Mitchie said. "Not!" she thought to herself. She was trying to look for something remotely exciting about him but she got nothing. Zero. Zilch.

Except for those bulging biceps…

BURP!!!

Mitchie stared at Shane, wide-eyed. But he just sat there, looking at the things neatly placed on her table like nothing happened. She took another deep breath. She was not going to lose her temper, she reminded herself.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then." Mitchie said, standing up. "He has got to go or I'll definitely lose it!"

"Okay, bye." Shane stood up and walked out, not even noticing that Mitchie also stood up and held her hand out.

"Pig!" Mitchie thought to himself as she tightly held onto the edge of her desk, her knuckles turning white.

"How'd it go?" Ella asked nervously when she saw Shane come out of Mitchie's office.

"She said she'll see me tomorrow." Shane replied, slightly dazed.

"Yay!" Ella said, clapping her hands.

"ELLA!!!"

Ella stopped and looked at Shane. "Wh-what did you do?" she asked him, looking very very afraid.

"Nothing!" Shane said defensively.

"ELLA! Get in here!"

Ella ran into Mitchie's office.

"M-miss T-t-torres?"

"You discovered Shane Gray, right?"

"Sort of…" Ella nodded.

"Fix him…Teach him some manners…I don't care what you do just make sure he's a gentleman at the launch."

"Yes, M-miss Torres."

Ella stood there, waiting for Mitchie to say something more.

"You can go now."

Ella sighed with relief. She really thought it was her end.

"Shane!"

"I heard everything."

"Okay, so you're aware of the situation. That's good."

"She must think I'm some sort of…barbarian."

"Well, she didn't exactly say that–"

"She didn't have to."

"But we're going to fix thi–"

"Never mind. I quit."

"No! Please, Shane. NO!" Ella pleaded. "I'll lose my job." she looked like she was about to cry.

"I told you I wasn't cut for this sort of thing."

"That's why I'm here, Shane! We'll show her you're not the person she thinks you are!"

If Ella hadn't been so nice to him he would have walked out the moment Mitchie blurted those words out.

But no, he was a gentleman.

And he was going to show Michelle Torres just that!

Don't you just want to throw acid all over Mitchie??? I'm kidding!:P

Thanks for reading!:D

Make my day!:P