AN: Sorry this one took a while everyone. I lost a few weeks cause of traveling and more family shenanigans. I don't have too much to say on this chapter other than I hope you all enjoy! Welcome back to Glisten! - Phoenix Commander signing off.
Chapter Five
"Blake, what's up? You've been pacing in that spot for the last hour." Sun asked as he looked from the clock on the wall of the conference room where the interview was being held to his assistant editor.
The raven-haired woman paused in her pacing and placed her hands on the high back of one of the chairs. "Just my nerves, Sun. I'm just restless is all."
The monkey Faunus leaned forward in his chair, not believing her words. "Lying doesn't suit you, Kitty. What's on your mind?"
"Would it be all right if I stayed out of this interview?" She asked, sighing as her ears flattened themselves to her head.
"That's not like you at all, Blake." Weiss said, arching an eyebrow. It wasn't like her to try to excuse herself from an interview, especially if it was for a position that would have her interacting regularly with the prospective hires. "Something wrong?"
"Possibly? At the very least it might color my opinion of Yang Xaio-Long and Velvet Scarlatina." Blake said, her nails digging to the back of the chair as her lips curled into a frown. "It might not be right for me to be part of the interview process."
"We still have some time before they're let in. Do you want to explain?" Weiss asked, taking off her glasses to let them dangle from the chain about her neck. She had been wearing them all day and the weight of them on her nose had started to bother her.
"You remember how I had that date the other day?" Blake asked, glancing from Weiss to Sun and to Klien. The ever helpful butler nodded at her as he slid her a cup of tea from a nearby cart.
"Yes, of course we do." The alabaster haired publisher of Glisten said with a small, teasing, smile. "Though you still haven't filled us in on that yet."
"Well… It turns out that Yang is going to be one of his future in-laws." She said, taking a small sip of the tea to steady her nerves.
"Ah…yeah I can see why you're having an episode." Sun said, his chin resting on his hand thoughtfully. Makes sense you'd be riled up about this. But it's not the end of the world and not really an issue.
"Episode?! Really, Sun!?" The feline Faunus exclaimed, her ears springing up in indignation.
"Sorry, Blake. That was a poor choice of words." He said, raising a placating hand and motioned for his friend to take a seat. "You do remember how things were when I started right?"
"Of course I do, you and Weiss could barely look at one another and were awkward as all hell!" She replied, staring briefly into her teacup before gulping the rest of it down.
"And everything worked out." Weiss interjected, nodding thankfully at Klien as he placed a teacup in front of her. "But the other thing is that Ren isn't the one hoping to work here. As far as we are concerned there aren't any issues."
"I… Well, I did ask Ren if he was fine with a do-over after their probation. Just in case." Blake replied, relaxing a little as she thought about what they were saying. "And he did say to treat them the same as all the other employees, otherwise he'd never hear the end of it."
"Then all is well, Ms Belladonna." Klein said, finally taking a seat of his own at the large table. "Another way to look at things is that you've got just another reason to make more friends."
"Klien has a point there, Blake." Sun chuckled at Klien's words, drawing a small smile from his assistant editor. "At the very least you may have a few more friends besides us. Above all though, just be yourself."
"Alright, Bon-Bon, how do I look?" Yang asked, as they neared the gate to Glisten's main building. The model was wearing a simple yellow blouse, a blue skirt, and matching heels. She had done up her long mane of hair in a neat bun.
"You look fine, Sunrise, radiant as always." Velvet said, looking her girlfriend up and down. One slender eyebrow arched ever so slightly, while one of her long ears was bent quizzically as she feigned an appraising interest in her appearance. The rabbit Faunus had answered the same question six times on their way to the fashion magazine's campus. In her eyes the freckled model was more than ready for the interview. "Thanks to Ren's informant, we're both dressed appropriately."
Yang nodded approvingly as she looked Velvet over in turn. The brown-haired woman had chosen a white blouse, a sand-colored skirt, and brown heels. "Did he say who passed that information on to him?" She asked.
"His date from the other day, Blake." The photographer replied with a slight shrug.
Yang nodded thoughtfully, even a small frown tugged at her lips. "Business casual is a safe bet in most cases, but…"
"But what if that Blake is the same Blake we may run into?" The rabbit Faunus asked, continuing her train of thought. "Simple, we keep things professional for now. We will be coworkers first and foremost after all."
"Right, don't want to risk anything." The lilac-eyed woman agreed. "Kiss for luck?"
"Come here." Velvet said, playfully rolling her eyes before placing a single kiss on her lips. "Still nervous?" She asked concerned as she pulled away from her. Velvet could see the faintest trace of worry in her red-tinged lilac eyes.
"Very." Yang's lips tightened in a small frown again. "I don't want to fuck this up."
"Trust me when I say that you won't, Sunrise." The rabbit Faunus said firmly, before smiling at her and gently tugging her in the direction of the door. As outgoing as Yang was, she couldn't help feeling uneasy when meeting new people or handling interviews. It was Velvet's turn to be the rock for the model to cling to, just as Yang had always done in the past for her. "Now let's go and secure this contract!"
Yang fidgeted slightly as she and Velvet stepped into the elevator with an intern that was bringing them to their interview. Her thoughts were still a blur over the last few days. I still can't believe this is happening.
Velvet noticed her girlfriend's returning unease and quietly slipped her hand into Yang's, giving her a smile as if to say, "You've got this, Sunrise." The elevator's doors opened a moment later and they were guided to the conference room.
"You both must be Yang and Velvet, correct?" Weiss asked with a smile, standing from her chair as the pair stepped into the conference room. "I am Weiss Schnee, the Publisher of Glisten. And this is my assistant, Klein Sieben." She said, gesturing towards the middle-aged man.
"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintances." He said, bowing slightly to Yang and Velvet.
"It's good to finally meet you both. I am Sun Wukong, the Editor in Chief." Sun said, standing as he greeted the prospective employees. "And this is the head of my Freelance department, Blake Belladonna."
It took a moment for the raven-haired woman to find her voice, but when she did it sounded hollow in her ears. "Hello, I'm Blake. I hope the two of you are as good as your portfolio makes you out to be, we can certainly use the talent."
Klein chuckled a little at her words, "Already starting off with compliments, Ms Belladonna?"
"There will be plenty of time for that after we're done, Klein." Weiss interjected only half-seriously. Having reviewed the portfolio and already decided on a probationary period for the prospective hires this was only a formality. But there did still need to be an air of professionalism, at least for the moment. "Please, have a seat and tell us about yourselves."
"Well, where would you like us to begin?" Velvet asked, doing her best to steady her own nerves as she recognized Blake from the photo Nora had shared with her. She subtly nudged Yang as she started to fidget again. Well, I'll be damned. This will make life interesting, but she looks about as nervous as Yang.
"For starters how long have you been working in the industry?" Sun asked, his curiosity growing now that the model and photographer were seated before him. He started mentally taking notes. Oh they are close alright. Klein hit the nail on the head about that.
"It wasn't too long after high school. Velvet had been a member of the photography club every year and I was always into pageantry." Yang said, the words practically falling out of her mouth. "Things just sort of clicked and after graduation we kind of just threw ourselves into it. That was about four or five years ago now, but our work has all been freelance."
"Only freelance? So you've never had a contract?" Klein asked, a little surprised.
"Nothing long-term at least. Though it didn't help that we turned down our fair share of possible contracts." The rabbit Faunus replied, trying to hide some of the bitterness in her voice as she quietly took Yang's hand again under the conference table.
"Sometimes a contract gets too restrictive, but that isn't something you will have to worry about here." Weiss said, placing her half-moon glass back on as she nodded understandingly. She looked briefly over the portfolio once more before placing each photograph onto the table. "Any photos you take for us may be edited at your own discretion and we won't ask for changes you may not be comfortable with."
"I take it that editing the photos for your portfolio was not an easy decision?" Blake asked to clarify, as she gestured at both the edited and unedited photos. She was starting to relax back into her role within the company, but she was going to at least talk with them later. "I'm not a photographer but even I can tell that hiding your freckles, Ms Xaio-Long, was not easy."
Yang's jaw tightened a little at Blake's words. "Yeah, it's probably one of the bigger reasons why we turned down as many contracts as we did. The unnecessary work for Velvet and my pride just meant that those contracts weren't worth it."
"What will you be expecting from us, if we're going to be working with Glisten?" Velvet asked, squeezing Yang's hand a little to calm her down. What is the catch here?
"Straight to the point?" Sun asked with an arched eyebrow, his tail twitching in amusement. "Four full days in the office with a half-day on Friday. That sound about right, Weiss?"
"Aside from you and I, that is how much of the staff operates." Weiss agreed, smiling as she caught the confused looks that flitted across Yang and Velvet's faces at his reply. "Though there is a two-week probationary period before everything is finalized of course."
"Wait…Why does it sound like you're already offering us the contract?" The lilac-eyed model asked, still confused. She had expected more from this interview, a grilling into their past contracts, clothing lines, and so on.
Klein could not keep from laughing at the situation, holding his hands to his stomach he gestured at Sun and Weiss, "I think that is enough of the serious tone, you two." He wiped the tears from his face and nodded toward Yang and Velvet as he continued, "We decided a few days ago to give you a probationary period, so long as you actually showed up to the interview and seemed serious enough about your work."
"Staying in the industry and making your own way in it after dealing with insulting contracts, that shows to me you're serious enough about this." The blonde-haired monkey Faunus said, his amusement growing into another smile.
"I have to agree with Sun. Most would cave to contracts that went against personal ideals." The alabaster-haired publisher of Glisten said. "So long as we can agree to a contract that suits the both of you within reason, I don't foresee any future issues."
"Would that still be the usual rate?" Blake asked knowing full well what the others would say. This is practically the same way Cinder and Roman's interview went. But I trust what Ren said about them. They seem honest enough at the very least.
"I believe so, but I think we could afford more depending on how the probation period goes of course." Klein said with a nod towards his publisher and chief editor. "Weiss? Mr. Wukong?"
Sun only leaned back into his chair and nodded in agreement as Weiss spoke for the both of them. "That seems our best course."
"So what rates are we talking about?" Velvet asked, her ears almost disappeared into her dark-brown hair as she started picturing pay rates similar to what they had been dealing with before. She felt Yang lightly squeeze her hand and briefly glanced at her. She could see a small flicker of her confidence burning in her red-tinged lilac eyes. Deep breaths. That won't be the case here. Keep calm, if not for yourself, then for Yang.
"Four and half days at thirty-five lien an hour for the both of you. Though I will warn you they are likely to be ten-hour shifts Monday to Thursday." Klein said, leaning forward and sliding the position information over toward Yang and Velvet. "Will that be acceptable?"
"We've worked longer days than that, Mr. Sieben." Yang said even as she rubbed the back of her neck with her free hand in embarrassment. "Though we have been renting a studio, so the long days have been needed."
"Well, we can certainly ease that burden." Weiss' assistant nodded, giving them both a smile. Klein still recalled the days when Weiss' parents had done the same. "Ms Scarlatina you will also be paid an extra one-hundred and fifty lien per photo published within each issue."
"Assuming my math is correct, that equates to roughly fifty thousand a year between us?" The rabbit Faunus clarified, her ears perking up at the numbers. This contract would raise their income far more than she thought it would. Twenty-five thousand apiece is more than I expected. Not having to rent that studio will make it go even further too.
"Actually, that would be roughly fifty thousand for each of you, so one-hundred thousand give or take a lien. With additional payments per photo published in the magazine and full editing rights to your photos." Klein clarified, realizing that Velvet had misunderstood him. "Oh, I almost forgot, the clothing you will be working with will also be yours to keep following the publishing of an issue."
"Do these terms meet your expectations, Yang? Velvet?" Sun asked, looking from one to the other while holding back a laugh at seeing the shock on their faces. We always pay well and treat our own to the best we can. Just don't make us doubt you.
Yang shared a look with Velvet, clearing her throat as she found her voice first. Her crimson-tinged eyes were still wide with surprise. "They more than meet them. I don't think either of us thought you would give us this much."
Weiss nodded, pleased with what she was hearing. "Of course, the usual things will apply; non-disclosures, stipulations with travel expenses, and so forth."
"Travel expenses?" Velvet asked, she hadn't accounted for the possibility of being able to travel with Glisten for work. "Will we be working outside of Vale?"
The publisher nodded, understanding the question. "We usually only need you to travel four times a year. Once for each seasonal edition. But there could also be times when you may have to travel for photoshoots that we can't manage here depending on the style we're trying at the time."
"I see… Then there is one thing you need to be aware of." The freckled model said, hoping this was something that they could be flexible with. "My sister is planning her wedding. There isn't a date set yet but if for some reason if it ended up overlapping, how much of a problem would that be?"
"Well, it is certainly something we can work with you on." Weiss replied as she picked up the portfolio and slid it across the table to them. "But we can talk about that when you have a date. Is there anything else that we should be aware of?"
"No, I believe that is everything." Velvet said, sharing another look with Yang. She only smiled and nodded. "When can we make it official?"
"Right now if you would like. But I think we would all understand if you want to look this over first." Sun said, setting the contract on the table in front of them. "We don't need a final signature from either of you on this until after your probation period. Though of course you'll still get the full rate during that time period."
"We'll look it over and have an answer for you by the end of the day tomorrow. I don't think we'll be changing our minds though." Yang said, glancing over the contract. As far as she could see it offered everything they had talked about, and a few more benefits they hadn't brought up.
"Well, we look forward to hearing from you tomorrow. Would you like a tour while you're here?" Weiss asked, standing from the table.
"How could we say no?" Velvet replied as everyone filed out of the conference room.
Blake asked Velvet and Yang as the tour of the Glisten campus came to an end. "Can I speak with you both for a minute? It's not work related."
"Of course, what's on your mind, Blake?" Velvet asked, already picturing what the conversation would be about.
The feline-Faunus hesitated slightly before replying, her ears pressed flat to her black locks. "Well, it's about someone you might know."
"We did connect the dots, you're the same Blake from Ren's date the other day, right?" Yang asked, not truly surprised that she was still nervous.
"I am." She replied, doing her best to not stare at her shoes as she spoke. "I just wanted to clear the air and make sure there isn't any awkwardness."
"Did he mention possible murder if he steps out of line?" Velvet asked, failing to suppress a chuckle at the hypothetical punishment.
"He did." Blake said, blinking in surprise at the mildly dark humor. "Though I hope he wasn't too serious about that."
"He wasn't being serious at all. Though Ren is more strait-laced than we are at times. I can promise there won't be any problems or awkwardness between the three of us." Yang said, arching an eyebrow at Velvet's laugh. "And honestly we were kind of worried we'd make a bad first impression but figure work mentality first was a better step."
The amber-eyed woman smiled at hearing her words. "I won't lie, that was probably for the best. But I do hope we can be friends?"
"Of course!" Velvet exclaimed, her ears standing stiff at attention. "That won't be a problem workwise, will it?"
Blake smiled at Velvet's sudden enthusiasm. "To tell the truth? We are about as relaxed as we can be here. Sun and Weiss are actually a lot closer than they look too."
Yang blinked in surprise at the offhand remark about the publisher and her lead editor. "Wait, wait, hold on. That was not what I expected to hear."
"Oh yeah, they've been a thing for a couple years now. And to be frank, you two are not the best at hiding your relationship." The amber-eyed woman replied with a chuckle at the red tinge that crept up Yang and Velvet's faces. "Sun was reading the both of you like an open book and I'm pretty sure Klein knew you were together just by looking at your photos."
"We still won't let our work suffer." The rabbit-Faunus said firmly, her heel lightly tapping on the floor as she fought down her slight embarrassment.
"I'm glad to hear it. I do have another request, if you wouldn't mind?" The freelance lead asked, pulling out her phone. "Do you mind if we swap contacts?"
"Of course. If anything, you'll be in a better spot to keep tabs on Ren for us." Yang said, smirking as she pulled out her phone and input Blake's number.
"Is there anything in particular that I need to know about Ren?" Blake asked, blushing slightly as she thought about the other day. "We promised each other we'd have a do-over date after your probation period, but I feel like I should surprise him a bit."
"Oh, we are definitely going to get along." Velvet said smiling as the last of her embarrassment faded. "Meet up with us for dinner when you're off work and we'll give you some dirt on our author."
"So, what do you think about all this?" Velvet asked, slipping her arm around Yang's waist as they left Glisten's lobby.
"I think Ren has good taste, I'm also glad that she doesn't seem to be stuck up. We'll all get along fine." She replied, resting her head on Velvet's as they walked. "I'm still in shock about what they'll be paying us, going to take some time to let all that sink in. Overall, I'm happy about how all this turned out."
"I'm glad we're on the same page, Sunrise." She replied, relaxing slightly as Yang tightened her grip about her waist to hold her to her. "I love you, my Sunrise. And I'm glad we've taken this step together."
"I love you too, my Bon-Bon. And I couldn't be happier by your side." Yang felt her heart jump into her throat even as she smiled. You are too perfect for me. Hopefully someday soon I'll be able to make you even happier than you are now.