Aurelie sat on the couch with her legs pressed together and her hands folded on her lap. This was the only way to stop them from shaking. She watched as the makeup person dusted the interviewer's face with makeup. Auri could not believe that she was here and looking at this woman face to face. She had never thought she could ever be here. It had never been her ambition. But here she was. Clad in white jeans, sneakers, a simple white shirt, with her hair in a high braid and over her shoulder. She felt like she was in an odd dream. She was in a state of disbelief. She was also scared. This would be the first time she would be formally shown to the public. She could make or break herself here.
The makeup artist moved away from the television icon. The woman smiled at Auri.
"Are you ready?" the woman, her name was Lynne, asked her.
Lynne was dressed in a simple baby-pink summer dress and white sandals.
Auri smiled shyly, "Yes."
"You'll do great," Lynne assured Auri who grinned gratefully.
She took a calming breath as someone began counting down to the time until they would start filming. Auri felt like she was watching everything from somewhere above her body.
She watched as Lynne turned towards one camera with a huge smile.
"Okay, welcome back!" Lynne said cheerily, "Now we have the talk of the fashion world; Miss Aurelie Engel who just recently debuted with the French Red company."
Auri felt her lips stretch into a smile as the woman spoke. She was aware of a camera on her and it took everything in her to not look at it but to look at Lynne who was sitting opposite her.
"How was your first time on the French Red catwalk?" Lynne asked Auri a huge smile on her face.
That smile was what gave Auri the courage she needed to reply with confidence. There was a kindness to it. Lynne's eyes seemed to coax her out of her shell. She was not a shrinking violet. She needed to get this interview right. She would.
"It was big," Auri said with a smile, "I have walked smaller shows before and I was expecting chaos but it was well organised."
"Speaking of smaller shows," the woman said as she looked at her notes, "I heard it was at one of these where Nicolas Leroux discovered you."
Auri forced her expression to remain in a relaxed smile and not show the triumph she felt. That walk had been, after all, her first victory in the silent war she was waging.
"Yes," Auri said sitting forward and getting comfortable, "I had just finished my walk when my agent came backstage with the man himself. I was in shock at first but excitement hit us later."
Auri held up her hands to show how they were slightly trembling.
"I still can't believe I'm here," she said with a giggle and she felt the audience react with humour.
"It was just a little over a week when I signed the contract," she put her hands to her cheeks letting her disbelief show.
"Less than two weeks!" Lynne exclaimed dramatically.
"See," Auri pointed out with eyes wide and hands gesturing widely, "You can't believe it either!"
Lynne and the audience laughed good-naturedly. They were being charmed by her deliberate giddiness.
"How was the preparation leading to the fashion show?" Lynne's voice had a fair amount of curiosity.
"It was fast-paced for me," Auri smiled, "I had to go to practice with the other models and then I had to keep other appointments after that. I enjoyed every microsecond of it."
"The French Red now has you on their official webpage," Lynne said with a calculative grin, "You are the first person ever to dare publicly wear an amended French Red dress. Do you have any comments about that?"
Auri felt a frown try to mar her face but she kept the smile in place. They were going off-script. This was not one of the approved topics. She knew because she had checked.
"I don't think it's daring if it was done by the designer himself," Auri said sweetly "It's not an amendment in this case. It is an improved edition by the Fashion King."
Lynne smiled but there was a sharp look in her eyes that did not fool Auri at all, "How did it come about that Mr Leroux amended your dress?"
This was not part of the preapproved questions either. Auri felt a hard look enter her eyes. But crossed one leg over the other and put her hands over her knee. She put a thoughtful expression on her face.
"I think he decided that the dresses that had been chosen for me were not the vision he had for me," Auri's voice was thoughtful, "So maybe he decided on making it look right. Better to have perfection than to broadcast mediocre."
"Perfection is what you are striving for?"
"I have always given my best," Auri let the woman know, "And I think that's what French Red strives for."
"How does your relationship with French Red mix with your love life?" Lynne asked Auri.
Auri laughed. Her laugh was so infectious that the crowd joined her. It sounded like a happy laugh. But she was laughing at the irony. Her love life was being driven by revenge, as was her career at French Red.
"I'm too introverted to have a love life!" Auri said between giggles.
"I believe that you are getting calls with offers to promote other brands," Lynne was not reading the cards in her hand anymore, "Are you going to take them?"
Auri grinned, "I am not sure yet. French Red is a priority."
"There has been speculation about your relationship with Nicolas Leroux," Auri felt the shock hit her as Lynne dared to broach that topic, "Can you comment on that?"
"My relationship with my boss?" Auri portrayed surprise, confusion and thoughtfulness as she deliberated on how to answer.
"He's a great boss," she smiled at Lynne, "He is a very particular man and the most I've seen him is when he was supervising the progress of the Fair Maiden collection and making sure my debut goes smoothly."
"I hope to continue working well with him," Auri added after a beat with a grin.
She saw someone gesture to Lynne from the corner of her eye.
"Well ladies and gentlemen," Lynne said in her upbeat voice, "Unfortunately we have run out of time."
Auri made a playful exaggerated sad face at the camera pointed at her and then smiled.
"Thank you Aurelie Engel for joining me," Lynne turned to Auri.
"Thank you for hosting me," Auri responded.
On the inside, she was a little upset at what she thought was a betrayal.
Thank you for ambushing me with unapproved questions, you bitch. She thought.
Everyone clapped as Aurelie gracefully got up and walked backstage with a smile. She gave a little wave as she got out of view.
"Cut!" she heard someone call out.
Stagehands came to her and removed the microphones that were attached to her. She wondered at the urgency at which they did that. She felt someone grab her elbow and turn. She saw Sharon and smiled.
"How did I do?" she asked as the sound assistant walked away with the microphones.
"You did good," Sharon replied and then lowered her voice, "Although I cannot believe that Lynne went off script like that. I don't think we'll be willingly using her again."
"I hope I dodged those well," Auri said as she bit her lip to hide a smile.
She knew she had done that well. Lynne had done well to get into how Auri had gotten into French Red. She had shown a bit of her intelligence and backbone. She had not cracked and she had maneuvered the interview well. She wondered if Nicola would watch the show when it would be aired. She hoped he would. She knew that parts of it would be in social media. She had been careful not to embarrass herself.
"You did," Sharon assured as she pulled out her phone from her purse and unlocked the screen.
She began reading something with a frown on her face.
"You handled that better than most," Sharon kept her focus on the screen of her phone as she spoke.
She was distracted.
"Why do you think she went for those questions?" Auri asked leaning in to see what was capturing Sharon's attention so thoroughly.
"She wanted drama," Sharon said as she scrolled through what looked like an email.
"Makes sense," Auri said as she tried to make out the text on Sharon's screen.
Sharon lifted her head and looked at her. Auri leaned back with an embarrassed smile. Peeking into someone's phone was rude and she had just been caught being rude.
"That interview ended too quickly," she asked in an effort to hide her embarrassment, "Don't you think?"
"I sent a message to Mr Little detailing what was going on," Sharon explained,
"Whatever he did made them stop the interview. The company will deal with the show."
Sharon's phone buzzed again and she got it out of her purse. She read the message with a frown of concentration on her face.
"There are a lot of offers for you," Sharon said as she turned her phone screen off and put it back in her purse.
"Offers?" Auri asked, "What kind?"
"Since your debut, I've had people wanting you to model their jewellery, shampoos, creams, among other things... And then there are several where you just promote their events."
"So, have you accepted any?" Auri asked.
"No," Sharon shook he head, "We will do that afternoon tomorrow when you've had some rest."
Auri was about to protest but Sharon's phone vibrated and she reached into her phone to answer it her face transformed into a smile when she read the caller ID.
She raised a hand at Auri and walked a small distance away. Auri looked after her wanting to hear what she was saying. She could hear nothing except occasional words of endearment. There was a happy spark in Sharon's eyes. A girlish blush was climbing up her neck and cheeks.
"Excuse me," a young woman's voice broke Auri's attention from Sharon.
Auri looked at the young girl. She was holding a pen and a notebook.
"I was wondering if I could get an autograph?" the girl whispered shyly.
An autograph? Auri was surprised. This would be the first time anyone had ever asked her for one. She opened her mouth to say something but she had no words. She realised she was gaping with her mouth open and so she closed it. She took a breath and smiled.
"Sure," she said as she took the pan and notepad, "I'd love to."
She was in the limelight now. She wondered how long she would be able to keep her dark intentions within the shadows. She wondered if it mattered.