Convincing her

The walk from the room she was in, to the location where she would be shooting helped her calm down and reset her mood. She suddenly stopped and the assistant bumped into her as she wasn't paying attention due to nerves.

Laura turned back and looked at the assistant that fiddling with her fingers. She always wondered why she was always so nervous around her.

"Next time, please knock, okay?" Laura said and patted the girl's hair before turning around and going to the location that she was supposed to be at. The assistant manager was stunned for a few seconds before breathing a sigh of relief. 

She had thought that she would be stuck up because she was close to James but she was not bad at all. She was not talkative with them but she has heard how talkative she gets when she talks to her friends on the phone so she figured that she was not used to them yet.

She knew that she was not very experienced and was only an assistant to one other artist before Laura and they had an attitude problem so when their contract with the company expired it was never renewed.

She agreed to be Laura's assistant manager because of the valuable experience she would get until they found someone who was more experienced and suitable for the job so she was always walking on eggshells because she was a very disposable person at the moment.

"Laura! You look beautiful" the photographer said and gave Laura a short hug. He had worked with her a couple of times so they were familiar with each.

"Mmmh, you've worked hard" Laura as she looked at the set. It was Autumn already so they were shooting for a magazine for Autumn fashion, that was why she was there. She had postponed the shoot for almost a week and now she couldn't do it anymore since she was so tired. 

The photographer quickly discussed the concept with her and Laura headed to where she was going to get her photos taken and after another short discussion, the shoot officially started. 

James sauntered over and leaned against the wall as he watched Laura naturally pose in front of the camera.

All sorts of props were used before they turned on the fan that blew her hair that made her look like a seductress. He looked at the pictures that appeared every second from his position and the encouraging shouts from the photographer.

His gaze that was focussed on the monitor that displayed the pictures that were being taken rose to look at her figure that was posing once more. Laura's eyes met his and the gaze she had was intense enough to make him feel flustered but not enough for him to avert his gaze.

"Yes, just like that!" the photographer shouted as he frantically pressed on the camera. Laura smiled at James as if to tell him that she will be collecting what he owed her the minute she finished her job.

James just calmly looked at her with a lazy lopsided smile on his face that looked like he could tempt angels to sin.

"Okay, you can change now," the photographer said to Laura once he felt that he had enough pictures. They were taking pictures for the magazine cover so they needed to be thorough so that they could freely select the picture that they found more suitable.

Laura briefly stopped at the photographer's work station and looked at her pictures before having a short discussion with the photographer. After she was done, she went to change and the staff started changing the background and props as she changed her clothes.

James' eyes followed her silhouette until her figure disappeared behind the doors of her dressing room. James then went to the photographer that was browsing through the several pictures of Laura he had taken before as he was waiting for the staff to change the backdrop and everything else on the set.

"How long are you planning to take?" James asked startling the photographer into turning around and looking at him.

"It will take about two to three more hours," the photographer said after nervously swallowing his saliva.

He hadn't even known that James was there. Even if he had never seen his face, Everyone knew that James was keeping his hair long and it was not a very common look among men, especially in the industry. 

Even though he was nervous, he could not help but admire James' looks. He couldn't help but wonder why he was not active in the industry. It was definite that his looks would definitely be popular among the audience.

Especially so because of his aloof aura, he really wanted to ask him to take a few pictures of him for his portfolio. He looked like he would make a great subject.

"Finish in two hours, my model is quite worn out," James told the photographer. It was not even a request, what he said could be interpreted as, if you aren't done within two hours I will take my model back.

The photographer just nodded helplessly and urged his assistants and staff members to be faster. He knew that there was no room for negotiation. Without Laura's knowledge, her manager had pressured everyone on set to be quick about their job.

Laura had to take pictures in five other outfits besides what she had worn, and now that James had pressured the staff, the leisurely environment in the studio disappeared completely. Laura was ushered out of her dressing room after just ten minutes and she found herself standing in front of the camera.

Although she was confused about the sudden rush to finish early, she maintained her professionalism and did her best. She was completely unaware of the deadline that James had given everyone on the studio so she just watched in confusion as everyone was rushing to get things done.

Even if they hadn't met James before, he was quite popular in the industry as he was managing Daniel Zate and whenever Daniel had a schedule and James said that he should finish at a certain time he would make sure that his artist leaves the venue by that time, so they knew that in two hours Laura would not be present in the studio meaning they had to finish in at least one and a half hours. 

Who brought this devil incarnate here? Everyone wondered silently but did not dare to voice out their thoughts.