"Is this Miss Brenda?" A feminine voice rang out the moment she picked the call.
"Yes... Who am I speaking to?" She asked back cautiously. She was not that popular still only a handful of people had her person number. Her brother/ Manager made sure of that for security reasons.
"My name is Wendy, I'm calling from Otome magazine. Congratulations Miss Brenda your request to feature in our coming magazine has been approved" The lady said in aa professional tone.
Otome magazine?
Brenda was surprised. She didn't remember sending a proposal to any magazine company with that name. She couldn't even remember hearing about the company before. Perhaps could her brother had sent the proposal on her behalf?
"Sorry I don't remember sending in a request" No matter how hungry she was to be famous she would not accept something she didn't work for. Her brother had warned her about such.
"Isn't your Manager Mr Daniel Monroe?" The voice asked.
"Yes he is"
"Well he submitted the proposal for you. We would have related the news to him directly but we can't get him on the line. If he's there with you, tell him the contract has to be signed tonight"
Brenda brows creased. Her brother was not here. She has been trying his line too but it's also not connecting. She wasn't supposed to sign any contract without his permission, besides she hasn't even confirmed from him if he really sent a request in the first place.
"Can we postpone the signing till in the morning? My manager is not in town and i_" the person cut her off.
"No there is no time to postpone it. We have to finalize the contract tonight and begin preparations for the shoot. There are lots of candidates waiting to sign for this deal. If you're no longer interested then you should inform us so that we hand it over to another model" The Lady said. A tinge of irritation and urgency laced the lady's voice.
Brenda was at a loss of what to do, she didn't know if to agree to signing the documents in her brothers absence. If she was to refuse too, her brother's hardwork might just go to waste.
"Send me the address, I'll be there in few minutes" She made up her mind to go sign the contract.
"Okay check your inbox. I and the Director would be waiting, if we don't see you in half an hour, we'll assume you are not interested and will close the deal, so don't keep us waiting" The girl urged then cut the call.
Such urgency.
Brenda looked at the phone and frowned. She was reluctant but at the same time didn't want her brother to lose whatever he had been working for.
She hurriedly changed her clothes and left the apartment again. All the while constantly dialing her brother's line. It was beginning to get annoying having to listen to that customer service response all the time.
Just where the hell was he?
"Where the hell are you?! I sent an address to your phone. Why aren't you checking your messages?!. Come meet me at that address in the next five minutes. I heard you requested for a gig in Otome Magazine. The contract signing is tonight. I'm heading there now" She hurriedly said into the voicemail as she sped off to town.
The address given to her was the address of a restaurant in the city. The restaurant was a decent one and she didn't see anything wrong with signing a contract over a meal or else she would have refused if it had been a club or some fishy location.
She got there in twenty minutes and rushed to the room number she was given. Standing in front of the door, she adjusted her clothes then knocked.
"Come in" A voice called out.
Brenda turned the door knob and walked in. Her body froze when she saw the people in the room. There were a bunch of middle aged men dressed in suits but there was no female in sight.
Didn't the lady say she and the director would be waiting? How come she wasn't here and how did Director turn out to be Directors? Did the board of directors decide to come instead or did she walk into a wrong room?
"Sorry I must have made a mistake" She apologized to them and turned to leave but the door was blocked by two tall builds. Seeing the bodyguards at the door, the tension Brenda felt increased.
"Miss Brenda, it's no mistake. You're in the right place. You should sit and let us discuss about the contract" One of the men said in a very lecherous tone. The look on his face was equally disgusting as he looked her up and down like she was naked before his eyes.
Brenda was 'escorted'_ no more like dragged to seat with the men. Her two hands were held by the bodyguards and she was led to her seat .
Just what has she gotten into? Was it a trap?
"I must say Miss Brenda looks nothing like her pictures. Still there's no regret, the outward look might be different but the inward look would definitely be the same right?" The man seating next to her said while tracing his finger down her chin.
Brenda bit her lip and didn't try to stop him, she was outnumbered here. If she ended up riling them she would be devoured like a lamb in a lion's den. She sat still with her hands gripping into the hem of her shirt. It was only when the man's finger dropped to the collar of her shirt did she move and slap his hand away.
"Please keep your hands to yourself. I'm here to sign the contract and nothing else" She warned furiously.
What contract?
Even she knows that was probably a lie to drag her out here. If it even turned out not to be a lie, she had no interest in signing a contract with the likes of these people.
The man chuckled as did the rest of the men in the room.
"There's no need to act righteous or be shy. There's probably nothing there I have not already seen" He licked the finger that had touched her collarbone. Brenda was disgusted by his actions. She tried shifting away but the hand placed round her shoulder kept her in place. Plus there was no where to run to, shifting from him would only mean shifting to another of them. They were all the same.
"The picture you sent over pretty much gives me a sight of all that there is" He said and dug out a picture from his breast pocket and showed it to her.
This...?!
Brenda was stupefied. On the picture was a lady putting on an exposing lingerie with nothing underneath, one could clearly see her naked body through the tiny and transparent piece of clothing. She laid on a bed covered with petals of red roses. Not only her dressing but even her lying posture was so atrocious.
That was not her!
No that can never be her!
But surprisingly the woman on the picture had her face. There was no doubt the face was hers but the body was definitely not hers!
Photoshop!
The Picture was photoshopped!
It was even more clear that this was not the work of her brother. Her brother would never do such a thing so who had been heartless enough to photoshop her face into such an illicit photo? What beef did she have with the person that they would go to such a mile to punish her?
Just what was the person's motive and why did he or she send it to these people? Who were these people too? Where they really who they said they were? Otome Magazine?
"This is not me!" She exclaimed displeased. Her hands moved to snatch the picture but he held it away from her touch.
He chuckled "how can that be? I might be middle aged but I still got a good eye. Miss Brenda doesn't need to deny the truth."
She frowned and didn't say anything else. It was obvious, no body here would believe a word she said even if she had solid proof. They were only concerned about toying with her. It was best if she left this place as soon as possible.
"I'm no longer interested in signing the contract. I'm sorry if I had wasted your time but I have to take my leave" she took his hand off her shoulders and tried to stand up but she was immediately dragged down to the seat.
He wrapped his hand around her waist and whispered softly almost nibbling on her earlobes in the process. "Don't you think that's a little too late? We had an agreement, it would be inappropriate if you just cancelled it like that beside you haven't even seen the contract. Leaving now also means leaving when it was just the best part"
Brenda shivered.