Chapter 12

Elène Degrâce

~*~

About ten minutes after Natacha left, Michael also left their home. The young man, who was armed with his backpack, immediately went to the bus stop which was about a hundred meters in the opposite direction from the one his fiancée took every day to go to work.

As he was listening to music while patiently waiting for the bus with other commuters, the young man couldn’t help but yawn, reminding him of the short night he had had, but also the cause of it. The previous night had been a completely new experience for him, one he would never have thought possible. It had been the first time since they had been together that Michael had observed such behavior in his beloved fiancée. It wasn’t the first time she had had a nightmare and it probably wouldn’t be the last, but it was the first time he had seen such terror in her eyes. All of this made him wonder what was really going on at her workplace. Sure, Natacha now had more responsibilities, but Michael doubted that this had been the cause of the nightmare she had had.

“She ended up chained to her desk.”

“Excuse me?” retorted an old lady who had heard what he had just said.

“Don’t pay attention to me,” he replied.

From what Natacha had told him, she seemed to be afraid of ending up a slave to her job. So, why did she want to get this promotion if her subconscious was also afraid of ending up chained to her job? After a minute of thinking, the answer was crystal clear. If his fiancée continued on this path, it was simply because she was a very stubborn person who could not accept failure. But above all, she could not accept that her colleague was better paid than her. Orzak was worried about Barnes, however. He knew her character and therefore feared that she would go too far in her quest for success.

“She’ll probably know when to stop. At least, I hope so,” he thought.

At that moment, the bus they were all waiting for finally showed up, allowing everyone to go where they were expected.

About forty minutes and several bus stops later, Michael arrived at a five-story building with “Plano Photo Shouting” written on it in large letters. It was inside this building that the young man indulged his passion for photography every day of the week. Furthermore, every time he saw this building, he couldn’t help but dream of the day when he would have his own photography agency. It wasn’t an immediately achievable dream, however, as Orzak still had a long way to go.

The young man entered the building and immediately went to the one and only elevator it contained. However, the moment its doors opened, he was immediately greeted by Jessica, a brunette who was about the same height as Natacha, but in no way inferior to her in terms of charm.

“Michael, here you are at last,” she exclaimed when she saw him.

“Good morning, Jessica. How are you doing on this beautiful day? Yes, I am doing well too. Thanks for asking,” he replied as he got into the elevator.

“You’re late.”

Michael glanced at his watch only to realize he was only a minute late, which he thought was no big deal.

“Only a minute.”

“That’s already a minute too long.”

“I see you’re still stressed out. I told you, Jessica. Everything’s going to be fine. The others and I will take care of everything. That’s why you hired us.”

“I know. I know. But I can’t stop thinking about it. What if we mess things up? What if she decides to back out and not sign with us anymore? We can’t let an opportunity like this slip away, Michael.”

The young man told her once again that she didn’t have to worry about what was going to happen and that he and his colleagues would take care of highlighting the good reputation of her studio.

“Just do what you do best, which is managing this building and all your staff.”

“Thanks, Michael. Thanks for cheering me up.”

“You’re welcome. That’s what friends are for. Besides, I’m the one who should be stressing out right now. I’m the one who’s going to be behind the camera taking pictures. So, my work has to be more than impeccable,” he continued.

As the elevator had just reached the fourth floor of the building, Michael was the only one to get out of it. Seeing that his friend and employer was still inside, he asked her what she was doing and why she wasn’t following him.

“I’m going back down to greet Miss Degrâce. Take the opportunity to get ready,” she replied.

“OK, boss.”

With the elevator doors now closed, the young man went to the set where his photoshoots usually took place. He also took the opportunity to greet many of his colleagues before settling into a corner and taking his equipment out of his backpack. Everything was there, his camera and all his lenses. All he had to do was assemble everything and wait for their special guest to arrive.

A short while later, one of Orzak’s colleagues suddenly came to see him, calling him a lucky guy at the same time.

“It’s not luck, Garrett. It’s all about hard work and talent,” he said in a bored tone.

“Well, it’s funny you mention talent, because last I checked, I’m a better photographer than you are.”

“If it helps you sleep better at night, feel free to think that. I’m not going to bother arguing with you about something as crazy and uninteresting as that,” Michael said as he gathered his equipment.

Angered by what had just come out of Michael’s mouth, Garrett told him that it was only because he was friends with their boss that he had been given this opportunity, which everyone at the studio knew.

“And you see, Garrett, that’s exactly why you miss these famous opportunities you speak of. You’re too focused on what others do instead of improving your skills. You’d better focus on that if you want to progress in this game. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a shout to prepare.”

Natacha’s fiancé, who had finished with his preparations, grabbed his things and changed spots, bumping his shoulder against Garrett’s in the process. The latter then wanted to take revenge, but Jessica’s sudden arrival at the studio made him change his mind.

“Next time, you won’t be so lucky, Orzak,” he thought as he saw him walking away.

A few minutes ago

Just as she had arrived on the ground floor, Jessica saw a white luxury car park in front of her building. She walked towards it, having an idea of who it could be. Two men then got out of the vehicle followed by a very beautiful, tall, and elegant young woman with brown hair. This was the person Jessica was waiting for, the person who would take her humble photography studio to new heights.

“Good morning. I suppose you must be Miss Degrâce,” she retorted as she was walking towards her, hand outstretched.

The young woman unfortunately did not have the opportunity to approach her, a man of a very imposing stature putting himself between her and the young lady.

“Everything is fine, Roger. I don’t think she wants to hurt me, do you, miss?” she replied, lightly pushing her bodyguard.

“No. Of course not, Miss Degrâce.”

“Where have my good manners gone. Elène Degrâce, delighted to meet you. I suppose you are Jessica Plano, the owner of this photo studio?” she declared, this time greeting Jessica.

“That’s right indeed. Jessica Plano, owner of Plano Photo Shouting. It’s a real honor to have you among us.”

“The pleasure is all mine.”

Jessica invited the very charming Elène Degrâce and the two men to follow her, and the entire quartet headed for the fourth floor of the building. On the way, the oldest and least imposing of the two men asked if they had received the wardrobe that had been sent to them.

“Yes. We received it two days ago. We have also provided you with a room where you can change away from prying eyes.”

“I see you have thought of everything.”

“We make it a point of honor to provide impeccable service to all our customers,” Jessica said proudly.

“It’s a pleasure to hear that.”

The group finally arrived on the fourth floor of the building and all eyes of Jessica’s employees inevitably turned to her distinguished guest when the elevator doors opened. Plano couldn’t help but think that this must be a reaction that Miss Degrâce must provoke in people all the time. However, the young woman remained focused on what she had to do and introduced the trio to the location where the photoshoot was going to take place. At the same time, she saw her employee, Michael Orzak, walking towards them.

“Michael! It’s a good thing you’re here. Miss Degrâce, this is Michael Orzak. He’ll be in charge of today’s photoshoot. Michael, this is our esteemed client, Elène Degrâce.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine. I hope you’ll make me much more beautiful with your work,” Elène replied with a beautiful smile.

“I’ll do my best not to disappoint you.”

Michael wondered if it was really possible to do such a thing. This woman standing in front of him was already very beautiful, so beautiful that if she wanted to, she could have all men at her feet, or at least almost all men. At the same time, Jessica, who noticed the strange chemistry between her employee and her guest, suggested that the trio to follow her, but this time to go to the room that her team and she had prepared for Miss Degrâce. Seeing everyone move away, and especially glancing around him, Orzak could not help but think that his workday was going to be more complicated than usual.

Jessica had just finished her presentation of the premises and according to the reactions that Elène Degrâce had had, she told herself that she had done a good job. All that remained now was for Michael to do his. Knowing his professionalism, the young woman was certain that he would do an excellent job, the latter having not disappointed her so far. However, she could not help but stress out and be nervous. And for good reason, this was a very big opportunity for her and for the future of her company. The slightest mistake and everything could collapse, although there was very little chance of that happening.

One question bothered her, however, and that was why? Why had someone as famous as Elène Degrâce chosen a studio like hers? Sure, it was far from modest, but it didn’t have a very big reputation either. So, why? She had to know.

“Excuse me, Miss Degrâce. Can I speak with you in private for a moment?” Jessica retorted while the young woman was chatting with the two men who were accompanying her.

At that moment, her bodyguard glared at Jessica, which did not fail to scare her. He was so imposing. However, Elène agreed to talk with her and asked the two men to leave them alone.

“I’m listening. What do you want to talk about?”

“Miss Degrâce…”

“You can call me Elène. Miss Degrâce is much too formal. We are among women, so let’s leave that for the men who are outside,” she said after interrupting her.

“As you wish. Elène, if you don’t mind, I would like to know why you chose my agency. I would especially like to know why it is my agency in particular that you chose when there are others with a greater reputation than mine. It’s not that I’m not happy that you did it, quite the contrary, I am extremely grateful to you, but I can no longer deny the fact that this question has been haunting me since the moment you contacted my company.”

“I totally understand where you’re going with this, Jessica. If I were you, I would probably have asked myself the same question. Now, to answer your question, I would say that the major factor that made me choose your agency is your reputation. It’s precisely because yours is less important than that of the others that I am sure that you and your team will be able to accomplish quality work…”

“She’s right. If we screw up with her, I can kiss my company goodbye. Please, Michael, don’t screw up,” she thought.

“There are other factors that contributed to my decision, but I prefer not to reveal them. In any case, it would be better to focus on what this collaboration has to offer us rather than on the reasons that pushed me to choose you,” she continued.

“You are absolutely right. We will do our best not to disappoint you.”

Elène then sketched a slight smile and Jessica did the same. However, the latter could not help but think that she had an ulterior motive. No matter what it was, she would do her best to ensure that it did not have any negative impact on her studio.

“Now that everything has been clarified, I will leave you get ready. We will begin the session when you feel ready,” Plano retorted before heading towards the exit of her dressing room.

Jessica finally left the room, leaving behind a smiling Elène Degrâce.

As Michael waited for Miss Degrâce to arrive near one of the shooting sets, the person who introduced herself to him was none other than his boss, Jessica. He then asked her how her conversation with their guest had gone, to which she replied that it had been weird.

“I don’t know why, but I have the feeling that this woman is hiding something,” she continued.

“Isn’t that something that is typical of all women?… At least, most of them?”

At that moment, Jessica couldn’t help but give her employee a slight accusatory look before telling him that he’d better be on his guard around her.

“You say that as if I’m in serious danger.”

“That may be the case,” she retorted, thinking of Natacha. “Be on the lookout when you’re working with her and call me if any problems arise. I’ll be around just in case anyway.”

Michael was aware that his friend and employer must have had a good reason to tell him this. Therefore, he decided to be very professional towards Miss Degrâce, although that was his plan from the start. But this time, he was going to be even more professional than the previous times. There was no way this opportunity would slip away from them.

“You don’t have to worry, Jessica. I’m the man for the job.”

The young woman patted his shoulder, sketching a slight smile at this moment, before walking away and leaving him alone. All Michael had to do now was to wait for the very charming Elène Degrâce to arrive.

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Abuse of Power

Chapter 12

Abuse of Power

Chapter 12

Elène Degrâce

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