Chapter 11: Threats and Promises
Kyoko hurried into the room where her mother was already waiting. "There you are sweetie." The tall blonde smiled in greeting. They were in the room alone, so they hugged and Julie quickly informed her of what would happen. "They are probably just going to have a quick interview with some people from the scouting department. Then another interview with the head of the agency and two other representatives from the company. You might have to do some modeling, but there will be a training period before you get any gigs. Are you nervous?" Kyoko was only able to nod. "Oh sweetie." She hugged her again. "You'll be fine. Don't be scared."
"What if they don't want me?" She asked quietly.
"Then you can decide if you want to try another agency, or you can stick with acting. That's up to you." She said simply. "It doesn't mean anything other than they aren't looking for someone like you. That's not a bad thing. It's nothing against you. Trust me. I was rejected by three agencies before I worked here." She whispered in a conspiring voice.
"NO!" She stared at her mother in shock. "You're lying aren't you!"
Julie laughed. "Why would I lie about something like that?" Kyoko shook her head.
"Because it doesn't seem possible!" Julie smiled and shrugged.
"They were looking for a different type of model to fit their image. I didn't. That didn't mean that there was something wrong with me or that they were a bad agency, just that we weren't right for each other." Kyoko smiled and nodded, feeling more comfortable.
The door opened and Julie stood. They had agreed beforehand that Kyoko would apply as Rosa, with no relation to Julie Hizuri. Julie held out a hand and another woman smiled and shook hers. "Hello, you must be Rosa, Julie's friend. I'm Karen. Can you come with me please?" Kyoko smiled and followed, nodding to the encouraging look that Julie gave her.
Karen led her to a small room and shook the girl's hand over a small desk. "Please sit down. I'm the head of the scouting department and I'll be in charge of interviewing you to see if you are right for our agency. How are you today."
"I'm doing well. And you?"
Karen smiled at the polite girl. "I'm fine. Now, it says your name is Rosa. Is this a stage name?"
"Yes."
"Okay. That's fine. We don't require you to give your real name and background to anyone but the President, and that isn't until after we hire you. However, if we find any criminal background that we were not informed of, we have the right to fire you on the spot. Also, there will be random drug testing. Do you understand?"
"Yes."
"Good. Okay, so it says you are from Japan. Where in Japan?" Kyoko wondered if she needed to know or was just curious.
"Tokyo."
"Do you have any modeling experience?"
"No. I'm an actress."
"Ah. Okay. I see. And how long have you been acting?"
"A little over a year. And I recently signed a contract here in America."
"Oh. Congratulations. Why are you interested in modeling?"
Here Kyoko stopped and thought about it. Honestly, her mind kept going back to Ren. "I think that it will help my career, and give me more experience. But honestly, I know an actor who is also a model." She smiled softly and Karen was taken aback. 'She's actually very pretty.' "And he loves it very much."
The next interview went well, and soon it was time for Kyoko to model. Relying on the only model she knew, she used Natsu to walk, model, and express the emotions required. She waited for the results with Julie.
In the office, Karen consulted with the other women. "She's very talented. Good posture, good figure. Not the kind of girl we usually go for, but she is cute. I think with the right look, she could be beautiful."
"Expressive face." Another woman put in. "Certainly a good figure."
"Her expressions seem limited." The President said simply. "Seductive. Smirks. Even cruel. But can she do anything else?"
When Kyoko was called back in, she shook all of their hands and took a seat. It was the President who spoke. "We're going to do something a little…out of the ordinary. We are going to accept you…conditionally. You seem to do well with the modeling, but your expressions are limited. There is a shoot on Monday. If you can successfully complete the shoot to the photographer's satisfaction, then we would gladly accept you into our agency."
Meanwhile in his office, President Lory was sitting across from Saena Mogami, a cold look in his eyes. He had found plenty on this woman, and Ren's description of her treatment of Kyoko had made him furious, but he had no luck finding anything on Saena's business partner. Still, the fact that she had abused Kyoko as a child made him decide never to help this woman.
"My daughter has been missing for over two weeks, and you are telling me that you have no idea where she is?"
"I'm afraid that I have no information on Kyoko's whereabouts." He lied coolly.
"You do realize that the law is on my side President Takarada?"
He gave a bright smile. "Yes. For now, Mogami-san." She glared.
"What exactly are you insinuating?" She snarled.
"Let's just say that I've heard some…interesting things about your treatment of your daughter."
"That little liar! You can't believe a thing she says. She will say anything to get me in trouble!"
"Why would she want to get you in trouble?" He clenched his fists, remembering the sad expression on her eyes when she had first mentioned her mother. 'I would be sad if I was related to this woman too.'
"Because I wouldn't let her continue acting!"
"And why is that?"
"That is none of your business! What I do with my daughter…"
"Your daughter…." He paused, not wanted to lose his temper entirely. "… is not an object that you can do with as you will. She is a person, a very sweet person, not to mention a very talented actress. You have no idea how lucky you were to gave such a good daughter," He stood, motioning for Sebastian to come forward. "And how stupid you were to give her up." He lowered his voice and narrowed his eyes, stepping closer to her. "I hope you understand that Kyoko has several, very powerful, friends, and that these friends will do whatever they can to protect her. You cannot make that girl marry someone for a business deal." Her eyes widened and he stepped closer. "And you cannot make her stop acting." His voice was now a menacing whisper. "If you try to hurt her, you will regret it. Now get out of my office." He stepped back and watched Sebastian escort the stunned but furious woman out of the office and out of the building.
To say that Kyoko was nervous was an understatement. She felt her hands shaking and clasped them together. 'What if I can't do it? What if the photographer doesn't like me? How am I supposed to remember what to do?' Julie had been ecstatic when she was driving her home. "No one gets a gig so quickly after being accepted!" Kyoko had managed to smile and chat with Julie, but on the inside she had wanted to cry from fear. 'Doesn't she understand that I still may not be accepted?'
The clock on her nightstand read 8:00. She had opted out of dinner and headed straight for her room, worrying both Kuu and Julie, but neither had tried to question or stop her. She held the cell phone in her hand, clutching it tightly. Finally she dialed the number and held the phone to her ear. "Good evening Kyoko." She smiled slightly at his deep voice.
"Good afternoon, Ren." She said, trying to steady her voice. He immediately picked up the fear.
"What's wrong?" He asked urgently, and she couldn't help but lament that she was constantly making the people she loved worry about her. 'Wait. What? Love? The people I love? But…' "Kyoko!" She realized that Ren had been calling her name and instantly pictured him hijacking the President's jet. Stifling the giggle, she quickly responded.
"Sorry! I'm fine. Nothing's wrong." He was silent. "Well, I'm really nervous about the modeling thing, but…"
"Wait…they accepted you! Congratulations! Now you are an actress and a model! I'm so proud of you!" His sincerity made her blush.
"Thank you. But it's not that simple. My acceptance is based on my performance at a modeling shoot. What if I can't do this?" She asked quietly.
"What do you mean! Of course you can do it!" He assured her. "I taught you to walk like a model, didn't I?" She laughed as she remembered his demonstration of the female catwalk. "Hey, you promised never to laugh about that!" He attempted to make his voice scolding but failed. She laughed along with him.
"So when is the gig?" He asked after a pause.
"Next week. Monday morning."
"Well then you have time to prepare." She laughed at that.
"That's not enough time!" She cried. "I have to prepare for the commercial filming too!"
He smiled on his end of the line. 'She may have taken on too much, but I'm sure that she can do it.' "You'll be fine." He assured her. "If you need any help, please don't be afraid to ask me. Okay?"
"Thank you." She paused for a few moments. "Has President Lory found anything?"
Ren sighed. "I'm sorry. I haven't heard anything. He hasn't called me for a while." When she was silent, he felt the need to apologize again, but couldn't think of anything he could do. "You know, you just signed a contract for Kuu's agency. You won't be able to come home for a while anyway."
"I know." He closed his eyes when he heard the tears in her voice. "And I'm grateful that I'm getting the opportunity to act here…but if I could just…" She trailed off and his arms ached to hold her.
"I'm so sorry." He whispered. "I'm so, so sorry Kyoko. If there was anything I could do…if I could have let you stay here…" They were both silent, and Kyoko took a deep breath.
"This isn't your fault." Her voice was suddenly very firm. "This is my mother's fault. " He smiled a little.
'She's always been so strong. Still, I want to see her so badly. I miss her. But I can't do it yet. But maybe I can do something.'
For once, Lory's office wasn't decorated or turned into some strange land. There was a desk. There was a plant. That was it. This scared Kanae even more. The President sat across from another dark haired woman. This time, his expression was soft, while hers was wary. "Love me number two."
"Good afternoon President Lory." She was nervous. She hadn't been called in to see the President in months. 'Surely he isn't going to fire me...I haven't done anything bad! Oh no. Tell me it isn't some strange, secret job like he gave Kyoko!'
"I have a Love Me Assignment for you."
A/N: Ta da. This is the last of the three chapters I managed to write this weekend. It may be a bit before I can get another chapter out, but I hope you enjoy this one. Let me know what you think and I will try to respond. Thank you all so much for reading, adding this story (and me!) to your favorites list, and alerting.